Mother & Daughter Make a Great Team

This Mother’s Day, mother and daughter Karen and Claire will have plenty to talk about: they both work for the same local company, doing what is becoming a family tradition. They are both carers. But who is following in whose footsteps?  

Karen and her daughter Claire work for Right at Home, a family-friendly business based in Farnham which provides care to people in their own home.

Claire joined Right at Home two years ago followed by semi-retired former nurse Karen in autumn 2018. Karen was initially attracted by the flexible working arrangements and the quality of training offered by the company, which covers Guildford, Fleet, Aldershot, Farnham and Farnborough.

“My mum also worked as a carer and I think that influenced me in becoming a nurse nearly 50 years ago, so perhaps it’s not surprising that Claire enjoys a caring role too,” explains Karen who lives in Yateley. “During my career I’ve worked for all sorts of care providers at different levels and in different roles. What I like about Right at Home is that staff are well looked after and helped to settle into the role. You don’t get that everywhere. Of course, caring is a rewarding job but it can be demanding too and emotional from time to time. Over the years, I’ve seen that staff who are looked after do a much better job for their clients than someone unsupported, so I could see why Claire enjoyed working for Right at Home.”

Claire, who lives in Church Crookham, clearly loves her work: “I’m proud of working as a caregiver. It’s an amazing job – I have the privilege of being welcomed into my clients’ homes and helping them get the most out of life; to help them stay safe in their homes, keep healthy, protect their dignity, help them enjoy their hobbies and hear about their lives – you don’t get that sort of thing from working in an office or a call centre.

“I guessed Mum would enjoy working here too so I wasn’t a bit surprised when she applied for a job at Right at Home. She’d taken a year off while planning her retirement but I could see that she would easily be able to fit the job around her other interests.”

Right at Home provides care ranging from companionship and hour-long support visits right up to 24-hour live-in care. For Karen and Claire, the flexibility of their roles works well with family commitments and other interests.

After applying for a job as a caregiver, Right at Home provided full training to Karen which she completed in November.

Right at Home GF prides itself on being like one big family. “Having worked in some very big institutions over the years, I appreciate now being part of what feels far more like a family environment. I never feel like an anonymous employee – even senior staff at Right at Home, like the managing director, take an active interest in our clients and how we’re enjoying our job. That’s important because it means I know they understand about the challenges of the role – they’re not remote, they’re involved. It adds to the family atmosphere.”

Claire recalls growing up and always seeing her mum work in caring roles: “It definitely influenced me. I could see what an interesting and varied job being a caregiver is. Mum worked with all sorts of different people and, as a child and teenager, I could see myself doing something similar. If you like being with people and helping people one-to-one, it’s a great job.”

Giving clients the time they need is important to Karen. Right at Home prefers to organise one-hour visits for their clients which means she often has time to make her client a cup of tea and have a chat with them during her visit as well as doing whatever practical and personal tasks they need help with.   

“Claire understands the demands of the role and what it means to me to do a good job for my clients so we support each other as colleagues as well as a mum and daughter,” says Karen. Six months into the role, Karen feels very much at home in the job and is looking forward to a long future with Right at Home.