Care Friends is an employee referral app that aims to support finding and retaining high-quality care staff in the social care sector. The app was launched in partnership with Skills for Care and is available on both web and mobile platforms. The app allows staff to refer their friends for job opportunities at the tap of a button, share job roles directly with their contacts or on social media, and recognize and reward staff. With an incentives scheme, referrers receive rewards as the person they have referred moves through the recruitment process
into employment. The app also provides a leaderboard feature that makes collecting points fun and competitive. Each point converts to £1, which is paid through payroll.
Care Friends has been shown to support recruitment and retention of high-quality staff, with the app leading to five times more referrals than traditional means of recruitment. This method of recruitment also leads to an estimated 50% lower year one attrition rate than the sector average, due to greater staff suitability. It has also brought a new, diverse range of candidates into social care. The app also streamlines the administration associated with the
recruitment process.
Care Friends is also working on a project to look at how the app can be applied in children’s social care in Wales around boosting foster carer recruitment.
You can find out more about Care Friends by watching our CII webinar, Bolstering the Children’s Social Care Workforce here: https://coram-i.org.uk/coram-innovation-incubator/coram-innovation-incubator-webinars/