A luxury care provider with homes in North London, Hertfordshire, Surrey and Cambridge has achieved a global award first for “leading the way” in staff wellbeing.
TLC Care has been awarded platinum accreditation on the new Investors in People Wellbeing Framework, becoming the first workplace in any industry to achieve the highest available grade.
Homes were praised for being completely agency-free, with a host of wellbeing initiatives, training and development opportunities contributing to impressive staff retention, low levels of absence, and progression opportunities.
The Investors in People ‘We Invest in Wellbeing’ framework identifies platinum organisations as those that are high performing across their practice – including actively improving people’s health and wellbeing, and encouraging a positive workplace culture.
The award-winning care provider, which operates nine homes providing nursing, residential, respite and dementia care, also retained its Platinum Investors in People accreditation after first achieving the mark in 2020, and achieved Hospitality Assured World Class status across all homes to complete a trio of major accreditations.
As part of its Wellness Framework, TLC Care works with its team members to set individual 30-day wellness plans focussing on healthy eating, exercise, sleep, engaging with nature and spending time with family and friends.
Additionally, 30 Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) have been added across the group in the last four years to break down the stigma around mental health and promote good work-life balance for all employees.
Training for these roles and a range of other key areas including medication awareness, food safety and manual handling is created and delivered in-house – giving employees the chance to mentor others in areas they are skilled at.
Mandatory dementia training, which has been developed in consultation with experts and residents and includes a sensory experience to help staff understand what it may feel like to live with dementia, helps team members build better relationships with customers and feel more confident in their work.
Care team members have opportunities to progress to senior roles such as Unit Managers and Home Managers and regularly attended development courses, with many employees taking on ‘TLC Care Champion’ roles for their home in areas such as End of Life, Safeguarding, Infection and Prevention Control, and Medication Management and Pain.
Onboarding coaches help to integrate new employees with ongoing guidance and support, while overseas team members are provided with a meet and greet and transport from the airport, one month’s free accommodation, English lessons where required, support finding permanent accommodation, and information packs and advice about the area they will be living in.
All homes also operate a ‘support cupboard’ allowing team members to pick up essentials such as hygiene products and tinned food to take home.
The report concluded that TLC Care is “demonstrating outperformance and leading the way” as part of a “people-centric culture”. The organisation’s wellbeing strategy ensures its methods and successes are repeatable across the business, enabling constant improvement informed by employee feedback and a positive culture.
Paavan Popat, CEO of TLC Care, said: “To be the first organisation ever to achieve Platinum Investors in People Wellbeing Accreditation is an incredible achievement and a testament to the passion and dedication our teams have for the wellness and health of one another.
“This in turn has positively impacted on team member engagement, retention, career progression, recruitment and the overall care that is provided to our residents who are at the heart of all we do.
“Over the past three years we have been really focused on our journey to retaining our overall Platinum status, whilst incorporating the Investors in People Wellbeing accreditation. We are incredibly proud of our team member Wellness Framework, which captures how we support our team members to bring their whole selves to work, how we promote good mental health for all and how we develop our leaders at every level to champion wellness.”
The Investors in People framework assesses an organisation’s approach to leading and supporting its workforce while improving its services over time, while the Invest in Wellbeing framework refers specifically to an organisation’s approach to wellbeing.
The assessment was part of the initial pilot process for Investors in People’s refreshed We Invest in Wellbeing standard, which will be formally launched later in the year.
Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People, said: “We would like to congratulate TLC, for not only receiving their Platinum accreditation, but also for being the very first to do so under our new We Invest in Wellbeing framework.
“TLC are now placed within an esteemed group of organisations that understand the value of putting employee Wellbeing at the heart of their people strategy. I now look forward to seeing their on-going growth, as they fly the flag for best practice within their sector, as well as in our community.”
