Over the next few months, we will look into key roles at Home Care Preferred to find out what makes our team members tick.

It is important to us to get an insight into into the people who are making a real difference and working to improve people’s lives each day. This month we caught up with the adventure-loving Figen Karadogan, who is Home Care Preferred’s Care Manager at our Winchmore Hill branch.

As a care manager, Figen’s role is very demanding and full on but she still manages to spend her free time meeting friends and catching up with family.

How did you get into your job at Home Care Preferred?

F: I previously worked for another care provider but didn’t find them very friendly. A friend recommended Home Care Preferred to me and I made the move in 2014 starting as a support assistant. I was impressed with the company after my first interview. Ken made me feel welcome and after working with them it became clear just how person-centered the company really is.

What is your job role and what does it mean?

F: I am the Care Manager for Home Care Preferred, I am responsible for making sure our clients receive the safe quality service they have come to expect from Home Care Preferred. I am also responsible for our team members, I make sure that they are receiving the hours they want to work and that they are happy in their job. Being a care manager sometimes means that I need to make difficult decisions but I try to keep in mind that I need to be a leader and guide our team when they need our help. I also support the office staff and make sure they are doing their jobs well.

What does a normal day look like for you?

F: Every day is completely different and that’s what I love about my job. Sometimes we deal with some challenging situations, but it really helps that everyone works together and has a great sense of humour. First thing in the morning I check my emails and the cloud-based monitoring system that we use. After that, I catch up with the management team and clients. Throughout the course of the day, I normally have 4 or 5 team members pay a visit and I always make time in my day to see them.

What do you like most about working at Home Care Preferred?

F: Home Care Preferred has grown a lot since I started, I really love the people I work with and it has kept the feel of a small close-knit community despite having grown. We all know about each other’s backgrounds and when anyone is going through a tough time the team is ready to step in and help. We all do our best to distance ourselves from negativity and work to remove any stigma.

What’s the best part of your job?

F: Making a difference in people’s lives is the best part of my job. Supporting a client that isn’t doing so well, rehabilitating them and seeing a real difference in the quality of their lives is the reason I do my job. Working with our support assistants and watching them grow into their roles is very rewarding. Some of our support assistants join us very young sometimes 19 or 20 and it is really rewarding to see them develop and become confident in their role. I love having the opportunity to do that.

What challenges do you face on a day-to-day basis?

F: The Care Manager role is demanding and there is always a lot to do. I often work out of office hours to make sure everything is running smoothly. I frequently take phone calls on my days off and that’s not something I mind since it makes sure any issues are resolved properly.

How do you carry the ethos of the company?

F: It’s important to make sure that the Home Care Preferred’s values are supported by everyone in the company, being a Care Manager means that it is my job to make sure our values are propagated through our staff and our service users receive the benefits. I make sure that I am accessible to the team. We operate an open-door policy. I make sure that I keep in touch with team members once they have had their training so that they feel they can come to me with any issues.

How did you transition through the company to your management role?

F: I started as a Support Assistant, then moved to Team Leader. I already had a degree in management, which really helped, but most of my training was on the job. My previous manager placed me in a variety of situations to see how I would handle them and gave me the experience I needed for the care manager role – this was before I knew I was up for the promotion. I worked very closely with Ken and he has always been on hand offer support.

Finally, what advice would you give to a new care manager?

F: Manage your time well! When I started, I wasn’t very good at time management and I worked on priorities. I would begin work at 6 am and finish at 11 pm because I was always trying to catch up. It’s very easy to fall into a bad routine, but to do the job well you need to take care of yourself. After all, you can’t take care of others if you’re not eating and sleeping. You should always listen to your own body and your own needs.

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