Strategic HR Management in Health and Social Care: Akari Care UK

This report delves into the critical aspects of human resource management within the health and social care sector, with a specific focus on Akari Care Home UK. It addresses operational and strategic factors crucial for effective recruitment, emphasizing internal elements like organizational size and policies, as well as external factors such as demographics and labor market conditions. The report evaluates different approaches to ensure the selection of the best individuals, highlighting the importance of analyzing vacancies, preparing job profiles, and providing thorough orientation. Key legislations like the Health and Safety at Work Act, Equality Act, and Race Relations Act are discussed in the context of ensuring fair and lawful hiring practices. Furthermore, the report explains theories of how individuals interact in groups, particularly focusing on teams in health and social care, and evaluates approaches to develop effective teamwork using Tuckman’s stages of group development. Finally, it explores how leadership theories, such as transformational leadership, can be applied in the health and social care workplace to enhance organizational performance and employee engagement.

Managing Human Resources in Health and Social Care
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1:........................................................................................................................................4
Task 2:........................................................................................................................................8
Task 3:......................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
Reference List..........................................................................................................................14
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Introduction
Today, Health and Social care has become one of the most essential and effective industries
in a global context. The sector comprises of services an individual seeks from the various
health and social care providers. The components of the health and social care sector
comprises of various crucial and significant subjects such as biology, nutrition, ethical
frameworks, certain laws and legislations, and social policies. One of the main advantages of
the health and social care sector is the fact that it provides significant and important support
to individuals. May it be it physical support, or emotional support or social support, the sector
has become one of the most important functioning industries, not only regionally, but also
nationally and globally.
The main aim of this project will be to shed light on the various aspects of management in the
Health and Social care sector. From hiring the required employees to creation of certain
plans, the project shall deal with various components for a better understanding of the
management of this sector. Lastly, the project shall also lay down certain pieces of
legislations, which shall be followed by the management and authorities in the health and
social sector. The study shall be conducted in reference to Akari care home UK.
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Task 1:
Write a short report explain the factors that need to be considered – operationally and
strategically – when planning the recruitment of an individual to fill the post in a health
and social care setting [AC1.1]
In the health and social care sector, the need and requirement of the relevant staffs is a
necessity for enhanced services. Since this is a sector, which is very crucial and related to the
lives of the individuals seeking support and help, the management and authorities of a firm
need to be put in extra efforts and see to it that only the capable and qualified individuals are
hired for an organization like the Akari care home UK. It has to be understood that the
organization functions to provide care homes support to the elderly and adults in the United
Kingdom (Media, 2018). For instance, the employees who shall be working in the
organization need to have the capability to work and cope up with the behaviour and
mentality of the aged individuals.
For any organization serving the Health and Social care sector, there are certain operational
and strategic factors, which have to be kept in mind and considered by the Human Resource
department while undertaking the recruitment process. For an organization such as Akari care
home, the HR department of the organization have to deal with two factors while hiring and
recruiting employees.
They are the Internal factors and the External factors.
The Internal factors comprise of:
 Organizational size
 The value and image of the organization
 Policies of recruitment
 The value and dignity associated with the particular job
The organizational size plays a major role in the recruitment and hiring of employees. It has
to be understood that the recruitment process depends on certain factor such as the plan of the
organization to expand or spread its business, plans to acquire or merge with other
organizations (Hesselgreaves et al., 2016). For instance, if the Akari care home decides to
expand its business, it needs to hire more employees to handle the increment in the
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operational works. Next, the image of the organization also is a crucial factor that plays a
major role in the process of recruitment. If Akari care home comprises of a positive and
enhanced reputation to the outsiders, more employees shall be interested to work for the
organization. Certain recruitment policies are very crucial for an organization. It depends on
the management of Akari care home as to how they employ the candidates. They may follow
the internal or external processes of recruitment, based on their strategies. Lastly, the value
and offerings of the job on offer also plays a significant role in the recruitment process of an
organization.
The External factors include:
 Demographical factors
 Condition of the labour market
 Presence of competitors
 Legal considerations
 Rate of unemployment
The demographical factors include certain components of candidatures such as their age, the
literacy rate of the particular area, their financial conditions and others. The conditions of the
labour market include the provision of the required employees with the right skills. If the
employers fail to find the required skills in the employees, the recruitment process shall
require more efforts from the HR department of Akari care home. The presence of
competition has a major share in the recruitment policies and processes (Sarker, 2017). If the
competitors of Akari care home manage to provide better remuneration and pay packages to
the candidates, they shall be more interested to work over there. An increased rate of
unemployment indicates that the companies shall have abundance of candidates to choose
from while recruiting them. Lastly, the HR department of Akari care home needs to obey and
follow the pieces of legislations while hiring the candidates.
Evaluate different approaches that may be used to ensure the selection of the best
individuals in health and social care sector. [AC1.3]
In order to ensure the fact that the best profile is selected and the right employee is chosen for
a job, the Human Resource department of an organization like Akari care home need to keep
note of certain factors. They must conduct the process in a step wise manner and look into it
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that the most efficient of individuals are appointed in the organization. Following are the
steps:
 Analyzing the vacancy
 Preparing the job profile
 Finding of candidates
 Evaluating the applications of the candidates
 Choosing the right employees
 Ensuring their appointment in the organization
 Provide required orientation and induction to the new employees
By following this approach while recruiting and hiring the candidates, it shall become
possible for the management of Akari care home to ensure optimum services to the help
seekers and consumers of their service. The management of the organization needs to ensure
that the candidates are well skilled with the ability to handle elderly people. They should also
have the capability of facing any sort of issues and problems, which might be caused by the
service users due to their ill health or mental conditions. The management might provide
various trainings and sessions to the new recruits to do so (Subramaniam et al., 2016).
Further, they employees also need to deal with any sort of medical emergencies and
accidents. They should be well prepared psychologically as well as emotionally to deal with
such problems, and ensure the safety and security of the service users.
Key legislations and policies you have employed to ensure the selection of the right
individual for the job. [AC1.2]
As the HR officer in the Akari care home, it remains a must for the manager to employ and
obey certain legislations and laws while undertaking the recruitment of individuals. The
failure to do so shall not only land the organization in legal troubles, but also demean and
deteriorate its value. There are major laws for the employers to follow while hiring the
employees and extracting their services. Some of the significant laws are as follows:
Health and Safety at Work Act
The Act, which essentially deals with the provision of health and safety of the employees at
the workplace, was enacted in the year 1974. The Act tabulates that the factors, which the
employers must follow so that the safety and security of the employees in the workplace are
not, threatened (Holt and Allen, 2015). For instance, in the workplace, it becomes necessary
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for the employers to employ proper machines and devices so that the employees do not have
to suffer from any sorts of accident.
Equality Act
It has to be ensured by the employers and management of Akari care home to bring in equal
opportunities for the employees in the workplace, irrespective of one’s gender. The
management and decision makers need to ensure the fact that they do not discriminate
between the female and male candidates and should only hire those who comprises of the
required skills and proficiency for the job (Foster, 2015). Under the provisions of the Act,
which was enacted in the year 2010, it becomes necessary for the employers to bring in
equality in terms of gender, sexual orientation, religion and based views.
The Race Relations Act
The Act was enacted in the year 1976. Under the provisions of the Act, the HR manager and
decision makers of Akari care home to provide equal opportunities to all the individuals and
candidates, irrespective of their religion and race (Neal, 2017). Today, almost all the biggest
of organizations and companies are bringing in an atmosphere of diversity in their workplace.
They are of the opinion that by doing so, a firm’s productivity enhances by a significant
margin. Hence, in order to prosper and enhance its value in the market, the managers of the
health and social care sector need to implement this Act.
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Task 2:
Explain theories of how individuals interact in groups, particularly focusing on teams
that work in health and social care, and evaluate different approaches that might be
used to develop effective team working in health and social care. [AC 2.1] [AC 2.2]
With the implementation of teamwork in the health and social care sector, it becomes
possible for the employees to meet up with the organizational goals and objectives in the
most efficient manner. Hence, in the case of Akari care home, it becomes necessary for the
management to club the employees together in teams and bring out the best from them. To do
so, Tuckman’s stages of group development shall be implemented (Mase et al., 2016). The
theory comprises of four stages namely, forming, storming, norming and performing.
Forming
This is the first part of the team building aspect. Under this stage, the members of the team
are not much aware of their key roles and responsibilities. They remain inquisitive and it
remains the job of the leader to bring in synchronization in the team (Poston et al., 2017). The
members of the team in this stage are made to be aware of their roles and responsibilities. The
manager of Akari care home shall explain the key roles and responsibilities to the employees
in this stage.
Storming
This is one of the most crucial stages of team working. Under this, there remain high
possibilities that the team may dissolve or shelve. The reason for this is the fact that in the
storming stage, the team members look to break the boundaries within which they are
constricted. Due to the said reason, the scope of conflicts arises (Kerr, 2017).
Norming
In this stage, the differences of opinions and conflicts among the team members start to sort
out (Senaratne and Samaraweera, 2015). The conflicts are dealt with and in turn, the team
member ensures that a harmony and peaceful atmosphere is present in the working of a team.
Performing
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This is the last step of the theory. Under this, the team works hard and strive towards the
organizational goals (Natvig and Stark, 2016). In the case of Akari care home, in this case,
the team works towards providing better and efficient service to the consumers, which are the
people who use their services.
Explain how theories of leadership can apply to health and social care workplace.
[AC4.1]
Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership is one of the most common and in use leadership style employed
by the leaders of an organization. In the health and social care, it is no different. This form of
leadership can be seen at an extensive level in organizations like Akari care home. Under the
transformational leadership, the leader works alongside the members of the organization to
achieve the goals of the organization in the most efficient manner (McCleskey, 2014).
In the context of the said organization, it has to be understood that the leader or the manager
of Akari care home needs to have a set of clear goals which are well defined. The individual
needs to inculcate these goals among the members of the team. Not only this, he or she needs
to help, motivate and support the members of the team. They further need to make sure that
the members of the team give it their best output for achieving the set goals and objectives.
By coordinating with the employees and making sure that they are in line with the
organization’s goals, the manager of Akari care home can successfully serve and look after
the service users.
Analyse how health care working teams can be managed [AC4.2]
In order to efficiently manage the teams and meet up with the organizational goals of the
organization, the managers and leaders need to be have proper team management skills and
qualities. The required capabilities, the managers need to have and develop to properly
manage the team in Akari care home are as follows:
Specific vision: They need to have a certain vision and objectives. The manager needs to
drive the team, based on his or her vision. The vision and objectives should be such that they
help to meet up and achieve the goals of the organization.
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Enhanced communicational skills: The managers need to efficiently communicate with the
team members. Be it specific instructions or any set of guidelines, proper communication
ensures the fact that the team is working in union and are striving towards the set goals.
Implementation of strategies: With the implementation of strategies, it shall become possible
for the management of Akari care home to serve the service users in the most efficient
manner possible. It also ensures the fact that the various resources of the organization are not
wasted or exploited.
Negotiation: With the scope of negotiation, it becomes possible for the managers and
hierarchy of Akari care home to bring the best out of the employees. By negotiating, it
becomes possible for the managers to reach to agreements and in turn, serve the consumers in
the best manner possible.
Evaluate how own development has been influenced by management approaches
encountered in own experience. [AC4.3]
By getting exposed to the various management approaches and strategies, the scope of
personal development also rises to an optimum level. In this context, the various qualities and
strengths, which might be inculcated by the individuals, are as follows:
 Enhanced communicational skills Ability to work in a team Proper screening and evaluation techniques Leadership qualities
All the above mentioned qualities and strengths shall help an individual to prosper not only
professionally, but also bring in personal developments. For instance, when individuals
develop enhanced communicational skills, it becomes possible for them to express
themselves in the best possible manner. In addition, with the aid of leadership qualities, it
becomes possible for the individuals to take and implement better decisions in their lives.
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Task 3:
Explain monitoring strategies adopted when checking the performance of employees
working and analyse different techniques for promoting development continuity in
these employees in health and social care work place [AC3.1] [AC3.3]
In order to bring in development and betterment in the organization, it becomes necessary for
the management of Akari care home to monitor the performances of the employees. In order
to do so, the company may implement certain strategies. For instance, they can evaluate the
motivational level of the employees to work for the organization. Enhanced motivational
levels indicate enhanced performances. Also, they can employ surveys and researches to find
out the job satisfaction level of the employees. Lastly, they can also keep a track of the
annual performance of the employees to assess their performances (McGrath at al., 2016).
In order to bring in development in the performances of the employees, the management of
Akari care home can do the following:
 Provide the employees with relevant training and motivational sessions Employ the right individual for the right job Provide the employees with incentives Implement certain reward management system in the organization
By following the above mentioned steps, it shall become possible for the organization to
develop the performances of the employees. If the employees are provided with certain
rewards and incentives in return of their good performance, they shall be highly motivated to
work for the organization. Not only this, but with the provision of proper trainings, the
employees shall be able to conduct their tasks in the most effective manner.
Assess methods used for identifying individual training and development needs in
health and social care. [AC3.2]
It becomes necessary for the organizations like Akari care home to identify the weaknesses
and point out the areas that require developments. In order to do so, the companies may
undertake the following measures:
360 degree feedback
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In this, the management of the organizations undertake various surveys and interviews of the
employees. By doing so, a company like Akari care home may find out the motivational
levels of the employees, their job satisfaction levels and their perceptions about the
organization where they are working (Hageman et al., 2015).
Training Needs Analysis (TNA)
Training Needs Analysis refers to the gap, between the training to be provided and the need
of the particular training. Under this, the employers or the management assesses the fact that
whether or not the training, which shall be provided, would be fruitful (Ferreira et al., 2015).
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Conclusion
In the health and social care sector, it becomes an absolute necessity to ensure the fact that
the members who are working have enhanced management skills. They need to have the
capability of working in a group. In the case of Akari care home, the Human Resource
department and the decision makers of the organization need to ensure the fact that they
comprise of employees who have the required skills and efficiency to work in this sector. It is
also a necessity for them to develop proper interaction among them. By interacting with one
another and establishing professional relationships with one another, it becomes possible for
the organizations to enhance their work output and provide their services in the most efficient
manner possible.
The main aim of the project has been to critically evaluate and analyze the various aspects of
Human resource in the health and social care sector. The study has shed significant light on
various components such as needs and provisions of training of employees, the
implementation of strategies along with various other integral components.
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Presentation:
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