Care Home Professional – August 2019

RESIDENTIAL & HOME CARE SHOW OUT & ABOUT

August 2019 | CARE HOME PROFESSIONAL 29

LADDER TO THE MOON’S CHRIS GAGE

SAYS CREATING A CLIMATE THAT

ALLOWS FOR FREEDOM, TRUST AND

SUPPORT AMONGST STAFF IS VITAL

WHEN ENSURING THAT POOR PRACTICE

IS PREVENTED IN CARE HOMES.

L

adder to the Moon’s Chris Gage said creating

a climate that allows for freedom, trust and

support amongst staff is vital when ensuring that poor

practice is prevented in care homes.

The managing director argued situations where staff don’t

have the opportunity to contribute can often lead to a culture

of fear which can have “massive consequences”.

He said that pressure can build within a fearful environment

that can lead to people not talking up when they spot

bad practice.

Chris said: “What we end up with in our services is, on the

one hand we have a culture of fear, where there’s conflict,

where people are focused on controlling the system, on

managing what’s happening.

“And then in the best

cases, people have freedom,

they’re supported, they’re

living with trust on a day to

day basis. And what we’re

talking about here is the

organisation of climate.”

Chris argued that in order

to create a positive climate,

it was important to focus on

three main things: people,

processes and outcomes.

With regard to people, he said that care homes should

facilitate leadership, build team effectiveness, focus on

events that drive involvement and respond positively when

things don’t work out as planned.

On processes, he outlined that leadership should consider

the ways in which they run meetings, how they measure

success, how to balance control and freedom, and what their

systems prioritise.

Regarding outcomes, he said it was necessary to focus on

wellbeing, vibrancy, enjoyment and quality of life, and to

consider that learning is more focused on results.

Ladder to the Moon is a social enterprise that works with

healthcare organisations to enhance the quality of residential

care for those living with dementia and old age, through the

use of creativity, coaching, training and consultancy.

POSITIVE CULTURE KEY TO PROMOTING

BEST PRACTICE, MD SAYS

T

he CMO outlined how Planday rota software

can help care home providers become more

efficient and offer their workforce greater flexibility and

better communication, while raising employee engagement.

“Our clients who previously spent 15-20 hours on

scheduling and payroll each month now just spend less than

one hour,” he said.

The Planday platform enables employees to swap shifts

with people of equivalent skill sets, who have not worked

too many hours, to avoid non-compliance and avoid

overtime costs.

Its punch in and punch out functionality offers greater

transparency by enabling providers to better track employees.

Planday user Adrian Hendry, director of Avondale Care,

said: “We can now communicate easily with staff either

individually or in groups and that has been a huge bonus.”

Planday also helps improve employee engagement which

has been linked with a reduction in patient mortality.

“By increasing efficiency and flexibility and freeing

more time for training and development technology can

help providers ensure they are an employer of choice,”

John concluded.

CMO JOHN COLDICUTT EXPLAINS HOW

SOFTWARE ROTA PROVIDER PLANDAY’S

TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP IMPROVE

EFFICIENCY, ACHIEVE COSTS SAVINGS

AND HELP TACKLE THE SOCIAL CARE

RECRUITMENT CRISIS.

PLANDAY HELPS TACKLE SOCIAL CARE

RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES

Chris Gage

John Coldicutt