Pedalling through Cost of Living Crisis- The Carer Centric Way
This week, Visiting Angels is introducing its first two e-bikes to their care team. The first franchise in the care sector to be actively introducing the low-emission, alternative form of transport throughout the network, Visiting Angels is continuing to pave the way as the care employer of choice in the UK as it now acts on the concerns of the cost-of-living crisis.
Since its inception, Visiting Angels has focused on one thing – listening to their care staff and responding to be the best care employers in the sector. This focus naturally leads to a rewarded workforce delivering exceptional care for clients. As concerns emerged with the cost-of-living crisis, Visiting Angels listened to their carers again, those in particular who couldn’t afford to buy or run a vehicle. As the demand for Visiting Angels’ services continues to increase, Managing Director, Dan Archer, believes it is the perfect time to explore more ways to open doors for passionate people to join the care profession.
“With the cost-of-living crisis having a significant impact on the financial wellbeing of those working in the care sector, it was our duty to introduce a form of low-cost transport to support carers. As a carer-centric company, we listen to people who are really keen to work for Visiting Angels but, in this case, feel they are unable to because they don’t own a vehicle or are concerned by record fuel prices. Providing this little extra pedal power to our teams is going to make a big difference.” – Dan Archer, MD Visiting Angels
The roll-out of the e-bike scheme is another demonstration of Visiting Angels prioritising the wellbeing of its staff. Cycle-to-work schemes are growing in popularity to reduce carbon footprints, and there is also evidence to suggest e-bikes are playing a significant part in improving employee wellbeing. As the form of exercise produces endorphins1, Visiting Angels sees this as an ideal way to help carers start their days off on the right foot, whilst the extra pedal power supplied by the e-bike means care givers needn’t be the next Sir Chris Hoy to reach their clients on time! E-bikes, along with financial rewards, opportunities for career development and prioritised staff wellbeing, are all important steps Visiting Angels is taking towards helping carers feel valued when delivering care to those in need.
“It’s vital that, as an organisation fundamentally built around our care givers, we continually listen to them and respond. E-bikes are just one of the many ways we are addressing the impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on our care teams. For those with vehicles, we have always paid a significantly higher pence per mile than is the standard in the care sector, as well as servicing our staff vehicles for them once a year and paying for new tyres. We also pay more than the industry average hourly rate and commit to at least a 5% increase each year. We think this approach to rewarding care givers should be the norm, not the exception, in the care industry,” added Dan.
If you want to join our wonderful team of angels on E-bikes, get in touch!
Visit the website HERE to see the list of vacancies and apply today.
1Avaris, 2022, Why employers should back the eBike
Article by : Harry Myers for RevPR