If you run a home care or healthcare agency, you probably have some key metrics that you want to track. These metrics can help you evaluate your hiring processes, improve them and drive success for your agency.
Caregivers need a good vetting and training program. They also need a streamlined process for tracking, EVV, billing and other operations that reduce their stress levels and improve their standing with the agency.
1. Track the number of caregivers you hire
Diligent caregivers are the backbone of any home care agency. However, finding them requires a well-thought out recruitment strategy that’s tailored for your specific needs. A job ad that clearly echos the qualifications, skills, and attributes your agency is looking for will help streamline the hiring process by reducing the number of undesired applicants.
A thorough interviewing process is also critical in ensuring your agency hires the best caregivers. Conducting a phone screening, conducting reference checks, and conducting background checks will all help ensure your caregivers are competent, trustworthy, and committed to their work.
Caregivers also need to be able to communicate with clients, patients, and other caregivers effectively. Using pre-employment testing like the one offered by TestGorilla can assess their abilities to communicate clearly and understand instructions. This will help to reduce errors and improve patient safety. A 3rd party payroll service can also manage caregiver compensation, including calculating hours and pay, submitting taxes and withholdings, and reporting unemployment benefits on behalf of your agency.
2. Track your hiring velocity
Home care agencies need to continually keep a deep bench of caregivers to meet client demand. But if your agency is taking too long to hire new staff members, you might be losing applicants to competitors that are more efficient.
Identifying your hiring criteria and using a streamlined interview process can help you make the most of your applicant pool. A good job ad is one of the best ways to attract applicants that are a fit for your agency, and it’s important to diversify your applicant sources.
When your agency recruits with a caregiver-first mindset, you can streamline the interview process and prevent candidates from bowing out of your pipeline due to an inconvenient schedule or communication snag. For example, one way to do this is by asking prospective caregivers how much money they need to make each week and then proving that your agency offers the opportunity to meet their financial needs. A quick and easy onboarding process is also essential to keeping candidates interested.
3. Track your applicant sources
One of the most important metrics that home health care agencies can track is which applicant sources are producing the best results. This helps them focus their marketing efforts on the methods that are most effective at attracting caregivers.
For example, if your agency is getting a lot of applications from Indeed but few are reaching the interview stage, you might need to improve your search filters or change your messaging. Alternatively, you may find that you are not highlighting the value of working at your agency in your job ads.
Consider sharing testimonials from your existing employees in your agency’s advertisements and recruitment materials to help prospective caregivers better understand what it’s like to work there. Additionally, incentivizing employee referrals and fostering a positive work culture are both great ways to improve your caregiver retention. By reducing turnover, you can ensure that your clients receive the consistent care they deserve.
4. Track your onboarding process
If you opt to hire a caregiver directly, via a registry or another similar option, there are pros and cons to this approach. The good news is that you may save money by not paying agency fees. Also, it can be easier to find a care provider who speaks a second language, shares interests or personality traits with your loved one, or is able to work a flexible schedule. The downsides are that you have more responsibilities (screening, hiring, payroll, withholding and filing), and may not be able to afford as much flexibility for emergencies or vacation time.
Home care agencies that excel in recruiting, hiring, and retaining top talent understand the importance of a well-defined, transparent, and efficient onboarding process. This includes providing thorough training on proper charting, as well as facilitating client/patient meetings with your new caregiver to cement the relationship and ensure quality care. In addition, they typically use tech tools to quickly identify best matches based on client/patient needs, experience level, and licensing.caregiver agency hiring