Care Talk Magazine - Survival of the Fittest

Working in social care isn’t just a job like many people outside of the industry think, it is a great place for career development, making friends and above all supporting people with their health and wellbeing. Sadly the role has not been seen as a profession by many members of the public and government officials for many years until we entered the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic where we saw on a weekly basis thousands of people, including government officials standing outside their front doors clapping for care workers and for the first time in my fifteen year career within social care had I seen care workers getting the recognition they deserved. 

Entering 2021 we need to capitalise whilst we can to ensure social care and its workforce do not slip backwards and continue to be recognised and valued and to be put on an equal footing with the NHS.

I believe that the government needs not only to reform social care but to also invest more money sooner into local authorities to ensure that they can cascade further funding to care services and frontline staff to firstly increase their pay rate and have a pay scale that reflects the skilled professionals that they are. I also believe that one of the main ways forward is to ensure that care workers in England join their counterparts in the rest of the United Kingdom and are registered. It is firmly believed by many in the industry and backed by a report from the Department of Health in Northern Ireland (Evaluation of the Roll Out of Registration to the Social Care Workforce in Northern Ireland - Evaluation Report - January 2019 | Department of Health (health-ni.gov.uk) that registration leads to an improvement in the quality of care being given and staff feeling more confident within their roles. I believe that a care worker registration would also ensure that the industry is employing qualified and skilled staff and not someone who wants just a job. From outside of the industry a registration would reflect that the care industry is a profession and the staff working within it are professional and skilled.

During the COVID-19 pandemic social care has seen an increase in employment for social care staff due to redundancies in other industries and we need to ensure that we are providing these new employees with the training and skills to do the work expected of them. I believe that creating a culture of motivation and retention in these challenging times will help care services to not just survive but thrive. As a registered manager, I am passionate about finding out about the goals both on a personal and career level of my staff team to help support them to grow and achieve these. I have embedded a culture of support and motivation but also recognise and award when goals are achieved. I have found that by supporting staff to achieve goals, providing them with a solid career pathway and supporting them throughout leads to good retention levels, staff feeling motivated and valued and less likely to seek employment elsewhere. There are some staff who are happy within their current roles and do not want to progress and it is important that as social care leaders we acknowledge this but also ensure that we create an environment that inspires these and other staff to engage in the organisation to continue growing and adapting to meet the needs of the individuals we support and to create a staff team that feel embedded into the company values and part of the organisation.

I believe that maintaining a positive attitude is key within care services and the mood of a care home can easily be changed with one negative thought/action. During the pandemic this has been key for staff morale and mental health and I have ensured that I have communicated changes effectively but also honestly to create a service that is motivational and adaptable to change. It is essential to support mental health and wellbeing of staff and to support them through anxieties and worries and signposting staff is key but following up with them and touching base makes staff feel valued, listened to and cared for. At the end of the day, we should be caring for our staff just as we care for those using our care services.

Mark Topps

"Creating a culture of motivation and retention helps care services to thrive"