Care to chat? A podcast from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council

This is a podcast of conversations about social work and social care practice, registration and regulation in Northern Ireland.

Hosted by the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (the Social Care Council), and presented by broadcaster Dr Wendy Austin, this podcast series showcases conversations and interviews with people in the social work and social care community, as well as from across the health and social care system. We discuss things that matter to social workers and social care workers, inform their learning and development, address common questions, and talk about what we can do to best support the safe delivery of quality health and social care in Northern Ireland.

If you have any comments or feedback on our podcast, please contact us by emailing: comms@niscc.hscni.net.

Listening and subscribing

You can listen to the podcast episodes directly in your browser by selecting the podcast title from the list below and then clicking the triangle ‘Play’ icon. Read more about each episode by clicking the ‘[…]’ icon.

Like other professions, in social care the recruitment process is not just about getting a person for a vacancy – the person has to have the right values to work in social care and to match with the organisation they are going to work for.

So, what is value-based recruitment in social care and why is it important? And what does good retention look like in practice?

If you are an employer that has staff from the social care workforce these questions are very relevant to you. The answers are in this week’s episode of ‘Care to chat?’, where you can find out actions you can do to ensure the staff you recruit will want to stay, thrive and build lasting careers in social care.

This episode our host Dr Wendy Austin MBE talks about this important issue for employers with special guests: Dr Shirley Boyle, Lecturer, Open University, Paul Rooney, Professional Advisor, Social Care Council and Caitilin Robinson, Homecare Area Manager, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust.

During the episode you will find out why this approach to recruitment and retention has proven to be particularly effective in the social care sector and tips you can put in practice so you can keep those who are there for the right reasons – to improve the lives of the people they support.

Do manage staff and social care and could do with some help? You can access the new Values-based retention toolkit on the Social Care Council’s Learning Zone.