Canford Healthcare
Our training commitment
At Canford Healthcare we value our team highly and invest lots of resources in ensuring that you each have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to excel in your role. For us, creating a trained and dedicated workforce whereby individuals and teams can develop and progress, receive recognition and reward and be happier, more engaged and motivated benefits everyone – employees, the organisation and, of course, residents, whose safety and wellbeing is paramount.
While many of our team have already completed nursing or care qualifications, others new to the industry may not. As soon as you join, you will be enrolled in a relevant and ongoing programme of training and development delivered by our in-house development team. There are opportunities to attend relevant courses and seminars outside the organisation. We also encourage you to study for professional qualifications and, where appropriate, provide support, either in the form of financial help or paid study leave.
Careers Pathways Pyramid
Click on the buttons to show more information about each role.
Description
supported by
Administration
Administrators and their assistants support the home management team in the smooth running of the home and help to foster a professional and caring image of the home.
They:
- are the first point of contact for visitors and telephone enquiries
- conduct show-arounds to prospective residents and their families
- liaise with the organisation’s finance, HR and marketing teams
- deal with GPs, hospitals, councils and social services teams during the admissions process
Activities
The team comprises a head of activities plus activities organisers and assistants. They arrange a programme of daily activities and events for residents, encouraging them to participate as much as they want. The team supports residents’ existing interests and aspirations as well as their cultural and spiritual needs. They send photos of activities, birthdays and celebrations to the marketing team for posting on each home’s Facebook page.
Facilities
Each home has a facilities technician who is responsible for the various health and safety aspects of life in the home. Their role is wide ranging and encompasses general decoration inside the home as well as maintenance and repair throughout the home and grounds.
Housekeeping roles
Overseen by a head of housekeeping, the domestic and laundry staff maintain the highest possible standards of cleanliness around the home. They adhere to strict hygiene and infection control protocols, respecting the privacy of residents and visitors. They also provide a first-class laundry service to both the home and residents.
Facilities
The support office facilities team comprises a head of plus a co-ordinator and an assistant. Together, they manage and organise all the maintenance and improvement works for the Canford Healthcare property portfolio, ensuring that these are compliant, functional, in good condition and safe for our residents. The support team has very close links with the individual facilities technicians who are based in the homes. They carry out health and safety checks, repairs and minor decorations, reporting to the support team any repairs that require work done by external contractors.
Finance
The finance department is responsible for all financial analysis and planning for the Canford Group. Monthly management accounts are shared with the business as is the annual budget. Finance also holds responsibility for treasury management, cash forecasting reporting, collecting £45 million worth of fees each year, managing supplier relationships and, via Payroll, ensures that staff are paid the right amount on time each month.
The finance team works closely with the business on cost reduction through procurement, and has led initiatives on sustainability to reduce waste and the consumption of water and electricity in the homes. Finance also provides support to the central administration team as well as ad hoc support to the homes and operations.
Health & Safety
Canford Healthcare has a legal duty for health and safety to all its employees, residents, visitors and contractors affected by its business activities. Our aim is to provide safe accommodation and care for older people. We do this by identifying and managing risks in a sensible and proportionate way to comply with legislation and also respect the rights, freedoms and dignity of both our staff and those we care for. We do this via good leadership and management, a well-trained and competent workforce and regular audits and monitoring against our processes and procedures.
Human Resources Team (HR)
Our HR team guides Canford Healthcare in maximising employee productivity, performance and engagement, protecting the company from any issues that may arise within the workplace. HR responsibilities include compensation and benefits, recruitment, training and development, employee retention, talent management and succession planning, supporting line managers with employee relations matters and ensuring people data accuracy and compliance.
Marketing
The department is responsible for building awareness of Canford Healthcare and the reputation of its the homes for providing award-winning best-quality care. It generates enquiries from prospective residents, attracts high-calibre staff and creates positive media coverage, working with partner organisations and local communities. The team works with each home to process enquiries, provides customer service training, and produces print and digital marketing material over a wide range of channels.
Operations & Quality
As part of the senior team, operations managers are responsible for supporting staff to deliver high-quality care and for ensuring that our homes offer safe and therapeutic environments for residents and staff. They do this by formulating strategy, sharing best practice and learning across sites to improve performance, procuring resources and securing compliance.
Quality governance is the combination of structures and processes, at and below board level, to lead on trust-wide quality performance, ensuring the achievement of required standards and investigating/taking action on sub-standard performance. The quality & compliance function ensures that the business, employees and projects work within the legal framework and comply with regulations. It monitors and evaluates processes, formulates standards, measures the degree of adherence, highlights risk and puts measures in place to mitigate this. The team also engages with stakeholders and gathers feedback.
Qualities needed for care
Looking after vulnerable people and helping to maximise their quality of life in the face of old age, illness and disability is an incredibly important and responsible role.
While knowledge and experience are very important, the most exceptional carers are often those who also have extremely good people skills and who integrate our values in the way that they deliver care each day. As part of our induction, we ensure that everyone new to the team understands and lives our vision and core values, which affect everything they do. We have also aligned the qualities required of our carers to our Canford Healthcare values.
Care
Family
Honesty
Commitment
Core Skills Of The Exceptional Care Workers
To develop effective teams, we need a mixture of care workers with complementary skills, which may include one or more of the following:
Clear communication skills
You will need to be able to read and write clearly in the language used by the service. Being a good listener is also essential. Interacting successfully with people from different backgrounds with individual (and often complex) needs is not always easy. Listening attentively to them, explaining what you are doing and asking their permission will help to forge a healthy and happy relationship. Clear communication with colleagues also ensures that all residents receive a good/excellent level of care.
Strong interpersonal skills
The ability to work effectively on your own as an individual or as part of a team, whatever is required in a particular situation, is a highly desirable skill. This means being able to get on with the job under any circumstances and communicate clearly with all parties concerned, especially where conflict is involved or where people exhibit challenging behaviour.
Good organisation skills
Working in a care home requires planning and co-ordination with the rest of the team to ensure that residents receive their medical and personal care, nutrition and activities. You will also have to manage your own time and know how to prioritise tasks, sometimes when requirements change at very short notice. There’s a lot to remember, too, about the health, capability and needs of each resident – so being well organised is vital.
Proficiency with a smartphone
Most people nowadays can easily use computers, printers and other equipment. But for us, the ability to use a smartphone is essential because all our homes are digitally equipped. We pride ourselves on using current technology – not only to deliver care but also to free up time for more care! You will need to be able to keep in touch with families, colleagues and professionals, especially in emergency situations.
Problem-solving skills
Carers work in an increasingly complex industry. They must be able to think on their feet, always being alert to changes in a resident’s symptoms and behaviour so they can head off potential health problems before these become more serious. The ability to find solutions to resolve issues and challenges efficiently and effectively is very valuable.
Team skills
To develop an effective team, we require people who enjoy working as a team member under direction. We also need those with good leadership and organisational skills at all levels to create a constructive environment and enable colleagues to feel engaged, motivated and focused on the vital job in hand – delivering high-quality care to society’s most vulnerable people. A big part of leadership is about ‘walking the walk’ – consistently demonstrating good work practices and thereby positively influencing the quality of care throughout the home.