Workforce stagnation – a global crisis
Globally recruitment and retention in health and social care is in crisis. Of course this is commonly known and experienced on a daily basis in the UK. However, our ongoing research and recent launch in Australia has highlighted startling similarities in the recruitment and retention of health and social care workers across the industry there too. With the World Economic Forum reporting (January 2023), that by 2030 there will be an estimated shortfall of 10 million healthcare workers worldwide, indicating that urgent and innovative action to facilitate workforce recovery is critical.
There are many factors that impact on recruitment and retention with some service providers facing persistent challenges related to care staff lacking access to transportation, candidates holding a pessimistic view of job prospects and upskilling and training in the sector, coupled with low pay and irregular working hours. All of which exacerbate the already unstable workforce.
In terms of training and upskilling, Skills for Care reports that care workers with more training had lower turnover rates. Turnover rates for those with one instance of training was 35.1%, but decreased to 25.9% for those with over 30 instances, indicating the positive impact of continued staff training has on retention rates.
Health and social care – an attractive option?
From personal experience, I believe that a career in health and social care is truly exceptional. The field offers abundant opportunities, with a clear demand for talented individuals significantly surpassing the available supply. Career progression is notably swift for some candidates, including those without the usual formal qualifications, once they acquire some experience and industry specific qualifications. This progression can lead to various roles, including management positions.
Unlike some industries known for competitiveness, the health and social care sector stands out for the genuine care and support people show towards each other. However, it is important to acknowledge that this sector is not without its challenges. Despite not being a walk in the park, it remains a genuine, down-to-earth industry that offers immense fulfilment and rewards.
At CareLineLive our comprehensive research into recruitment and retention for our e-Book, Home Care Business 101: Setting Up For Success and more recently CareLineLive’s State of the Home Care Sector Survey has given us some interesting insights into how some providers are managing to retain a happy and loyal workforce whilst others are struggling to recruit.
Innovation in social care
The health and social care sector plays a crucial role in proactively showcasing the benefits of choosing a career in this field to a younger audience. The sector offers a diverse range of career opportunities, along with multiple avenues for career growth, enhancing expertise and broadening work experience. For service providers, enhanced skills and opportunities translate to improved service delivery, higher staff retention rates and a positive service user experience.
Providers must prioritise thinking innovatively when it comes to career progression and opportunities. These aspects should take centre stage not only within staff development strategies but also in business development strategies, as they are closely intertwined. The vast array of career opportunities within health and social care underscores the importance of this approach. You can find out about the numerous opportunities across social care here.
Getting behind career opportunities in home care
Far from playing devil’s advocate we do need to look close to home to begin to address what for many home care providers is a never-ending to cycle of recruitment and frankly, for many employees a continual cycle of jobs which don’t evolve into what they hoped.
Whilst this scale is avoidable there will always be a percentage of care workers that move on to other sectors. In my experience although recruitment cycles are a reality, it is certainly the case that they should be minimal. Being focused on building strong and genuine relationships, continual professional development and the well-being of teams is intrinsic to success.
Regardless of the starting point, there will always be a path for progression and development. Progression does not solely entail moving upwards; it can also involve transitioning sideways into a different field or shifting to another sector, such as moving from home care to working with learning disability clients. Moving up the career ladder will likely result in increased responsibilities for the employee. In both scenarios, acquiring new skills and knowledge is essential, along with the possibility of obtaining specialised qualifications in the respective area. Our Star Carer Award shows just how many carers move up the career ladder and others who side step into social care from other industries.
Qualifications
There are a staggering 50 vocational qualifications for those working in social care which offer choice for those pursuing training and specialist skills. These are available at a variety of levels. Routes include apprenticeships and studying while working.
Various roles, such as care assistant or support worker, require acquiring fundamental knowledge by completing standardised qualifications. This includes certifications like the Care Certificate and the Level 2 Diploma in Care. Upon successful attainment, employees can progress into diverse roles by undergoing specialised training and pursuing advanced formal qualifications for example, starting with the Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care, opening up a world of opportunities.
Upon attaining formal and mandatory qualifications, numerous pathways open up for progression into higher-ranking positions. To find out more about available qualifications see here.
Funding – Workforce Development Fund
The Workforce Development Fund (WDF) is a funding stream allocated by the Department of Health and Social Care, accessed through Skills for Care within the adult social care sector in England.. Organisations seeking funding must operate an adult social care service and have direct employment of paid care staff in England. Specifically, the WDF can be utilised to bolster the growth of individuals recruited internationally and those employed under a Health and Social Care Visa.
You can see the WDF infographic here which shows the statistics of who claimed the money from the Workforce Development Fund in 2023-24 and what they claimed for.
An independent evaluation of the funding found that employers who contributed to the evaluation said that the quality of care they provide has improved as a direct consequence of the Workforce Development Fund.
Employers also reported that they can more effectively meet the specialist or personalised needs of the people who receive their care and support, that the Workforce Development Fund has helped them to address skills gaps and that staff morale has improved.
Ensuring that your staff have appropriate and meaningful opportunities for continuous professional development is crucial. This not only promotes longevity in their roles but also allows employees to feel that they are a valuable asset and appreciated. Ensure that supervisions and appraisals are fruitful, providing employees with the chance to express their progress in their current roles and their vision for future role development.
If you say you’re going to do something, do it!
Experience has taught me that highlighting and acting on agreed personal development tasks promptly is crucial. This should be done through a process that is directly tied to the employee, their personal development plan, and, of course, monitoring the progress or status of agreed-upon goals.
Career progression examples
Kat Nicholls: A journey of career progression in care management
Kat Nicholls, Delta Care
CareLineLive user, Kat Nicholls, registered manager for three domiciliary care branches at Delta Care Ltd based in the North West, shares the story of her personal career journey.
I started my role as a care worker in 1995, I was working in a Nursing home, I became fascinated with how I could improve choice and patient care. All of our clients had dementia or brain injuries, and within 3 years I was a senior carer. I had completed my Level 2 and 3 NVQ and become an assessor, and was now supporting my colleagues to achieve their qualifications.
At the age of 24, the home registered as a residential home, and I was offered the position of unit manager for the Dementia units, this was an amazing role, where I worked hard to develop care planning that acknowledged mental capacity and how we could include decision-making techniques in service user care plans.
From this role I moved on in 2009, to work as an assessor for health and social care, and progresses to work as a lecturer and trainer for almost a decade.
In 2019 I came to work at Delta Care as a registered manager, where I am now the registered manager for three domiciliary care branches. We have taken great pride in developing our teams internally, in the five and a half years that I have been here we have seen the following career developments:
Care coordinator to deputy manager across my three branches. This was a natural progression, as my care coordinator was always destined to manage teams, and when the pathway develops further she will absolutely become a registered manager.
We have a carer that I have identified as having amazing skills in care planning and rostering, we have helped her develop these skills and advanced her career to care coordinator, her skills were acknowledged by CareLineLive’s Star Carer award when she demonstrated her translation skills in to Arabic for our clients.
We have, like many companies, taken a sponsorship licence, Adam was very particular about who he hired, our Blackpool branch has managed to progress two of our sponsored staff to positions of assessment officers, they have wonderful knowledge as they are qualified as pharmacists and a doctor, which has assisted in many elements of the role of assessment officer.
Progression is led by the staff really, if they are happy providing face to face care out in the field, we can support them to grow in knowledge and specialise in high dependency work, we have some staff who want to share knowledge and we support that development with train the trainer style courses, allowing them to upskill and enjoy a new element to their role, if they are like I was, and hungry to learn, develop and make change then that pathways is always open to them.
From Carer to Care Ambassador: Nicola’s Inspiring Journey with Wright Care at Home
Samantha Davis-Wright, Wright Care At Home
Samantha Davis-Wright founder and nominated individual at Wright Care at Home (Stamford) shared the story of Nicola, from carer to care ambassador and beyond.
Nicola joined me as a part time carer looking for a role to fit around school hours! She had such a calling for care and with lots of mentoring and training individualised to her, quickly flourished into a fully fledged full time carer.
Nicola oozes compassion and dedication to her role and also fundamentally believes in our values. With support and ongoing training she has fast become instrumental to us. Nicola is now a full time care ambassador where she mentors others coming into the role, carries out support checks and monitors quality assurance. She has become part of the care planning teams and the out of hours support.
Nicola had a real passion for end of life care and we placed her on an end of life trainer course. She now trains end of life care to our teams and also has enhanced this with a rapid response team. Nicola is a shining example of how with the right support and leadership you can create the next managers in home care.
Scenario – Establishing workforce succession planning for growth
Susannah is a senior carer and seems to be happy and is doing well in her role. Her yearly appraisal is due in the next few weeks and a date agreed. Susannah’s manager Reba, has been observing and mentoring Susannah’s work and interactions throughout the year and has decided that she is ready to take the next step up into junior management, if this is her wish. Having gained her mandatory and basic qualifications and additionally a Level 3 qualification in Adult Care, Reba feels that Susannah is well on her way to becoming a deputy manager with a view to registered manager in the future.
At the appraisal Susannah and Reba talk through the options, is this where Susannah see’s her career heading? Is this something that she has seriously considered? Are there any other avenues that Susannah would like to explore? They discuss the pathway including commitment to study for a Level 4 Diploma in Adult Care and subsequently Level 5 in Leadership Management for Adult Care. Susannah would study a wide range of modules including:
- Leadership and management
- Governance and regulatory processes
- Communication
- Relationships and partnership working
- Person-centred practice for positive outcomes
- Professional development, supervision and performance management
- Resources
- Safeguarding, protection and risk
- Manage self
- Decision-making
- Entrepreneurial skills and innovation
Success hinges not just on Susannah’s determination and focus, but also on Reba’s dedication as her mentor and unwavering support throughout Susannah’s journey. Susannah has reached a positive decision following discussions with her partner and family regarding her time commitments. She is excited about the opportunity to advance in her career.
The benefits of continual professional development
Continuous professional development, effective supervisions, and appraisals play a vital role in staff retention and morale. Succession planning and career advancement opportunities, such as Susannah’s transition to a management role, are crucial for enhancing retention, business growth, service excellence in the industry.
A recent initiative launched by CareLineLive is the Home Care Hero Award, designed to recognise the significant contributions and progress of individuals working in home care. This award is open not only to carers but to any team member who positively impacts your service.
For more insights on how CareLineLive can support in monitoring staff and clients, and how technology can boost business efficiencies, please follow this link.
