Access for All - Enabling everything to work in the hybrid working format - Care for Carers Case Study
This is the third case study in a series on organisations who have built their hybrid format capacity with us we are showcasing how organisations can become more accessible, more able to serve their customers. All businesses regardless of sector or size can benefit from how hybrid format and hybrid working patterns enable quality delivery for all. You can read the previous case studies here
Care for Carers is a charity based in Edinburgh which provides support services for carers. They help all carers regardless of age, gender, disability or relationship of the person they care for. PlacesWork have helped them to deliver their crucial services as hybrid, helping hundreds of their members with accessibility and inclusion.
Developing the Accessibility of your Services is something Duncan has written up a leading model about in the article about Build Back Better. Which is all about the area of Culture Change that Duncan Wallace Associates works on extensively and can be read about here.
Why embrace the hybrid format to make access work for all?
Covering the entirety of Edinburgh, the work Care for Carers do is incredibly valuable to the caring community. They are specialists in providing short breaks for carers, tailored to their needs and can be experienced individually or as part of a group. Care for Carers also provide days out in and beyond Edinburgh, support services, information workshops which can cover legal advice and access to a care guidance service.
The outcomes of Care for Carers' programmes and services are big. It brings about empowerment and enablement through participation and community involvement, this is vital after Covid-19 which was undoubtedly very difficult for carers and saw many of the cared-for excluded from society.
It is incredibly important for an organisation like Care for Carers to be able to continue to operate regardless of the things that would make it difficult for carers to attend in person like individual circumstances, sickness or train strikes. With many of the services provided in a group setting it is vital to include those who must join remotely so they can still benefit from being part of the community. Ruth MacLennan, the CEO of Care for Carers, told us why she thinks hybrid is important:
'Having a properly working hybrid option means that we can support carers to connect and engage with us in whatever format suits them best. Trustees can attend management meetings in whichever way fits for them on the day in the knowledge that the sound and vision of the meeting will be good and working well which has been a challenge to do virtually in the past. We have already used the space for a number of meetings with colleagues from other agencies. There is a growing ask for spaces in the city where groups can meet in a hybrid set up facility. I think this will enhance our offer to carers and to staff experience of holding events or meetings in a hybrid model.'
By going 100% hybrid Care for Carers can continue to be inclusive and accessible for all.
Enabling everything to work - How we helped
Our support for Care for Carers was incremental and multifaceted. Two members of staff attended our How to Run Hybrid Meetings Effectively live training course near the end of 2022. The training course aims to help staff tackle the problems caused by having meetings where half are in person and half are online through planning and delivery. Services that Care for Carers provide like writing groups and sculpture workshops can be considered in the meeting context.
Many of the staff members are also taking our How to Make the best of Hybrid Working Patterns and Tools for Managing Hybrid Working Patterns courses, understanding the importance of helping the cultural issues surrounding hybrid working patterns.
We were brought in to provide consulting and coaching to think through what they needed for their organisation and what services would benefit the most from going hybrid. Care for Carers were then able to apply for funding, which they had no problem securing with the focus being on accessibility and inclusion. The funding allowed them get a new room in the building they are based in and in which they could install screens, cameras, audio equipment and furniture which would allow for various configurations. The ability to change the room mean that it could be used for all kinds of meetings and events.
PlacesWork has continued to train and help consult with set-up, equipment and practicalities like signage. We aim to create a supportive environment that allows people to continue to learn through doing.
The help we have given Care for Carers has been delivered by a team of associates to allow for multiple perspectives and a sustainable and proactive policy development.
Cairngorms Team Day in the hybrid format
At the end of 2022 PlacesWork director Duncan Wallace travelled with Care for Carers to facilitate a hybrid team day in the Cairngorms, allowing everyone in the team to take part in the experience.
The result - Enabling everything to work in hybrid format
The outcome is that Carer for Carers are able to, with its hundreds of members, operate its services as hybrid when needed. The move to hybrid has meant an increased delivery capacity and helped their ability to work with different needs that may arise as a carer. Carers are able to get the support and respite they need and be part of a community that supports each other with peer-to-peer enablement.
What's next for Access for All
We will continue to support Care for Carers as they transition to hybrid. However, we want to support the move to hybrid more broadly with 400 organisations under the Carers Trust and many more beyond that, along with the health and care of the elderly and any part of society that needs support. At PlacesWork we are talking to the funders to enable this and developing our packages based on the need, learning as we go.
Talk to us about your needs as an organisation and the funding you require to help you go 100% hybrid.