What should the ideal caregiver hiring process look like?
Written by Connor Kunz based on interviews with Jeff Wiberg. The full interviews are available as podcast interviews here and here.
What should an ideal hiring process look like?
In a word: fast.
Anyone working in an agency knows just how competitive it can be to attract and hire the right caregivers.
According to Rachel Gartner, CEO of recruitment firm Carework, only 25% of caregiver applicants show up to interviews. One of the most crucial elements of getting caregivers from application to first shift is speed.
It's common for hiring processes to take weeks. Several stages, such as background/reference checks and orientation, can slow up the process significantly. Likewise, it's not uncommon to ask the caregiver to show up to an unpaid orientation while their first paid shift is still days away.
I sat down with Jeff Wiberg a while ago to discuss this challenge and how he's addressed it in his agency. Jeff is the president of the board for the HCAOA and also CEO of Family Resource Home Care, a highly successful agency based in Washington state with rapid year-over-year revenue growth.
In 2021, Jeff's agency stalled when their applications slowed to a trickle. After an emergency staff meeting and a complete revamp of their hiring process, they've become a model for other agencies to follow.
Here's what their process looks like as well as the reasoning:
(If you're looking for additional context, listen to this interview on Spotify and follow the timestamps in parentheses to hear Jeff explain each point.)
1. When an applicant applies, Jeff's team makes every attempt to contact an applicant within minutes. (6:30 on the podcast episode)
Understanding that most caregivers are job-hunting during the evening, Family Resource recruiters are given the autonomy to work flexible hours and paid partially based on their hiring success, so they have incentives and ability to work at the times when they can beat other companies to the punch in responding to applicants.
This first outreach typically takes the form of a text, thanking the applicant for applying and asking if they can ask a few screener questions. If the answer is affirmative, the recruiter triggers a short flow of automated questions through text.
The most important question, Jeff says, is "Why do you want to be a caregiver for us?"
The goal of that first texting conversation is to get through the basic screener questions and schedule a Zoom interview with the candidate, typically through a calendar scheduling link.
The thinking behind this rapid first step is an idea called Stop The Shop, which means getting the applicant to a point where they feel that they've made progress in their job search for the day and they can stop applying to other jobs, at least for the time being.
2. The primary interview (scheduled from the first texting conversation) is typically a Zoom interview. (11:00)
The question of Zoom vs. in-person interviews can be controversial; while Zoom interviews are clearly conducive to a faster and more convenient hiring process, there's no data showing that they're less effective in screening candidates.
3. If the Zoom interview goes well, the recruiter extends a conditional offer and schedules a paid orientation with the candidate. (25:05)
Extending a conditional offer (based on completion of orientation and background checks) gives the applicant the satisfaction of having an offer in hand (effectively stopping their job search), while leaving room to rescind the offer if something turns up in the background checks.
4. Background checks and other necessary pre-screening checks happen while the candidate moves forward in the process to their paid orientation. (25:27)
During this time, they take various steps to engage with the candidate. This typically includes sending an official welcome/offer letter and texting the candidate to ask about their preferences for schedules, clients, and shifts.
This push to create the relationship and demonstrate commitment to the candidate makes a massive difference in show-up rates.
(Implementing this process, Family Resource went from a 50% show-up rate to a 92% show-up rate.)
5. Half-day or full-day paid orientation in person, where they complete any additional paperwork that can't be done online, build relationships with the staff, and are trained. (28:50).
If the caregiver's first shift isn't scheduled at orientation, they'll schedule the caregiver for a full or partial shadowing shift.
The goal is for the caregiver to have a definite, scheduled, paid shift planned before they leave orientation. Someone who feels like they have money coming in is unlikely to continue looking at other jobs, which is typically the reason for caregivers not showing up to first shifts.
6. First shift.
If there's a lengthy gap between orientation and first shift, they'll take further steps to communicate with and engage the caregiver.
Depending on the client and the caregiver's level of experience, they may or may not send a supervisor or caregiver lead to make introductions at the first shift.
You can hear a full recap of this process at 24:37 on the podcast. I highly recommend listening to the full episode—various home care owners have described it to me as the best 60 minutes on caregiver hiring they've ever heard.
For further resources, check out:
- How to Hire Caregivers When Hiring Is Tough (Additional podcast episode with Jeff)
- How to Beat The Competition on Indeed (Podcast episode with Rachel Gartner, CEO of Carework)