So what are the top caring qualities?
While exceptional training can help to advance a carer’s skills, there are many qualities that a good private carer needs that cannot be taught. These are the natural abilities that a carer needs to feel empathy and compassion for someone and subsequently want to do the best job they can looking after their customer.
There’s a reason we’re the UK’s most trusted home care provider and that’s because of the amazing people we choose to be our carers; people who have natural qualities of compassion and kindness. We directly employ our carers at Helping Hands – we’re not a care agency, we’re a private home care company who have been supporting our customers with industry-leading carers since we were established in 1989, so you and your loved ones can be sure of our high standards and attention to detail.
At Helping Hands we pride ourselves on selecting only the most compassionate and caring people to become our carers and that, in conjunction with the comprehensive training we give them when they start with us, means you or your loved ones will be expertly supported at home. The following list illustrates just some of the qualities our carers have:
Respectful
A carer should always be respectful of their customer and where they live. After all, not only is it the customer’s home it is also the carer’s workplace. That doesn’t mean the carer and customer can’t joke together, or enjoy a friendly relationship, however the carer should remember that they’re not only representing themselves but Helping Hands too.
Professional
Carers should be mindful of the language they use around the customer as well as voicing opinions that the customer may take exception to. Carers should also avoid talking ‘over’ the customer when they are working with another carer, as that will make the customer feel excluded from the conversation and is not respectful or professional.
Empathetic
Empathy can’t be taught; you either have it or you don’t. To be a good carer though you definitely need to have an empathetic outlook on the world and care deeply about other people and their wellbeing. Empathy means you can understand or identify with the feelings of another person and all good carers should be able to do that.
Reliable
Being reliable is vital when the person who is waiting for you to arrive has needs that will affect their dignity and health if they aren’t addressed. When you are a carer there are people relying on you to carry out tasks that they would rather be doing themselves but aren’t able to, so being reliable and arriving when you say you will is also respectful.
Patient
Patience is an essential trait because there will be times of stress in the role which can cause you to be tempted to answer on your customer’s behalf or do something for them that they would prefer to do themselves. It’s important to always keep your customer as independent as possible and encourage them to do things for themselves, where possible.
Bubbly
Having a lively personality isn’t a prerequisite for being a carer, however you’ll definitely need your sense of humour on days when things get tough. Customers will often have an amazing personality that suits you perfectly as a carer, but there will be times when they’re resistant to having care and won’t accept that they need any extra support at home.
Communication
It is essential to communicate effectively with the customer, their loved ones, where appropriate and the company as well. This is especially important if you aren’t able to attend your customers as it ensures that they are not sitting there wondering if anyone is going to arrive. This prevents them from becoming unduly anxious.
Confident
It’s important to report and follow up any safeguarding issues as we have a duty of care to the customer to ensure their wellbeing is always being prioritised. It’s also important to make sure that there’s nothing hazardous that you’re going to trip over or cause someone else to either. Having the confidence to speak up is paramount.
Global, local
Our carers come from the UK and around the world, and at Helping Hands, we have many thousands of amazing carers making a difference to our customers’ lives every single day. Depending on whether you have our visiting or live-in care service our customers could be supported by someone from anywhere in the world!
Knowledgeable
Dementia may cause those around them to lose patience with the person, complaining that they keep repeating themselves or asking the same questions over again. This is where the carer can support the family too by reassuring them that the person doesn’t do it deliberately, it’s just what can happen when someone is living with dementia.
Determined
You’ll have to work hard to win customers over sometimes but thanks to the strength of your friendly and outgoing nature, they’ll soon see you as a friend and understand you’re there to help. You also need to be able to remain unemotional at times and put your ‘practical head’ on, even when you feel as if you could fall apart inside.
Person-centred
Your customer may have had a stroke or live with another condition that takes them a long time to answer a question, but it’s important to wait and let them do so, not become impatient and answer for them. Presuming you know what someone wants isn’t person-centred and will lead to frustration for the customer and caregivers.
Choosing Helping Hands for your care or career
There are so many reasons for choosing Helping Hands, both as a career and for exceptional care at home. Because we’ve been supporting our customers and our carers so well since we were established in 1989, we really do have the pick of who comes to work for us, knowing they’ll enjoy benefits that care agencies and other care companies don’t offer, such as:
- Higher pay rates than our competitors
- Flexible hours and working patterns
- Paid mileage between customers
- Regular training and development
- Genuine career progression
- Guaranteed work placements
