Shaping a career in care: The role and responsibilities of the Service Improvement team

Asa Johnson is Anchor’s National Service Improvement Manager and leads a team of Service Improvement Advisors. In his blog, he shares how he came into the role and his day-to-day responsibilities.

What was your background before becoming a National Service Improvement Manager?

I started my career in adult social care in 2011, working for a local authority and focusing on community programmes for older people. I moved into an Activity Coordinator role with Anchor in 2012, and joined the Service Improvement team in 2015 as a Service Improvement Advisor, working with over 25 care homes across Surrey, the South Coast and South West, supporting them to enhance the resident experience.

After a travel break in late 2017 and 2018, which included working in a nursing home in Peru, I embarked on a national role for another care home provider, focusing on activity provision and dementia care.

I returned to Anchor in 2021 to lead the Service Improvement Team, and since then have seen the roll-out of our Dementia Care Pathway, catering development days and guidance, including our IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diets Standardisation Initiative) videos and booklet, continuous development of our physical activity programme, Zest, and a refresh of our service improvement framework, Inspire.

What does the Service Improvement team at Anchor do?

The Service Improvement team support Anchor care homes around the key areas of resident wellbeing and lifestyle, food, the home environment, housekeeping and dementia care practice. This is all pulled together under our Inspire framework, which supports care homes to develop their practice and focus on the areas that will have the biggest impact on resident experience.

The role is quite unique within the sector, and we have taken this approach as we recognise how lifestyle provision, amazing food and a sociable dining experience, a home that feels like home, and excellent dementia care provision are all linked.

What does a typical day look like?

I appreciate that it is a bit of a cliché, but as the service improvement team’s remit is so broad, no two days ever look the same! From completing a kitchen audit, delivering a dining experience workshop, coaching around dementia care practice, hosting a meeting for activity champions, and so much more, a day in the life of a Service Improvement Advisor is always different.

We have several resources and workshops that the Service Improvement team deliver, but we support each home individually, meaning that bespoke support is also available, and this can really help to drive improvements and build innovative practice.

Can you tell us about some of the events and activities the team hosts?

Throughout the year, we host many exciting events and initiatives, including Chef of the Year, Anchor’s Got Talent, and our ever-popular Christmas Cake competition. This year, we are focusing on the Year of Musical Expression, which has seen our care homes create personalised playlists with residents, host a variety of musical performers, and work with their local community to develop music provision.

For our catering colleagues, we have also embarked on catering development days in partnership with Bidfood, which include practical sessions around IDDSI, nutrition, and reducing food waste.

Why would someone considering this type of job choose Anchor over another company?

There are many training and development opportunities within Anchor, as well as the chance to attend conferences, networking events and CPD sessions. The uniqueness of the service improvement team’s remit means there are lots of opportunities to provide both advice and support around regulatory requirements, good practice from across the adult social care sector, and those ‘think outside the box’ moments, which allows for creativity and ingenuity.

Whilst the team are remote, we come together weekly to catch up, and have regular face to face team meetings, which help us to develop our knowledge and practice. Anchor Being Well offers a range of colleague benefits, including advice and benefits around finance, mental and physical health, and planning for the future.

What do you look for when hiring for a Service Improvement Advisor?

As mentioned previously, a Service Improvement Advisor supports a group of Anchor care homes across a range of different areas, meaning that the team is built on a range of different backgrounds and experiences, including catering, dementia and care home management.

So whether you are a Care Home Manager or Deputy Manager, Dementia Specialist, Catering Specialist or Lifestyle Specialist, and looking for a new role that will allow you to be creative and inspire care home colleagues to enhance the resident experience, then a Service Improvement Advisor position may be just what you are looking for. It would also be desirable for you to have experience of supporting more than one care home at a time, as well as being familiar and comfortable with delivering workshops.

Asa Johnson is a National Service Improvement Manager at Anchor