Retention and Development Tool

Care Worker retention initiatives should start on day one in order to keep employees motivated and focused, so that they choose to stay and contribute fully to successful care provision within your organisation. Our Retention and Development Tool and Report will enhance the retention of your new employees, lowering turnover and its associated costs. It is more cost-effective to keep a good new recruit, than to have to start the process of finding, training, and inducting a new one.

The opportunity for formal contact between a new starter and their immediate manager or supervisor is often lacking within various care settings. Providing an opportunity for the two to get together, as well as setting out a development path for the new employee can significantly enhance a new starter’s engagement in building their relationship with the manager, wider team, and organisation.

The Report Contents

The Retention & Development Report provides all of the materials needed for managers to hold a structured discussion, including learning needs with new starters when they join. The content will allow the manager to lead a conversation about learning and development. The development report also caters to some or all of the quality areas, depending on the priorities of the manager and the organisation.

A summary page, showing the carer’s profile on the seven qualities, and identifying areas to focus on for development, brings a clear overview. The profile is followed by a more detailed developmental presentation of implications for the carer’s preferred work behaviors and ethics.

Structured Guide for Development

The structured development guide is set up to facilitate two one-to-one discussions between the manager and carer. The first explores potential learning actions and activities, and the second enables reflection and planning for future improvement.

●     Discussion One

This discussion is recommended within the first two weeks of joining. Our report includes all the details needed for this discussion. The report is interactive in nature, allowing the carer to both make notes, and also take away the report to use for their future development.

• The carer can see their report and understand their profile in each of the seven care qualities.
• Each quality is put into context to explain the situations in which they are relevant.
• Recommended development actions contain activities that can be tried or practised in day-to-day work.
• Space is provided for the carer and manager to make notes on agreed actions including critical working relationships to establish and who to contact or talk to concerning agreed actions.

●     Discussion Two

The second, follow-up of discussion, is recommended to be taken no more than six weeks after discussion one. The objective of this discussion is to reflect on learning and future development.

• The report provides guidance and space for the carer to make reflective notes on their progress and activities against the agreed actions from discussion one.
• These reflections are then shared and reviewed with their manager, allowing the opportunity for feedback and follow-up actions.
• If a mentor has been identified, the carer is encouraged to seek feedback and include it in their reflections.
• The report provides space for final thoughts, plans, and how and where to find support.