Practical examples and learning

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Explore practical examples, case studies and workforce insights from across adult social care to help strengthen recruitment, retention and workforce development.

Learning from what works in adult social care.Discover how organisations across adult social care are responding to workforce challenges through practical examples, case studies and insights.

Explore approaches that are helping employers to:

attract new people into care

improve recruitment and onboarding

support staff to stay and thrive

develop stronger, more resilient teams.

These examples highlight different approaches from providers, partnerships, and communities. Use them to spark ideas, adapt learning to your own context and identify practical actions to strengthen your workforce.

Practical approaches toolkits

Explore practical resources showcasing approaches to recruitment, retention and workforce development from across adult social care.

Each example shares learning from organisations putting new ideas into practice, with insights you can adapt to support your own workforce challenges.

Recruiting and retaining local care teams

Be Caring: neighbourhood-based block-pay

A neighbourhood approach to recruitment and care delivery can create more sustainable roles by reducing travel time, improving continuity, and strengthening relationships with local communities. Combining block-shift pay, values-based recruitment, and structured induction supports workforce stability and improves retention.

Empowering teams through greater autonomy

BelleVie: empowering self-managing teams

Giving care teams more autonomy, flexibility, and peer support can improve job satisfaction, wellbeing, and continuity of care. Investment in coaching, strong team relationships, and collaborative ways of working can help create a more engaged and sustainable workforce.

Building stronger routes into care careers

North East Lincolnshire Health and Care Partnership: Collaborating for careers in care

Partnership working between employers, education providers, recruitment services, and community organisations can strengthen workforce pipelines. A coordinated approach helps people access training, placements and clearer pathways into adult social care careers.

Improving recruitment and onboarding

Sheffcare: Centralising recruitment

A centralised, values-led recruitment and onboarding approach can improve the candidate experience, streamline recruitment, and support retention. Structured induction, buddy support, and development pathways help new starters build confidence and feel connected from the beginning.

Creating future career pathways

St Monica Trust: Retaining the next generation

Apprenticeships, mentoring, and targeted support can help attract younger people into adult social care and encourage long-term careers. Providing progression opportunities, wellbeing support and a positive workplace culture helps build the next generation of care professionals.

Reaching new talent pools

Stockton-on-Tees Employment and Training Hub: Reaching the future workforce

Combining recruitment hubs with community outreach can help connect people who are further from employment with opportunities in adult social care.

Employer engagement, preparation support, and coordinated recruitment approaches can strengthen workforce pipelines.

Connecting employers with future talent

Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce: Leveraging provider engagement in local skills

Careers events and employer engagement activities can raise awareness of adult social care careers and connect future talent with employers.

Working with education providers and local partners creates opportunities to showcase the sector and attract new recruits.

Blogs and articles

Read reflections and insights from organisations sharing their experiences of recruiting, developing and retaining their workforce.

Shared Lives Plus: Recruiting through community trust and representation
Building trust, working with respected local leaders and using culturally relevant messaging can widen participation, attract more diverse Shared Lives carers and create a workforce that better reflects the communities it supports.

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board: Getting young people into care careers
Challenging misconceptions about adult social care, promoting clear career pathways and engaging with schools and communities can encourage more young people to consider care careers, helping to build a sustainable workforce pipeline for the future.

Surrey Choices: Recruiting younger people into social care
Creating structured work placements and work experience opportunities can introduce more young people to social care, challenge perceptions of the sector and build a sustainable talent pipeline. Providing meaningful experiences and recognised achievements can encourage young people to consider long-term careers in care.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority: Connecting communities to careers in health and social care
Community-based recruitment events can help remove barriers to employment by connecting underrepresented groups directly with employers. Accessible, face-to-face engagement and targeted outreach can widen participation, fill vacancies and create more diverse pathways into health and social care careers.

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