Before you launch: test with a few people, then make it simpler
Small usability tests and simpler forms are two of the cheapest ways to improve a new website, app or digital product before launch. Here is how to do both.
Carer retention starts in the first year
Care depends on people. The national figures show real progress on turnover, but also where people are most likely to leave. For care providers, the first year is where retention is won or lost.
Progress, and pressure
Skills for Care publishes the most detailed picture of the adult social care workforce in England, and its latest figures show genuine progress. "The turnover rate in the independent sector decreased from 24.7% in 2024/25, to 23.6% in 2025/26." [S34] In 2025/26 the vacancy rate was 6.2%, with vacant posts down to 96,000. [S34]
The pressure has not gone away. Skills for Care says the vacancy rate "remains consistently around three times higher than that of the wider economy" [S34], and its projections show "an extra 410,000 posts will be needed in the sector by 2040". [S34]
The first year matters most
The single figure I find most useful for care providers is this one. Among independent sector care workers, "Those with less than one year of experience in their role had a turnover rate of 33.7%, compared to 12.6% for those with 20 years or more experience." [S35]
Skills for Care also found that "Half of new starters in 2025/26 (50%) were recruited from within adult social care." [S35] Many people are not leaving care altogether. They are moving between employers. That means a good first few months with you can make the difference between a carer who stays and one who moves on.
What is linked with people staying
Skills for Care's analysis points to the conditions that are associated with lower turnover. It is careful to say these show association, "not necessarily the cause or reason for workers leaving" [S35], but the patterns are clear.
- Contracts and hours. Care workers on zero hours contracts had a turnover rate of 29.8%, compared with 19.1% for those with 35 or more contracted hours. [S35]
- Several good things together. Skills for Care looked at five positive employment factors: local authority area average pay or more, guaranteed hours, full time hours, receiving training, and a relevant social care qualification. "Care workers that have all these in place were less likely to leave (15.3%), compared to workers with none in place (34.3%)." [S35]
- Wellbeing. "The average number of sickness days lost was 4.9 per employee" [S35] in 2025/26. Reasonable rotas, realistic travel time and managers who notice all help.
What turnover costs
Every leaver means advertising, checks, induction, training and often agency cover while a post is empty. A report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimated that "Recruiting a new care worker costs providers an estimated median of £7,870 per hire". [S36] That figure is based on financial data from 11 providers, and the report itself says its sample "is not necessarily representative of the care sector" [S36], so treat it as an indication rather than a benchmark.
Practical ways to help carers stay
Pay and conditions matter most, and they are decisions for each provider. Alongside them, there is a lot that better processes, tools and content can do.
- Fix the journey from advert to first solo visit. Map every step with the people involved and remove the ones that lose good candidates or leave new starters waiting.
- Plan the first twelve weeks. Shadowing, check ins, a named buddy and clear milestones, so nobody feels left to sink or swim.
- Make rotas and updates simple. Staff apps that make shifts, notes and messages easy help managers offer the stability people value.
- Make training easy to use. Short, plain English guides and videos that work on a phone, alongside the formal training your service requires.
- Watch the early signs. Simple dashboards for starters, leavers, sickness and training, so managers can act before someone decides to go.
- Recruit honestly. Marketing that shows the real job reaches people who are more likely to stay.
On training content, our own example is Coming Home Carer Skills, a free course for family carers whose topics follow the Care Certificate standards. It is written for families rather than paid staff, and it is not the Care Certificate or a qualification, but it shows the kind of plain English learning we make.
Retention is part of patient flow
When providers can keep their carers, they can take on new clients, including people leaving hospital. Carer retention is not just an HR issue. It is part of how the whole system keeps moving.
Read more on our Patient flow and retention page, see our Staff training content service, or book a discovery call.
Sources
- Skills for Care, The size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026, published 24 June 2026. [S34]
- Skills for Care, The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2026: Executive Summary, published 14 October 2026. [S35]
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The hidden cost of low pay in the social care sector, written by Cordis Bright, 27 February 2026. [S36]
- Coming Home Carer Skills. [S37]
Let's talk
Got an idea, a product or a process that needs to move?
Tell us where you are and what you need. A free discovery call is the easiest way to find out whether we can help.
