Leading care provider, Belong Macclesfield, has retained its prestigious Gold Investors in People accreditation. The dementia care specialist has increased its overall score from its previous assessment, securing its place as one of the UK’s top employers and earning recognition for the positive impact of the organisation’s culture on outcomes achieved for residents during the pandemic.
The assessor noted that: “Actions taken prior to Covid and the buy-in of employees to deliver the Covid-free Belong which we now see, confirms that high-quality communication and an empowering leadership style are bringing out the best in people.”
During a comprehensive assessment period which concluded in July, Belong demonstrated an exceptional performance for its leadership, colleague support, and drive to continuously improve. Colleagues across Belong’s seven state-of-the-art care villages, home care service, and its support departments, were invited to complete a feedback survey, the results of which were combined with follow-up interviews and reviews of documentation to build a picture of the organisation.
In the inspiring final report, Investors in People judged Belong to have achieved the Gold standard, an accolade awarded to around 16% of businesses.
Tracey Stakes, chief executive at Belong, commented on the achievement: “We’re delighted to receive the Gold Investors in People accreditation, and to have our customer-focused culture recognised in the midst of a pandemic is real testament to all our teams and the values that are enabling us to pull through these challenging times.
“We can confidently say that the Belong culture is alive and well. Of course, there is always room for improvement and we will continue to build on our success, supporting colleagues in their work and providing outstanding support for our customers.”
Since the last review, accreditation requirements have been raised, meaning higher standards now have to be met to achieve the Investors in People Gold status. Belong has outperformed its previous score and that of the national average, attaining the ‘Advanced’ level for all key performance indicators and the maximum ‘High Performer’ level in six areas, including adopting the values, collaborative working and encouraging innovation.
With regard to the handling of Covid-19, the report highlighted how every employee interviewed was ‘full of praise for the way in which the Belong leadership team and their colleagues conducted themselves during the pandemic.’ There are currently no cases of Covid-19 at Belong Macclesfield, with regular testing of colleagues and residents in place.
Belong’s Gold rating joins a number of accolades the company has achieved in the last 18 months, including its recent wins for the 2020 Carehome.co.uk and Homecare.co.uk awards, both placing Belong as a top 20 provider of care, nationally. Belong Macclesfield also currently holds a ‘Good’ CQC rating for its care provision.