Care UK Residential Care Services has become the only care home provider in the country to be shortlisted in any of the three categories of the UK Employee Experience Awards.
The Colchester-based organisation has been selected for its work in developing training, engagement and retention strategies for more than 10,000 employees working across the 125 Care UK homes.
As well as being shortlisted in the 'Best Company to Work For' category, Care UK has also been shortlisted in the 'Employee Training Programme' and 'Employee Engagement' categories, putting it up against major employers such as Highways England, McLaren cars, Staysure travel insurance and cruise company Carnival.
Leah Queripel, HR director, says: “We were amazed when we heard we had been shortlisted against so many household names in not one but three categories. We care for more than 7000 residents, mostly older people, many living with dementia.
"We need to attract and retain the best and most caring teams in order to provide the highest levels of care day and night, every single day of the year and I think, being finalists in such a prestigious award demonstrates that we are a good employer.
“We have achieved this success by using an innovative combination of methods to recruit colleagues at all levels. We then go all out to retain them by providing sector-leading training. We listen to their feedback, we reward people in monthly and annual awards and give them the opportunities to progress.
"I would like to thank all the leaders in our homes who have embraced these improvements so wholeheartedly – it is their energy and hard work that has seen us shortlisted in such prestigious awards.
Queripel adds: “We know that social care can be a challenging sector to recruit and retain colleagues including much needed nurses. I think it is credit to our worth that, although turnover of colleagues in care homes nationally has increased over the last few years, we are bucking that trend thanks to great leadership in our homes and our strong emphasis on training and development for all. Attracting and keeping good colleagues helps us to ensure continuity of care at all levels for residents, as well as making us a more efficient organisation.”
Finalists will present their initiatives to the judges and the winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Park Plaza Riverbank, London on 14 May.
