Recruitment in the UK care sector has never been more challenging. With thousands of vacancies open at any given time and competition from better-paying industries, attracting and retaining the right people feels like an uphill battle.
But the real problem isn’t just a shortage of candidates — it’s finding people who stay.
Many providers have realised that traditional hiring models focused purely on skills and experience no longer work. What truly drives long-term success in care is something deeper: values.
Recruiting for values — not just skills — is the future of care staffing. It’s about hiring people who care about people, who fit your culture, and who share the same sense of purpose that defines your organisation.
In this article, we’ll explore how values-based recruitment is reshaping the care workforce, how understanding personality and communication styles through tools like DISC can support smarter hiring decisions, and why this approach leads to better retention, stronger teams, and higher-quality care.
The State of Recruitment in UK Care
According to Skills for Care, the adult social care sector in England had over 150,000 vacancies in 2024. That’s a vacancy rate of more than 10% — the highest of any sector in the country.
Recruitment costs are climbing, agencies are overstretched, and many providers are relying on international recruitment to fill persistent gaps. Yet even when new staff join, retention remains a major concern.
A large proportion of care workers leave within the first year — not because they can’t do the job, but because they weren’t the right fit for the role or the environment.This is the crux of the issue: skills can be taught, but values can’t.
Why Skills-Based Hiring Isn’t Enough
The traditional approach to recruitment tends to focus on qualifications, years of experience, and technical competency. Those things matter, of course, but they don’t guarantee the right mindset or motivation.
A person might have all the training in the world, but if they lack empathy, patience, or teamwork, they’ll struggle to thrive in care.
In contrast, someone with strong interpersonal skills and the right values can quickly develop the necessary technical skills with proper training and support.This is why forward-thinking care providers are shifting from asking, “Can this person do the job?” to “Will this person care in the way we care?”
What Does Values-Based Recruitment Mean?
Values-based recruitment (VBR) is a structured approach to hiring that focuses on personal values, behaviours, and motivation — not just skills or experience.
It looks for alignment between what matters to the organisation and what matters to the candidate.
For example, a care provider might value compassion, respect, teamwork and accountability. During recruitment, they explore how well a candidate naturally demonstrates these through their actions, communication and decision-making.
Key Principles of Values-Based Recruitment
- Clarity of organisational values – You can’t recruit for values if your own aren’t clearly defined.
- Behavioural interviewing – Asking scenario-based questions like “Tell me about a time you went the extra mile for someone” helps reveal true motivations.
- Cultural fit – Assessing whether the person will thrive within your team dynamic and leadership style.
- Holistic assessment – Looking beyond CVs and references to understand personality, communication style and emotional intelligence.
When done well, VBR ensures that every hire not only meets the job requirements but also strengthens the culture.
How Values Drive Retention
When people join an organisation whose values align with their own, they are more engaged, more satisfied, and more likely to stay.
In care, this alignment is particularly powerful. The work is emotionally demanding — it requires patience, empathy and resilience. People who are intrinsically motivated by compassion and service will naturally perform better and remain committed longer.
Values-based recruitment reduces turnover because it filters out individuals who see care purely as a job, rather than as a calling or career.It also fosters psychological safety — a sense that team members share similar principles and communication norms. This strengthens trust and teamwork, which are both essential for staff wellbeing and retention.
The Role of DISC Profiling in Recruitment and Team Development
Understanding values is one part of the equation. The other is understanding how people think, communicate, and behave — and how they fit within a team.
This is where DISC profiling becomes a valuable tool.
DISC is a behavioural profiling model that categorises communication and working styles into four main types:
- Dominance (D): Results-focused, decisive, confident.
- Influence (I): Social, optimistic, persuasive.
- Steadiness (S): Patient, supportive, dependable.
- Conscientiousness (C): Detail-oriented, precise, analytical.
In care settings, most successful teams include a mix of these profiles.
For example:
- A “C” profile nurse might excel in compliance and accuracy.
- An “S” profile carer might shine in empathy and relationship-building.
- A “D” profile manager might drive improvement and performance.
When leaders understand DISC, they can recruit and manage more effectively — pairing roles with natural strengths, reducing conflict, and improving communication across the board.
How DISC Supports Values-Based Hiring
While values show why someone does what they do, DISC helps you understand how they do it. Combining both gives a more complete picture of a candidate’s potential fit.
Here’s how it works in practice:
- Pre-interview preparation: Identify the key DISC traits that align with the role. For instance, a care coordinator might benefit from high “S” (stability) and “C” (organisation).
- Interview questions: Tailor questions to explore natural tendencies. “Tell me how you manage conflict between colleagues” can reveal both values (respect, collaboration) and communication style.
- Team balance: Assess where the candidate’s profile complements or duplicates existing team dynamics. Diversity in style prevents burnout and improves flexibility.
- Ongoing development: DISC isn’t just for recruitment — it’s a tool for coaching, performance management and leadership growth.
By integrating DISC into your hiring process, you’re not guessing who will fit — you’re strategically matching people to your culture and goals.
From Transactional Recruitment to Relationship Building
Recruitment in care often feels reactive — filling vacancies as quickly as possible to meet rota needs. But successful providers are moving towards relationship-based recruitment — building a steady pipeline of people who are drawn to the organisation’s purpose and culture.
Values-based hiring supports this shift by creating emotional connection from the start. When candidates sense that an organisation truly cares about its people, they engage differently.
This can be reinforced through:
- Authentic storytelling about your mission and culture on your careers page.
- Featuring staff testimonials that highlight shared values.
- Transparent communication during interviews about expectations and support.
Recruitment becomes less about filling roles and more about building belonging.
Real Example: Recruiting for Culture, Not Convenience
A care home group I worked with struggled with high turnover despite constant recruitment.
Exit interviews revealed a common theme: new starters didn’t feel “part of the family.”
When we reviewed their process, everything focused on compliance — DBS checks, experience, training certificates — but nothing explored motivation or personality.
We introduced values-based interview questions, DISC assessments, and short “shadow shifts” to observe natural interaction with residents and staff.
The difference was remarkable. Within six months, retention of new hires rose by 40%, and staff satisfaction scores improved across the board.
By hiring people who genuinely aligned with the organisation’s values — not just those available to start Monday — they built a stable, connected workforce.
The Ripple Effect of Values-Based Recruitment
The benefits of this approach extend far beyond recruitment.
1. Stronger Workplace Culture
When everyone shares the same values, teamwork improves. Staff trust each other more, conflicts reduce, and communication becomes easier.
2. Better Quality of Care
Consistency and empathy directly impact the experience of residents and service users. Staff who feel connected to their purpose deliver care with compassion and pride.
3. Improved Employer Brand
Reputation spreads quickly in care. Providers known for strong values and supportive leadership attract better candidates organically.
4. Higher Retention and Lower Costs
Fewer early leavers mean lower recruitment costs and more continuity of care.
Developing Your Workforce Around Values
Recruiting for values is only the first step. To truly embed this approach, providers need to nurture those values through ongoing workforce development.
That includes:
- Induction: Reinforce organisational values from day one — not just policies and procedures.
- Training: Provide emotional intelligence, communication, and teamwork development alongside mandatory courses.
- Coaching and mentoring: Use one-to-one coaching to help staff align personal growth with organisational goals.
- Performance reviews: Measure not only what people achieve but how they achieve it — through behaviours that reflect shared values.
This creates a continuous loop where recruitment, retention and development all reinforce one another.
The Future of Care Staffing: People First
As the care sector evolves, automation and technology may change some processes, but the heart of care will always be human.
The future belongs to organisations that understand this — those that recruit, train, and lead from a place of empathy and alignment.
By focusing on values before skills, we ensure that the people delivering care are there for the right reasons — and that they feel proud to stay.
Values-based recruitment isn’t just a trend. It’s a mindset shift that redefines what quality care staffing means in the modern world.
When we hire for who people are, not just what they know, we build teams that care better, communicate better, and last longer.
Final Thoughts
In a sector facing such significant workforce challenges, it’s easy to focus on quick fixes. But real, sustainable change comes from looking deeper — into what motivates people, how they connect, and why they stay.
Recruiting for values, supported by tools like DISC profiling and effective communication strategies, gives providers a powerful advantage.
It transforms recruitment from a revolving door into a gateway for meaningful, lasting careers in care.
And that’s the future — not just of staffing, but of care itself.
