Drawing on recent care home staff research, wellbeing charity HWLincs has created care home staff recruitment and retention strategies to put into place between March and May 2022.

Care homes that are currently or will soon be recruiting can get free assistance with video tours for applicants, advert revamps, free staff training, staff wellbeing funds and more.

The study is part of HWLincs’ Care Home Recruitment and Retention work as part of the government Communities Renewal Fund. Surveying more than 50 care home staff and applicants, HWLincs found that 97 percent of staff said helping others was their motivation to work in the care sector. However, only 26 per cent believed their work was appreciated. 

A care home recruitment study by HWLincs has found three quarters of the county’s private care home staff feel swamped by their workload and undervalued by management.

Speaking to people who have recently left care home jobs, it was revealed almost three quarters said heavy workload and a negative impact on personal wellbeing were their main reasons for leaving the sector. 

HWLincs spoke to current care staff, applicants and management in Lincolnshire to get a picture of the workforce as it stands and the challenges the sector faces. This research is part of the charity’s successful bid from the UK Government Community Renewal Fund with support from Lincolnshire County Council and the Lincolnshire Care Association (LinCA).

Hannah Darley from HWLincs said, “We have gathered first-hand experience of what being employed in the Lincolnshire Care Home sector is like.  

“From our findings we know one of the biggest barriers to recruitment and progression is pay, but what we also noted is feeling undervalued, workload and level of responsibility for the job has an enormous impact too. These factors are being built into the interventions.” 

Care homes in the Boston and East Lindsey region are eligible to try the solutions created by HWLincs for free.  

It is hoped that these interventions and ideas, which cover the entire process from the job advert through to recommendations for inductions and training, will improve the retention and staff satisfaction in an industry that requires dedicated people to work incredibly hard in sometimes challenging circumstances. 

HWLincs contract and project officer Tom Cassidy said, “The next stage is to test the knowledge we have gained, and we are inviting care homes to get involved and take advantage of this opportunity to try new ideas. 

“This will be everything from custom-made recruitment adverts to live streamed recruitment sessions, recruitment days and targeting college leaver campaigns.  

“We’re aware that pay levels will be a key issue and will flag this at both local and national level. Staff in the Lincolnshire care sector are highly valued and this pledge by local care home providers to acknowledging their value through recruitment goes some way to recognising this.” 

The interventions run between March 2022 and May 2022.  

For more information please contact Tom at tom@hwlincs.co.uk or call 01205 890892. 

The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fundprospectus