PJ Care encourages its care home staff to speak out anonymously

A leading provider of specialist neurological care has installed a SpeakInConfidence system in its three care homes, which enables staff to start a dialogue with senior management or HR safe in the knowledge their identity is secure.

Following an annual employee survey that highlighted communication as an area for improvement, PJ Care selected SpeakInConfidence software. This will enable anonymous two-way communication between staff and the senior team and its installation will help to ensure active and efficient communications between all staff, despite the problems of multiple locations, shift patterns, language barriers and cultural differences.

Angela Johnson, PJ Care’s HR director, said: “We recognised that some employees had ideas, suggestions, concerns and issues which we were keen to hear and address, but they were reluctant to speak up in meetings. We wanted to ensure we provided an effective mechanism for all communication – we wanted to give our employees a voice.

She continued: “With more than threequarters of the workforce working shifts, finding a way to communicate with managers can sometimes be difficult. SpeakInConfidence provides a way for two-way communication, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, where our staff can make any comments, anonymously. Users can access from any internet connection, such as work/home PCs or phones, and we will be making PCs readily available throughout the care homes.

“Anonymity can be important for people for a variety of reasons. For some staff, it could be the communication of a potentially controversial issue or an idea they are too shy to put forward, while others may not wish to be exposed for circumventing their traditional reporting structure. Implementing a third-party tool will help us provide confidence that their identity is protected while PJ Care benefits from an enhanced insight into how to improve our environments for staff, residents and families.”

PJ Care will initially roll out the use of the software to its staff with future plans to provide SpeakInConfidence to residents and their families too.

“Our residents’ care is at the heart of everything we do. Any tool which allows the open discussion of all matters of care, without any fear, takes us a leap forward to providing outstanding care – this applies to our staff and our residents and their families.

“The media portrayal of whistleblowers can often discourage people to speak out - staff may sometimes feel shy to speak up for fear of retribution, families can often be fearful of jeopardising relatives' care. We encourage open communication about all issues, good or bad, what we do well and what we can improve, ” added Ms Johnson.