Solving the annual £3bn recruitment and retention cost to adult social care providers

Care England, the largest representative body of independent providers of adult social care in England, has today launched an end-to-end solution to help care providers and Local Authorities solve the adult social care workforce recruitment and retention conundrum.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said:

“The adult social care workforce remains in a deep-rooted and systemic crisis. In the absence of meaningful Government intervention, it is incumbent upon the sector to explore innovative solutions to support their workforce and open doors to new opportunities for staff. Care England is pleased to have developed a unique initiative to help bring more domestic staff into care roles and support them to remain in the sector. With a third of the workforce leaving their roles every year, at a cost of over £6,000 per rehire, there is an annual £3bn cost to the sector which is simply unsustainable. We hope that our end-to-end solution will go some way in supporting care providers to navigate workforce challenges.”

The care sector faces unprecedented challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified professionals, exacerbated by demographic change and increasing demand for care services.

Care England and Hft’s 2023 Sector Pulse Check report cited workforce costs as the most significant financial pressure for adult social care providers in 2023. Staffing shortages are having a profound impact on the viability of care providing organisations, staff and the people we support – due to staffing shortages in 2023, 44% of adult social care providers turned down new admissions, over half (54%) increased agency use and 18% had to close services altogether.

These challenges are likely to be compounded by the introduction of new measures that will restrict the flow of international recruits into the sector.

Care England has partnered with four organisations – Care Character, Care Friends, Jobtrain and Vivup – which, in isolation, have been shown to significantly improve recruitment and retention rates across the sector. By bringing these services together, they collectively offer an end-to-end solution to address the current sector-wide vacancy rate, the quality and development of carers, lower turnover rates and significantly reduce costs for providers.

The whitepaper can be found here.

Professor Martin Green continues:

“Workforce recruitment and retention is the single biggest issue affecting our sector, with serious implications for the quality of care and knock-on effects across the NHS and wider economy. Time and time again, national campaigns have sought to generate an interest in social care with limited results. Care England’s end-to-end solution has the potential to fundamentally shift the recruitment and retention practices in the social care sector, improving outcomes for those who draw on care and support, staff and care providers.”

Will Shepherd, CEO of Cohesion (Social Care Recruitment Specialists) & Founder of Care Character says:

“Recruitment and retention challenges in social care are deep rooted, presenting ongoing hurdles for care providers of all sizes and settings. At Care Character, we are proud to have developed a psychometric assessment tool tailored to the unique demands of the care sector, which is delivering positive transformations in both recruitment and retention. We are delighted to share a platform with other innovative organisations thanks to Care England’s determination to make a difference in this field, welcoming a comprehensive end-to-end solution that focuses on quality and results.”