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Peer Professional Employer Toolkit

Develop Supportive Organizational Policies Worksheet 2: Human Resources

This is a worksheet from the Peer Professional Employer Toolkit. Print this worksheet to help your organization develop supportive human resources policies.

Policies out of the human resources department related to compensation, workplace flexibility, and workplace wellness directly support the successful launch, implementation, and long-term sustainability of peer recovery support services (Bell et al., 2025; Byrne et al., 2021; Mirbahaeddin & Chreim, 2022; SAMHSA, 2023).

Compensation
Your organization’s pay scale is critical for attracting and retaining qualified peer professionals (Alavi et al., 2024; Bell et al., 2025; Smith, 2024). As a starting point, consider the results of a statewide survey of Wisconsin peer professionals working in crisis services: reported average wage was $23.04 per hour (median was $20.40 per hour) with the caveat that 30% of those currently employed as a peer professional had a second job (DHS, 2024b). When creating a pay scale, consider the value these evidence-based, cost-effective (see Castedo de Martell, Moore et al., 2025; Castedo de Martell, Wilkerson et al., 2025) services will bring to your organization. Also consider the wage and benefits other organizations offer similar positions for a market-competitive perspective.

Workplace flexibility
Policies that include flexible scheduling and adequate time-off contribute to optimal work outcomes for peer professionals (Bell et al., 2025). Peer professionals value flexibility so that time can be dedicated to maintaining recovery and to engaging in self-care activities. Moreover, workplace flexibility contributes to job satisfaction which, in turn, leads to reduced staff turnover (Bell et al., 2025).

Workplace wellness
In general, workplace wellness policies and practices increase employee performance and reduce turnover (De Neve & Ward, 2025). Wellness policies geared to supporting recovery, self-care, and stress management link to optimal workforce outcomes for peer professionals (Bell et al., 2025).

Human resources policies

Determine whether each of the following list items are in place, partially in place, or not yet in place. Write your assessment after each item.

Compensation

  • The current compensation policy for peer professionals is a value-based decision based on review of evidence of effectiveness and evidence of cost-savings:
  • The current compensation policy for peer professionals is market-competitive based on review of pay scales for similar positions in other organizations:

Workplace flexibility

  • There are flexible work and leave arrangements to support peer professionals:
  • Supervisors understand the policy and how to guide staff to achieve work-life balance:

Workplace wellness

There is a policy designed to promote employee wellness, self-care, and stress management:

Action plan for human resource policies

Pick one policy that would be useful to develop, then identify next right steps (who will do what by when). 





 

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