How to retain social care staff long-term: registered manager tips
26 Oct 2021
Karen Pogson, Registered Manager and Director of Active Social Care, member of the Skills for Care Registered Manager Reference Group, and Chair of Kirklees Registered Managers Network, shares her insights on why retention is so important and steps you can take to help you to retain staff.
In a climate of staff shortages and burnout, alongside competitive pay rates being offered by other sectors, the retention of quality staff has never been so important and challenging for registered managers.
It takes a special kind of person to work in this field and it’s the best job in the world for anyone who enjoys being part of a team and making a difference to people’s lives.
Low retention rates have a negative impact on your resources in terms of money, time, and loss of skilled staff from the workforce. It puts a strain on the remaining staff, and managers are pulled away from their strategic roles to fill care gaps.
High retention rates bring stability to a service and space to develop skills, expertise, strong relationships, and continuity of quality care for those who draw on care and support.
As chair of the Kirklees Registered Managers Network and member of the Skills for Care Registered Manager Group, I see the difficulties that services are facing in terms of recruitment and retention.
At Active, I can honestly say that we’ve never worked so hard to recruit and retain a talented workforce. These are the steps we’ve taken to achieve this.
Competitive hourly rates
We pay our staff the highest rates we can for the duration of their shift and offer flexibility to suit their personal circumstances. Everyone is required to work a weekend shift.
The ‘back-room function’
Some of our office staff are employed entirely on an administrative basis and don’t provide direct care.
Their input to keep up with back-room functions, such as recruitment and HR has been invaluable, especially when other supervisors and managers have been pulled into the field.
Value-based recruitment
We use value-based recruitment processes to ensure that candidates hold values compatible with ours and that they’re choosing the profession for the right reason.
We offer our candidates the opportunity to meet some of our volunteer clients to find out more about what they are doing and what qualities are important to the individuals we support. This enables candidates to make an informed choice about whether our company is the right match for them and saves time in the long run.
Onboarding
Onboarding is important to make new staff feel welcome, valued, and informed. Every staff member is provided with a named supervisor who leads them through the induction process and in addition to this, our recruitment co-ordinator phones them bi-weekly to check how everything is going.
Culture
We place a lot of emphasis on person-centred care. Everyone in our team’s view is valued and we use a range of communication systems to keep everyone involved and informed and to praise good work. This develops team spirit and a sense of purpose where everyone across the organisation is working together to get the best results for our clients.
Staff recognition
We acknowledge exceptional commitment and great work through an awards scheme where nominated staff can receive a £20 voucher. Their achievements are also celebrated in the staff newsletter.
Training and development
As well as all mandatory courses, we provide on-the-job training for more specialist tasks. Training and development enable staff to grow their skills, knowledge, and behaviours, to become more competent and feel more confident their roles, and it also gives them a sense of achievement and professional recognition.
There’s also a number of roles in our company that staff can progress towards, which provides an opportunity for staff to develop and grow their career with us rather than move elsewhere.
Wellbeing
Wellbeing is important to ensure staff stay not only healthy but also happy in their work. We have a number of trained mental health first aiders in the company so that staff can choose someone who they feel comfortable talking to. We use the Skills for Care workforce wellbeing resource finder to help us find trusted resources to support staff wellbeing.
Perfect match
Understanding the individual needs of the staff and matching them to people we support with similar attributes and interests keeps everyone happy in their work.
Overwhelmingly, staff say the main reason why they stay at Active is that they value being part of a dynamic team where everyone cares not just about the people we support and their families, but also each other. It’s a great feeling at the end of the day to know you’ve made a difference to people’s lives and that your efforts are recognised and valued.
Dan Day is an extremely talented staff member who has worked for the company since it started 19 years ago. Dan joined us aged just 17, he says:
I transitioned from working in the hospitality industry by pure chance and it’s been a fruitful journey ever since. My work with Active has given me many skills that I can use in life and as a father, it’s really changed my life for the better.
This profession has always kept my interest because of the fun nature of the job and when you enjoy your work it doesn’t feel like work.
From my very first day at Active the director established a supportive culture for staff and the people we support.
Active has provided me with training in every aspect of this profession, from compulsory training through to specialised training in a variety of fields.
We’ve been ahead of our time with the direction that care should be going with our forward thinking, problem solving, and individual-focused approach. We regularly work alongside other key health professionals who now look to us for our experience and knowledge, which is a testament to our hard work and bespoke problem-solving nature and I’m proud to be part of the cogs that make the service work.
Active’s approach has seen them build a core, well-established team that wants to make a difference for the better, and there’s no limits to where your journey could lead at Active. This has kept me loyal and interested over the many years.
Find more information and resources to support retention with our #RetainToGain spotlight.
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