Name of practice: Retention Framework that Reduces Burnout and Turnover within the Social Care Sector

Organisation: Rehab Group 

Country: Ireland, Scotland and Poland 

Description of organisation:  

The Rehab Group is an international not-for-profit organisation that provides health and social care, training, education, rehabilitation, and employment services to people with disabilities with circa 3,000 staff providing services to over 20,000 people.

Description of practice:

Rehab Group introduced a Retention & Wellbeing Framework to address burnout and turnover by strengthening culture, mobility, and wellbeing. Key actions include an Internal Movement Programme, data-driven action plans from engagement surveys, and a recognition programme for over 700 employees. Learning and Organisational Development  (L&OD)(Learningdelivers values-based training, while a CareLink pilot and organisation-wide initiatives support pay, benefits, and morale. A full wellbeing suite – including 24/7 Digital Doctor access, menopause and fertility supports, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging)( DEIB) initiatives, and psychological safety programmes – promotes workforce stability.

The Framework supports frontline staff in RehabCare, NLN, CareLink, and Social Enterprise programmes, where emotional fatigue and turnover are highest. It integrates culture, reward, wellbeing, and leadership into a single strategic framework using internal data to target interventions. By embedding DEIB principles and aligning learning pathways with career progression, the model elevates internal mobility as a retention lever.

Stronger retention translates directly into service excellence and improved continuity of care. Reduced burnout enables staff to build deeper relationships with service users and minimises reliance on agency staffing, lowering training costs. As staff develop greater capability, the organisation provides more consistent, rights-based, and person-centred service delivery.

Scalability and transferability:

The success of this model is sustainable because it is embedded across core HR, leadership, learning, and recruitment processes, requiring limited additional cost. It is also fully embraced by leaders and managers across all frontline services.

The framework is highly transferable due to its modular design. Organisations can implement individual components—such as internal mobility, wellbeing supports, DEIB recruitment, or leadership development—or adopt the entire integrated model.

Contact information: 

Cara Murphy, Head of Talent Acquisition