Going the Extra Mile for the People Who Go the Extra Mile: Introducing Care Friends at Unity Care Specialists

At Unity Care Specialists, we have always believed that great care starts with great people.

Our care team is at the heart of everything we do. Every day, our colleagues are out in our communities supporting people to remain safe, independent and well cared for in their own homes. We know that delivering great care takes commitment, compassion and professionalism, and we never want that contribution to go unnoticed.

That is why recognising, rewarding and developing our team has always been important to us.

Now, we are taking that commitment another step further with the introduction of Care Friends, our new employee rewards, recognition and referral app.

We asked our team, and we listened 💜

Before choosing Care Friends, we asked our colleagues what they would like to see from Unity in addition to the rewards and recognition we already provide.

We looked at different options and thought carefully about what would genuinely add value for our team, rather than simply introducing another app or employee benefit.

Whatever we chose needed to feel like Unity.

It needed to reflect our values of:

💜 Care💚 Respect🌟 Excellence

Most importantly, it needed to give us another meaningful way of recognising the people behind the care we provide.

That is why we chose Care Friends.

Recognition isn't new at Unity

Care Friends isn't the start of recognising our people. It builds upon a culture we are already incredibly proud of.

Throughout someone's journey with Unity, we believe there should be plenty of opportunities to stop and say well done, thank you and congratulations.

That includes our Carer of the Month recognition, where we celebrate colleagues who have made an outstanding contribution.

We recognise work anniversaries and milestones, because someone's continued commitment to Unity matters to us.

We celebrate birthdays, because our colleagues are people first and we want everyone to feel part of the Unity family.

We also love celebrating individual achievements, whether they are professional or personal.

That could be completing training, achieving a new qualification, progressing into a new role, receiving fantastic feedback, developing new skills or reaching an important personal milestone.

Some achievements might seem small to somebody else, but if something matters to one of our team, we want to celebrate with them.

But we wanted to go further

Recognition should not only happen once a month or when someone reaches a major milestone.

Some of the most important moments happen in the everyday things.

It is the care worker who stays calm during a difficult situation.

The colleague who supports another member of the team.

The person who receives wonderful feedback from someone they support or their family.

It is noticing somebody consistently demonstrating our values of Care, Respect and Excellence.

And sometimes, it is simply somebody going that little bit further than expected.

We wanted a way to recognise more of those moments.

Care Friends gives us the opportunity to do exactly that.

What is Care Friends?

Care Friends is a rewards, recognition and employee referral app that will be available to our team.

Through the app, colleagues can receive recognition and reward points for things such as:

🌟 Going above and beyond

👏 Thank yous and positive recognition

🏆 Achievements and successes

💜 Demonstrating our Unity values

🎂 Birthdays

🎉 Work anniversaries and milestones

🙌 Making a positive contribution to our team and the people we support

Each Care Friends point is worth £1, giving our recognition a tangible reward too.

Once a colleague reaches the required balance, they can choose how much they would like to cash in, giving people flexibility over when they use the rewards they have earned.

For us, however, it isn't simply about the financial reward.

It is about creating more opportunities to say:

"We noticed. We appreciate you. Thank you."

Supporting people to grow with Unity

Recognition is just one part of how we want to support people throughout their careers with Unity.

We believe social care should offer people the opportunity to learn, develop, progress and build a genuine career.

That's why we invest in training and development and celebrate colleagues as they gain new skills, achieve qualifications and take the next steps in their careers.

We want someone joining Unity to see possibilities ahead of them.

Whether somebody wants to become an exceptional and highly skilled care professional, develop specialist knowledge, mentor others or progress into leadership, we want to encourage that ambition.

Care Friends gives us another opportunity to recognise those moments along the way.

Rewarding our team for helping our team grow

There is another important element to Care Friends: employee referrals.

We know that our existing colleagues can be some of our greatest ambassadors.

They understand what working in care really involves, they understand Unity, and they know the values and standards we expect.

Care Friends makes it easier for colleagues to share opportunities with friends, family, former colleagues and their wider networks, including through platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Importantly, Care Friends doesn't only recognise a referral when somebody eventually starts working with us.

Our team can be rewarded at different stages of the referral journey, from sharing opportunities and generating applications through to successful interviews, new colleagues joining Unity and successfully completing probation.

It means our team can help us spread the word and introduce more fantastic people to a career with Unity while being recognised for doing so.

"Our people should never doubt how much they are valued"

Natalie Dobson, Director of Unity Care Specialists, said:

"Our team is the reason Unity is able to provide the quality of care that we do, and I never want anyone working with us to doubt how much their contribution is valued. We've always tried to make recognition part of everyday life at Unity. Whether that's Carer of the Month, celebrating a birthday or work anniversary, congratulating somebody on a qualification or promotion, sharing fantastic feedback, or simply recognising someone for going above and beyond. But we wanted to go that extra mile ourselves. We asked our team what they wanted, listened to their feedback and looked at what was available. Care Friends felt like a really good fit because it isn't only about financial rewards. It gives us another way to recognise those little moments that matter as well as the big achievements. For me, looking after our team is directly connected to looking after the people we support. When people feel valued, supported, recognised and given opportunities to develop, we create a stronger team and ultimately an even stronger care service. I'm incredibly proud of the team we have built at Unity and I'm excited that Care Friends will give us another way to celebrate them."

More than a rewards package

For us, being a good employer is about much more than offering a list of benefits.

It's about the experience someone has throughout their time with Unity.

It's about being welcomed into the team.

Being supported when something is difficult.

Having access to quality training.

Being encouraged to develop.

Having opportunities to progress.

Being thanked when you have done something brilliant.

Being recognised when you reach a milestone.

And knowing that the work you do matters.

Our approach continues to be centred around our three values:

💜 Care

Caring for our colleagues as well as the people we support.

💚 Respect

Recognising every individual's contribution, experience and achievements.

🌟 Excellence

Supporting our people to learn, develop and continually deliver the highest standards of care.

Care Friends is another piece of that commitment.

Going live Monday 🚀

We're delighted that Care Friends is planned to go live across Unity on Monday.

Our colleagues will receive their invitation by text and email, with information on how to get started.

And because we recognise that not everyone is equally comfortable using apps and technology, our team will be available to help anyone who would like some support getting set up.

Nobody needs to work it out alone.

We're looking forward to seeing the first rewards, recognitions and referrals coming through, but we're even more excited about having another way to celebrate the incredible people behind Unity Care Specialists.

Because ultimately, it comes back to something we strongly believe:

Great care starts with great people.

And great people deserve to know just how much they are valued.

Care. Respect. Excellence.

Unity Care Specialists | Care Staffing with a Difference