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How to support a positive workplace

We hear from Jessica Dunn, Administration Manager at Katherine Harriet Ltd, about how they create a positive workplace that retains staff.

Culture is a critical aspect of retaining staff. Without a culture that priorities positivity, progress, transparency and recognition of its staff, we wouldn’t be the successful care organisation with the excellent team that we are today.

I wanted to explore some of the ways in which our organisation has fostered this culture and how it has helped us retain a team of capable and effective carers.

One of the things that I believe makes us different is that we celebrate the individual achievements and milestones of our team members. This is a crucial part of why our staff typically remain so satisfied in their role. We celebrate regular occurrences, like birthdays or life events, but also take time to focus on job related achievements too.

Each month, we collect feedback from those being supported and from team members and use the information to give a star award to one or two of our staff, highlighting their good work in that month. We also run quarterly events where staff are recognised for their work across that period and send out a monthly newsletter.

Understanding the diverse nature of our team is also important. Our team is made up of people from various backgrounds, ethnicities and ages – we have staff between 18 and 72 years of age. Ensuring they feel equal, included, and respected is very important to us, while making sure we recognise their uniqueness and preferences. We have a dedicated equality diversity and inclusion (EDI) champion who is constantly striving to make sure these values are upheld and acts as first contact for EDI issues. We also offer EDI training to each new member of staff as part of their induction process.

We’re very keen on having our senior leadership team act as an example for each member of staff, embodying the values of the organisation – our stated values are ‘trusted, reliable and caring’. These are the values we operate by in our relationships with those we support and our colleagues.

Our senior leadership team is also critical in making sure that our culture remains communicative and open. We have an open-door policy where anyone can contact us and discuss any issues they have relating to their job, colleagues, or people they support. We have anonymous feedback forms that are available in our offices, and we take a yearly staff survey to gather further information. We also have an active WhatsApp group that allows the team to get answers to their questions quickly. All feedback is actioned by leadership to ensure continuous improvement.

We like to have an active interest in the engagement of all our staff, making sure we are mindful of events and activities that may be occurring in their personal lives. We have a ‘TLC list’ which we update each Monday, it makes sure we are mindful any events that people have disclosed to us that may be putting them under additional pressure or causing distress. This ensures we have visibility of these issues across the senior leadership team and that we can adjust their work if needed to offer them additional support.

Having a progress-focused culture is another important part of our organisation. We believe it’s critical to be clear about routes for career progress available to all our staff and actively encourage them to pursue these routes, which is why during our regular one-to-one sessions with staff we outline the career pathways that can enable them to progress. This may include moving to a different role with additional responsibilities, engaging in some mentorship or various training opportunities.

In summary, our emphasis on fostering a positive, transparent, inclusive and progress-focused culture has been instrumental in retaining our team of dedicated carers. By celebrating individual achievements, prioritising diversity and inclusion, and promoting open communication, we've cultivated a space where staff feel valued and supported. Our senior leadership team leads by example, embodying our organisation's core values, acting on the regular feedback we receive and being flexible to accommodate our team's needs.

You’ll find plenty of useful and informative resources to support you in retaining your staff by visiting our #KeepTheRightPeople campaign hub.

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