Careswitch | Home Care Industry FAQs

Q: What should a good caregiver retention program look like?

While the needs of every agency are different, there's a common set of mistakes agencies make regarding caregiver retention:1. Neglecting retention in the applicant pipeline stage.2. Failing to focus enough on the first 90 days of employment.3. Communicating for logistics only once caregivers are hired, and failing to build strong individual relationships with them. With these in mind, we've designed a caregiver retention program focused on these two critical times: the hiring stage and first 90 days of employment.We developed this plan from our own research as well as interviews with Jeff Wiberg, president of the Home Care Association of America board, and inspiration from a retention plan put together by Stephen Tweed of Leading Home Care and the Home Care CEO Forum.If the imag... Click to view the full answer from our home care industry expert.

Q: When is it time to hire a recruiter for my home care agency?

The most basic answer: when you're not getting caregivers hired quickly enough.If you can't give every caregiver a call the same day as they apply, you need to hire a recruiter. If you as an agency owner are spending hours every day on Indeed or other platforms every day, a bottleneck in recruiting will become the bottleneck for your entire agency's growth.Caregiver recruitment is a funnel; applicants drop off at every stage, from not responding to a phone call to not showing up to an interview. While recruiting is extremely important, your time as the owner is better spent with the caregivers who do show up and do get hired. Similarly, other staff members like care coordinator or schedulers are better off to spend their time with the caregivers who show up as well. The cuto... Click to view the full answer from our home care industry expert.

Question 1

How can I implement performance-based compensation in my home care agency?

Ilya Vakhutinsky · Accepted Answer

First, let’s clarify a few things:When we say performance-based compensation, we’re not referring to an occasional sporadic reward or a holiday bonus—we’re referring to a formal plan in which employees can earn extra pay based on hitting specific metrics or goals.This is relatively new in home care; aside from marketers, less than 10% of agencies report paying their staff performance-based compensation. However, it’s beginning to take off and more industry leaders are calling for it to become a standard.Benefits of performance-based compensationWhy should agencies consider performance-based pay?It allows you to pay competitively without committing to pay scales that might be unsustainable if there’s a period where company goals aren’t being reachedIt helps focus employees on driving result... Click to view the full answer from our home care industry expert.

Question 2

What should a good caregiver retention program look like?

Connor Kunz · Accepted Answer

While the needs of every agency are different, there&#x27;s a common set of mistakes agencies make regarding caregiver retention:1. Neglecting retention in the applicant pipeline stage.2. Failing to focus enough on the first 90 days of employment.3. Communicating for logistics only once caregivers are hired, and failing to build strong individual relationships with them. With these in mind, we&#x27;ve designed a caregiver retention program focused on these two critical times: the hiring stage and first 90 days of employment.We developed this plan from our own research as well as interviews with Jeff Wiberg, president of the Home Care Association of America board, and inspiration from a retention plan put together by Stephen Tweed of Leading Home Care and the Home Care CEO Forum.If the imag... Click to view the full answer from our home care industry expert.

Question 3

What should the ideal caregiver hiring process look like?

Jeff Wiberg · Accepted Answer

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&#x27;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&#x27;s not uncommon to ask the caregiver to show up to an unpaid orientation while their first paid shift is ... Click to view the full answer from our home care industry expert.

Question 4

Where can I get a sample template for a caregiver job ad that will help my agency stand out to applicants?

Connor Kunz · Accepted Answer

Right here.There are a couple common mistakes home care agencies make when they&#x27;re writing their caregiver job ads: they make it too much about the agency&#x27;s needs instead of speaking to what the applicant wants, and they often use long bulleted lists of qualifications and responsibilities that no one actually reads. This description is shorter, to the point, and makes sure to focus on what&#x27;s in it for the caregivers.You&#x27;ll notice it also doesn&#x27;t require experience. In today&#x27;s day and age, you&#x27;re shooting yourself in the foot if you force your caregivers to have prior experience or arbitrarily require certifications that you could help them get in a few nights of training. There aren&#x27;t enough caregivers out there for you to require a set level of expe... Click to view the full answer from our home care industry expert.

Question 5

When is it time to hire a recruiter for my home care agency?

Rachel Gartner · Accepted Answer

The most basic answer: when you&#x27;re not getting caregivers hired quickly enough.If you can&#x27;t give every caregiver a call the same day as they apply, you need to hire a recruiter. If you as an agency owner are spending hours every day on Indeed or other platforms every day, a bottleneck in recruiting will become the bottleneck for your entire agency&#x27;s growth.Caregiver recruitment is a funnel; applicants drop off at every stage, from not responding to a phone call to not showing up to an interview. While recruiting is extremely important, your time as the owner is better spent with the caregivers who do show up and do get hired. Similarly, other staff members like care coordinator or schedulers are better off to spend their time with the caregivers who show up as well. The cuto... Click to view the full answer from our home care industry expert.

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