Care staffing needs can change quickly. A member of staff may call in sick, a service user’s needs may change, or several care shifts may suddenly need covering at the same time.
When care staffing is managed one shift at a time, registered managers can spend much of their week searching for cover instead of focusing on care quality, compliance and the wider needs of their service.
A more predictable care staffing solution starts with proactive workforce planning.
Why last-minute care staff cover can be difficult
Temporary care staff play an important role in health and social care. They can provide valuable support when permanent employees are unavailable, services experience unexpected demand or additional staffing is required.
The difficulty comes when every staffing gap becomes an urgent search for someone available.
Last-minute staffing can mean:
- More time spent contacting different workers
- Less opportunity to find someone familiar with the service
- Additional pressure on registered managers
- Changes to the usual team working pattern
- Less time to prepare staff for the people they will be supporting
This does not mean that every shift can be planned weeks in advance. Unexpected gaps will always happen. However, having a workforce plan in place can reduce how often managers have to start from scratch.
How block booking supports consistent care staffing
One way care providers can create more predictable temporary staffing is through block booking care staff.
Rather than booking a temporary worker for one isolated shift, block bookings can provide cover across a set period. This could be several shifts over a week, a number of weeks or another agreed period depending on the service’s requirements.
For care providers, this can have practical benefits.
The worker has more opportunity to become familiar with the service, the wider team and the routines of the people they support. Managers also have greater visibility of who is scheduled to work, rather than repeatedly filling individual gaps.
For some services, using the same temporary workers regularly can also help reduce the disruption that comes with constantly introducing new people.
Building a reliable care staffing pipeline
Block booking is only one part of a more reliable care staffing solution.
Services can also benefit from having access to a wider staffing pipeline that can respond when circumstances change.
This means thinking beyond today’s empty shift.
Who is available when annual leave increases during the summer? What happens when several permanent employees are absent? How will additional support be arranged if a person’s care needs change?
Having these conversations before there is an immediate problem gives everyone more time to plan.
Matching temporary care staff to each service
Predictability does not mean putting the same person into every shift regardless of the circumstances.
The skills, experience and approach required can vary between services and between the people being supported.
A useful temporary staffing provider should understand those differences and consider whether workers are suitable for the environment and responsibilities involved.
For example, a service supporting people with complex needs may require staff with relevant experience, confidence and training. Another service may have completely different requirements.
The aim is to build a staffing pipeline that works for the service, rather than simply creating a list of available workers.
How workforce planning supports registered managers
Registered managers already have to balance staffing, care quality, compliance, staff wellbeing and the needs of the people using their service.
Reducing the amount of time spent repeatedly searching for cover can make a difference.
A planned approach to workforce planning in social care gives managers greater visibility of upcoming staffing requirements and can make conversations with staffing providers more useful.
Instead of only getting in touch when a shift is empty, services can discuss their expected staffing needs and look at how those needs can be supported over a longer period.
Flexible care staffing through better planning
Care services still need to respond to change.
The benefit of workforce planning is not that every shift becomes fixed. It is that managers have a clearer starting point when something unexpected happens.
A combination of permanent employees, regular temporary workers, block bookings and a wider staffing pipeline can give services more options when staffing requirements change.
It can also help avoid the cycle of constantly moving from one staffing emergency to the next.
Care workforce planning beyond the rota
A well-managed rota is important, but it is only part of care workforce planning.
For services, the bigger question is whether their staffing approach gives teams enough consistency, flexibility and support to provide good care.
Planning ahead, building relationships with reliable temporary workers and having access to a wider staffing pipeline can make staffing more predictable without taking away the flexibility that care services need.
Halo Staffing works with care providers to understand their workforce requirements and provide temporary and permanent care staffing support tailored to the needs of each service.
Plan your next care staffing requirement before it becomes an urgent gap. Speak to Halo Staffing about a more consistent, flexible approach.
Call us on 0800 368 9644 or email [email protected]
