How to Build Resilience With a Support Worker Agency  

 

If there’s one thing the pandemic taught the Supported Housing sector: it’s that when a crisis hits, staff shortages will get worse.

And while the metaphoric ash has settled and the worst of COVID is behind us, we ought to learn from the experience so we’re always prepared.

But what can be done to build resilience into your service—so that you can be confident that you’ll stay open & continue to provide care? In this article, we’ll deep-dive into how a Support Worker Agency like AGS Support can be a powerful answer to that.

 

Why should you even be building resilience?

In the wake of a crisis of rising living costs, a fragile economy, and approaching austerity, it’s sectors like Supported Housing that will face the brunt.

Service providers need people and they’re often already short on them. Working with vulnerable people is demanding work, and paired with a minimum-wage pay it’s no surprise that the industry is notorious for its high turnover.

And the reality is: it’s getting worse. A very recent report by Skills for Care revealed that vacancies in the social care sector are up by 52%—with a vacancy rate that’s already double the national average.

What does this all translates to for service providers? More unfilled support worker jobs. But there’s a key to mitigate this: building a long-term relationship with a trusted & effective support worker agency.

 

Not any agency, a specialist support worker agency

If there’s one thing the great Adam Smith of the enlightenment taught us: it’s that it takes specialisation for excellence. A surgeon: specialised. A consulting expert: specialised.

A typical recruitment agency like Reed is your jack of all trades. They hire with support staff, but they also hire workers for finance, accounting, retail, nursing homes, and other major industries.

A support worker agency’s recruitment process, however, is entirely different: it’s focused. AGS Support’s 25+ years of hiring support workers gives them a master-touch understanding of what potential and competence looks like for the Supported Housing sector.

And what does that all equates to?

The selection of staff that are better matched, that give better care, and respond appropriately to the environment’s demands. For officers and managers, that’s peace of mind.

Why agency support worker training can be (almost) everything

 

Training staff isn’t easy. It’s a big investment of time, resources, and money. But all that expense can be a very worthy investment if workers have a high chance of staying.

But as we saw for supported living and social care: the retention is low. And the double punch? It’s exactly these sectors that need training the most. Training to deal with crisis situations and provide care to vulnerable client groups.

Aside from the cost of training, the type of training and the quality of it are all important.

“When you have people coming in uniforms to safeguard homeless people, it just doesn’t work.They hate authority. It triggers them,” says Richard Odendaal, founder of AGS Support. “And having a timid in-house staff dealing with difficult residents—that doesn’t work either. And it burns them out.”

His solution? Unique, hybrid training for specialist support staff.

They train support workers to be calm but firm, assertive but compassionate.

 

A unique solution: a service of 24/7, fully managed staff

 

Another thing the great Adam Smith says? Those who specialise are the ones most likely to find new solutions. And that’s exactly what AGS Support did.

Apart from their unique training process, a major pain point they saw in the industry was the actual management of support staff. For example, sick leave, days off, unpopular weekend and night shifts. All these result in the service manager taking on the burden to make sure there’s cover.

With AGS Support, they manage everything for you.

“I have 35 years of working in the supported housing sector as a provider,” says Julie Adams, AGS Support’s HR & compliance manager, “and one of the biggest headaches is always providing cover. To have that headache taken away from you…I would have bitten their arm off if I had known about AGS before.”

 

Rounding up on hiring from a support worker agency

For residential support and health and social care, the truth is: there’s even more pressures on the horizon. But the network and solutions that can support them are already here.

As a specialist staffing provider serving the likes of Greater London Authority, Depaul UK, and Look Ahead, AGS Support’s standard has always been operational excellence.

“Most service providers when they sign with agencies, as soon as the contract is signed, the agency doesn’t care,” explained Richard, “To us, that’s just unacceptable.”

And they don’t just work with big-named councils, housing associations, and charities. “It doesn’t matter whether they’re a small property somewhere rural or a big facility in a city centre. All we say to them is let us cover one shift—and we’ll show you how we work.”

To find out more or to discuss your needs with a member of the senior team, simply book a free or get in touch now.