Since the Care Act was passed in 2014 we have needed to look at how to improve recruitment and retention of staff in the care industry. It’s estimated that by 2030 the number of people aged over 85 will have doubled. Advances in healthcare mean people with disabilities and long-term health conditions are living longer. This means in future, care services will be an important part of more peoples’ lives.
Effective recruitment and retention of a caring and skilled adult social care workforce is needed. It has a central role to play in delivering high quality care and support to people who need it. The Care Act 2014 has created a need for a refreshed recruitment and retention strategy. This will take into account many of the changes the Act will bring in. Without the right workforce, employers cannot deliver the promise of the Act. (Norman Lamb MP, Skills For Care)
Recruiting the right people is key to the success of receiving ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ ratings. Dropping recruitment standards to fill vacancies, potentially changes a ‘person-centred’ culture. It may create a short term solution to staffing problems. However, it may create bigger problems for the Registered Manager and person in charge of each shift at a later date.
Finding the Right People
If you want to improve recruitment and retention of staff in the care industry, you need to find the right people with the right qualities and skills. So to do this, you must expect to offer appropriate rewards and ensure that staff have sufficient time to carry out their caring roles. Commissioners need to ensure their procurement of care reflects the National Minimum Wage. They must consider the actual amount of time necessary to deliver good quality care from their staff.
Marketing and PR experts know all about targeting specific audiences. And how to reach them. They know how to carefully package and deliver key organisational messages to them. As an employer, learning how to use similar techniques to attract and recruit the right care staff is sensible. Raising awareness of your organisation’s values and culture through various forms of media. This will be noticed by the right calibre of people for the job, which is essential. Ask yourself, what makes you unique and why your organisation is a great place to work?
When developing a market-led recruitment strategy set out:
- Your target audience
- Where and how you are likely to reach them
- The key messages that will build your employer brand effectively
Market Led Recruitment Strategies
So using social media effectively to ‘drip-feed’ and share engaging content about the culture of your organisation will help. It helps to keep potential recruits and young school leavers wanting a desire to work for your brand and organisation. Giving school leavers an opportunity to go into further education and work experience in the care industry. This shows you’re an employer who invests in people and in the future. One care organisation regularly has a slot on the local radio station to talk about different aspects of the care industry. Because of this, they are well known within the community.
Besides recruiting the right calibre of staff, once you have them, you want to hold on to them. To retain staff, ensure your message and branding is consistent with the actual experience of working for your organisation. Invite feedback from your existing workforce, even if the response isn’t positive in the beginning. The information given will be invaluable. They may offer ideas and feedback on what is working well and what areas could be done better. Improving communication between staff, clients and relatives is key.
Strategies to Improvement:
Regular supervision sessions are known as a vehicle for effectively improving the quality of care and communication in an organisation. Other strategies that work are:
- internal briefing sessions held once a week at the start of a shift to update staff on organisational issues rather than care issues that handover meetings tend to focus on.
- suggestion boxes are still used by many establishments; they are a traditional method which still has merit in many organisations providing somebody is responsible for regularly emptying them.
- regular team meetings proactively designed to encourage input from staff, rather than being a one-way flow of information.
- a “you said we did” board where suggestions made are considered and actions taken by the organisation are reported on encourages a proactive, transparent culture.
- cross team training to ensure that staff from across the organisation get to know their colleagues rather than holding training session for a particular shift which reinforces the “silo” effect.
- look at your employees’ aims, objectives and goals in the job and where possible support them in what they wish to achieve, even if it is in outside development. It will make your staff feel valued and happier.
If you are considering an “employee of the month” scheme check out our blog for an alternative viewpoint on the success of these schemes.
How to improve recruitment and retention:
When looking at how to improve recruitment and retention of staff in the care industry, it is critical to take into account the largely female profile of the industry’s workforce. Promoting flexible working practices such as
- term time only working
- school holiday only working
- compressed hours or
- formalised reduction in contracted hours
Because, rather than losing a member of staff wanting fewer hours, changing their pattern of work makes it much easier for somebody to stay in your organisation than find alternative employment.
Leadership teams need to be visible to staff. However, it’s important for managers and leaders to be approachable and transparent in what they do for staff to feel happy and comfortable with expressing their concerns. Visible Registered Managers promote a culture of teamwork and a strong work ethic through their presence.
Even if a member of staff decides to leave and move on elsewhere, it’s good practice to hold an exit interview. Most people don’t consider a job to be for life these days. So finding out what an employee who is leaving really thinks about your organisation will give you valuable insights on what to change and what is also working. They have nothing to lose and therefore are more likely to be extremely honest with you.
Contact Us:
So, if you are still unsure and would like some further advice on how to improve recruitment and retention of staff in the care industry, please call or email us.
Metis HR is a professional HR Consultancy based in the North West of England supporting clients across the country. We specialise in providing outsourced HR services to small and medium-sized businesses. Call us now on 01706 565332 to discuss how we may help you.
