Top tips
(Please note that some of these tips aren’t relevant for individual employers.)
- Plan staffing levels depending on the needs and wishes of the people that you support and the level of funding available.
- Use caseload management tools that score people in terms of their needs, wishes and risk, and use these scores to plan rotas and match people with workers that have the right skills, knowledge and similar interests.
- Plan for lone workers to carry out all of their duties when you plan their workload, including time for travel, handovers and record-keeping.
- Consider the environmental and geographical factors that might impact staffing levels, for example the accessibility and location of where people live.
- Share your rota as early as possible and consistently. Provide workers with easy ways to access the rota and keep up to date with any changes.
- Develop a contingency plan to maintain safe staffing levels, for example:
work with other local services whose workers could cover shifts, have a team of bank lone workers, use agency staff to cover emergencies, have alternative plans in place for home visits, for example family friends or neighbours.