The strategies that drive a high performance People culture
Steve Rockey, People Director at The PIG Hotels, is joined by Sona's VP of Hospitality, Paul Watson, in conversation on the culture strategies that deliver high performance teams.
Building a staff schedule couldn’t be easier.
Reduce payroll errors with real-time T&A.
Fill 50% more shifts with your own employees.
Ensure shifts are covered even if you're understaffed.
Manage absence requests and approvals.
Practical ways to boost team morale with proven examples from across the sector.
Find out what care employees say matters to them most at work.
Search and view employees with customised permission levels.
Key employment information all in one place.
Store visas, professional certifications and more with easy access.
Control personal and operational details of your staff.
Why are people leaving Social Care, and where are they going?
We asked 250 Social Care leaders about their attitudes towards digitisation and their plans for the next 12 months...
Why are Hospitality workers leaving the industry, and what can you do to retain them?
Share updates with a single click.
Staff can see relevant messages in one place.
Request post-shift feedback from staff.
Recognise staff contributions by sending them praise.
Identify staff at risk of churning.
How care organisations can embrace flexible working and thrive.
Maintain quality of care and reduce costs.
Maximise profitability through AI-powered forecasting & scheduling.
Elevate your operational efficiency and guest satisfaction.
Streamline operations across sites.
Developed alongside Social Care experts with decades of combined experience.
See why we are the leading user-friendly, end-to-end platform that prioritises both efficiency and wellbeing.
The Sona Partner Network is an ecosystem of solution experts and complementary technologies.
Give staff greater visibility of shifts available to work, with a simple "shift claim" process to increase their income.
Improve employee engagement and retention with a seamless employee communication platform.
Happier staff provide greater customer experiences, which in turn drives return rates, revenues and recommendations.
Give staff greater visibility of shifts available to work, with a simple "shift claim" process to increase their income.
Improve employee engagement and retention with a seamless employee communication platform.
Happier staff provide greater customer experiences, which in turn drives return rates, revenues and recommendations.
Meet the Sona team online with our webinar series or in-person at an event near you.
New research, insights, and strategies for frontline leaders.
Downloadable templates, reports and guides from Sona.
Stay up to date with the latest Sona news and research.
Learn how our customers are transforming their people operations.
| 4 min read
Steve Rockey, People Director at The PIG Hotels, is joined by Sona's VP of Hospitality, Paul Watson, in conversation on the culture strategies that deliver high performance teams.
| 7 min read
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| 9 min read
This essential guide explains the evolution of WFM and why AI-driven technologies will influence the way organisations are run in the long-term.
PUBLISHED: October 2024
Do you know how the frontline feels about new tech?
Sona’s most recent 1,000 person survey delved into the motivations of both leavers and joiners to the sector.
PUBLISHED: August 2024
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Ben, our CTO, will walk you through Sona's AI features designed specifically for large Hospitality providers.
Looking for your next great read? Here are some titles to inspire you.
7 minute read
There's nothing like the new year to motivate us to take on a challenge. Whether you're looking to grow your skillset, read some inspiring stories, or find new ways to support your team, these are five books you need to read, as recommended by our network of Social Care experts!
Author: Kevin Torf
Length: 174 pages
As a project Manager, change expert and all-round organisational pro, it's no wonder Louise Gibson made this short, but punchy recommendation. Efficiency is the name of the game here - not to spoil the list, but we've got an even shorter entry to back that up, so keep reading!
"Getting the Job Done is a really good book, about all things project management. It’s got really good advice on dealing with some of the things we encounter a lot when rolling out new solutions.
Louise Gibson, Project Manager & Change Consultant
Essentially, this is a book about striking the balance between having a plan and remaining flexible in order to accommodate your team and your goals when faced with the unexpected.
Kevin Toft, a large-scale project strategist and author of "Getting the Job Done," says the mission of this book is to help distill the system he's used to lead Healthcare tech consulting projects for over 15 years.
This is how the acronym P.R.O.J.E.C.T.S. came to stand for Planning, Reflection, Organisation, Juggling, Empowerment, Communication, Teamwork, and Standards.
With the compact analysis of each block followed by clear bite-sized tips, and concluding with Toft's first-hand experience of Health & Care providers as case studies, this book can help you gain a more strategic view of your own initiatives - regardless of their scale - and jumpstart new projects in 2024.
PS: You can catch Louise on our next webinar. Register here and get a sweet treat, too!
Author: Christie Watson
Length: 272 pages
Ben Miller dedicates his time as a Registered Manager to supporting his team and offering the best care possible to residents. These are big challenges that he's willing to take on because he's always been passionate about Care and wants to make an impact.
Needless to say, this reflects the feelings of many Care professionals out there. So when he recommended "Courage to Care" as a book that reignites this passion whenever he feels down, we wanted others to share in his joy.
Reading "The Courage to Care" reminded me of why I became a nurse and why I love nursing. It's an inspiring story and I recommend anyone working in Health or Social Care, nurse or not, takes time to read it. It's powerful.
Ben Miller, Registered Manager at Milkwood Care
Christie Watson is a Professor of Medical Humanities at UEA and has worked as an NHS nurse for over 20 years. In writing "Courage to Care," she wanted to use her award-winning skills as a writer to bring to life the stories of frontline professionals, both for those in the sector and those outside.
"Courage to Care" is not about statistics or general learnings, but rather about the day-to-day, individual impact each person can make, whether they're giving or receiving care. In Watson's words: "When we feel most alone, nurses remind us that we are not alone at all."
So, if like Ben, you find yourself needing a bit of inspiration to support your team, propose an initiative, or learn something new - this book is an excellent choice.
Author: Madeleine Bunting
Length: 320 pages
"Labours of Love" wins our seal of approval because it focuses on a topic that stood out in our report, The Big Reshuffle (Part 2): how to attract the next generation of carers. But most importantly, it is Neil Eastwood's recommendation, and as an author himself and CEO of Care Friends, he knows a good book when he sees one.
Too many positive things to say about it, but loved the prediction there will be just two types of jobs seeing growth in the future: high tech and high touch. And we need to shift from obsessing about cognitive skills training for young people, to education towards social and relationship skills.
Neil Eastwood, Author and CEO of Care Friends
Expertly researched and told, this book is the result of Madeleine Bunting's five years of travel across the country and her quest to reveal the stories of carers in a variety of settings. At the same time, she blends in a bit of history, recounting how Britain's Social Care sector came to be, and sets out to propose new ways of attracting the next generation of carers.
Compelling, revelatory, and full of the warmth and kindness that characterise the sector are only a few of the words we could use to describe this book.
If you're looking to feel inspired and motivated - particularly if you're working on recruiting more people in 2024 - "Labours of Love" could prove an excellent starting point.
Author: Liam Palmer
Length: 47 pages
If you don't find yourself with enough time to sit down with a tome, here's the shortest entry on our list, courtesy of Hayley Horwood.
I find myself recommending this book to people, whether they want to be managers or not. It's more about how Liam approaches the idea of struggles and sees them as opportunities for improvement. Taking charge of a Care home, a team, or just your own priorities, and looking for the opportunity there: that's something that inspires me every day.
Hayley Horwood, Founder & Social Care Expert at HLH Consultancy
Liam Palmer believes that delivering great care comes down to effective leadership, and having the right systems in place. Furthermore, he knows from experience that everyone can display leadership skills in the right circumstances, regardless of their role.
In only 50 pages, Liam manages to weave in elements of mindfulness, staff empowerment, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in order to deliver an excellent guide for when you find yourself daunted rather than excited by the new year.
As Hayley says, sometimes a change of perspective can flip the story from struggle to opportunity!
Author: Kate Minchin
Length: 195 pages
Our final recommendation - "Always Time for Coffee" - really shows why the Care sector needs solutions that are designed specifically for its unique challenges. It highlights how most management advice doesn't really speak to frontline teams and sets out to remedy that with a mix of strategies and examples.
Kate Minchin has led frontline teams and their managers for more than 20 years and in writing "Always Time for Coffee," she wanted to offer every Care professional the chance to "sit down for a chat" with her.
The numerous case studies she includes are a testament to her experience and the variety of people she's met over the years. Beyond the insightful management advice this book offers, you will find so many genuine, real-life situations, it will be nigh impossible not to relate to at least a few.
One lesson Kate recommends to take away is that working with others is bound to be challenging at times, but the strong system of support, the kindness, and understanding she's found in the Care sector - that makes it all worth it!
We're constantly adding to our library of resources written specifically for Social Care professionals. Browse through all of our publications here.
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7 min read
Here are the main takeaways from Sona’s webinar, 'Does Social Care need a new culture of recognition?'
1 min read
Sona and Camascope announce an exciting partnership.
5 min read
Taking holidays makes employees more productive. How? This article breaks it down!