Inside My Business #3

Hi Reader

“

I take you behind the scenes of a real system, meeting, decision or process we use inside our company because I believe the best way to learn is to see how real businesses actually operate

— Ruth

This week I sat in a room and did the maths on something that doesn't usually appear on a spreadsheet.

On Monday we welcomed another group of new starters.

Casey [my husband and business partner] and I opened the induction, sharing the story of S&P Care, why we started the business and how we've grown over the past six years.

Then we stepped back.

The rest of the management team took over.

Mandatory training.

HR Compliance.

Shadowing.

Reflections.

Everything ran exactly as it should.

More than one new starter told us afterwards that it felt very different to inductions they'd experienced elsewhere. They described how the whole recruitment journey from point of application to screening, to interview, recruitment checks and induction; was professional and positive. Another said she had terrible experiences elsewhere even before starting with the company, so she mistrusted care companies, but her faith was restored through our recruitment process and induction.

That made me smile.

But something else stayed with me.

This group couldn't have been more different.

Two people had never worked in care before. Some had a few years’ experience. Another had more than twenty years' experience.

Some were young, some mature.

Yet they all started in exactly the same place.

Because experience teaches you skills.

It doesn't teach you our culture.

That part, everyone learns from scratch.

Two days later, we held a reflection and supervision session with our mentor team.

Halfway through, I stopped talking for a moment and simply looked around the room.

It suddenly hit me...

A few years ago, we were sitting with some of these very people discussing their own development.

Helping them build confidence.

Supporting them through challenges.

Encouraging them to believe they were capable of more.

One of our newest mentors joined us around eighteen months ago.

This week they were helping prepare the next generation of care professionals.

I don't think I fully appreciated that in the moment.

It's only today when I was reflecting on my week that I realised what I was actually looking at.

Not mentors.

A leadership pipeline.

This Week's Lesson

Every provider knows recruitment is expensive...

££ Advertising

££ Interviewing

££ DBS checks

££ Induction

££ Shadowing

££ Training

The weeks before someone is fully confident.

Those costs are easy to calculate.

The harder question is this:

What's the value of someone who already understands your culture?

Someone who already lives your values.

Someone who doesn't need to learn how your organisation thinks because they've helped shape it.

Growing people from within isn't simply about giving someone a promotion.

It's about reducing dependence on external recruitment while building leaders who genuinely understand your business.

For me, that's one of the best investments we make.

Not because it's cheaper.

Because it's stronger.

Your Turn...

If you're looking to build something similar...

Three Leadership Investments Worth Making:

🟡 01
Invest in Potential, Not Just Performance
Your future leaders won't always be the loudest people in the room. Look beyond today's performance and ask who could become exceptional with the right support.

🟡 02
Create Opportunities Before They're Requested
People are more likely to stay where they can see a future. Don't wait for someone to ask for more responsibility. Show them what's possible before they start looking elsewhere.

🟡 03
Treat Mentoring as Leadership Development
Mentoring isn't an extra responsibility. It's one of the most effective ways to develop future leaders. Your mentors aren't only shaping new starters, they're strengthening their own leadership skills too.

Every small change is a a step that will lead to the big moves.