'Staff Appreciation Week' is a yearly event and something the staff look forward to. It’s a chance for everyone to be celebrated and is always so much fun. This year, the homes celebrated the ‘OsCARES’: staff from the whole company were nominated by their managers for different Category Awards; I was lucky to receive the ‘Dedication Award’, winning a voucher of my choice. The 2023 Head Office theme was 'Stars in Our Eyes', and the effort on the office decorations alone were amazing! We were dazzled by helium balloons and decorations saying ‘Thank You’ - there was even a red carpet to walk down, it felt special! They didn’t stop there though; the kitchen had a huge basket of ‘Staff Appreciation Week Snacks’ full of goodies. We also received a gift which was nicely presented on our desks, individually cello-wrapped with lots of lovely things inside (including a Hollywood ‘Walk of Fame’ coaster with our own name on, sweets and hot chocolate sachets) – it was a lovely surprise! My favourite part was probably when we all played bingo – we linked up with our office in Fife and played via Teams – it was quite chaotic but so much fun.

I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to work with Holmes Care. I had been really putting some hours in due to a particular project I was working on, and it came as a total surprise to receive an enormous hamper from the Company, thanking me for my efforts. It took me by complete surprise and I was genuinely touched by the gesture, and for the continued support and collaboration that I receive working for Holmes Care.

Karen Brown was 30 when she first joined Holmes Care ten years ago (she doesn’t mind us doing the subsequent maths!). Karen’s first role was as a part-time administrator at Heatherfield Nursing Home, where she worked until September 2020. Of this first experience with Holmes Care, Karen said ‘No day is the same in the administration office of a nursing home; there is a variety of work ranging from payroll tasks, reconciliations, compliance, assisting residents, relatives and staff as well as supporting the manager and service. Learning to multitask was key for me, as well as task and time management, working with various systems and being adaptable to change’. In the Autumn of 2020, Karen was approached about a new opportunity that was to become available, working under the Operations Manager as the Operations Assistant. This position gave wider focus and dimension to her previous role, that had focused primarily on just one home, Heatherfield, with Karen now providing support to a variety of different homes across the Group. Karen joined the Operations Team where the responsibilities were similar, however, she worked more on the reporting and auditing of various systems for all Holmes Care Group services, providing monthly analysis, coordinating diaries, with her main duty being that of supporting the Operations Manager. In March 2023, Karen was invited to join the newly formed Strategic Change Team, on secondment, as a Strategic Change Assistant, where she still works to this day. The Strategic Change Team was formed, post the acquisition of Kingdom Homes, with the remit being to support the Executive Team in driving forward the integration of Kingdom Homes with Holmes Care Group. The Strategic Change Team have led, and provided support, on business-critical projects over the last two years, including the TUPE transfer of employees, a review of staffing establishments, as well as working with departments to review current systems and processes, ensuring they are fit for the growth of the wider business. On being asked what she enjoys most about her current role, Karen shared that she enjoys the sheer variety of the work, and there being no such thing as a ‘typical day’, giving examples of the diversity and breadth of initiatives that both she, and the rest of the Strategic Change Team, have been involved with since inception. Karen said that her current role has given her the opportunity to problem solve, something she particularly enjoys, stating ‘I like to add value, and I do love a challenge!’ Karen added that she is grateful for the opportunity to work with a wide array of departments and homes, and daily interaction with a diverse range of settings and individuals, all with different styles of working. Karen commented ‘Every day in this role, I genuinely learn something new, and I find that really rewarding as it definitely makes me think about things and self-reflect’. On being asked where she sees herself in five years’ time, Karen said ‘Hopefully I’ll still be at Holmes Care!’ I asked her what she would like to be doing, or could see herself doing, and she said, ‘I’d like to just keep growing within the Company, not just working or my professional growth, but also my personal growth’. Karen went on to explain that, on a personal level, she can see noticeable changes in herself that her current role in particular has definitely contributed to, and had a positive impact on; for example, Karen said that she previously lacked confidence in things like public speaking, speaking out and sharing her ideas in group settings; she said that this role has, through necessity, provided her with the perfect platform to ‘find her voice’ in order to complete tasks and get projects over the line; as such, she has gradually become more confident speaking up in meetings, online and in person. Karen added that her confidence has also increased in terms of driving, adding that she previously would never have been able to just ‘whizz around’ like she does now, and that travelling from home to home is just something she now does without question. Karen concluded that she genuinely feels that she has seen growth in many areas, both professionally and personally, in her 10 years with Holmes Care. Karen will be forever grateful to Chelsie, Alex, Sharifa and Anne for pushing her out with her comfort zone – and quoted that ‘when you enjoy the work you do, you never work a day in your life’.