This document provides guidance for supporting residents who work within their own communities. It discusses the need for induction training to outline roles, responsibilities, and expectations. It also emphasizes establishing guidelines around maintaining confidentiality, managing potential conflicts of interest or divided loyalties, and setting appropriate boundaries between work and personal life. The goal is to empower residents through community involvement while protecting unpaid workers and fostering balanced representation.

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Supporting Residents to
working in their
community. some guidance on how
This presentation gives
to work with residents in Community groups.

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Community involvement
 Many residents get involved with community activities, and
many will sit on boards and work closely with paid workers.
 Good guidelines need to be in place for the protection of
unpaid community workers.
 Residents working in their communities can be
empowered, while others become the main spokesperson for
the whole community.
 By using good guidance from the beginning, you can work to
keep a balanced and equal voice of the community.

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Induction
 Residents working within a community group need to
understand the role of the group, their role within the group
and what the group is trying to achieve. This can be done
with good induction – before anyone formally joining the
group.
 An induction session will allow the resident to be open about
their reasons for joining the group, raise issues that may
affect them (health, relationships etc.) and allow you to
understand what support they will need.
 This session will also allow you to explain ‘Codes of
Conduct’, what is expected of them, how they are expected to
represent their community and anything else they may need
to know.

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Confidentiality
 All residents working within a community group should have
initial training on ‘understanding and maintaining
confidentiality’.
 Residents within the group also need to understand the
consequences of not adhering to the confidentiality policy.
 All residents within the group should be reminded on a
regular basis of understanding and maintaining
confidentiality.
 The confidentiality policy should be in a prominent place for
residents to access. Ensuring it is accessible for all.

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Divided Loyalties
 When working with residents of a community, you will come
across divided loyalties at times. This could be because
many resident workers, volunteer for many different groups.
It could be a cultural or family issue.
 Training is needed to ensure that residents working in their
community, know which hat they are wearing at any one time.
 Residents should be encouraged to share any potential
conflicts of interest at the induction session.
 Residents need to understand that about the issues of conflict
and how to avoid it.

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Incidents outside office hours.
 One of the main issues for residents working in their
communities is that people know where they live, and often
their lives become an open book or people expect them to
be available 24 hours a day.
 You need to support residents in understanding the
boundaries of work and pleasure.
 You need to ensure that residents working within their
communities are treated according to facts not rumours.
 You will need to assess if any incident will have an impact on
the community group you are working with, and if it does,
what action to take.

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Residents as board members
 A full introduction to the full board is a way to avoid residents
feeling the odd one out.
 Ensure that your notes, agenda and minutes are in simple
English. Avoid jargon and industry speak.
 Make sure all residents understand what the board is there to
do, the goals of the board and how the resident can help.
 Make them feel welcome
 Give them the opportunity to speak, however do not make
them feel they have to.

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Enhancing their skills
 The skills residents learn when working with community
groups should be captured and used to help them get into
work
 The confidence of residents working in their communities
will rise according to the level of trust and support you give
them.
 You should develop relationships with education providers to
allow residents to enhance their skills.
 You should encourage your residents to volunteer with other
groups and organisations so they get a broader view of the
working world.

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Relationship between residents
and other workers
 It can be a difficult relationship between the resident and
other workers within a group. The resident will always see
things in terms of the good of the community. While other
workers often have a different agenda.
 Ensure that residents fully understand what other workers are
bringing to the group.
 Honest and open dialogue should be encouraged and other
workers should avoid industry speak.
 Have a ‘code of conduct’ policy so that things do not get to
heated and out of hand at meetings.

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‘A right to a private life’.
 What people said.
 Sometimes I park my car in the next road so people think I’m
not in.
 Being a resident can put more pressure on you as you cannot
drive away to your home.
 People don’t believe that you don’t know what is happening
in the organisation that you work for – but you cannot know
everything.
 You are instantly recognised for the work you do in the area.