How to Motivate Carers in Your Care Home Setting

In the health and social care setting, it is vital to have a motivated and dedicated team of carers as they are responsible for providing high standards of care for older adults, whilst maintaining their independence, dignity and privacy.  

So how can managers motivate their health and social care team?  In this blog, we are going to look at 5 top tips that will ensure your team are motivated and working to their full potential.

1 - Communication

Communication is crucial in any workplace, and this is no difference for a health and social care setting!  There are different forms of communication, which means there are different ways to communicate and motivate your team.

• Active listening is the best way to discover your team’s perspective and show their suggestions and enquiries are being taken seriously.  Arranging team huddles, one-to-one meetings or having an open door policy, are all different ways to provide the opportunity to communicate with your carers.  Showing you are available to listen and discuss your carers’ opinions with them will encourage your team to further engage with their care home and its development, and motivate them to take pride and responsibility in their work.

• Another way to actively listen and engage with your team is by getting to know them on a personal level.  Simple gestures such as a daily greeting, asking about their weekend or after their family, are ways to show how you recognise and value your team members. By getting to know your team on an individual level, the way they work and their goals, allows you to personalise any support to successfully motivate them.

• It is also important to regularly communicate your own ideas and any relevant information to motivate your team.  This can just be a quick catch-up 5-10 minutes a day, regular team meetings or planned feedback sessions. By setting clear goals for the care home or keeping everyone up-to-date with health and social care legislation is a great way to build strong working relationships between managers and their team.  

2 - Recognition

A great way to motivate and encourage your carers is to recognise their achievements.

• By praising good work, giving positive feedback or recognising hard work shows team members that you appreciate and respect what they are doing and motivates them to continue to do so.  Simply by saying ‘thank you’ or other forms of verbal praise or feedback can make a positive impact on team morale and their motivation.
• You can also introduce an incentive for good work in your care home, so your team will be motivated to engage and achieve specific workplace goals.  These rewards do not need to be excessive - you can be creative! Rewards can range from a certificate, gift vouchers, extra holiday days or hours back, team meals or a team day out.

3 - Empowerment

As a manager’s role is to ensure that the care home is running as efficiently and successfully as possible, you will often have tasks that take you away from the day-to-day care activities.  This means that a lot of responsibility falls onto the carers. However, by empowering your team to make decisions about certain tasks will provide them with the motivation to engage with these opportunities.

• There are different ways to empower your team members, including discussing your views for the care home and how you want your team to work.  This means your team are motivated to go about their daily tasks without supervision and meet your targets. By gaining their engagement you are empowering your team to make decisions on your behalf.
• Alternatively, you can relay your visions and goals for the care home and ask your team’s opinion on how to achieve this.  This not only will provide you with an alternative perspective on how to complete tasks, but will also empower your team to engage further with the care home.  

4. Training

To ensure your team are motivated to work to the best of their ability, they should have relevant health and social care training and specific training for your care home setting.  

• By making sure your team are all working the same way and towards the same goals, will motivate them to work together and help each other.  This can range from small goals (i.e. what films will be shown that day) to large goals (i.e. what to do if a resident falls over and injures themselves), but if every member of your team are trained to the same high standard they will be motivated to support and encourage each other.
• As a manager you can also assist your team’s training and motivation by leading by example, which refers to you working and showcasing how you want your team to work.  You can lead by example and help your team when it is busy or on difficult tasks, never asking a team member to do something you are not prepared to do yourself or being the first person in and the last person out.  These are all fantastic ways to motivate your team and gain their respect. 

5 - Development

Another great way to motivate your team is to help them develop within your care home setting.  Providing the opportunity for further learning and development will not only increase the level of their care, but will also increase their enthusiasm for their role as a health and social care provider. 

• Actively listening and knowing your team on an individual level will allow you to recognise goals.  You can then apply this knowledge to assist team members in their development by encouraging them to achieve these goals and motivate them to become even more valuable members of your care team.  This could range from undertaking further courses or qualifications within their care sector, or carrying out passion projects within your health and social care setting. But by supporting your team to learn and develop will show how they are valued.

And there we have it - 5 top tips to motivate your team and increase their engagement as health and social care practitioners.  Try applying these tips in your care home and notice a difference in your team’s motivation.