Where Can I Find Caregivers? Hiring Practices That Benefit Agencies and Families
Written by:
Jeffrey Grossman
Published:
September 7th, 2021
Knowing how to recruit great caregivers is more important than ever—and not just for home care agencies. Good caregiver recruitment processes can also benefit adult children looking into hiring a caregiver for in-home help. As an in-home care company, do you know how to attract care workers who have the right skills and qualities for the job? Knowing the best places to find caregivers is only one piece of the puzzle. It’s also important to know how to hire in-home caregivers who have the skills and qualities that will make them successful in their role. As an adult child hiring in-home care for elderly parents, don’t you want a caregiver who’s compassionate and provides quality care? You want to ensure your loved one is in good hands. Home care agencies that have strong recruitment practices and values often provide better quality caregivers than those that don’t. So whether you’re an in-home care agency or an adult child with aging parents, knowing where to find great caregivers is the key to success. In this article, we’ll be sharing what we’ve found to be the best ways to recruit great caregivers.
These “hiring a caregiver tips” will help companies understand best recruiting practices and give adult children an idea of what to look for in a home care agency for their aging parents. Keep reading to learn more about in-home care and get an answer to, “Where can I find caregivers?”
In-home elder care solutions in Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg, VA and Charleston, SC.
How to Recruit Great Caregivers
Because an agency’s caregiver recruitment process affects the quality of its caregivers, a good hiring system benefits the agency and family members looking to hire caregivers.Agencies need to find caregivers that have the skills and qualities necessary to provide great care. Hiring good candidates also helps reduce staff turnover.Additionally, family members want to know that their loved ones are receiving good care from quality caregivers. The ultimate goal is to implement a process that allows you to find the right employees the first time. Here are three ways agencies can recruit great caregivers who will provide the care family members are looking for.
1. Access a Large Pool of Candidates
The first step of caregiver recruitment is to find and reach as many potential applicants as possible. Casting a wide net helps you market your open positions to a large number of people.Without a large number of applicants, you can’t:
Be selective with who you hire
Fills employment gaps quickly
But knowing where to post job listings or how to connect with potential caregivers can be tough. Three good places to recruit employees include:
Online: One of the best places to recruit caregivers is online. You can use online job sites like Indeed.com or your company website to promote open positions.
In-person: As we’re coming out of the pandemic, you can utilize in-person hiring opportunities like job fairs or open houses at your company.
Word-of-mouth: Your employees can also help you recruit other great caregivers. Offering your employees referral bonuses is an excellent way to incentivize them to use their networks of people to help fill your employment gaps.
You can try to think of other creative ways to hire caregivers, but these three examples give you a good place to start.Once you have access to a broad pool of applicants, you’ll need to give these potential candidates a reason to apply.
2. Attract Top Talent with Desirable Benefits
The second step toward hiring the right caregivers the first time is to incentivize them to apply.You might be spending large amounts of time and money marketing your open jobs, but it’s all wasted if no one is applying. A great way to attract applicants is with desirable employee compensation packages.There are many different ways you can incentivize applicants, but four tips for how to attract care workers to your open positions involve:
Competitive Pay
Benefits packages
Paid time off
Ongoing Support
For example, Commonwise Home Care in Richmond, VA offers above-average pay and benefits packages (e.g., PTO, medical, dental, etc.) to full-time employees. This kind of compensation allows them to attract and retain top caregivers.
3. Identify and Hire Ideal Candidates
Once you have candidates applying to work for your agency, it’s important to identify which applicants are going to be a good fit. A few of the non-negotiables for caregivers should include:
Holding a GED or high school diploma
Passing a background check
Having a valid driver’s license and working vehicle
Practical skills and experience are beneficial, but it’s often the soft skills that make a caregiver great. Use the interview process to look for and assess:
Qualities of a caregiver: Identify applicants who will be responsible, communicate clearly, and be positive team players.
Personality traits of a caregiver: Traits such as empathy, patience, resourcefulness, and cheerfulness can indicate someone who will succeed as a caregiver.
To hire the best candidates quickly, Commonwise partnered with an organizational psychologist. She helped design a screening tool for assessing applicants’ personalities and emotional habits. This screening tool allows Commonwsie to identify great caregivers before they’re hired and decreases the number of bad hires. We’ve talked about how to hire caregivers, but the “why” behind caregiver recruitment is also important.
Why Caregiver Recruitment Is Important
With a growing population of seniors and a shortage of caregivers, caregiver recruitment is more important than ever. Perfecting your method of attracting, identifying, and hiring caregivers who are going to be a good fit is a valuable investment.Knowing how to recruit great caregivers has benefits for home care agencies and families hiring in-home help for elderly loved ones.
1. Benefits For Home Care Companies
There are many benefits for home care companies who create and implement a comprehensive recruitment process.As a home care agency, attracting and hiring high-quality caregivers can result in:
Keeping your positions filled: When you invest in hiring the right people the first time around, you’ll lower employee turnover and keep your best caregivers around longer.
Better quality of care to clients: By taking the time to hire great caregivers, you’ll ensure better care for your clients.
Improved reputation: Valuing your caregivers and providing great care to clients will result in a good reputation as an employer and agency.
2. Benefits For Families Hiring Caregivers
A reliable recruitment method also benefits adult children looking into hiring in-home help for elderly loved ones. When you choose an agency with good recruitment practices, you can:
Be confident in the quality of the caregiver
Build an ongoing relationship with a consistent caregiver
Know that any needs will be heard and met
An in-home caregiver is a great way to preserve your loved one’s quality of life and relieve the burden of care from your shoulder. But it’s even better when you know the care company has done everything they can to hire employees who possess the intangible qualities of a caregiver.When an agency does its due diligence in the recruiting process, you can be assured that your loved one will receive high-quality caregivers.
Hiring a Caregiver for In-home Help
Caregiver recruitment practices don’t simply benefit home care companies, they’re also valuable for families hiring a caregiver for in-home help.For agencies wondering how to hire in-home caregivers, there are three main steps:
Use multiple different channels to market job openings
Offer competitive pay and benefits to incentivize top talent to apply
Identify candidates who have the qualities of a great caregiver
Implementing these practices as an agency will provide benefits like:
Hiring the right people the first time
Providing higher quality care to clients
Improving your overall reputation
And as an adult child with parents who need in-home help, choosing an agency with a good recruiting process allows you to:
Have confidence in the quality of care
Build a deep relationship with consistent caregivers
Know any needs will be heard and met
If you’re looking into hiring in-home care for elderly loved ones, make sure your agency values hiring quality caregivers. At Commonwise Home Care, we know how to recruit great caregivers. We don’t look for just anyone to fill our caregiver positions. Instead, our recruiting process allows us to find and hire caregivers that possess the intangible qualities needed to deliver high-quality care. Then, we invest time and resources to train them in all the hands-on skills that are required for the job. When you choose us for in-home care, you’re getting care that you can trust.Contact us today to talk with a Care Advisor and hear more about how we can help your aging loved ones.
In-home elder care solutions in Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg, VA and Charleston, SC.