Recruitment And Retention In Care: Why The Need To Innovate Has Never Been Greater

By Rebecca Pearson, General Manager, Bupa Care Services, Bupa Global & UK (https://www bupa co uk/care - services)

In our business, our people are at the heart of everything we do We look after some of the most vulnerable members of our society requiring a strong workforce of committed caring people In our post-pandemic world a hot labour market coupled with rising living costs means that the recruitment challenge is fierce

There are many ways that we as care providers can innovate to attract and retain talented people

This can range from introducing new technologies that ease pressure on frontline teams driving engagement to creating pathways for long-lasting careers and welcoming those with transferable skills into the care sector

As providers we need to be forward-looking and welcome the use of technology to innovate It s the future of care Digital solutions have the potential to transform the way care is provided which can also drive job satisfaction We know that caring is a passion for people in our sector so it’s up to us to provide tools that enable them to spend more time with residents; whether through electronic care records to help reduce paperwork digitising our compliance processes, or piloting the latest dementia memory apps and games

Retaining talented people is key We know that engaged employees stay with their employer longer so boosting engagement should be in every employer’s workforce strategy Where providers have a network of homes a disparate workforce can be seen as a barrier to engagement However technology can step in and help

A highly interactive intranet can go a long way to drive engagement, incentivising teams to get involved

Gone are the days of top-down only company updates; a social media-style intranet can be used as a living breathing hub where people can share ideas gain recognition and crowd-source solutions It’s a key pillar of our strategy to increase engagement at Bupa Care Services and since the launch of our site we’ve seen participation rising week by week

To help people stay committed to a career in care employers also need to think how to deliver career progression We know our people want to gain new skills so we partner with the Open University to deliver training programmes and apprenticeships, and support talented people from overseas to achieve their UK Nurse PIN

It’s also important to support our people in staying healthy and happy at work In recent years we’ve gained an in depth understanding of the impact of mental and physical ill-health at work and employers now more than ever need to support their people In fact the latest Bupa Wellbeing Index data shows that a third of employees (33%) believe their employers have a responsibility to support their health and wellbeing and more than half (53%) say they are more likely to choose to work for an organisation which offers good health and wellbeing benefits

At Bupa Care Services our people told us that they wanted more support with their physical and mental health at a time that worked around their shifts, so we’ve worked with the wider business to provide physiotherapy and mental health support as well as GP and nurse helpline access available around the clock

Technology is also key to finding innovative ways to target underrepresented groups For example highly targeted social media advertising can be a valuable tool to entice people from hospitality retail and other sectors while TikTok can also be used to showcase life in a care home to target younger people

Ultimately, we know that we re not alone in facing workforce challenges, and some changes will need to be made at a government level But the sector has a lot to offer and through driving innovation within our own networks we help both our people and potential employees see these opportunities and grow long lasting careers with us