For the Supported housing sector: finding night support staffing has always been a challenge…
From the need for competence to compassion and the time it takes to find the right fit.
Yet the unpopular night shift is critical for service providers—for the security of their residents and their own peace of mind.
In this article, we’ll unwrap:
1) The biggest challenges of finding night support staff
2) What specifically makes staff a ‘great fit’
3) The best supplier options for a service provider
Real challenges of getting Night Support Staffing Coverage
The biggest challenge of getting night cover?
Finding the right fit.
The common (and cheapest) option for service providers is hiring staff with a security background.
But ‘assertive boots on the ground’ can clash against the real needs of vulnerable residents.
Most workers available for the waking night support simply don’t have the right training, the understanding of what people they’re caring for, and the competence to handle
But of course, these ‘right fit’ staff are out there.
The next big challenge?
Using up a scarce resource for managers—their time—in finding the staff that will provide the high quality cover their people need.
When night cover is needed—night cover is needed. And its urgency adds to the challenge of recruiting the right fit.
What’s truly needed for night cover
Waking night cover at a homeless charity is almost opposite to cover for a warehouse.
Service providers don’t just need ‘boots on the ground’—they need staff with warmth. Workers who understand they are in a place where people live.
Residents need a firm but compassionate person—who can both ensure their security but also be there during their shaky and vulnerable moments.
And it doesn’t just take a personality match, but also:
The right training and competence for it.
The right training can equip staff with the skills to be assertive when needed—but fully calm at the same time.
Not just so residents get the quality of support they need:
But so the staff themselves have the confidence to deal with crises.
Without this confidence: the demands of the sector can be very stressful for workers—very often leading to them quitting the job.
Night Support done the right way
To establish that confidence, that competence that’s crucial to reliable night cover:
Extensive training is absolutely critical.
Standard night support providers or ‘general’ recruitment agencies almost never provide the training themselves.
The onus to provide it? It then rests on service providers.
But the catch-22: training is time-consuming.
And often the challenges of the work itself catch up with staff before they’re fully trained to adeptly deal with it.
The most direct answer to this?
Hiring from a night support staffing coverage provider, who themselves train staff extensively.
But of course: not all training is equal.
At AGS Support—a support staffing provider for over 25 years—we expertly select the best candidates and then provide them with the exclusive, hybrid training we developed from our deep experience in the sector.
The result: high-quality night cover that you & your people deserve.
Fully-managed, 100% responsive night support providers
But the reality is: competence itself is half the problem solved.
Even highly trained, skilled staff will face situations that require senior-level guidance.
And as the manager: that responsibility falls on you.
From getting calls in the night to having to show up to hands-on handle crises yourself—the burden of managing night cover might seem ‘unavoidable’.
And when you’re faced with a no-show: again, it’s your responsibility as a manager to ensure you find cover.
And it’s precisely these burdensome realities that AGS Support’s services rose to meet.
As a fully-managed night cover supplier, we manage the staff for you at 100% capacity.
Whenever a situation arises that needs higher-level support—our night cover knows to directly contact our 24/7 senior team.
With deep sector experience—from being service providers themselves for 30 years to being registered senior mental health nurses—they provide them the full guidance to steward any crises.
And when absences happen: it’s our senior team too who takes care of the logistics.
We are 100% responsive and prioritise excellent communication—so you get your people and your property always has the cover it needs.
And that you have real peace of mind.
Curious to find out how exactly we can help you? Get in touch anytime at: