The UK’s care recruitment crisis: what can be done?
Care recruitment and retention is now a major issue in the UK – and it’s a crisis that’s worsening rather than showing signs of improvement. There’s no straightforward solution or answer to this complex issue, but there are a few key areas where care providers both within the public and private sectors could work to improve outcomes and relieve staffing issues.
Better salaries and benefits
Despite the importance and difficulty involved in the role of care professionals, compensation is still typically low within the care sector compared with other industries. This reflects the continuing issues with staffing and pay within the NHS. The bottom line is that a good salary not only attracts a better quality of candidate – it also secures a longer-term commitment from someone who is invested in your company rather than temporary staff who feel the need to keep their options open and jump ship.
Costs are rising across the board and care providers are understandably reluctant to raise salaries significantly. But this isn’t confined to cost alone – many employees value lower-cost alternatives to pay rises which can be incorporated into their contracts to enhance their daily life and wellbeing in a meaningful way. This could include:
- Health insurance and other health-related benefits
- Regular wellbeing check-ins and activities
- Events, socials and away days
- Small gestures for workers families such as vouchers and discount tokens
- Flexible working patterns and reasonable understanding for those who require sick leave or need time off to support dependents
Making sure that employees feel valued and appreciated and offering them the opportunity to enjoy bonuses, career progression and funded training to help them to upskill is a smart approach to prioritise for care companies looking for an ‘edge’ which allows them to attract permanent, experienced staff.
Smoother recruitment processes
Every care company needs to have a carefully thought-out and well-structured recruitment process which begins with their vision, mission and values. Understanding and outlining your objectives and the type of people you are looking to welcome into your company is key before considering any candidates. List criteria that matter the most once the basic credentials are taken care of, and avoid adding too many steps which could unnecessarily slow down the onboarding process.
Most care companies are too busy to take on every aspect of their recruitment needs in-house, which is where partnerships with dedicated care recruitment agencies become key. Working together with trusted partners you can put together a quality team of care professionals and source additional supplementary staff where needed without taking resources away from your core activities.
Enhanced infrastructure
Many adults in care homes, accessing at-home care or occupying beds in hospital or space within the social system could be supported with different types of care provision. This is happening due to a chain of events which begins with lack of access to medical support and social care in the early stages of difficulty, poor focus on preventative healthcare and failure in the management of pre-existing conditions.
There’s no simple answer to this – and the responsibility of establishing a solution lies with the government, which currently shows no signs of bringing about the reforms urgently needed within the social care sector. But being aware of the challenges and the likelihood that the situation will worsen over time can help care providers to prepare and cope both now and in the future.
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