Covenant House Internationals - Culture
Created: 12.18.23
Covenant House International (CHI) and the numerous federations affiliated with CHI in my evaluation meet the criteria of a learning organization. Furthermore, this is due specifically not only to the work culture but also the emphasis the CHI organization has on serving their district-wide federations in sharing their site narrative through, annual quarterly reports, dedicating a department to analyze and evaluate this data, as well as make it digestible for all sites and individuals involved within our sites. Specifically, the Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) team holds monthly meetings as a staff, for site calls, as well as other times to ensure data is being imputed, and that we are reflecting touchpoints that the sites want to add or emphasize within the reports we develop. This organization, although has roles, runs like a massive team. Everyone has their assigned task and opportunities to help others and take on more. As an intern within the organization alone I have had the opportunity to learn so much about data intake, the youth population we serve, and online platforms I did not realize were so relevant.
I have experienced a very positive and constructive work culture entering the internship at CHI. This paper will focus on the positive aspects of what the organization structures are enlisting within the organization. There is one improvement that would be enlisted, and this would be more opportunities for the CHI online staff to have opportunities to connect more as humans to build better relationships, not that the current atmosphere is not already amazing. The main recommendation for the CHI organization is to schedule more time for staff members to have conversations and build rapport with one another. I have noticed throughout my time as an intern, there are so many caring people within this work. These characteristics and conversations can often be outshined through data analysis and evaluation meetings.
All these opportunities present within this internship have shown although not everything is going to run smoothly or perfectly to the deadline. But, establishing that a foundation build can make all the difference in performance, resources, and opportunity. CHI has been established for about 50 years as a non-profit organization. This month the REL team was in charge of hosting the all-staff meeting of the month. As a team we had an opportunity to explain in depth what we do, how we develop reports, and the progression of our reports framework/model overtime. Things change, and it's so beneficial to have the resources to look back and see that development and organizational elevation.
Not only is there clear and concise communication, but there are opportunities for training and feedback from colleagues and supervisors. Within the article, 360 degree feedback: Integrating business know-how with social work values , it states, “Using science developed by other fields to expand the skill sets of social work administrators holds important potential for staff, not-for-profit organizations, and the profession”(Garvin, 2008 p. 2). These opportunities in building connections play a role in assisting the individual whether they need help within a specific aspect of the job and having the knowledge and comfort within the organization to ask for assistance. For example, there is a database called, Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) where the organization's data across all federations are inputted and contained within. I learned how to run reports and interpret data through my field supervisor, as well as, connecting with another team member whose specialty is within his department. Not only this, but the opportunities I had to do overview meetings with almost every department show the dedication they have to ensure everyone stays connected because we all work together and cross paths one way or another. Through training and onboarding opportunities present these are consistent with all staff.
Within the article, Building Managerial and Organizational Capacity in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations Through a Leadership Development Program, it states, “…training programs should attend to management and technical skills while also facilitating the development of a larger, macro-level awareness and sensitivity to how the external environment influences the organization and those that it serves”(Austin, 2011 p. 260). Trainings consist of online modules, Praesidium Academy Abuse Prevention Training, True Colors United LGBTQ Youth Homelessness Training, New York Sexual Harassment Training, and Security Awareness Training. This is all to ensure we have similar levels of knowledge when it comes to expectations of the organization in how we serve our population, do our jobs, and overall be representative of the organization at large.
Within the reading, Staffing for Success, it mentions, “The most critical component of any agency or facility is the staff” (Schmidt, 1992 p. 1). Since this is a remote-based internship, most of the people within the organization that I connect with work remotely as well. However, this is due to the constant traveling of the individuals within my team. Through my fall semester, individuals have traveled to Toronto, Honduras, Mexico, New York, Canada, Europe, and more. This has posed an opportunity to learn about our sites across all federations, posed opportunities for accountability when it came to report-making, as well as, providing opportunities through correctional activity when it came to technical difficulties that came along the way. Whether this consisted of an entire universe collapsing which affected our data reporting models, affecting links of input to data evaluation requiring manual computation or just wacky internet connections.
This internship culture although may not always be perfect provides something very close to perfection in regarding to providing support for their team members. I have experienced such a welcoming time at Covenant House Internationals, and I am excited everyday to go in and learn something new on this corporate macro social work scale. I would 100% recommend trying to get involved within the data analytics of non-profits because it provides so much insight on what is going on in todays world through the served populations through the organization.
I have experienced a very positive and constructive work culture entering the internship at CHI. This paper will focus on the positive aspects of what the organization structures are enlisting within the organization. There is one improvement that would be enlisted, and this would be more opportunities for the CHI online staff to have opportunities to connect more as humans to build better relationships, not that the current atmosphere is not already amazing. The main recommendation for the CHI organization is to schedule more time for staff members to have conversations and build rapport with one another. I have noticed throughout my time as an intern, there are so many caring people within this work. These characteristics and conversations can often be outshined through data analysis and evaluation meetings.
All these opportunities present within this internship have shown although not everything is going to run smoothly or perfectly to the deadline. But, establishing that a foundation build can make all the difference in performance, resources, and opportunity. CHI has been established for about 50 years as a non-profit organization. This month the REL team was in charge of hosting the all-staff meeting of the month. As a team we had an opportunity to explain in depth what we do, how we develop reports, and the progression of our reports framework/model overtime. Things change, and it's so beneficial to have the resources to look back and see that development and organizational elevation.
Not only is there clear and concise communication, but there are opportunities for training and feedback from colleagues and supervisors. Within the article, 360 degree feedback: Integrating business know-how with social work values , it states, “Using science developed by other fields to expand the skill sets of social work administrators holds important potential for staff, not-for-profit organizations, and the profession”(Garvin, 2008 p. 2). These opportunities in building connections play a role in assisting the individual whether they need help within a specific aspect of the job and having the knowledge and comfort within the organization to ask for assistance. For example, there is a database called, Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) where the organization's data across all federations are inputted and contained within. I learned how to run reports and interpret data through my field supervisor, as well as, connecting with another team member whose specialty is within his department. Not only this, but the opportunities I had to do overview meetings with almost every department show the dedication they have to ensure everyone stays connected because we all work together and cross paths one way or another. Through training and onboarding opportunities present these are consistent with all staff.
Within the article, Building Managerial and Organizational Capacity in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations Through a Leadership Development Program, it states, “…training programs should attend to management and technical skills while also facilitating the development of a larger, macro-level awareness and sensitivity to how the external environment influences the organization and those that it serves”(Austin, 2011 p. 260). Trainings consist of online modules, Praesidium Academy Abuse Prevention Training, True Colors United LGBTQ Youth Homelessness Training, New York Sexual Harassment Training, and Security Awareness Training. This is all to ensure we have similar levels of knowledge when it comes to expectations of the organization in how we serve our population, do our jobs, and overall be representative of the organization at large.
Within the reading, Staffing for Success, it mentions, “The most critical component of any agency or facility is the staff” (Schmidt, 1992 p. 1). Since this is a remote-based internship, most of the people within the organization that I connect with work remotely as well. However, this is due to the constant traveling of the individuals within my team. Through my fall semester, individuals have traveled to Toronto, Honduras, Mexico, New York, Canada, Europe, and more. This has posed an opportunity to learn about our sites across all federations, posed opportunities for accountability when it came to report-making, as well as, providing opportunities through correctional activity when it came to technical difficulties that came along the way. Whether this consisted of an entire universe collapsing which affected our data reporting models, affecting links of input to data evaluation requiring manual computation or just wacky internet connections.
This internship culture although may not always be perfect provides something very close to perfection in regarding to providing support for their team members. I have experienced such a welcoming time at Covenant House Internationals, and I am excited everyday to go in and learn something new on this corporate macro social work scale. I would 100% recommend trying to get involved within the data analytics of non-profits because it provides so much insight on what is going on in todays world through the served populations through the organization.
