Karen Munn is registered manager at Caring Hands Domiciliary Services in Southampton and is CareLineLive’s first runner-up for our Home Care Hero award.
This is what nominator’s Katelyn Munn, Recruitment and Social Media Officer/Care Worker and Denise Pope Field Care Supervisor said about Karen:
Effective leaders are not just managers or bosses; they’re visionaries, motivators, and problem solvers. Karen is all of the above and more. She goes above and beyond for all members of staff, she has an open door policy and is someone you can always lean on for support, no matter the problem big or small. Karen works exceptionally hard at everything she does and is always bettering herself to be the best manager she can be. She teaches us all so much and we are extremely lucky to have someone like Karen on our team and in this industry.
Karen is an exceptional manager, who cares about all her staff and their wellbeing. I have had a difficult year losing my mum and dad and she has been so supportive and being there for me anytime of day or night. Karen believes in an open door policy and staff can see her anytime, She helps all staff and clients with problem that they may have. She is so supportive and kind and caring, always finds a solution and works with that client/care worker has a very positive attitude which reflects in the way the staff treat her.
What was your reaction to winning CareLineLive’s Home Care Hero Award?
It’s lovely when you hear what other people think about you, it was really nice. I was shocked because there are so many wonderful people out their in care and they don’t always get the recognition that they deserve. We’re very lucky with our team that we all support each other.
What is your role at Caring Hands Domiciliary Services?
I’m one of the directors and also registered manager, there’s myself and another director and prior to that there were other directors who have now retired. I began my career as a carer and was given the opportunity to progress, this has given me insights into the challenges faced in a variety of roles.
What does a typical day look like in your role?
A typical day? It’s different everyday, it’s never the same. You don’t know from today to tomorrow what’s going to happen. I can be in the office doing paperwork one day and then the next day I may be called out to an emergency. I’m also a trainer which includes moving and handling and medication training, which is nice as it breaks the role up and keeps it interesting. I often do the hands on things as well, for example, meeting occupational therapists and dealing with moving and handling issues. I support the team particularly if they’re having a bad day. I’m always on the end of the phone. Staff know that I’m local and I can support them and be with them quickly.
What aspects of your role do you enjoy?
I’m good under pressure and better if there’s lots going on rather that nothing going on. The different aspects of the role keep things interesting. Every day is different and I like that, this is why I’ve stayed so long.
What challenges do you face in your role?
The legal obligations can be challenging, but the biggest thing is keeping staff morale high. We try as much as possible to reward staff and we’re very flexible and practice an open door policy people can just pop in for a coffee and offload or just for a chat. People need to feel valued and very often they feel undervalued, however, we always tell them that they are someone’s lifeline.
Recruitment is a big challenge as the industry is seen as vocational route and not a career. You don’t go into care for the money, the reward comes from job satisfaction and helping people to stay at home. We go into the colleges to talk to students about health and social care and often students are unaware of the career opportunities open to them. There are so many different avenues out there.
How does CareLineLive’s technology help you in your role?
We’ve been using the system for 18 months. We were using two different systems before CareLineLive and having everything in one system really benefits the company. I’m very much the techy one here so I like to go into CareLineLive and have a play. My moto is ‘You can’t break it, you can undo it, so go in and have a play around and see what you can do’. I love the reports and we use them a lot to get the data that we need for Hampshire County Council. We can monitor supervisions, appraisals and spot checks and run reports for evidencing to CQC.
We have also created our own form templates which are exactly how I want them and it’s great that I can now uploaded them directly to the client and carer documents. We use the assessment feature now because there all available and can be completed on a tablet, it’s all done in the property, it saves us lots of time.
How do you switch off after a hard day at work?
I love spending time with my family. I have two little granddaughters one is 3 years old and the other aged 1 and I also have my daughter living with me. It’s nice to go home and switch off, I like to relax and watch TV.
