What is it?

This research was conducted by Skills for Care and explores what adult social care employers with a turnover rate of less than 10% do, that they feel contributes to the success of their recruitment and retention.

They found that the things that make a difference don't necessarily cost organisations more, but can have a positive impact on their recruitment and retention. Participants said that investing in staff development, offering good rates of pay and working conditions, and developing a positive culture were some of the best ways to attract candidates.

They also rated values and behaviours the most important thing to look for when selecting staff, more so than prior experience and qualifications. Conducting values-based interviews, offering work experience, including people who need care and support in recruitment and engaging with local pre-employment initiatives are some of the ways employers can get the right people into their roles.

Some of the best ways to keep the right people are to invest in learning and development, embedding values and behaviours, celebrating achievements, paying above minimum and local wage rates and involving staff in decision making.

They also spoke to individual employers (people who employ their own personal assistants using a direct payment, personal health budget or their own money) about what worked well for them.

Why do it?

Adult social care employers face challenges to recruit and retain staff who have the right values and skills to deliver high quality care and support. However there is no single solution to these challenges given the variation across the country.

This research shares ideas on good practice that other adult social care organisations can learn from. It can give you ideas about how you can attract, recruit and keep the right workers for your organisation.

Cost:

The research is free to download. You can also download an executive summary and overview infographic.

How to take forward:

Download the research report, executive summary and overview infographic from www.skillsforcare.org.uk/recruitmentandretention.

Updated: September 2019