Keep the Focus on Recruiting Homecare Caregivers During the Covid-19 Outbreak

Keep the Caregivers You Have Now

We have already written several blogs on methods to help increase customer retention, but a few ideas key things to do to help keep your current caregivers include showing you care about them individually, acknowledging and celebrating their commitment, keeping them up to date with the most recent Covid-19 information, and giving them hope for the future.  

Show you care about your Caregivers by you and your team leaders reaching out to them frequently with words of encouragement (some do it daily).  Provide extra flexibility for your Caregivers whenever possible and make sure they are aware. Look for things that you can do to help them reduce their risk and share these ideas.  Listen to your Caregivers and really hear what they are telling you.  

Frequently acknowledge and celebrate their commitment.  Remind them of the good that they are doing for those who are most vulnerable in your community (your clients). Tell them of your pride in their service.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Your Caregivers are really showing what they are made of during this time of challenge. Let them know how much you and your clients appreciate it.  

Monitor the CDC, State, Federal and news sources for new information on the Covid-19 outbreak and keep your Caregivers up to date.  They will appreciate it.  

Give them hope.  Talk about the positive items such as how social distancing has flattened the infection rate curve, the expected incidence peak at hand, the expanding of testing for active viral infection and the initiation of immunity testing that is occurring.   

Potential for New Caregivers Entering the Workforce

The recent dramatic increase in unemployment due to layoffs and business shuttering may bring new people into the pool of candidates to fill Caregiver roles for your agency.  Even when life starts to return to normal, many businesses, particularly small businesses may not reopen, so this expanded pool of potential Caregivers may not shrink completely back to the previous tight state once Social Distancing winds down.  This situation won’t last forever and the market need for more caregivers is expected to grow by over 46% over the next six years according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. So, as the old saying goes, “You should dip your bread in the gravy while its hot.”  Take this opportunity to increase your recruiting efforts now to make sure you maintain (and expand) the number of your Caregivers your agency needs.

Make sure you have linked your caregiver application processes to your home care business automation platform to feed candidates directly into your HR recruiting system. This should include your agency’s own website as well as having the link as part of caregiver job postings you are doing. Making it easy for caregiver candidates to apply directly to you. Even during the time of Social Distancing, you can keep recruiting going with remote applications that lead to both phone and video chat interviews. Managing the process through a home care software platform will keep you engaged with the incoming candidate pool as you assess them and guide them through your interview process. Now’s the time to be planning for the future post COVID-19, keep your caregiver recruiter process going strong so you are ready as we return to a more normal state of home care operations in the future.

To find out how SmartCare™ software and support, including the (free) Covid-19 Toolset, our mobile communications app, and our HR apps can help you do more to retain and recruit Homecare Caregivers, please contact us at 1+ (800) 450-9104, email: hello@smartcaresoftware.com