Skip to main content
Peer Professional Employer Toolkit

Develop Supportive Organizational Policies Worksheet 3: Personnel

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

Policies that cover personnel matters are important for the successful implementation of peer recovery support services (Bell et al., 2025; SAMHSA, 2023).

Recruiting, advertising, and hiring
Because the peer professional will be a new addition to your organization, consider policy updates in the areas of recruiting, advertising, and hiring. The first policy consideration is explicitly recognizing that peer professional lived experience represents valuable expertise. From there, advertising may need a more expansive approach than usual. Because qualified applicants often have non-traditional work experiences and backgrounds, advertising approaches should be designed to consider a wide range of applicant work experience to avoid unintentional exclusion of applicants who may otherwise be qualified. Finally, hiring a peer professional necessitates interviewers possess a basic understanding of peer recovery support services and the skills and competencies required for effectiveness.

Workplace conduct
Policies that govern employee interactions are important to review when expecting to hire and onboard a peer professional. Studies consistently show that, as a new type of professional, employment in a non-peer-dominated workforce is often difficult for peer professionals (Scannell, 2021), especially when experiencing stigmatization by co-workers (Firmin et al., 2019). Respectful communication with zero tolerance for harassment is an important policy to have in place for the incoming peer professional to be able to work effectively.

Supervision
Effective supervision of peer professionals is critical for delivery of effective peer recovery support services (Bell et al., 2025; SAMHSA, 2023; Stefancic et al., 2021). Policies should clarify the purpose, frequency, expectations, and best practices of supervision with peer professionals (see supervision description in the action phase). Specifically, policy should inform supervision practice related to peer professional scope of practice, role clarity, and ethics. In organizations preparing to deliver peer recovery support services in a state-certified program, supervision policies should align with Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 72 (DHS 72) requirements.

Professional development
Consider two policy updates regarding professional development. First, create a policy that will directly support peer professional growth and development. Wisconsin peer professionals identified employer investment in ongoing professional development as the single most important employer support (DHS, 2024b). This finding was reinforced by a recent review that showed professional development opportunities contributes to optimal peer professional workforce outcomes (Bell et al., 2025). Second, because staff learning underscores effective teaming with the peer professional (Bochicchio et al., 2023; Cooper et al., 2024; Mancini, 2018), creating a policy that explicitly outlines staff learning about peer recovery support services will enhance successful implementation (Ehrlich et al., 2020; Shepardson et al., 2019).

Personnel 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.

Recruiting, advertising, and hiring

  • Peer professional lived experience is explicitly described as valuable expertise:
  • Advertising approaches are designed in ways that consider a wide range of peer professional work experience:
  • Interviewers are oriented to the skills and competencies of peer professionals:

Workplace conduct

  • Policy explicitly supports respectful communication including zero tolerance for harassment related to an employee’s lived experience:
  • Accountability mechanisms are described for addressing disrespect or harassment of peer professional employees:

Supervision

  • Supervision of peer professionals is based on the relevant best practices:
  • Supervision of peer professionals emphasizes scope of practice, role clarity, and ethics:
  • If applicable, policy aligns with DHS 72 requirements:

Professional development

  • Peer professional learning opportunities (in-services, workshops, online courses) are described regarding relevant topics such as peer professional skills, competencies, boundaries, ethics, and effective teaming:
  • All staff learning opportunities (in-services, workshops, online courses) are described regarding relevant topics such as evidence, benefits, and limits of peer recovery support services, and effective teaming:

Action plan for personnel policies

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





 

Glossary