Things That Help Our size helps us: Big enough to offer security and opportunity Small enough to know everyone, for senior management to be visible and to be able to respond quickly CQC Report Purple Balm Training Ltd

Why Do People Choose Care Work? Meaningful Work, I can make a difference Fits with Lifestyle Personal Experience of Caring for Family or Friends Degree of Autonomy Relatively easy to get a job Training Provided – career opportunity Convenient and Flexible working hours

Methods We Use Word of Mouth and refer a friend incentives Radio Local Press Website You tube Adverts in shop windows Employment Agencies Open Days Conferences

Recruitment: What We Do Genuinely believe in the Service we offer and that here is a good place to work Pay Living Wage and above Offer free comprehensive training and career support Manage incumbent’s expectations Keep Purple’s profile high Offer guaranteed hours where we can Manage our recruitment pathway actively

What We Don’t Do  Make false promises Take staff who are borderline in meeting our requirements Offer paid travel time

What We Can’t Control  The Local Labour Market Applicant Pool Competitors in the same market Unemployment How long DBS takes to come back Personalities!

Retention: What We Do Treat our staff as our customers Listen and Acknowledge contributions and concerns Plenty of Tough Love Be fair and act as a team Respect people’s strengths and weaknesses and play to their advantage Regular appraisals and constructive Feedback Organise rotas considerately and well Encourage Brand Identity and Purple Pride 

And….. Keep telling them how great THEY are (and how great WE are) Give them additional responsibilities as and when we can Know them – keep it personal Say thank you often Staff satisfaction surveys and we tell them what action we are taking based on their responses Communicate, communicate, communicate………

What We Don’t Do Overstretch our resources Abuse YES Have favourites Make false threats Forget: things like birthdays, personal life events, previous helpful behaviour, compliments Tell – we ask Allow them to be isolated Electronic Monitoring Try not to forget why they chose a career in care

The Carer Voice We have all become adept at listening and responding keenly to our clients’ voice. We need to listen equally to our carers’ voice. Our staff are our best asset.