Greenwood Homecare needed to support line managers to better manage staff wellbeing in a demanding care environment.
Key takeaways
Industry
Health and social care
Challenge
Greenwood Homecare needed to support line managers to better manage staff wellbeing in a demanding care environment, including lone working, varied staff expectations and proactive health risk management.
Results
Completion of an accredited eLearning course increased confidence in having health and wellbeing conversations, improved approaches to health risk assessment and supported more proactive people management across the organisation.
Course
IOSH Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing
About Greenwood Homecare
Greenwood Homecare is a domiciliary care provider based in Cambridge, supporting people to live independently in their own homes within the local community. The organisation delivers care through a distributed workforce, requiring strong line management, effective communication and a proactive approach to staff health, safety and wellbeing.
The challenge
Beth Ahmed, Registered Manager at Greenwood Homecare (Cambridge branch), manages a diverse care workforce operating largely through lone working.
Key challenges included:
- Managing staff with differing expectations of line management
- Supporting employee wellbeing in a physically and emotionally demanding role
- Ensuring staff felt protected and supported while working alone
- Moving beyond traditional safety-led risk assessments to consider wider health impacts
- Building confidence to address wellbeing concerns early, before escalation
Beth identified a need to strengthen her capability as a line manager in relation to mental health and wellbeing, particularly in having proactive, meaningful conversations with staff.
The solution
Beth enrolled on the IOSH Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing eLearning course, choosing the online format for its flexibility and accessibility.The self-paced learning allowed her to complete the course at a time and location that suited her role and workload.The course provided in-depth content on identifying health hazards, supporting wellbeing at work and understanding the line manager’s role in promoting a healthy working environment.The course delivered detailed and practical insights relevant to managing people in care settings.A key learning outcome was the shift in perspective from general risk assessments to explicitly identifying and managing health-related hazards, encouraging a more holistic approach to staff protection and wellbeing.
"It’s highlighted the fact that we need to think in a very different way when we’re doing that type of risk assessment. "
Beth Ahmed, Registered Manager, Greenwood Homecare
The results
Since completing the course, Beth reports increased confidence in discussing health and wellbeing with her team. The learning has supported earlier intervention, helping her address issues as they arise rather than waiting for escalation.
Regular one-to-one supervisions now place greater emphasis on individual health and wellbeing, alongside role performance. While it is still early to measure long-term organisational impact, the training is already shaping more proactive decision-making and people management practices.
The value of the course has been recognised across Greenwood Homecare, with senior managers and colleagues in other branches also undertaking the training.
Beth would recommend the course to anyone responsible for supporting staff, particularly those in people-focused or high-demand environments.
"It’s a great course that will help you identify and promote mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. "
Beth Ahmed, Registered Manager, Greenwood Homecare