The impact of staff training in social care

By providing your care team the chance to develop their skills and knowledge within your organisation you boost your chances of retaining them. You will also build a stronger and more competent workforce that can drive your business forward.

Why is training and training monitoring important?

There are many benefits to training your staff. For the purpose of this article, we’ll focus on these three:

• Ensures that staff have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to provide outstanding care
• Helps providers meet the regulatory requirements to keep their service compliant
• Reduces staff turnover rates  

Ensure that staff have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to provide outstanding care

Training enables frontline staff to develop a greater understanding of the impact of their day-to-day activities on the well-being of the people they work with. It enables staff to promote and implement positive and effective practices within the organisation. It also encourages the development of professional behaviours and encourages staff members to maintain high standards of practice in their work.

One key benefit of effective staff training is that it increases the level of knowledge, skill and confidence of the workforce. This ultimately leads to improved standards of care and better outcomes for the people you support. And the benefits don't stop there. With a well-trained team, you'll see fewer errors in care delivery and spend less time on admin and management tasks. It's a win-win for everyone involved.

Meet the regulatory requirements to keep the service compliant

Ongoing staff training is essential for establishing clear standards for employees to follow. This is especially important when handling sensitive issues such as safeguarding. By investing in training, providers can help ensure their teams are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to identify risks and ensure that appropriate action can be taken to reduce them by tailoring care delivery to meet specific service user needs.

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"Training, learning and development needs of individual staff members must be carried out at the start of employment and reviewed at appropriate intervals during the course of employment. Staff must be supported to undertake training, learning and development to enable them to fulfil the requirements of their role." - The Care Quality Commission (CQC)

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Investing in ongoing training is essential for care providers who want to achieve a 'good' or 'outstanding' CQC rating. This not only enhances your reputation in the industry, but also helps to attract more prospects who are looking for a high-quality service they can trust. By prioritising training, providers can demonstrate their commitment to delivering exceptional care and position themselves as the top choice for those in need.

Monitoring training will also help you identify areas where training is needed and ensure that staff are meeting the required standard. This way, you can meet CQC’s expectation to “deploy enough suitably qualified, competent and experienced staff” and therefore, meet the regulatory requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Reduce staff turnover rates

Investing in your team’s personal development is not only beneficial for them, but also for your organisation as a whole. By supporting your staff, you motivate them to stay with you longer, reducing the need to constantly recruit and train new hires.

Providing adequate training and a personal development plan shows your staff that you value and care about their growth as well as support them to develop their careers and have equal opportunities. This approach results in increased loyalty and productivity. With a skilled and engaged team, you can deliver efficient and outstanding person-centred care.

Moreover, by supporting your staff’s personal development, you empower them to build positive working relationships with service users, ultimately leading to improved outcomes and greater independence for those in your care.  

Positive experiences can even lead to word-of-mouth referrals not only from staff but also from satisfied families, service users and other professionals, enhancing your reputation and growing your business.  

How to promote effective training completion?

The benefits of training are plenty but here’s how you can prompt staff to complete it:

• Emphasise the importance and benefits: your carers love helping others - remind them why the training they need to complete is relevant. Don’t forget to communicate the carer’s Personal Development Plan (PDP) opportunities!
• Provide support: give your team a phone number or email they can contact when in doubt, they’ll be at ease knowing someone will be there to help.
• Make it convenient: your carers love their jobs, but they love their families more! Provide flexibility, let carers know the expectation is for them to complete the training during work hours. ‍
• Recognise and reward: acknowledge and reward those who complete the training successfully, something as simple as a ‘kudos email’ can make your carers’ day. Sometimes biscuits or chocolates might be a better idea!  

Log my Care can help you record and manage your staff's training and skills as well as evidence compliance, all from one central place. We have a portfolio of LD, elderly, residential and many more care service providers who have already started using our needs and skills and training and skills matrix and they love it! Get in touch with us to find out more on how we can help.