It’s no secret that recruitment and hiring can be expensive. I recently saw data that indicated the upfront cost for hiring an aide can be anywhere from $500 to $3,000, depending on how your recruitment system is designed. If you add in the associated costs of hiring (ads, orientation, etc.), you can put out as much as $2,000 to $5,000 per employee. That’s a lot of money.
If you’re making that kind of commitment, you want to make sure it’s paying off. Over the years, I’ve implemented a range of strategies that help clients minimize the cost of recruitment. The steps are pretty straightforward and anyone can use them to streamline their hiring process. Continue reading “Smarter Recruitment Strategies Boost Home Care Agency Outcomes” »
Hiring can be stressful, especially for a home health or home care agency. If only there was some magic potion or wand we could wave over a potential employee and turn them into a Prince or Princess Charming who would always be reliable, loyal to the agency, and adored by clients and their families.
Since there does not seem to be a magical solution to make this happen, many administrators I’ve talked to have begun using a profile tool to help eliminate glaring hiring mistakes. The profile is a compilation of all the attributes demonstrated by star employees who have successfully held a position in the past. For instance, one client developed a profile of the ‘best home care aide’ that included being a team player, reliable, dependable, responsive to requests, compassionate, able to listen, a critical thinker, a self starter, sought continuing education, and had a strong commitment to customer service. Continue reading “Hiring the Best: Elixir of Success for Home Health or Home Care” »
When I started out as a home healthcare consultant, the last thing I ever expected is that I would become a culinary expert. Well, that is exactly what has happened, and for a very good reason. It turns out that in the new era of home health, one of the most common requests for services, besides personal care, is cooking. Unfortunately, cooking has also become one of the most common topics of complaint.
In my capacity as a home healthcare consultant, I’ve read hundreds of agency evaluations where clients go on and on about how fantastic their caregiver is and openly state how grateful they are to have such a loving and sweet person in their life. And then comes that final punch: she cannot cook to save her life.
Aides with adequate cooking skills are far and few between. Last year, when I was working with a client who runs a very successful home health agency, I heard what I believe is a very common complaint. A client’s daughter had asked the home care aide to broil her father a steak for dinner. Instead, the aide boiled the steak, which is how steaks are cooked in her native country. After some thought and discussion with the administrative staff, I decided it was time to develop a culinary arts program for the aides, particularly for those who live in, as they are almost always required to cook. Continue reading “… But Can She Boil Water Without Burning It?” »
Hiring a consultant should be easy. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you know exactly what you want, but even for the most savvy manager or business owner, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Asking for help is at the foundation of any good business growth. Experts will tell you no one can or should go it alone, especially in today’s economy. The question is, how do you get help that is relevant, affordable, and allows you to succeed? Hiring a consultant is a lot like hiring a senior level employee. It’s a very stratified process, filled with nuance and subtleties, and both types of hires should be treated with the same due diligence.
Frequently, people confide in me that they hired a consultant but it didn’t work out the way they planned. The most common complaint is that the consultant wasn’t all that helpful or simply didn’t address the problems of the organization. So the question is, when you need help, how do you find a consultant whose work is both focused and germane? How do you ensure that your experience ends up being exactly what is needed? Continue reading “Preventing Disaster: How to Hire A Home Care Consultant Without Losing Your Mind.” »
