National Care Group (NCG) is celebrating the achievements of its People Director, Claire Leake, on winning the HR and Recruiter Award at the Women Achieving Greatness in Social Care Awards 2022 (WAGS)

Claire Leake

The purpose of WAG Awards is to bring together female leaders who work in all areas of social care, in all job roles, creating a movement to inspire the women leaders of tomorrow and providing a platform for support, empowerment, and real change for the sector.

Claire was a front runner for the award as since joining in February 2021, Claire’s leadership and experience in HR have been instrumental in shaping National Care Group to become the fastest-growing social care provider in the UK. Employing over 2,200 colleagues, NCG provides care and support to over 1,250 vulnerable adults with complex needs.

Claire with members of her People Team at the WAGs

Claire’s dedication to reinvigorating processes to improve recruitment and retention made her stand out for this accolade. There are multiple initiatives Claire has implemented, some examples include hiring a Head of Talent Acquisition to overhaul recruitment and onboarding, implementing a proactive refer-a-friend scheme, ensuring open and transparent communication through a new Colleague Forum, NCG's new Wellbeing Champions, it's Mental Health First Aiders, and ‘Tea & Chat’ zoom sessions with the Executive Team, continuous support for female colleagues through leadership development and internal promotion opportunities.

As a result of Claire's new initiatives, National Care Group has benefited from a reduction of 15 days in time to onboard new hires, an overall monthly reduction in leavers and consistent high recruitment numbers with more quality hires, and a reduction in drop-outs. Overall improved quality ratings at services, with recent inspections reflecting ‘Good’ which reinforces NCG is hiring, training and engaging higher-quality talent.

Ultimately and most importantly, the People We Support at NCG are feeling the benefit of the consistency and quality of support they receive.

All at NCG are inspired by Claire's leadership, passion and dedication to its People.

To read a little more on Claire, click here.