ROUND TABLE FUTURE PROOFING THE UK CARE SECTOR WORKFORCE

ROUND TABLE EVENT- FUTURE PROOFING THE UK CARE SECTOR WORKFORCE

Held at Aston University, hosted by Cohesion

On 30th January 2015 representatives from major Care organisations from around the country attended a roundtable event to discuss future-proofing the UK Care Sector workforce.

It's estimated that the adult Social Care sector in England alone will need an additional 1 million workers by 2025, yet the sector is struggling to evolve.

The event included representatives from organisations such as Turning Point, Guinness Trust and Helping Hands, as well as representatives from both Aston University, and Skills for Care.

Led by Amanda Marques, Director of Cohesion, attendees discussed a number of issues faced by the sector, including quality of staff, diversity, high turnover and dissemination in the sector.

, they have a skewed view. Annette Baines, Skills There are 27 different job roles i

for Care.

This supplement gives you the chance to read about the exciting PhD study that was launched at the event, issues that

were raised and some great advice on best practice in the industry.

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THE ATTENDEES Cohesion would like to thank all members of the organisations who

attended, without whom, the event would not have been possible

Collectively, the organisations present represented over 10,000 employees.

opened up different avenues and explored the difficulties we, as a sector,

some very interesting discussion

Very useful overall

TH

E LAUNCH OF A GROUND BREAKINGPhD STUDY

The roundtable saw the launch of a new PhD study Sector: A Longitudinal Study of Effectiveness in

.

Talking about the effect of the PhD study on the sector, Professor pressing need for this research we can make a

We are very excited to have partnered with an elite University, Aston Business School, and have funded a PhD student to carry out this insightful study that could change the face of recruitment in the sector.

This research will provide an evidence based, systematic and strategic recruitment toolkit for use by social care organisations.

THE SOCIAL CARE RECRUITMENT PhD STUDY

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION IN THE UK CARE SECTOR:

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS IN RESOURCING

METHODS AND PRACTICE

PUR POSE A Doctoral (PhD) research study to examine recruitment and selection in the UK Care Sector. The project is to be fully sponsored for by Cohesion.

BACKGROUND The UK care sector is growing and increasingly scrutinised in terms of the effectiveness and conduct of care workers. Businesses and organisations in the sector are therefore faced with the dual challenge of fast paced recruitment to meet business growth needs and turnover, alongside continual demand to improve quality of recruitment and selection.

TO DATE THERE EXISTS NO SPECIFIC STUDY OF EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT AND

SELECTION PRACTICE IN THE UK CARE SECTOR.

It is therefore timely to initiate such a research study, which will:

add research data to the recruitment, selection andassessment literatures from this important area ofpractice

result in specific and high-impact recommendationsfor practice of recruitment and selection in the sector.

JOHN BARRATT

About: John began his PhD examining recruitment and selection in the UK care sector in September 2014 at Aston University. Prior to commencing his PhD, John completed both his degree in Work Psychology and Business, and Undergraduate degree in Human Psychology at Aston University.

Event feedback: I really enjoyed the event greatly. It was great to

get the opportunity to be in a room with people so involved in the industry.

Following on from that I would love to see more

of those types of events going forward.

It provided me with the chance to hear their stories and get a real sense of what is going on and what they feel about the industry and its current situation. The sector needs more of those types of

Is the sector doing enough to recruit 1 million workers by 2025? The main challenge appears to be increasing the candidate pool size. This obviously

hinges on the sector ger people and others start to consider it as a realistic career choice.

PROFESSOR STEVE WOODS

About: Steve joined the Work and Organisational Psychology Group in 2007 as Lecturer and Course Director for MSc Courses in Work/Organisational Psychology and Business, and Organisational Behaviour. Steve is well known in the UK and internationally for his work on personality trait assessment and structure, publishing his work in peer-reviewed journals, books, and at conferences.

THE F ACES BEHIND OUR GROUND BR EAKING STUDY

Feedback on the PhD study: really important, timely, and critical research that will have real impact over the

THE ROUNDTABLE

The future of the Social Care sector is clouded by the seemingly insurmountable estimation of the need to recruit over 1 million workers by 2025.

Plagued by a number of challenges including low pay, high turnover, a disproportionate level of diversity, ignorance about career pathways and a negative image, raising the profile of Social Care is a critical issue

that needs to be addressed.

At the time of meeting, the organisations present had 1000 vacancies between them. This is a clear indicator of the already growing need for workers within the sector, and each of them identified that

recruitment and retention are major issues.

When considering the future of the sector, many turn to retention as the biggest problem. However, recruitment is important for growth and change within the sector- get recruitment right, and higher

retention rates will follow. That said, the issue of poor retention needs to be addressed.

65% OF ATTENDEES SAID THAT RECRUITMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN RETENTION

TURNOVER AND RETENTION

Across the sector, turnover is high. A number of organisations will settle for low quality workers because they need to fill shifts, they will run the risk of not being compliant and that is causing poor quality. Employers appreciate toolkits and the information and support given to promote

. You have to cons ider elements of the recruitment process, whether that be workforce planning, incentives packages, or even the quality of your managers- these all have an impact on retention. Recruiting the r ight staff results in lower turnover, but you have to get the recruitment part right- engage with candidates and employees as often as possible. If you can hold on to employees through that initial process you tend to have them for quite a few years. What it often comes down to is that workers don’t necessarily leave the care sector or the work- they leave within the first 6 weeks because what they are doing wasn’t explained earlier.

When recruiting, talk about career pathways as opposed to a lack of career opportunities. If you go out to the public and ask what social care is about, they have a skewed view. There are around 27

not understood by the general public. We need to go out and promote the sector and tell people about the different kinds of employers Annette Baines, Skills for Care

PEER NETWORKING This is a really important element of ensuring that staff stay for longer.

Having buddies and mentors

that they have a more positive experience when beginning in their new role.

If a number of new starters begin together then why not set up sessions where they can network? This has a positive impact on morale and could improve the retention of your staff.

“Immediacy of recruitment needs mean you just get someone in with the right skillset- values go out the window.”

UPSKILLING MANAGERS

A number of the organisations present talked about the importance of upskilling managers and giving them the tools to be a good leader. This improves the success of services and enhances career progression.

Your people are your greatest asset and investing in them will help your business grow. Thorough training programmes will close the skills gap and be beneficial for you and your employees.

Training improves organisational survival rates. According to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, organisations that do not invest in training in the Health sector are 1.3 times more likely to close compared to

those that do.

“The ‘grow your own’ approach works when it comes to managers. People from within the service can progress and become the most successful leaders.”

If workers internal to services become the best managers, then giving them the opportunity to develop and progress is paramount. It's also really important that we are promoting career pathways to those new to the sector, encouraging and aiding their development will improve retention as well as the consistency of care offered.

As a sector we need to compete with other industries and showcase the

Annette Baines, Skills for

Care

Engaging with local communities is integral to future-proofing the care sector workforce. Every possible resource must be used as a platform, this includes schools, colleges and universities as well as parishes and other niche groups.

Amongst those present, several said that there is no time or resource to begin building these relationships, but agreed that this could be detrimental to the success of the sector.

The job centre is also an underused resource- many organisations are not confident in the job

this is another partnership that needs to be nurtured and developed.

ENGAGING WITH SCHOOLS

AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES

“Work coaches at the job centres are great- we do a lot of work with them. Social Care clients have had bad experiences, but now we are getting out there and speaking to work coaches so that they have a sense of the role- it’s important to build these partnerships with work coaches, it really does make a difference and can mean the difference between a great hiring decision and a bad one.” Dave Beesley, Client Relationship Manager at Cohesion

CULTURE AND DIVERSITY

There are benefits to a diverse workforce, and I would absolutely promote

those benefits

Culture and diversity was a core focus of the event, not only in terms of attraction, but also the effect that it is having on some of the services managed by the organisations present.

All participants agreed that, in order to deliver great quality care, there should be a shared bond between the vulnerable person and their carer or support worker and that culture is an important

element of that.

The diversity of your workforce should be reflective of the diversity in your local

with most other sectors- older workers are more reliable, Dr Ann Davis, Aston University

Have you thought about attracting older people to the sector? Recently many of us have been asking “How can we attract a younger demographic?” and whilst it is pertinent to ask this question, we also need to consider ‘fuller working life’ options (a badge applied to the over 50 workforce).

Many organisations are looking to recruit an older demographic and are reaching out to those over 50. Some of the organisations present said that they had groups of people who had retired and wanted to come back to work.

When looking, not only to the future, but also concentrating on the current skills shortage, we should be considering this demographic.

There is a lot of negativity in the press about zero hour contracts, but spin that around- these types of contract can be more suitable for older workers who don’t want full-time hours.

“Yes, we do recruit zero hour contracts, and yes, we believe that they are beneficial to certain types of people. They aren’t for everyone, but some people like that flexibility.” Mandy Glover, Director of Social at Cohesion

Not only is it important to begin thinking about recruiting older people- have you considered reaching out to disabled candidates?

It was agreed, at the event, that this a massively underrepresented group within the sector and that more should be being done to engage disabled workers.

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER

Inevitably there is a lot of competition across the sector, but organisations should be sharing workers and experiences in order to grow. One of the organisations present noted that they were attracting a

surplus of male candidates- in this case it seems appropriate that they may refer the candidate to another service or organisation.

Sharing surplus talent with other organisations might reap reciprocal gains and is certainly a step in the right direction. For example, a candidate with the right values may not have the desired work experience but may be suitable for a different role elsewhere- refer them! This will build strategic relationships and

could be the beginning of a wider network that shares talent. If this becomes something which is widely known and shared, it is also great for your employer brand.

“We need a national talent pipeline- organisations must come together to help to grow the sector.” Annette Baines, Skills for Care

“At Cohesion we house talent pools- a place for candidates who display the right values and have great experience but either weren’t quite right for a certain role

or missed out on a job offer to another candidate.”

Mandy Glover, Director of Social Care at Cohesion

PASSIVE CANDIDATES These are candidates who would not consider working in care or are not actively looking at the opportunities the sector has to offer.

There is a lot of negative press surrounding the sector and a number of people who would never consider joining the workforce. However, engaging with passive candidates is extremely important.

This can be done in a number of ways, including:

REFERRALS

One representative from a Social Care organisation explained the importance of referrals and how great their impact can be.

“35% of our new employees are referrals- our current employees speak out about their jobs, what they do is very different to public perception.

“We make it competitive and our referral scheme really works.”

Encouraging passive candidates to consider a career in care, we need to promote the sector.

I CARE… AMBASSADORS

Skills for Care run a great initiative: ‘I Care… Ambassadors’. This gives people the opportunity to talk to someone who works as a care worker.

These ambassadors talk about their experiences and help to create an honest perspective of what to expect from working in the sector.

You can find out more about this initiative on the Skills for Care website by following this link: http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Finding-and-keeping-workers/I-CareAmbassadors/

EMPLOYE E ENGAGEMENT

“Some organisations don’t give employee feedback or use any kind of appraisal scheme”

Employee engagement is hugely important on many levels- not only is it vital in ensuring you retain top talent- it also means that you know more about your business and the people who form it. This can be done through appraisals,

employee engagement surveys and even exit and retention interviews.

“People on the ground know what’s going wrong and may be able to help you address issues. Having a good relationship with them can give you strong indicators as to what morale is like and why- it gives transparency.”

Building professional relationships with employees where there is trust will ensure you have a better chance of understanding them, the work they are doing and anything that they are concerned about.

Some of the organisations present questioned how to actually engage with employees and how to encourage them to complete surveys and give feedback. If this is an issue then retention or ‘stay’ interviews may be useful. You can

outsource these interviews in order to gain true and meaningful feedback about your workforce.

The significant impact we make on our clients means they can focus on growing their business, safe in the knowledge that they can recruit the people they need, when they need them.

www.cohesionrecruitment.com For more info call Lee now on 0121 713 6956

YOU CARE, BUT DO YOU HAVE TIME? COHESION SPECIALISE INVALUES-BASED RECRUITMENT. We work in partnership with Social Care businesses to recruit great people who stay longer.