E L D E R LY CA R E "There has never been a time when this sector has been more needed" Sharon Benson is HR director at Sunrise Senior Living and Gracewell Healthcare "I started as director of human resources in January, having previously worked in retail and finance. I joined because the organisation is on a really exciting transformation journey and social care is where you can make a difference. There has never been a time when this sector - and the people working in it - have been more needed. Recruiting the right people and creating the best environment for them to work is crucial. If you create a culture where people want to work it will help them deliver the best quality care to residents. "I lead a team of 28 people and my role covers recruitment, rewards and recognition to employee engagement and the HR business partner function. My role is to make Sunrise and Gracewell the employer of choice. "Eight weeks into my new job we were hit by Covid-19 and suddenly everything just went ahead at super speed. That has been daunting on one hand, but also an opportunity to drive real change on the other, because we needed to. The best part of my role is that I get to work with a really strong team of executive leaders - we want to challenge and change the perceptions of how care homes are seen." JOBS & CAREERS /// 143 142 JC Spring 2020 Elderly FINAL Artwork.indd 143 27/05/2020 16:57