encore staff party

Encore Care Homes invests in its people

Encore Care Homes invests significantly in the personal development of its staff and presents them with regular training opportunities throughout the year. The ‘Be an Effective Leader’ programme was launched to provide staff with the skills and tools required to manage a team successfully.

The ‘Be an Effective Leader’ course is carried out over a six-month period and consists of five one-day workshops and five half-day workshops. These workshops cover a range of topics including managing teams through communication, time management and how to resolve under performance. In-between training, each team member is asked to demonstrate what they have learnt so far in the daily working environment.

At the end of the programme, all participants create a presentation to share with the rest of the team, which details what they have learnt and how they have developed through the training. Michele Blake (wellbeing manager), Amy Stratford (care practitioner) and Sinead Bedrijczuk (care practitioner) from Great Oaks; as well as Monica Giambarresi (registered nurse), Orsolya Kiss-Messenger (unit lead nurse) and Kim Butters (wellbeing manager who was unfortunately unable to attend the presentation) from Fairmile Grange, are the latest cohort to complete the training at Great Oaks. 27 members of the Encore team have now completed the Be an Effective Leader Training.

Luke Wiltshire, training manager for Encore, said: “It has been a pleasure facilitating the group’s learning and seeing people grow session-by-session. Our workshops cover a range of topics but heavily focus on learners exploring their leadership style and recognising how to adapt to different situations. Leadership is not a simple concept that can be taught in one training session. Our in-depth programme means that learners have a chance to implement what they have learnt in the classroom, into their role in our care homes, and then come back and evaluate their learning in a group setting.

“At Encore, we are passionate about learning and development and we hope by offering regular training opportunities such as this initiative, we will build a well led and inspired workforce for the future.”