10 Qualities of a Fantastic Care Assistant
Published: 23/04/2021
10 Qualities of a Fantastic Care Assistant
I’ve been in the care industry for over 3 years now, and having interviewed well over 500 Care Assistants, I’m going to share my knowledge. What are the qualities that make a truly great Care Assistant. We support clients in Gosport, Fareham, Southampton and much of the New Forest too.
We were recently rated as overall Outstanding by CQC, which was amazing. More than anything, this was a huge testament to our group of fantastic Care Assistants.
Here are some of the things I look for in Care Assistants who are looking for a job:
Someone who already Cares
One of the first things I look out for when interviewing a care assistant for a job, is “does this person actually care” or “do they care for someone in their personal life”. This doesn’t need to be a role as a Carer.
- Do you ever look out for your neighbours – have you ever gone shopping for them, or checked up on them?
- Are you someone who helps their Grandparents or Elderly Family Memebers?
- Do you keep doors open for people?
We can’t train you to be this person. Its a personality trait. Clearly, being a carer for a family member also tells us a lot about a person too.
Be Positive
Be Positive
I am a true believer that positivity is infectious. If you haven’t met our new Registered Manager, Lukasz, come in and do so. He is living proof of this. A super positive and energetic person. No matter what mood you are in, when you come and say hello to him in the morning, you’ll be smiling for sure.
There have been countless studies around how positivity is infectious. In fact, it was agreed that emotions generally are contagious – read this fantastic article from Psychology Today (I’m a geek I love this stuff!).
As a Care Assistant, or CareGiver as we call them, if you are positive and happy – this will be reflected in your clients. So often when we receive great feedback, its about how smiley or happy our CareGivers are.
;)
Patience
Looking for Care work as a Care Assistant, being patient is crucial. With diminishing capabilities, clients may be physically or mentally slower. They may be slower to move, or find it difficult to explain themselves. They may take this out on you, as their CareGiver. This may not seem fair, but we need to put ourselves in their shoes.
Remaining calm and clear headed in tough situations is imperative for Care Assistants. Our clients around Southampton, Gosport and Fareham wouldn’t want it any other way!
Be a great listener
The art of listening, and genuinely listening is one that not many people have. Its easy to share your own stories when someone doesn’t communicate much, however as Care Assistants – we are there for our clients.
Some of your clients may not speak much, but everyone communicates somehow. Listen, watch, learn. And then importantly – do something with this. This flows onto my next point nicely about going above and beyond!
Go above and beyond
Its clear from our CQC Inspection Report, that one of the main reasons we received an outstanding rating was because of what our clients said. Read some of our reviews here.
Our CareGivers (Care Assistants / Carers) were praised for consistently going above and beyond. Some of the great things I remember:
- A client telling a Care Assistant that they missed their grandson who lives in Australia. The CareGiver organised an arranged a FaceTime chat so the client could see that person.
- One client missed going into her garden and caring for her plants. So the CareGiver arranged a trip to a local garden centre which then became a regular event.
- One of our Clients loved our local bakery – Soothills. The client wasn’t able to leave the house. So the awesome Fabian (Care Assistant in Fareham) would pick up his favourite treat for him on the way to seeing him!
Doing this should be a natural thing for you, apply with us today if you can see yourself doing this!
;)
Accept the responsibility
Since coming into this industry, I’ve always talked about the level of responsibility put on a Care Worker versus the amount they are rewarded. This is why we pay the highest rates in the local industry, and ensure we look after our employees! Check out our facebook page to see some of the cool things we do with our CareGivers. Feel free to pop into our office in Fareham to meet the team yourself.
Care Assistants have a lot of responsibility placed on them. We expect our CareGivers to be able to deal effectively with that level of responsibility. Often you will be the one who notices something, a change in a condition etc. As our CareGivers consistently see the same clients, they will often notice the smallest of things. Our expectations are that this is dealt with appropriately, even if this means communicating this with the office.
Are you the Care Assistant we are looking for?
Having read the above, are you thinking this is you? Do you know someone who lives anywhere in or around Fareham, Gosport, Southampton or the New Forest who has the above traits?
We are looking to grow our awesome team, so please get in touch today on 01329 233755 or have a look through our current vacancies.
As always, its a been a pleasure!
Kev out
