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Recruiting and retaining caregivers is one of the most significant challenges home care providers face. While the annual turnover rate remains at 65.2%, successfully hiring caregivers in these fast-changing times requires different tools and techniques.

97.8% of agencies state that caregiver shortages impact their business. They further exclaimed that the negative impact rose from 10% in the past year to 34.1%.

-HCP Benchmarking Report

The message is clear: your agency’s success depends on how you recruit and retain the top caregivers. It may sound simple, but the average agency has to replace at least ⅔ of its staff each year.

Despite caregiver shortages, some home care agencies excel in finding, hiring, and keeping the best caregivers. They believe good culture, competitive benefits, and caregiver experience are the best ways to thrive in the industry. However, agencies need to understand that the company culture will only help them hire more caregivers if they engage in an effective recruitment process.

In order to be successful, your agency must adopt some strategies with accurate measurements. This helps create irresistible employment opportunities for everyone who wants to evolve in the changing home care market.

The U.S. market currently has 10.4 million job openings, and 73% of the unemployed are passively looking for new jobs.

-U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

This statistic sheds light on the potential for new hires. Agency owners look forward to winning their attention through a well-crafted recruitment strategy that needs minimum improvising.

However, before beginning you must remember that every agency owner takes consistent trials and errors before creating a recruitment mix to meet the agency’s needs and produce desired candidates. Investing in home care recruiters’ software can be the first step toward getting your recruitment strategy right. Some other ways to make the most out of your recruitment strategy are:

• Share your Agency’s Success Story:
  We’re all guilty of selecting a clothing brand because of its reputation. If your agency comes across as a less than exceptional home care provider, prospective caregivers will never choose you.

  A study conducted by MRI Network in 2018 found 71% of job seekers don’t accept a job offer from an employer with a bad reputation.

  Reputation Management Study

  Share what makes your home care agency different from the rest. Identify your brand’s vision, mission, and values and carefully craft the experience you would like your employees to have. Spread the word about your company’s success, struggles, and what makes you different.

  Take charge of how your message redefines the applicant’s view of your agency.

  Establishing a memorable brand is something you must take advantage of. Focus on how you can stand out from the hundreds of agencies hiring caregivers right now. Having a good agency reputation is a step in the right direction!

• Make Use of Online Job Postings:
  Around 85% of U.S. millennials start their job search process online. Home care giants explain that having an online presence can make or break your recruitment strategy.

  A well-designed job posting may attract younger employees versus a boring one. Home care agencies with a strong team of web designers can easily outdo their competition.

  The job postings published on Indeed, one of the best recruiting platforms, attract 37% of prospective job seekers.

  -Home Care Benchmarking Study

  Despite being one of the best recruitment methods, it produced a 76% turnover rate. Even though Indeed attracts maximum hires, it fails to attract long-term caregivers. It is crucial to optimize your job postings to attract talent that will stay.

  Job postings are a business’s first pitch that prospective employees see. However, your job postings will drive the maximum results, if your job post creates a positive impression in the job seeker’s mind.

• Conduct a Hiring Event Virtually:
  The pandemic caused 70% of the American workforce to work remotely, changing workplace expectations. Prospective employers look for companies that conduct virtual meetings and facilitate hybrid job searches.

  Research shows that 22% of the workforce, approximately 36.2 million Americans, will work remotely by 2025.

  –Upwork

  Virtual events appeal to today’s workforce. The virtual hiring method may seem similar to a career fair, with the only difference being that you’re the only voice in the room.

  While this method offers several advantages, it requires a clear action plan to succeed. Decide upon the major takeaways well ahead of time to get the full attention of the candidates at the virtual event. Set aside some hours to host an open virtual event as these help eliminate interview no-shows, sparking excitement in caregivers.

• Consider Competitive Wages and Employee Benefits:
  Recruiting and retaining caregivers is one of the top challenges of the home care industry. Agency owners often juggle between pay increases and employee satisfaction.

  Experts say when caregivers leave an agency they cite pay and benefits as the primary reasons.

  Caregivers often feel discouraged because they’re paid equally to workers at Walmart. But, when you compare the work, caregiving is much more challenging, yet the wages are too similar. It is entirely rational for caregivers to look for other industry options.

  For long-time caregiver associations, home care providers must be long-sighted. They should believe their investment will attract and retain caregivers in the coming time.

• Accelerate the Onboarding Process:
  Your job posting is competing with 10 million other job postings. Therefore, if the applicant chooses yours, do not let it go to waste. The clock is ticking!

  An efficient onboarding process raises employee satisfaction to around 82%. So, in this competitive market, make sure to be the first among recruiters to respond to the excited caregiver. Conduct the interview immediately after seeing the candidate in order to get the ball rolling.

  Every candidate applies for multiple jobs to ensure they’re making the best decision. Therefore, if you grab the prospective caregiver’s attention and speed up the onboarding process, your agency will become the first choice for the candidate.

  Try to get your candidate in the door with a short application process and a seamless onboarding experience. If done correctly, your caregiver will get their first paycheck while other employees are still interviewing candidates.

  That’s the power of timely decision-making!

• Improve Efficiency by Combating Inflation:
  Your home care agency can only succeed with your caregivers functioning correctly.

  Home care giants suggest leveraging tools and technology to increase efficiency and provide care workers with resources to make their jobs easier. After all, caregiving is a customer facing business, and a lack of sufficient resources may prevent your business from growing.

  Home care agencies who adopt the latest technology can reduce significant amounts of time and effort if appropriately implemented to manage business operations.

• Use a Home Care Staffing Software:
  A recruiter’s job involves finding a needle in the haystack, which is why an intelligent applicant tracking system is necessary.

  A home care recruiter faces numerous challenges having to explore multiple portals and search many job boards to find the right candidates with suitable credentials. This is a time-consuming process that requires continuous effort.

  Posting jobs, shortlisting candidates, screening and hiring them, running background checks, and onboarding skilled caregivers make hiring a success. However, it doesn’t end here! The human resource team needs to provide the necessary training, helping them with certifications to meet compliance standards. The enhanced skills bring further client satisfaction and build long-lasting relationships.

  Studies show that home care staff management software like CareSmartz360 reduces hiring time by 50%. It helps onboard the best minds and caring hands.

  A reliable home care H.R. software assists with connecting potential candidates with employers to fill caregiver openings faster. All agencies have to do is ask applicants to apply for the relevant position and fill in their details through the CareSmartz360 portal. With an in-built recruitment module, agencies can get details of caregivers and office staff through a single dashboard- all while adhering to home care regulations.

  Ensure your agency invests in caregiver training during the first few weeks to prevent turnover. Caregivers who receive training remark feeling more satisfied and valued in the job.

In Conclusion

Becoming an agency everyone wants to work for is no longer an option; it’s a requirement for success. Getting unbiased feedback from your caregivers and focusing on improvement points instead of ignoring them goes a long way. Implementing these recruitment and retention strategy will help you hire and keep the best talent in 2023 and beyond!