IT WAS a job swap of sorts when staff from head office came to work alongside its teams in the daily running of a care home in Warwick recently.
The staff at Leycester House care home were joined by CEO Andrew Winstanley, HR advisor Laurence Feather, and personal assistant to the CEO Vanessa Aldridge from the head office of Berkley Care Group. They spent the day working in the maintenance, carer, and bar teams respectively.
The event formed part of a group-wide initiative in which Berkley’s head office staff undertook different roles across the group’s homes, including as carers, activity coordinators and senior home management. The initiative is aimed at ensuring staff at head office have a full understanding of exactly what it takes to provide high quality care across Berkley’s portfolio of luxury homes.
Working behind the scenes, Andrew spent the day as part of the home’s maintenance team, helping to make general repairs around the facility and ensuring that the home’s many pieces of specialist equipment, such as fitness machines for residents in its gym, remained in top working order.
Meanwhile, Laurence worked with Leycester’s team of senior carers, assisting in the delivery of care to residents with a variety of needs, including those requiring specialist dementia care.
Working to keep residents refreshed throughout the day in the summer heat, Vanessa worked with Leycester’s bar and bistro team, whipping up a variety of drinks. Whether residents fancied a coffee or a cocktail, Vanessa saw how the team’s work helped residents relax in what is the centre of social activity in all of Berkley’s homes.
Andrew said: “This initiative has served only to reconfirm how proud I am to lead such a brilliant group. It is vital that those of us leading Berkley Care Group as it grows know what it’s like to live and work in our homes. Whilst we regularly visit our homes, we don’t always get first-hand experience of the vital roles that are integral to our group’s continued success.
“There is no better way to understand what it’s like to work as a carer, bistro assistant, or as part of the maintenance team than to spend a day working alongside them. I’m grateful to the team at Leycester House for welcoming Laurence, Vanessa and me into their ranks, knocking us into shape, and showing us what it takes to deliver the outstanding levels of care we aim to provide throughout our portfolio”.
