We met with the Home Manager of Pierrepoint Road, Oksana, to discuss why she enjoys her role, what makes the support she provides at her home special, and how she gets the best from her support team.
We asked Oksana what her journey to being a Home Manager has been and what inspired her into the Home Manager role…
“My journey in the social care sector was inspired by my experiences growing up. I lived with my grandmother and grandfather, who looked after my brother and me. My grandad was a wounded WW2 veteran, and we all supported each other to ensure our grandfather was okay. Fast forward 22 years, and I had the privilege of joining the Pierrepoint Road team supporting people to live happy, healthy and meaningful lives. I have had a tremendously exciting and fulfilling journey with Pierrepoint Road since starting.
Whether your support worker or a Home Manager like myself, when you support somebody every day, you go home with a sense of real satisfaction that you positively impacted somebody’s life. A memory that still is close to my heart is supporting somebody to leave the house who lived with agoraphobia (a fear of going outside), and I was able to support them in attending a breast cancer screening; it was the first time they had left the house in five years!”
We asked Oksana what she most looks forward to in her role, and what she hopes for the future at Pierrepoint…
“I enjoy a challenge, and my role as Home Manager can be positively challenging. I challenged myself to maintain consistency and improve good standards throughout Pierrepoint Road. This is what keeps me motivated and engaged every day. I also work on developing relationships with people we support in the home. I believe the closer relationship I have with people we support, the more valuable support and positive outcomes they can achieve.”
“As I started in a support worker role, I have tackled the challenges this career progression has presented me, but my clear vision of the future and where I see people support, myself, and my team is what keeps me working as hard as I do”.
Oksana told us there are many reasons why she enjoys being the Home Manager of Pierrepoint Road…
“My role is full of enjoyment! Where do I start? I love the fact I get the opportunity to improve the quality of life for each person we support and all my team members at Pierrepoint. If I have a happy team, the people we support will receive the best possible support”.
“I enjoy continually looking for new opportunities to help people we support, whether that be finding a new college or day centre, advocating for a new treatment, organising a holiday, or introducing new activities and hobbies for people we support”.
“The enjoyment my team bring me also is unmeasurable; although not every day is easy for us all, they are one of my sources of joy from my role. I love to watch my team member’s confidence and knowledge grow and support them to develop in their careers and as people.”
When asked about the challenges of her role Oksana said…
“Any sector faces its challenges, and I believe the social care sector’s challenges are unique and complex across the board. The social care sector’s biggest challenge is recruitment, but I work with the Achieve together recruitment team to ensure we have the right team members placed at Pierrepoint Road at the right time.
Covid-19 was also a huge challenge for all, but I am pleased that life is back to normal for us all and people we support”.
Oksana explained to us what keeps her motivated…
“Social care support roles offer such daily warmth and joy. It never gets old watching the faces of people we support to light up when they see our team members clock in for their shift or when their family and loved ones visit our home. I feel this is unique to the social care sector.
Going back to my roots – helping my grandmother support my grandfather is always at the back of my mind and still motivates me to support everybody today.
Above all, my passion for supporting and developing people we support and my team members is at the forefront of my mind; it has been a remarkable journey to watch everybody grow in my 20-year career at Pierrepoint. The challenge to help people grow will never end, and I love that!”
Oksana told us what some of her greatest achievements at Pierrepoint Road have been…
“My career with Pierrepoint has blessed me with so many achievements with people we support. I am proud of how my team members and I kept strong throughout the pandemic when there was so much uncertainty for all. We all came together as a unit to carry on and deliver the best possible support to people living at Pierrepoint. The resilience shown was extraordinary. I am so proud of my team and how they handled the challenges the pandemic presented people we support and us.”
“There are many more achievements that people supported and my team members have achieved.”
We wanted to know how Oksana ensures family members and relatives are part of Pierrepoint Road’s everyday life…
“When somebody moves into Pierrepoint, we welcome not only people we support but all their family and loved ones too. It is important to us as a home to build meaningful relationships with family members.
There are many ways to keep family members and loved ones involved, including coffee mornings with cake and tea, house events, and day trips out. Our continuous goal is to build strong relationships with families, as their support and engagement are at the heart of everything we do in supporting people to achieve positive outcomes.
Their feedback is crucial to us, so we host regular meetings to create an opportunity for communication. We also always ascertain a family member’s preferred contact method so we can communicate effectively. Are family members also enjoy our home newsletters we send out that update them on all the fun activities people have been up to at Pierrepoint Road”.
When asked what Oksana hopes she has for the future she said…
“My hopes for the future are simple –
To ensure that people we support receive the best possible support and flourish in themselves.
To ensure my support team grow and develop in themselves and their careers.
To maintain a happy way of living at Pierrepoint for all.
For myself and my team to always be striving to improve.”
Oksana believes her team are a crucial part of what makes Pierrepoint Road so special, and she explained how keeping them happy and motivated is so important…
“Early in my career, I realised that adopting a leading-by-example approach to my work was the most effective way to keep a team motivated. I operate an open door policy, whereby anyone can come and speak to me about whatever is on their mind; I want to know so we can ensure everybody is happy and healthy.
I encourage my team to set clear goals and targets to work towards, for example, their NVQs or other relevant courses.
I also adopt a flexible manner to my management style and will always try to accommodate my team member’s needs”.
Oksana’s life is dynamic and outside of work she likes to keep busy…
“Outside of work, I am passionate about vintage fashion! I love the 90’s and 2000’s era!
I am a mother of a 10-year-old boy who is incredibly talented and keeps me on my toes!
Music is my other passion; at every opportunity, I will try and attend live music such as gigs, festivals, and shows. I am a pilates devotee also.
In my experience, a rich life embraces both a healthy work and leisure life. So whilst distinct, I believe they both complement each other!”.
Find out more
To find out more about Pierrepoint Road here.
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