As a care home manager, you’re responsible for your staff as well as your residents, and nurturing your care team should be a high priority.
Happy staff change the atmosphere in a care home for the better – plus they’re more likely to stay with you. Ultimately, happier team members provide better care to your patients, and that’s what we all want.
Find out what you can do as a manager to keep your care staff content. Here are our top tips on how you can boost morale and happiness in your care home.
Provide up-to-date training
Most care assistants are keen on personal and professional development opportunities. Up-to-date training can help staff work towards their career goals, better understand their roles in your home and fulfil their care responsibilities.
Regular training means that staff feel they can do their jobs properly and provide residents with the best care possible. This can reduce some of the stress care assistants experience, especially when they’re new. Quality training will be reflected in the care given to patients.
Make sure you introduce new staff members to residents during induction training. This will help both the care assistant and the patient feel more familiar with each other, making your staff member’s life that little bit easier.
Try keeping a record of staff training to monitor achievements and track who might need a refresher in certain areas.
Communicate and ask for feedback
Communication is a key part of keeping staff happy. Be approachable and open to a chat, and encourage care assistants to come to you as and when they need to.
Organise regular face-to-face meetings with your team to share information. You can also use this as a chance to exchange feedback, discuss work and offer help to see if there’s anything you can do as a manager to make staff members’ lives easier.
One-to-ones also encourage communication. Ask your staff member for feedback, and always ask if there’s anything else you can do to help them succeed.
Often, care assistants can feel underappreciated. Recognising and praising achievements, no matter how big or small they are, is a crucial part of maintaining staff morale. Don’t forget to give positive feedback and emphasise how important accomplishments are.
Don’t forget to communicate when it comes to patient care, either. Make sure resident care plans are easy to find so that staff can make sure they’re being followed. When care plans get updated, let team members know promptly.
This will help care assistants feel included in professional decisions and actively involved in the care their patients receive.
Be flexible with rotas and scheduling
Organising rotas that suit everyone can be difficult for both you and your staff, but it’s important to create schedules that work for your care assistants. Try to be flexible with rotas and be understanding about last-minute changes due to sickness.
Often, care assistants don’t have enough time to take toilet or food breaks. Take this into consideration and create time for your staff to have several comfort breaks during their shifts. This will help them unwind and relax, so they’re ready to care for their next patient with refreshed energy and enthusiasm.
Encourage your team to take their statutory holiday and comfort breaks to make sure they’re well rested and have a good work-life balance. Well-rested staff are more productive as well as happier.
Finally, respect days off: don’t try to talk about work-related things when your staff aren’t working. Let them refresh and unwind on their days off, and wait to discuss things until they’re back at work. It’s important to show that you value their time off.
Organise social events
Set up social events where you and your care staff can spend time together outside of work.
These could include team lunches, casual drinks, or activities, like bowling or quizzes. Out-of-work socialising is a fun, effective way to create a bond between you and your team and boost morale.
Check in on your staff
Regularly check in with your care staff to make sure happiness levels remain high. Ask them to tell you if they’re worried about anything at work, and always take concerns seriously.
One of the best ways to gather feedback is to set up a quarterly anonymous survey. Ask open-ended questions that encourage dialogue, and ask for suggestions about ways you can reduce stress at work.
If you receive feedback, make sure you take it seriously – and create a workable action plan to show that you support your care team.
Use Florence to make your life simpler
Last but not least, you can use Florence to manage your shifts and make life easier for you and your team. Florence can help simplify your role as a care home manager by helping you:
- Fill shifts with your own staff first, maximising your resources.
- Post shifts you’ve not been able to fill to a pool of 90,000+ care assistants, nurses and support workers.
- Cut agency spending with no hidden fees.
- Train staff easily with 70+ CPD-accredited courses on Florence Academy.
You’ll also get support from a friendly team whenever you need it.
When staff know their schedules well in advance, they tend to feel happier and more organised. And with Florence on your side, you won’t have to worry about finding coverage when team members call in sick.
For a full list of Florence benefits, click here.
Happier staff, happier care home
Having a happy team of care assistants is an important way to reduce staff turnover. Staff with a positive attitude are better at delivering excellent care to patients, helping your care home be the best it can be.
Hundreds of care homes use us to cut costs, fill temporary shifts and hire permanent nurses, care assistants and support workers. Ready to join them? Click here to book a demo today.
You might also be interested in:
- Funding for care homes: grants, loans and other helpful options
- Staffing at your care home: 10 reasons to choose Florence
- Florence becomes founding partner of Championing Social Care
