1. Creative Recruitment in Social Care
Caroline Tomlinson
17th February 2014

2. How to participate today

3. Pathways to Employment (P2E)
An asset based approach to
mobilising people with BIG hearts
into the social care workforce.
Caroline Tomlinson
CEO
My Life Social Enterprise CiC
www.my-life.org.uk

4. About My Life
• Young Social Enterprise CiC founded by Caroline
Tomlinson in summer 2012.
• If you want something different, you have to do
something different.
• Built on the ethos that together we are better.
• Crowd funded – self sustaining.
• Based in Lancashire/Wigan/NW but open to all.
• Created from the need of local families.
• Provides a wide range of meaningful
opportunities and space for people to connect.
• Innovates new community based solutions that
makes a practical difference.
• We give, gain and grow together – those that
put something in will get something out.
www.my-life.org.uk

5. Background To P2E
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Families struggling to find PAs.
Being an employer can be hard work.
Training is very limited for PAs
No sense of connection
Cost of recruitment and retention to providers.
PAs job hopping.
Potential social care workers needing to go into
work with their eyes wide open.
Values, dignity, respect, stickability and
relationships.
The need for a confident, competent and a
caring workforce.
Keeping support staff motivated and connected
to keep being good at their job.
Creating a sense of belonging.
Having a wide range of opportunities for people
to access.
www.my-life.org.uk

6. Innovation needs a little £
We had a great idea!
A wider membership offer to local people.
Invest to save – needed a financial injection to
demonstrate concept.
Needed to demonstrate VfM and and it being a
workable investable support mechanism for
local people.
Secured some pump priming from Skills for
Care.
www.my-life.org.uk

7. Process
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Find potential workers
Information Sessions
Application process
Recruitment and Selection
Training
Screening
Matching
Mentoring and ongoing support.
www.my-life.org.uk

8. Finding Potential Workers
• Going to the place were people where at.
• Went out to the local community
spreading the word.
• Attended job fairs and places were people
were looking for work.
• Presented at colleges, universities, places
of learning.
• Had quality conversations encouraging
participation by getting people to believe
in possibility.
• Social media.
• Local papers / news articles.
www.my-life.org.uk

9. Information Sessions
• Hospitality and creating a sense of
belonging.
• Inspiring people to believe in
possibility.
• Being honest about what we were
looking for.
• Helping people to help themselves –
if you want work there is work.
• Questions and answers.
• Explaining application process.
www.my-life.org.uk

10. Application Process
• No Experience Necessary - The only
requirement is a positive attitude.
• Privilege not a right – how we select.
• Need to commit to the whole course.
• Interested in skills, gifts and qualities.
• Honesty about history.
• We will let you know if your
successful within 2 days of our
deadline.
Its about
putting the
CARE back into
social care
www.my-life.org.uk

11. Recruitment and Selection Process
• Poster or 30 second
video.
• Looking for a positive,
can do attitude.
• What can you offer?
• Have you got
stickability?
• The rest is simple…. 35
people signed up.
Whats give you
a fire in your
belly?
www.my-life.org.uk

12. Training
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Based on a model of citizen leadership.
Inspire with stories of change.
The history of ‘care’ in this country.
Learning to listen.
How to build community.
Meeting individual employers – families and disabled
people.
Meeting providers.
Meeting PAs and people working in the care industry.
Understanding the social care system.
Identifying areas where you would like to work.
Lots of interactive activities building confidence and self
belief.
Encouraging friendships and relationships to evolve
How to have and maintain peace of mind.
Practical homework
Graduating people and invite friends and family to
celebrate.
33 people
graduated
that’s is a 95%
success rate!
www.my-life.org.uk

13. Screening
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References
Social Media
Disclosure and Barring Service.
Spending 5 weeks with people.
Seeing people in different
environments.
• Finding out what other people
think.
Getting to
know you,
getting to know
all about you!
www.my-life.org.uk

14. Matching
• Supporting each individual to build
up their portfolio.
• The My Life team identifying skills,
gifts and qualities.
• Identifying who were looking for
workers.
• Creating a unique, qualitative
matching tool.
• Keeping a strong communication
link going out.
• Collating stories of success.
Its about who gets
on with who…….
You can teach the
rest!!
www.my-life.org.uk

15. Mentoring and ongoing support
• We continue to offer one2one support by
telephone, electronically or Face2face.
• We provide lots of spaces for people to
connect including wider voluntary
opportunities.
• Opportunities to attend the Inclusive
Community Experience.
• Provide references.
• Promote a personalised approach to
recruitment.
• Give honest feedback.
• Keep in touch learning over time what
works and what doesn’t.
Tom said
“You have to feel
it, no training
could ever teach
me this!”
www.my-life.org.uk

16. Outcomes
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19 people have found work
6 have found voluntary opportunities
We are a point of reference for people.
We continue to support families to be
good employers.
We act as a conduit between EL
insurers/HR and families.
We have supported families and PA
throughout bereavement.
VfM cost per head approx £180 per head
opposed to £1k.
It has changed the ordinary lives of
people.
Stuart, Sue and
JOHN
IAN
JOANNE and
BRIAN
www.my-life.org.uk

17. Next Steps
• Developing a report on our findings.
• Continuing to link people into work and voluntary
opportunities.
• Promote membership wider to individuals and
families with the offer.
• Offer bespoke membership to provider
organisations seeking staff by holding one2one,
training and hospitality events.
• Develop early intervention and prevention
support to give people experience whilst meeting
the needs of the community.
• Planning to run further courses across NW over
the next year.
• Developing a social franchise to scale up.
www.my-life.org.uk

18. Any questions?

19. Do keep in touch
Caroline Tomlinson
CEO My Life
1 The Vale
Appley Bridge
Wigan
Lancashire
WN6 9HD
Tel: 01257 252288 Mobile: 07947 608 915
E Mail: caroline@my-life.org.uk
FB: Caroline Cuerden Tomlinson
FB Page: My Life
Twitter: @cazzatomlinson @mylife-CiC
Linked In: Caroline Tomlinson
www.my-life.org.uk

20. In Control further information
www.in-control.org.uk
www.in-control.org.uk/stayconnected
www.in-control.org.uk/webinars