How to stay healthy when you can’t work from home

As all of us across the country continue to work against the spread of COVID-19, government instructions continue to be to stay home, stay healthy, and work from home if you can. At Excel Recruitment, we work directly with clients and candidates on the frontlines of this crisis dealing directly with the needs of the public. For all these fantastic workers (including our own temp team) in healthcare, retail, warehouses, supply chain and more, working from home isn’t an option. So for those on the frontlines right now: what can be done to mind both your physical health, mental health, and to stay healthy overall?

Healthcare and Nursing Agency

Top 5 tips for your first day as an agency nurse or HCA

 

Whether you’ve recently begun a job in agency healthcare, just thinking about it or already an experienced relief nurse or healthcare assistant who wants to brush up on the basics, our consultant Kerry Phelan has compiled a handy guide to start you off on the right foot.

Come prepared
Regardless of whether you’re starting work in a nursing home, hospital or any other healthcare facility its always important to arrive ready to start working. Make sure you have your uniform, ID badge, timesheets and any other essentials you need for your working day, and if in doubt contact your recruitment consultant! This is what they are there for, to help you out as best they can.

Show up 15 minutes early
This may sound obvious, but it shows the facility your willingness to learn and work with their nursing or healthcare team. As an agency nurse or healthcare assistant, you are entitled to a full and detailed handover when coming into a new nursing home, ward or service including being shown the layout of the facility and being briefed on any special procedures they may have. Arriving early gives you the chance to get a detailed overview of what’s expected of you, be shown around the facility and hopefully meet some members of your new team!

Ask lots of questions!
Make sure to ask as many questions as you can. The staff on the ward or in the nursing home may presume things they do every day will be common knowledge or may think certain things are obvious when they may not be. They will be unaware of how much you know or don’t know and may take So be sure to ask as many questions as possible. There is no such thing as a stupid question.

Remember your basics
Sometimes in your job as an agency nurse or healthcare assistant, the best thing you can do is the basics. While the senior staff sift through mountains of paperwork or computer systems and the regular nurses or HCAs deal with the specific or niche needs of patients, the small things can often be put to one side. The clients are not expecting you to know everything or handle something you’ve never done before but it is most appreciated when you can make life easier for the busy staff. Such things as assisting residents with their daily care, asking patients about themselves and ensuring that they feel respected and dignified will be most appreciated by staff, by clients, patients and their families.

Communicate
Always communicate how you feel about any working situation to your consultant. Often as an agency worker, you may be expected to adapt like a duck to water in a facility, or some permanent staff may come across as unhelpful. There is no need to worry though, you can always report any feedback you have to your recruitment consultant, and the best part of agency jobs is you don’t have to go back if you don’t like the work in a particular facility.
At Excel Healthcare we value our agency nurses, HCAs and healthcare workers. We want to make your job as an agency healthcare professional as easy and as enjoyable as possible. We are compassionate and understanding, and will always be here to help you as best we can.

To view our live healthcare jobs, click here

 

HR MANAGEMENT, HR RECRUITMENT, HR JOBS

The importance of highlighting HR talent

Senior HR Recruitment Consultant Sean Thomas discusses how the recent CIPD awards served as a reminder of why businesses of all sizes need great HR talent and management.

A few weeks ago, the Excel Recruitment HR team enjoyed its first outing to the CIPD HR Awards in the iconic Mansion House, to recognise the success of great HR managers and teams across the country.

Attending these awards with some of the best HR teams and talent in Ireland, we saw first-hand the positive impact a HR team can have with the right people in place. Many great companies and organisation were recognised for excellent work in their fields, such as Gillian Collins of the Irish Defence Forces, who was highly commended for her work in Diversity & Inclusion. Other companies such as Applegreen and Musgrave were also very successful on the day.

It was a fascinating learning experience to see how modern HR departments are helping businesses and organisations face modern challenges and move forward successfully. One of the awards that particularly stuck with me, went to DPD Ireland for Excellence in HR leadership. The HR talent put a huge emphasis on recognising and thanking their employees for their extra contribution and hard work during the hectic Black Friday to Christmas period. The HR team led a creative & fun-filled 10 day initiative in the lead up to Christmas. They were able to show their appreciation to the team for their extra efforts and commitment while still ensuring the needs of the business were met. Having worked in retail for over 12 years, I know first-hand the extra demand on staff and management during the lead up to Christmas.

As many will be aware last year due to Excel’s expansion as well as a rise in demand from our clients, Excel’s CEO Barry Whelan and I consolidated all of Excel’s HR recruitment capabilities into a dedicated HR recruitment division. This has been a huge success, allowing us to further support our many clients in retail, hospitality and across other sectors. Throughout my career in retail and recruitment, I have seen the importance of a strong HR function in a business, across any sector. This sparked a fascination with the area and prompted me to complete my HRM qualification in order to learn more about the sector and better understand my client’s requirements.

Overall, the afternoon was a great reminder of the value of great HR team or person and the need to recognise them and to support them, within the wider industry, yes, but perhaps more crucial internally within their own organisation. The job of the HR Manager, Generalist and so on, is wide-ranging and far-reaching and the impact is felt across the business not only short term but for the long term organisations objectives.
A very well done to all finalist and organisations that are constantly evolving and always looking at ways to improve employee working experiences.

To view our current live HR jobs, click here: https://www.excelrecruitment.com/jobs/human-resources