Recruitment and Retention: With Bells & Whistles
The secret to success of any small business are their people. Our mantra, at Abbots Care has always been “find good people, pay them well, value them, offer endless training and learning opportunities, offer progression, and then never let them leave”.
The market in 1995, when we started Abbots Care, was a lot kinder to Care Providers and this mantra worked. Good people were in abundance and we could fish from an endless pool of brilliant care workers and we choose the best of the bunch – some are still with us now.
Fast forward 23 years and the abundant pool has run a bit dry and doesn’t seem to be as attractive to many good people these days. The good people have a choice of 90 000 care jobs in the UK every day.
Add to this the negative press that the Home Care industry receives, society’s perception that caring for your relatives isn’t held as valuable job and the dry pool has become a desert.
So, what did we do to keep building our workforce in this challenging environment? We do exactly the same as we have always done ………. but with bells and whistles!
Find good people – Using new technologies, a team of recruiters lead by a Talent Manager with a with a clear Talent Strategy Program
Pay them well – Only take on the work that allows you to pay as much as you can to your good people
Endless Training and learning opportunities – Keep them engaged in Training opportunities and continuous learning and self-development
Progression – Offer clear career pathways
Never let them leave – Building a customer services team dedicated to solving and supporting their problems, a retention bonus and creating flexible working patterns to suit
Value them – Always, say well done, thank you and how can we support you? And here is your performance bonus
Retention was less than 1.5% last quarter and we recruited and retained 45 new Care Workers within our Hertfordshire region.
We are continuously improving and were delighted to receive a letter from one of our Care team expressing their thanks. It was very much appreciated.
Dear Camille and Mentors,
Just a little note to say that I was delighted to receive your letter regarding the bonus I received and how some carers go that extra mile.
I would just like to say that if it wasn’t for the training and advice given to me by Abbots Care, I wouldn’t be writing this note now.
So, I would like to thank all staff at Abbots Care. I really appreciate all you do for us carers.
Thanks
Abbots Care, Employee
Camille Leavold
Managing Director of Abbots Care