Opinion
How staff empowerment improves care delivery
Avnish Goyal, managing director of Hallmark Care Homes and chair of Care England, discusses the role of personal development in empowering staff teams to reach their full potential, while providing the best possible care to elderly residents
There are many ways of empowering your staff. We run motivational seminars because we understand the benefits that come from investing in this type of resource. These include: more productive employees; a more engaged workforce who feel listened to and appreciated; improved customer service; and a decrease in staff turnover. This news is not new, but with an average staff turnover rate of 27 per cent in the social care sector, which is nearly twice the average for other professions, the question remains, why is employee
empowerment being dismissed rather than taken seriously?
I have been a strong believer in personal development since 1991 when I first attended a motivational seminar run by American author and life coach Tony Robbins. Since 2015 when we ran our first empowerment seminar, empowerment has become a part of everyday life. In 2016, employee retention among those who attended the seminars improved by nine per cent, saving us nearly £24,000 as a business, and it has been instrumental in our
Ipswich care home, which became the first of our homes to be rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The empowerment days we organised were so impactful for the care team at Bucklesham Grange that is was praised in a recent CQC report, which stated: “These measures had contributed to a highly motivated and passionate workforce that felt respected and valued.”
Realising potential Two years on, we have run 17 empowerment seminars for team members, with between 100 and 300 people attending each event. We decided to run these seminars because people who work in the care sector are often so busy looking after others that they forget to look after themselves. Also, if you look after your team members and encourage them to realise their potential, they are more likely to deliver great care to residents.
Empowerment activities trainer, Tosin Ogunnusi, leads a recent fire walk 32
Our seminars are aimed at everyone, from kitchen assistants to carers and directors, and we encourage managers to attend so that they understand any limited beliefs and aspirations that individuals might have and can be better leaders, supporting them to reach their goals. After all, if you want your team to realise their potential and be outstanding, you as a manager have to understand what is holding them back and encourage them to make changes. Each of the seminars provides an overview of our company history and vision, including the importance of applying the ‘Four Fish’ principles to your working life - ‘be there’, ‘play’, ‘make their day’ and ‘choose your attitude’. According to coach Jo Davidson, the story of the ‘Blue Cow’, as seen on television channel CBeebies, encourages team members to follow their dreams, do their best, ignore negativity and go that extra mile to be optimistic in their
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • January 2018
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