Anna Selby, Executive Director of Safety at HC-One, explores how kindness has evolved from a personal value into a strategic force—reshaping care culture, guiding organisational decisions, and driving innovation across one of the UK’s largest care providers.
To care for an individual is both a responsibility and a privilege. Every resident carries a unique story, life experience, and journey into care — a process that is often life-changing and sometimes traumatic. When someone enters a care home, kindness is often the first familiar feeling in an otherwise daunting transition.
Across our homes, kindness is more than a word — it is the foundation of every decision, action, and idea. Our belief in kindness as a strategic driver has transformed the lives of both residents and colleagues, and it’s a concept that we continue to develop to this day.
The pandemic marked a turning point for the care sector and for kindness itself. Residents and colleagues endured what was arguably one of the most difficult periods in their lives, and many continue to carry those burdens with them. Covid reinforced that our philosophy of kindness must not only prevail, but become a crucial aspect of our strategy.
Our ever-present belief in kindness was not threatened by the pandemic — it was strengthened. The tragedy of those years helped us to build upon and define the very foundation of our approach, embedding kindness even more deeply as the guiding principle throughout HC-One.
After the pandemic, we began to construct what became known as our 5 Cs — a distinct set of characteristics that we wanted to develop, enrich and embed within everyone connected to the organisation. Compassion, curiosity, creativity, courage, and the ability to be counted on became the guiding principles for how kindness should live within each individual. Together, they helped us define what we as a care provider believe makes a kind, caring person.
From this, our vision to become the kind care company was firmly enshrined in our culture. By embedding the 5 Cs across our organisation, we created a clear and practical framework that brings kindness to life for every colleague.
Once we defined kindness through the 5 Cs, the next step was ensuring it shaped not only words, but actions. From recruitment onwards, every colleague is introduced to the principles of kindness and the 5 Cs. We actively seek people who embody these qualities, and every development conversation and training pathway reinforces them.
Care delivery itself reflects this approach. For example, our transition from paper records to digital care plans was about more than efficiency. By reducing administrative tasks, colleagues can spend more time connecting with residents, building relationships, and tailoring care.
At scale, digital planning also brings powerful insights. With data from 280 homes, we can identify trends, share lessons, and raise standards across regions. Combined with a culture of learning and kindness, these insights help elevate care as experiences from one home are shared across the organisation.
Today, kindness doesn’t just inspire what we do — it drives our strategy. Our post-pandemic commitment has created an organisation that truly lives its values. Kindness is the engine that drives everything we do.
This approach has reshaped our long-term vision and given rise to ambitious projects that seek to enhance the future of care. Our focus on providing the best possible End of Life Care is a direct expression of kindness. Likewise, our dementia care models emphasise understanding the causes of distress rather than simply managing symptoms, ensuring person-centred care is delivered at even the most advanced and challenging stages of a person’s journey.
Kindness, therefore, is both a full strategic force and a guiding light. By embedding it as both principle and practice, we have created a care organisation where every decision — from boardroom to bedside — is guided by compassion.
