How will higher inflation affect the care sector?

A number of factors have combined to push the rate of inflation to its highest point in many years, affecting essentials such as fuel, food, utilities and more. The response from central banks to raise interest rates to combat this may have the intended effect, but will also increase the cost of borrowing, putting a further squeeze on businesses.

With the care sector so exposed to these sudden dramatic cost increases, what can be done to mitigate their impact on the bottom line?

• Use less in the first place

Utility bills are one of the fastest increasing costs right now, but even if they cannot be avoided it is often possible to improve the energy efficiency of organisations significantly. Whether through improved insulation, LED lighting, or looking longer-term with investments in solar energy, care providers should consider how they can reduce their energy usage without compromising on the standards of care they provide.

• Work smarter

Administration tools can make organising your business easier and cheaper through a mixture of time savings and efficiency. Whether you are a provider looking to fill urgent staff vacancies or an agency looking for a bigger pool of available work, a system like Care Hires can put all the information you need at your fingertips, with transparent costs and a centralised platform to keep rotas, timesheets, billing and invoicing updated in real time.

• Make staff wellbeing central to how you operate

Another major cause of inflation in the care sector is caused by staff leaving for better paid work. However, as we covered previously in our blog on staff wellbeing, there are a number of things you can do to improve the morale of your team, including better flexibility of working hours, recognition of their efforts, and more. Hiring new full-time staff is a costly endeavour, so making sure your systems work for your staff in the first place will help decrease turnover and maintain the high quality care providers aim for.