Nurse Next Door is dedicated to creating an exceptional culture and work environment, and becoming the employer of choice within the home health care industry. To build on this credibility, we became a certified Great Place to Work – based on a survey around employee satisfaction and a certification awarded by Great Place to Work™ that recognises employers who create an outstanding employee experience.
In 2023, Nurse Next Door proudly earned a place among the Best Workplaces of the year, by Great Place to Work, embodying a remarkable blend of employee satisfaction, innovation, and dedication to our core purpose of Making Lives Better.
Nurse Next Door is a purpose driven business and our core purpose of Making Lives Better applies equally to both our clients and employees. As an employer we feel that we have a huge responsibility to positively impact our teams and nurture their talents so they can continue to flourish with Nurse Next Door and reach their full potential.
With a commitment to exceptional care and a nurturing work environment, Nurse Next Door has emerged as a standout in the home health care industry and the broader job market. This award and recognition speaks to our brand’s ability to provide outstanding home care services while also prioritising the well-being and fulfillment of our staff.
So how does Nurse Next Door being one of the Best Workplaces benefit our Franchise Partners within the network?
Our caregivers and nurses are at the heart of what we do, so being an employer of choice ensures we are not only attracting the best people to work at Nurse Next Door, but more importantly retaining them.
In a time where workplace standards are continually evolving, Nurse Next Door’s achievement underscores the significance of creating a workplace where both clients and employees thrive, that allows us to stand above our competitors.
Here are 5 unique factors that underpin Nurse Next Door’s culture across our entire network to ensure we attract the best talent and continue to uphold our core purpose of Making Lives Better and providing WOW Customer Experiences for our clients and wider community – something that is difficult to replicate.
1. Nurse Next Door’s People Promise
By leading the charge, Nurse Next Door has established itself as the career destination of choice.
Our People Promise is our employee brand differentiator and what sets us apart from our competitors. We are the first home care company to establish a People Promise for Caregivers and Nurses.
Through our People Promise, we provide a premium caregiving experience to match our premium employer brand, pay competitively, invest in team member development, identify growth opportunities and spend time building relationships. We see an opportunity to raise the standards to help promote both in-home Nursing and Caregiving as a Career.
By upholding the People Promise, Franchise Partners can also strengthen their recruitment and retention efforts, and help attract prospective team members.
We developed this People Promise based on extensive input from our entire system. We talk to Franchise Partners, Care Designers and Caregivers to determine the promise we want to make to candidates and team members about their Nurse Next Door employment experience.
It is our job to share and uphold the People Promise with our care teams throughout their journey with Nurse Next Door.
2. Embodying our Core Purpose & Values
At Nurse Next Door, we know that the care our team delivers to our clients begins and ends every day with how Nurse Next Door, as a network, cares for the people themselves who are providing that client care..
Everything we do is guided by our core purpose of Making Lives Better which is underpinned by four core values. They are the principles that define us as a business and guide our teams when they are out in the field supporting our clients.
These core values are embodied by everyone from our CEO Amber Biesse and COO Matt Fitton all the way down to our Franchise Partners and their frontline staff.
Admire People
As a business Nurse Next Door believes in ensuring our team are recognised and rewarded for their commitment and the quality of care that they provide out in the field.
We admire their efforts and know that the work they do helps us differentiate the business within the home health care industry which is why we committed to having several initiatives to celebrate all the incredible work they do.
WOW Customer Experience
At Nurse Next Door, we don’t rest until we’ve delivered a customer experience that exceeds our clients’ expectations, and on the NEXT level.
For us it’s not just about providing basic care but giving clients the opportunity to continue leading a life that is filled with Positivity, Possibility and Purpose. We want our clients to know that first and foremost we see them as people who have dreams, hobbies and passions, and want to ensure that we can continue helping them lead the life they want.
Find a Better Way
While Nurse Next Door has been providing care to thousands of people over the past four and a half years, we’re not set in our ways. If one of our team can “Find a Better Way” to meet the client’s needs, we’re always listening and always encouraging our people to think differently. As a business, we embrace change when it will make lives better for both the client, their family and our wider care team.
Passionate About Making a Difference
Passion is our driver – it’s why we are all here and what gets us out of bed day after day, year after year. When we onboard new team members, we really focus on the question of “why?”; Why did they apply? Why did they choose a career in care? Why do they want to make a difference?
Having the “what” is essential – qualifications, experience and skill set, but it’s only part of what we look for when building our teams. One of the most important things we look for are caregivers and nurses who genuinely care and want to improve their clients’ lives.
3. Robust Recruitment & Onboarding Process & Values
When seeking the right fit for our brand, here at Nurse Next Door we search for potential candidates who are passionate about Making Lives Better and closely aligned with this Core Purpose and also our Values.
As a key differentiating factor, we strive for the ‘Perfect Match’ when pairing our team with clients to ensure that as a business we can provide WOW Customer Experiences and continuity of care in order to really build those strong relationships with our clients so recruiting the right person goes beyond just skills and qualifications.
For successful applicants, we want to ensure that the right training and onboarding is provided to set them up for success from day one.
New starters are provided with e-learning modules and a face-to-face Discovery Day where they will learn more about the business, the brand, our “why” and what is expected of them during each and every visit. We also ensure that during their first visit, they are buddied up with an existing team member to ensure they feel comfortable and supported out in the field.
4. Ongoing Training & Support
It is extremely important that our team feel equipped when providing care to the most vulnerable members of our community in the home care setting so for that reason we invest heavily in our training and development department.
Whilst caregivers, in particular, do get a qualification there is still so much to learn “on the job” and so, ongoing learning and development is critical.
At Nurse Next Door we employ a full time person dedicated to developing e-learning programs and training assets to upskill and support our Caregivers and Nurses around Australia. All of our training assets are developed in house so whenever we see a gap or a need, things can be actioned quickly and pushed out to the network.
When working in homecare, it can often feel quite isolating because our workforce is decentralised, that is, each employee is providing care in someone’s home and not in a setting where they will see other members of the Nurse Next Door team.
For that reason at Nurse Next Door we have a series of touchpoints woven into our daily operations, so that our employees feel a sense of belonging and connection to our brand with our pinnacle being the Care Services team.
Care Services 24/7 Team
Nurse Next Door operates a Care Services Call Centre that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means that all of our employees around Australia always have access to talk to a live person.
Being available 24/7 for not only our clients but our caregivers our caregiving and nursing team provides peace of mind knowing that if an emergency happens in the middle of the night or they simply need support to discuss something or debrief – they know that the Care Services Team is always available for them.
4. Ongoing Training & Support
Nurse Next Door believes that Caregivers and Nurses are at the heart of our organisation, and their unwavering dedication and compassion allows us to make a positive impact on hundreds of communities across Australia every single day and this should be recognised and rewarded, which is why we developed several initiatives:
Rewards Program
Nurse Next Door’s Rewards program is one of the key initiatives that recognise and reward our team members’ commitment to our core purpose. The Rewards program incorporates two key benefit areas:
- Offering instant discounts and cashback at hundreds of retailers.
- An online Wellbeing Center, providing education, support and tools to help staff live a healthier and happier life.
Celebrating Milestones
Nurse Next Door recognises that retaining employees in the home health care industry can be challenging so we are committed to celebrating the achievements of our dedicated team, and recognising their efforts and commitment to supporting our clients through the below initiatives:
Nurse Next Door celebrates the milestones of team members, such as recognising hours of care delivered (the 500 and 1000 hour clubs) and recognising their efforts within the wider internal network. Similarly team members’ longevity and tenure can also be recognised through growth opportunities and promotions.
Caregiver of the Month is another way Nurse Next Door celebrates people in our care team who show outstanding commitment to our clients and going above and beyond to provide WOW Customer Experiences. This is not necessarily based on tenure and gives the opportunity to newer employees to also be recognised and rewarded for their passion of Making Lives Better while also sharing their story to inspire others within our team.
Bold Dreams and Goals
Introduced in February 2022, the Bold Dreams and Goals initiative was designed to showcase the exceptional Nurses and Caregivers who make a difference in the lives of clients.
Each year Nurse Next Door invites all employees around Australia to submit their Bold Dreams and Goals. We then select 5 people to receive a $1000 reward to help them achieve those dreams.
At Nurse Next Door, we believe in rewarding our team members above and beyond what is expected from an organisation through this initiative – whether it’s paragliding with a loved one or visiting a parent after years of being apart, to simply using the financial reward to support single parents who may be facing financial difficulties.
Nurse Next Door’s rise to prominence as one of the best workplaces in 2023 is a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence in the home health care industry.
By prioritising both the well-being of our clients and the satisfaction of our dedicated workforce, we have managed to create a harmonious balance and culture that sets a shining example for workplaces everywhere.
As we navigate an ever-changing professional landscape, Nurse Next Door stands as a beacon of what can be achieved when compassion, innovation, and genuine care are at the heart of an organisation.
With a core purpose of Making Lives Better, Nurse Next Door, under the leadership of Melbourne-based Master Franchisors Matt Fitton and Amber Biesse, provides in-home aged care and disability support services built on our philosophy of Happier Ageing® focusing on possibility rather than disability.
