A COMPANY that runs nursing homes in Steeton and Cross Hills has achieved Investors in People status for the second time.

The Czajka Care Group gained the accreditation in recognition of its success in developing its 350 staff.

The West Yorkshire care company owns and operates the Currergate in Steeton and Beanlands in Cross Hills, along with the Fairmount, Brookfield and Staveley Birk Leas in Shipley.

Czajka also provides purpose-built retirement homes, and operates The Clubhouse at Fairmount Park, a members-only club with leisure facilities. The family-run business employs 350 people.

After being put through a stringent assessment process by the assessors, Czajka was applauded for its high level of professionalism and the passion that emanated from the team.

The Investors In People assessor visited all Czajka’s homes and interviewed a cross-section of the company’s employees.

The assessor took an in-depth look at the company’s business strategy, development opportunities for staff, the effectiveness of the management team and its recognition and reward schemes.

The assessment revealed that staff found Czajka Group to be a good place to work, with everyone being very committed to seeing the business succeed. A large number of staff have remained with Czajka for many years, advancing into senior positions.

Konrad Czajka, managing director, said: “We are very proud of the Investors in People accreditation and the comments from the report.

“Having well-qualified, experienced staff that love their job and progress within the business is great news for all the residents we care for and our business as a whole.”

Czajka was also praised for its communication throughout the group, the specialised induction programme for new staff and the high standards of excellent care delivered, which are in line with the Care Quality Commission guidelines.

Konrad added: “Compassion, adaptability, respect, excellent and safety are the essence of our core values, and the report recognised that everyone fully understands and works with these things in mind.

“The inspector also found a culture of trust and ownership at operational level, with people feeling empowered to make decisions and act upon them, which is really great feedback.

“We’ve recently begun to introduce an IT care management software system that starts from assessment and assists to plan and evaluate every aspect of our resident care, which we hope will have a further positive impact, and the report highlighted how this will further enhance the service we provide.

“We put the people we care for at the heart of everything we do, but we can only do that through providing quality training, support and encouragement to our team at every level, and the Investors in People recognises this success.”