Individuals working in the home health care field provide vital services for their patients. Although it is rewarding work, it can also lead to stress or burnout for caregivers. In addition, the demands of the work can cause some employees to feel undervalued.
The website Home Care Pulse reports that the United States has an annual 70% turnover rate for home health care workers. For every employee that leaves, the site also reports it costs home care agencies $2,600 to source and train new talent. With such a high turnover rate and associated costs, it is essential to take steps to retain your employees. Below are some tips to help ensure your home care staff feel valued. Doing so can help boost employee morale, resulting in less employee turnover in 2019.
One of the most important ways you can help your employees feel valued is to maintain a flexible scheduling and assignment system as much as possible. This can include factoring in caregivers’ commute times when assigning clients and matching clients and caregivers that are likely to be compatible.
Another important way to show your employees you value them is to ensure they are properly trained. This can include offering paid training, lunch and learn sessions, and soliciting employee feedback on training topics. In addition, you should establish and communicate policies on the support resources available to employees, such as human resources or an employee assistance hotline.
Employee recognition is a crucial component in making your employees feel valued. There are many ways to recognize your employees for outstanding work. Home Care Pulse provides a variety of ways to recognize your caregivers. A few of those tips are highlighted below:
· Financial Rewards: Bonus, merit increase, gift cards, additional paid time off
· Recognition from their supervisor: This could be one-on-one or at a team meeting. Supervisors could also send an email or handwritten note to caregivers.
· Sharing positive feedback from their clients
· Selecting an Employee of the Month, Quarter, and Year and providing a reward
· Providing events like quarterly lunches or an annual holiday party
· Years of service award: This can be done on an employee’s one-year anniversary and every 5 years after that.
Training, a professional development site, offers additional ways to help make your employees feel valued:
· Creating and communicating a well-defined vision and core values, including an emphasis on employees’ value, goes a long way.
· Employees who understand and identify with a company’s mission are more likely to feel connected and valued.
· Another tip for creating value is to ensure employees know their career path at your company. This includes providing access to training, providing informal feedback, annual evaluations, and providing support if they desire to move to a different position within the company.
However you choose to make your employees feel valued, you will help reduce the rate of turnover at your company. Employees who feel appreciated and appropriately compensated for their efforts are much more likely to stay at your company.