Last month we launched our first ever ‘Building a Better Workforce Together’. Its author, Ed Watkinson, reveals the findings which reaffirm how brave, dedicated and committed the social care sector is in supporting the most vulnerable people across the country.
At Quality Compliance Systems (QCS) we are keen to support and empower people working in social care, and to help staff to deliver great outcomes to people using services. To help us do this, we have shared a survey with customers and others working in social care to ask them about their current roles, how well they feel supported and what would make their work more satisfying and rewarding. QCS is very grateful to the over 190 people that found the time to respond and share their opinions.
The positivity displayed in responses to the survey does reaffirm how brave, robust, dedicated and unflinching staff that work in social care are. We should all be proud of their commitment and continued perseverance to ‘do the right thing’ and to support the most vulnerable people in our society with professionalism and empathy.
Breaking down the responses in a bit more detail does reveal some interesting themes within the social care workforce:
- When people start working in social care, they tend to stay, with 48% of respondents stating that they have worked in social care for more than 10 years
- Almost 90% of respondents were ‘happy and satisfied’ with the work they do and the support they received from their colleagues and management
- The increased use of technology in care was well received, with the vast majority of respondents (more than 80%) stating that online, electronic processes had helped them to do their jobs more effectively
- Over 70% of staff felt that they had a ‘good work life balance’. This is a remarkable reflection on the social care workforce bearing in mind the challenges faced over the last two years, and the additional pressure and expectations placed on them.
- Career development was an area that it was felt could be improved for social care staff with 14% reporting that they felt that opportunities to further their career in social care were very limited. This could partly be due to the fact that social care is not always seen as a ‘professionalised’ area of work, with limited qualifications available and no recognised career path that people can aspire to
- A question was asked in the survey about what career staff would look to do if they left social care, with the majority of responses stating that jobs in the fields of animal care, teaching, nursing and hospitality would be preferred which indicates that ‘caring’ is hardwired into the staff working in social care
- The range of benefits offered by employers was an area that the staff felt could be improved with a feeling that they were, at times, expected to do their role without recognition of what they are experiencing or having the work rewarded beyond a pay cheque
We are planning to run the survey on a regular basis so we can ‘benchmark’ people’s views and provide further insight into the issues that are important to the social care workforce, so keep your eyes open and please contribute when you have the opportunity.
For a further insight into the survey results take a look at
Building a Better Workforce Together: Our FindingsDownload here
