The Abbeyfield Society prides itself on creating environments where staff, residents and volunteers ‘feel like one big family’.

Established in 1956, Abbeyfield is a charity that provides housing, residential care and support to older people across the UK and internationally. Its vision is working towards a world that ends loneliness in later life by creating communities that keep more people connected as they get older.

It puts its reputation for excellence down to the ‘exceptional people who’ve joined the cause’ – from house managers and activities coordinators to cooks and office-based staff.

The Society offers competitive pay, a generous pension and a wealth of development opportunities, including online learning, apprenticeships and leadership development.

Employees are always kept in the loop on business developments, with business plan-related performance updates shared each month. There are also monthly all-staff calls, quarterly in-person events, team meetings, weekly comms updates, and newsletters.

And the distinct Abbeyfield culture is supported by an agreed set of behaviours underpinning everything from recruitment and inductions to the leadership programme.

The leadership team has co-created a ‘leadership charter’ which sets out what employees can expect from them in line with the behaviours.