In the social care sector, there are a lot of factors which determine a professional’s decision to take a job or not.For instance, does it pay enough? Are the hours suited to their requirements?The internet has undoubtedly changed the face of the recruitment industry, with more workers able to easily find positions on the go.So in order to give yourself the edge over the competition, you need to make sure you offer the very best perks and benefits.Here are a few examples to help get you started.
Always offer fair pay and training opportunities
There’s an ongoing concern in the care industry that workers aren’t paid enough.In fact, in December 2018, a Union branch launched a new campaign to highlight the bad pay and working conditions these kinds of jobs entail.
The chairman of the Union branch in Clacton, Rick Grogan, says: “Being a care worker is one of the most important jobs in our society, yet it is one of the most undervalued. Care workers have told us that they are on minimum wage and are often expected to work additional hours at the beginning and end of shifts with no extra pay.” He added: “They said they are given three days training before they start the job and this too is unpaid.”
To position yourself as a leader in the industry, you need to provide a fair hourly or pro-rata pay for all your positions.By doing this, you’ll start to build up a positive reputation among care worker professionals.Temporary workers are also like permanent workers in the sense that they will want to develop their careers.So just because they won’t be working for your business or organisation for a long period of time, it doesn’t mean that you should reduce their opportunities.If you deliver ways for them to gain credible experience and attain added skills, they will not only work harder for your company, but they’ll always want to come and work for you again.The latter is extremely important when there’s often a skills shortage in the care industry.
Provide a supportive work environment
This element is all about getting the work culture right within your business or organisation.If you fail to rally around your temporary workers to make them feel welcome, they might start to distance themselves from their job and constantly clock watching.A strong work ethic and togetherness within the team will create the best results.One of the best ways to build this winning culture is to set up events for everyone to get involved in.Segregating different departments or by their individual contract will lead to a split environment in the building.The Huffington Post published an interesting article including a selection of activities that can help employees and leaders get to know each other.Here are a few examples:
- Take part in Room Escapes
- Do something physically competitive
- Meet/socialise to discuss non-work topics
- Do an overnight event
- Go camping
However, creating this positive work environment can also involve just carrying out proper introductions and recognising temporary workers at the end of the week for all their hard work.You should also make sure that they have all the forms and initial training they need to make them feel welcome and prepared to complete the contract.Make them feel valued and you’ll prosper in the short and long-term.
Offer the possibility of future work
Although temporary workers may like their flexible way of working, a lot of them wouldn’t mind hearing about a possible contract extension.Coming out of work and not knowing when their next wage slip will be coming is a daunting thought for temps.So giving them an incentive of extra work if they do well will usually spur them on to try harder – which is a win, win for both the worker and you.If you choose to be ambiguous, you may start to find that a lot of temporary workers may go through the motions or show you no interest in staying once the contract is over.Is this something you can afford to let happen?
Get a recruitment company to do it for you
It may feel a little shameless, but a good temp recruitment agency can save you a lot of ongoing issues and hassle.Finding quality professionals in the social care sector isn’t always easy, and can often take a considerable amount of time to complete.Building up a bank of temporary workers and carrying out all of the payroll can take time as well.However, with a recruitment specialist like us, we can source the best workers, arrange all of the logistics and ensure you keep your mind set firmly on delivering the best possible service.
Summary
Just remember, to find the best temporary care workers, you need to offer true value and provide a culture in which they thrive in.If you need help achieving this, get in touch with our team and we’ll sort this out for you.Or, if you're just after some guidance, give us a call and we'll be more than happy to help.
