According to the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI), there are almost 4 million direct-care home health aides, certified nurse aides, and personal care attendants in the United States today. This number is set to increase dramatically as the aging population swells and as more seniors need home health-care services (or need the care level offered by an assisted living, continuous care, or nursing home facility).
In the United States, approximately 10,000 people a day are turning 65 years of age, and the vast majority—85 to 90 percent, according to industry experts—want to be able to age in place by remaining in their own homes. According to the Department of Labor, the need for home health aides is intensifying, growing at a rate of about 69 percent per year. This increase is expected to continue as the population ages. In fact, the non-medical home care profession is one of the fastest-growing employment sectors in the United States.
High Industry Turnover Rates
Even with the increase in staffing needs and a robust employment picture, there is a downside that many in the non-medical home health services industry currently are facing: a dismal retention rate among home health workers. Industry statistics compiled from more than 700 home care service companies, and reported and released in a survey published by PHI in 2015, showed that more than 60 percent of private-duty home care workers quit or were fired from their jobs.
Some statistics show an equally disturbing trend in elder health-care facilities such as skilled nursing and assisted living communities. The American Health Care Association’s 2014 Quality Report published recently showed median health-care staff turnover rates of more than 40 percent in 2013, the latest figures available.
Improving Retention Statistics
Typically, home health-care workers are moderately compensated and have stressful and emotional jobs. They work long hours, performing tasks that require a special heart, such as helping elderly and infirm patients bathe, dress, eat, perform oral hygiene, clean house, and do laundry. In addition, they provide compassion, understanding, patience, and quality care, while maintaining a friendly, reliable, and professional relationship with the patient and his or her family and loved ones.
It’s not an easy job and not surprising that the retention of good workers is often the most difficult part of running a home health-care business. Many home care workers work as contractors rather than as employees, rarely are offered health care through their employers, receive little or no training, have no way of moving up or improving their work situation, and can be undervalued by their employer.
These factors can make it difficult for health-care workers to feel that they are not only important, but that they perform a desperately needed service that is appreciated.
Create a Culture of Care
After extensive research and testing, FirstLight has made tremendous strides in helping our franchise owners reduce their turnover of caregivers. During the last three years, our system as a whole has seen less than 20 percent turnover of caregivers, well below the industry standards. Our solution? Take the time to hire right, offer better working conditions, make employees feel valued, pay them a fair wage, and create a “Culture of Care.”
- Hire your workers as employees rather than contractors. It’s well known that if your employees feel like they are an important part of a team, they will be happier. A happier employee is a loyal employee.
- Offer health benefits. Pay is often low, and while the rewards of helping patients are great, your workers need the basics, too. Health benefits may be an important component to greater retention.
- Offer a living wage. If your services are exceptional in the market, you can pay your caregivers more than your competitors do. You could offer a bonus system or incentives as another way to retain good employees.
- Recruit from within. Is one of your workers extremely good at his or her job? Maybe one of your stellar employees could help by training and shadowing other employees on the job to encourage improvement. This goes a long way toward making your workers feel you care about them enough to help them move up.
A Model That Works
In addition to the steps above, also consider:
- Testing potential hires to ensure they are the type of person you want working for you. Assessment and screening tools help select caregivers who align with a culture of care, such as those who have compassion, consideration, and a love for helping others.
- Offering continuing education. FirstLight has more than 350 online modules employees can study at their own pace to improve their skills and knowledge, and you can do something similar to foster goodwill and loyalty.
- Giving workers flexible schedules. Lack of flexibility is another reason health-care workers leave a job. Develop a system that allows workers to help plan their own schedule.
- Matching workers to the patient for a good fit. FirstLight has a proprietary technology system that assesses the skills, desires, and personality of both the caregiver and the client. Matching the employee to the patient helps make both the caregiver and the patient happy.
Improving your retention rate is within reach. Put respect and compassion at the heart of your corporate culture, and watch as morale improves, employee retention increases, and turnover-associated costs decline.
Bill McPherson is the executive director of franchise development at FirstLight HomeCare, which has been awarded Entrepreneur Top 500 franchises, Top Franchisee Satisfaction, Franchise Business Review, Top Veterans Franchise, Franchise Business Review and Forbes Top Franchises, To learn more about the Senior Care sector, e-mail: bmcpherson@firstlighthomecare.com.
