There are a number of different ways that organisations can actively improve their workforce retention rates. These range from very small initiatives to bigger cultural changes. To get you started, our top tips are:

• Offer positive reinforcement where an employee has done well, this sounds obvious but can easily be over looked by busy managers and care co-ordinators;
• Look into tax incentives for your workforce, this can be a good way of cutting costs and rewarding workers;
• The role of a homecare worker can be lonely and stressful, try organising occasional social events to bring careworkers together and make sure to offer regular supervision;
• Make sure you recruit the right people, who will stay with your organisation for a good length of time. Try reaching out beyond internet job boards and advertise via other (sometimes more old-fashioned) mediums like local newspapers or noticeboards;
• Think about training and development, for example registered managers could use information on best practice from elsewhere to support them as managers; or
• When staff do leave make sure you conduct thorough exit interviews, this can help gauge key causes should you have a retention issue.

A recruitment masterclass from Neil Eastwood at Sticky People, who shares his experience of recruiting and retaining homecare staff and what works (this resource is free to UKHCA members)

Make sure you know the employment status of your careworkers to avoid any legal pitfall (this resource is free to UKHCA members)

Younger workers can often be an under used resource, this guidance explains the regulators position on employing people aged 16 or 17 years (this resource is free to UKHCA members)

This article from Homecarer Magazine explains tax incentives that employers in the homecare sector may make use of (this resource is free to UKHCA members)

UKHCA offers country-wide training courses for both recruitment and retention