Social care managers share their advice on creating a happy and healthy workplace
14 Jun 2022
5 min read
- Leadership
- Wellbeing
- Retention
We spoke to a range of social care managers to find out more about the strategies and initiatives they have in place to create a positive work environment for their teams.
We know that creating a happy and healthy workplace can support with staff wellbeing, retention, and providing a high-quality service. That’s why it’s important for employers and managers to make staff wellbeing a priority in how they lead their teams.
Of course, it’s not always an easy task, so we spoke with social care managers who have good wellbeing initiatives and strategies already in place about what they do to help create a happy and healthy workplace.
Sophie Crowton, Registered Manager, Assist Care Group
Assist Care Group has a number of initiatives in place to create a happy and healthy workplace for their team, including access to a counselling service and a range of staff benefits. Sophie gave us some insight into these options and told us what a happy and healthy workplace means to her.
She says:
To me having a happy and healthy workplace means knowing my staff individually and checking in with them every day, letting them know that I’m there whenever they need support. I have a very open door approach and when I’m in the office my staff are able to come to see me at any time, they don’t need to book in a meeting if they want to talk. It’s just keeping everyone included as a team.
The organisation also provides access to a counselling service which is free for staff and their dependents to access which provides confidential telephone consultations with counsellors.
Sophie tells us that a lot of staff have used the service, and that it doesn’t have to be for something work related, it can also support people with any personal issues at home or issues such as bereavement. She notes that the usage of the service picked up during the pandemic.
Sophie also told us that the supervisory and managerial team have regular welfare checks with the staff, where they check in with the team to see how they’re doing, how work is going, and if they’re having any issues. She says:
At the end of a busy day it can be really good for staff just to have someone to talk to and reflect on the day.
The organisation also offers incentives for staff too, such as the Blue Light Card, and extra pay for bank holidays.
Sophie says that being positive and sharing positive feedback with the team has a big impact on wellbeing. She told us:
Feedback is important too, if a family of someone we support gives good feedback on a care worker I always make sure this is passed on. It’s all about being really positive and giving thanks where it’s due and recognising when someone’s gone above and beyond. I try to create a family feel rather than a work feel. You need to have a manager you can approach, because care can be really tough at times.
Simon Homes, Principal Social Worker, Isle of Wight Council
Isle of Wight Council has a comprehensive action plan in place to support with staff wellbeing. Simon shared with us some key insights from the action plan.
The council has a three-tier approach which covers team work and self-care (tier one), peer support and reflection (tier two), and professional support (tier three).
At tier one this includes things such as regular manager check-ins and encouraging people to think of three positive takeaways at the end of each day. At tier two, the council has group supervision sessions and encourages support and openness between colleagues. At the top tier, signposting is available to professional wellbeing support.
The aims of the action plan include building upon a leadership that recognises wellbeing as a priority, ensuring that supervision has a focus on facilitating wellbeing, to celebrate success, and to create a positive working environment which increases organisational health.
Specific initiatives which the council has in place includes the delivery of sessions on wellbeing techniques, the introduction of wellbeing champions to manage wellbeing activity, and a learning management system which provides tools and resources to support wellbeing.
Additionally, there’s regular staff communication through a newsletter, a wellbeing calendar of events, a wellbeing week in July with a number of activities to take part in, plus spaces available for colleagues to have time alone to reflect.
The council as a whole promotes wellbeing and is committed to ensuring that staff have space to unwind and decompress.
Claire Callaghan, Registered Manager, Bowfell House
Bowfell House achieved a Care Quality Commission (CQC) Outstanding rating in their first inspection during the pandemic. Claire told us that creating a great place to work is key to what they do at Bowfell. She said:
A driving factor for us was to create a great place to live and work. We're very open. The whole culture that we've created is one of transparency. Getting the news that we were rated ‘Outstanding’ was so exhilarating, it gave the whole team a boost and recognition of everything that has been done over the last couple of years.
Ashleen Campbell, Care Team Lead, also highlighted the importance of open communication on staff wellbeing, saying:
Communication is a big part of supporting my team and making sure they’re ok. It’s important to let them open up and have that time to discuss how we can make things better. It helps us to discuss people and their needs and there’s always a way to sort things out. Listening to staff is so important and the management here are always responsive to that.
Find more information and support for creating a happy and healthy workplace on our dedicated spotlight page.
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