Joining Stepping Stones Care

By: Samantha Ralph – Senior RSW at Garnet House

When I was asked to write the blog for the opening of Garnet House, I thought, how am I ever going to do this. So I guess I’ll start at the beginning of the process…

When I first applied for the role of Senior RSW, the first person I came into contact with was the Head of Recruitment & Development. They made the whole process of applying for a new job (sometimes a nerve-racking thing to do) extremely easy. Within a couple of days, I had received my email to invite me to interview – which due to Covid-19 was efficiently done over Teams.

My interview took place a few days later with the Head of Recruitment & Development and the Responsible Individual. Both made me feel comfortable and at ease, resulting in a successful interview.

Whilst I was waiting for the Safer Recruitment checks to be completed, I had several calls to keep me in the loop and have a general chat to make sure I was informed of what stage the home was in the process of opening. The level of communication was outstanding. Filling me with hope of what was to come.

I wasn’t disappointed…

On my first day I was nervous as I drove up to the home, knowing it was going to be filled with new people and new professionals that I would now be working with.

At 9.30am, I officially became part of the Stepping Stones Team.

The first week was a blur of documents, meeting new people, learning new names and learning about what Stepping Stones Care is all about. I couldn’t believe how friendly, professional and efficient everything was.

Some of the training was carried out by Kim (Manager from another home) and some of it was done by Sunil (our Manager). Both of them made everyone feel at ease and welcome, no question was too much trouble (or too stupid). It felt good to be in an environment where questions were not only acceptable but greatly encouraged.

Then we started to get to the nitty gritty of what you would normally expect to see during an induction period. We covered everything from safeguarding and self-harm, to fire procedures and how the paperless homes systems work.

The majority of the training was completed by the in-house management team, but we have also had the opportunity to meet some interesting characters along the way. Most memorable being the gentleman who came to complete fire training. Not only did we learn everything we needed to know in a very relaxed but informative way, but we also learnt where the best sandwiches in the area are made. I don’t think I have ever seen a group of people laugh so much in a fire equipment safety training session.

Before we knew it, we were into week two. During this week we were introduced to the three company Directors. Another nervous day, meeting the big bosses of the company and wanting to impress the people who were going to be paying our wages.

I have worked for a few companies in my years but never have I met three more down to earth Directors. They really want to create a culture here at Stepping Stones, where the staff teams are as well looked after and are listened to. They took the time to speak to us as a team make sure we were happy and ok with the induction so far and also made sure we knew we could contact them should we think it was necessary. From personal experience I have never had this feeling from an initial meeting with a Director.

Towards the end of our four-week induction period, we were informed that our brand new shiny home was still waiting to receive registration from Ofsted. The team took this opportunity to continue learning, mainly about the home, the documents we needed to be aware of and continuing to learn about Sue Solutions. Although this system was new to everyone, we discovered how it is going to help us be more efficient in our work. But most importantly, we took time to get to know each other and how we were going to work together.

We are now six weeks in from our start date. We have a Manager who is smashing it and making sure the team feel supported. We have a strong, diverse and experienced staff team, but more importantly, we have achieved initial registration and inducted our first young person into the home.

The last six weeks have been a whirlwind for me but I wouldn’t change it. The leap to the new role in a small and aspirational company was scary, but made so easy and comfortable by the team of people that I came into contact with just in the first few short weeks.

I made it clear when I joined the company as a Senior Residential Care Worker that it was my ambition to grow and develop and eventually move into Management. This has not only been heard and taken into account, but the process of learning and taking on responsibilities has already begun.

It feels good to have finally found a company where I feel listened to and valued as a person. I don’t feel like a number or that my opinion isn’t valid. Stepping Stones Care want to create a culture where their staff feel valued and respected, and I can say in my first few weeks with the company, that is exactly what they have done.

I am very excited about my future and prospects here at Stepping Stones but also to see where we go next as a team both in the home and the wider company.

Thank you Stepping Stones for giving me this opportunity. #TeamGarnet