Skills for Care has teamed up with employee referral app developer Care Friends to help providers recruit and retain staff.
The independent body for workforce development is working in partnership with Care Friends to let providers know about the app.
Skills for Care said the app could boost the number of quality social care candidates by using recommendations from the sector’s own workforce.
By allowing care workers to share jobs with their friends and contacts straight from their phone, earning points instantly at each stage of the referral process the app overcomes the limitations of traditional refer-a-friend schemes, it added.
Following an EU-funded pilot in Cornwall in 2019 the app has a waiting list of care providers to adopt the system.
Skills for Care chief executive Oonagh Smyth said: “We’ve supported the development of the app for over 12 months and been impressed with the results and positive feedback from employers. It’s, quite simply, exactly what the care sector needs.”
“Employee referral is proven to be by far the best source of high performing and long-staying care workers. The problem was traditional referral schemes were hard to keep top-of-mind, unengaging for staff and an admin-hassle,” said Care Friends chief executive Neil Eastwood added:
This led to very low referral rates despite the high potential out there. Our bespoke app gamifies this process and means many more care staff become highly effective recruiters for their employer,” he added.
Live product demos of the Care Friends app can be booked at www.carefriends.co.uk.
