Project: Supporting a national arts charity as it closed down a loss-making retirement home.
Brief: When annual losses of nearly £750,000 meant a nursing home was no longer viable, the charity owner needed help to formulate a diplomatic and sensitive closure plan. It also wanted to ensure it treated the nursing home’s 50 employees well and that they stayed motivated to deliver a good service during the final months.
Our approach: Elspeth Watt had been helping the charity professionalise its HR systems. She was asked to advise on the trustees’ reluctant suggestion that if the home had to close, it should be done over a period of five years.
With an additional annual cost of nearly £4 million and the challenge of maintaining morale and motivation of staff and residents over this period, Elspeth supported a different approach. The alternative model would see the home close within 12 months but with maximum support for staff and residents – and a substantial reduction in the charity’s losses.
The plan focused on involving and supporting residents and their families in their choice of new home. Residents would be offered the chance to try up to two other homes with the charity paying for two-month stays. It also committed to meet any shortfall between the costs of the existing facility and the new home for the life of the resident.
When the board chose the latter closure option, it asked Elspeth to manage the HR process. The biggest issue with the closure plan was judging when it would be appropriate to reduce headcount. To tackle the uncertainty, staff were fully informed throughout and incentivised to stay to set dates to provide continuity of service to residents.
To help employees secure new positions, Elspeth organised a partnership with the local college so staff could take NVQ III and IV in care. Rotas were also flexed to allow employees to complete their portfolios. Staff were also offered training in CV writing, interview skills, presentation and general confidence building.
Outcome: All the residents chose new homes after their first stay with no-one returning after a trial. Many moved to homes nearer to relatives with some choosing to move together to maintain friendships.
Employees left in groups over a six-month period timed to coincide with residents’ departures. A small staff remained until two months before the final closure to ensure the home was still operating if any residents decided to return after a first trial.
The home closed 12 months after the process began. Of the 48 redundancies, everyone found new jobs while two people went into full-time education. There were no Employment Tribunals claims.
The building was subsequently sold and the charity recouped some of its losses, freeing funds to help a wider range of beneficiaries across the country.
Tara clearly loves what she does and approaches each assignment with enthusiasm, expertise and integrity. She has provided expertise on how to deal with difficult HR issues and I have always been impressed with her empathy and common-sense approach.
