It’s no secret that employees who are truly engaged at work tend to stick around for longer. In fact, a 2017 Gallup poll showed that organizations with high engagement levels are 17% more productive, and they also report 59% less turnover than business units with low employee engagement.
Engagement is especially critical for in-home caregivers, who must constantly juggle an array of practical tasks while offering personalized emotional support. Without a sense of fulfillment and purpose, many caregivers become stressed and overwhelmed, and ultimately decide to find another job.
With a 66.7% turnover rate for home caregivers across the industry, it’s vital for any home care provider to engage their best workers. Luckily, we make that task a little easier for our franchise owners here at Homewatch CareGivers®. Offering ongoing support and a strong business model, we can help you prioritize your caregivers’ needs effectively – leading to better care for your senior clients!
Below, we offer 5 great ways to keep your in-home caregivers happy and engaged.
- Make positivity a personal priority.
“Compassion fatigue” is one of the biggest risks for caregivers, due to the unique emotional requirements of this role. Because they spend so much time connecting with seniors who are lonely or dealing with difficult circumstances, caregivers can absorb feelings of sadness and frustration over time.
To combat the effects of compassion fatigue, focus on creating a positive work culture. Whether that means regularly giving words of gratitude to your caregivers or creating a weekly newsletter with inspiring highlights from the week, spreading positivity can often keep employees engaged.
- Establish a caregiver mentoring program.
One of the best ways to combat caregiver turnover is to provide early on-the-job mentoring. Aside from easing the initial 90-day period, a mentoring program can help new caregivers establish positive relationships with other team members. Not only are these relationships crucial for learning and growth, they can actually improve long-term engagement and keep your workers happy.
It’s not just good for new caregivers, either: In some cases, the caregiving mentor may benefit even more from a mentoring program than the mentee. One 2013 study in the Journal of Vocational Behavior showed that employees who become mentors report much higher job satisfaction and commitment levels.
- Give your caregivers a chance to collaborate.
Whether it’s a brief daily huddle, a weekly meeting, or monthly team-building sessions, it’s important to allow your caregivers a chance to collaborate and share their personal experiences. Feeling like part of a team can improve productivity and allow for better service outcomes, but more than that, it can increase engagement over time. A 2014 TINYpulse report that surveyed over 200,000 employees discovered that peer recognition is the top reason workers go the “extra mile.”
- Take the time to recognize great work.
Like most employees, in-home caregivers need to feel appreciated and recognized by management. While bonuses, gift cards, and incentive programs can be a great way to recognize outstanding effort, it’s also important for caregivers to receive authentic positive feedback about their work. Try instituting an “Employee of the Month” program, or sending a hand-written thank you card whenever you see someone succeeding.
- Regularly seek feedback from your caregivers.
Last but not least, it’s critical that you stay open to constructive feedback from your in-home caregivers, and provide an easy way for them to share ideas. That could include sending out a regular survey with questions about improvement, and then actually implementing some of the feedback you receive.
Need More Ideas? We’re Always Here to Help.
At Homewatch CareGivers, we understand that it can be challenging to engage the in-home caregivers on your team. Because we know that our franchise owners are the key to our clients’ success and happiness, we place a strong emphasis on continued franchise support and training. In addition, our Care to Stay initiative is a strategic approach to caregiver recruitment, onboarding and development.
When you launch your in-home care franchise with Homewatch CareGivers, you’ll be guided through a 52-week business implementation program led by subject matter experts as well as a Market Action Plan. With an Annual Conference, regular webinars, the latest technology and tools, and an accredited online university, you’ll always have the means to stay connected with your caregivers!
For more information about our home care franchise opportunity, call (888) 718-5318 today.
