July marks Good Care Month, an annual campaign to celebrate the contribution of carers working in the social care sector, and highlight the profile of care as a rewarding and essential career path, particularly at a time when recruitment and retention in the sector are national priorities. Personal Group’s Andrew Walker looks at how the clever use of HR Tech can help this silent army.                                                                                         

According a report by Carers UK and Age UK, by 2050 projections indicate that the world’s population of people aged 85+ will have increased fivefold, and Europe will have the oldest population in the world. In the UK, 11 million of the people alive today will live to be 100.

Let’s consider carefully how these statistics might affect our businesses and the people working in them.

The lives of parents and carers are chaotic and reactive, and the number of people facing this daily balancing act is already creating a pressure point on their wellbeing and the businesses they work for. The age range at which most people are thrust into a caring role (45-64) is also the point at which they typically become most crucial to their company, so there is no question that supporting carers to stay in work will unlock significant economic gains.

Quick and easy access

Some tech innovations are already working to great effect. Whether a carer to an elderly relative is office-based, working from home or is a deskless worker, accessing an Online GP service through a Benefits and Wellbeing app like HAPI gives quick and easy access to the medical care and advice they need. Using technology to access the service becomes as important as the service itself.

This kind of HR technology can also add genuine flexibility. Where old paper-based systems were slow and unresponsive, a digital interface accessed online or via a smartphone app allows workers to adapt their PMI or cash plan to cover family members, or swap childcare support for elderly care support in real-time. It can also set up notifications and reminders to stay up to date with any changes in the market, or relevant products that become newly available. Like a bookmark in a browser, it can favourite the benefits users value most, making them quicker to find, while single-sign-on (SSO) enables fast and seamless login across multiple platforms.

Access to financial support

While going through a life-changing time physically and emotionally, carers can also face a struggle financially as new work patterns affect income levels. Thinking about working parents of young children, any support to cover afternoon clubs or nurseries can make a huge difference and yet parents nationwide are in danger of missing out on millions of pounds' worth of tax-free childcare credits because they are unable to access them, or do not know they are available. Again, by using technology solutions to raise awareness, process childcare vouchers and reconcile payment, companies can make a genuine difference to working parents' finances, attracting them to work for an organisation, and helping them to stay at work.

In addition to this direct financial support, access to relevant financial advice and wellness tools through an EAP can also help, while carers can benefit from different financial signposting to government forms or practical advice. Again, all of this can be made available through the HAPI App.

Mental Wellbeing, Communication and Community

One impact particularly common to parents and carers is a feeling of isolation. Young parents can shift very quickly from a vibrant workplace to being at home alone with a baby. Using this same technology to enable recognition and networking, we can build social communities of like-minded people facing similar challenges.

A virtual coffee allowing a mother or father to sit at home and talk with colleagues can be a transformative use of tech, and a virtual network of people living through similar experiences can help both on a practical level and alleviate stress. Companies can make available a whole range of resources – static information, videos and how-to guides - and tools for self-help such as mindfulness or meditation apps.

Learning to leverage data through Tech

Benefits only engage a workforce if they are useful and relevant. With investment in technology, organisations can now use digital tools to harvest, store, categorise and present employee data in a way that allows for smarter analysis. Increasingly, data analytics and sentiment analysis can also provide deeper insight into employee perception and help identify trends and patterns to further enhance and sense-check a benefits offering.

A technology platform like the HAPI App that can be personalised and adapted enables a company to set its stall out far more effectively, spelling out to parents and carers exactly what is available to them as they navigate important life events. Even with these advances, though, knowing who our parents and carers are can often elude us, and require extra work.

Parents and parents of young children can usually be identified within existing data, if not by carrying out a company survey At Personal Group we recently went through this process and gained invaluable insight into the company’s demographic make-up. This is allowing us to improve maternity, paternity, parental leave and carers policies, better inform employees about government funding provisions related to childcare and target more effective communications.

If you could benefit from help reviewing your policies around parents and carers, or would like to book a demo for the HAPI App, please Get in Touch with our team of expert consultants today.