Caribou Rewards, a rewards and engagement application built to elevate care agencies to world-class employer status, has announced its official partnership with Right at Home, becoming the national in-home care provider’s preferred rewards and recognition partner for their 433 locations throughout the United States.

Right at Home franchises undertook a 6-month competitive pilot program to inform vendor selection, which was initiated at the end of 2023 in an effort to improve overall caregiver experience.

Specifically, they set out to increase staff engagement, bolster recruitment efforts, and improve caregiver retention. To determine the choice partner, Right at Home compared performance data and qualitative feedback from caregivers, office staff, and agency owners.

Caribou’s mission is to fuel excellence across organizations through automated rewards and recognition programs designed to make caregivers feel seen and valued. In September, Right at Home US selected Caribou after achieving exceptional results in the pilot program, illustrating positive business outcomes for all participating franchises.

“Simply put, Caribou won in every category,” says Jessica Schultz, director of people strategy at Right at Home. “Caribou continues to drive new integrations, and new build-outs to fit our needs. Their adaptability, and their willingness to listen and learn, was unmatched. Plus, their customer service level was superior, and their platform readiness was mature.”

Caribou’s automation capabilities played a vital role in the selection process, as Right at Home franchises prioritized ensuring office staff had no extra work on their plate while administering a new program that seamlessly integrated with their existing scheduling system.

“Our aim is to help our agency partners become outstanding employers and great businesses through a technology-enabled culture that puts caregivers first. This partnership signals Right at Home’s commitment to being an industry leader in using technology to improve the caregiver experience, as well as overall business performance,” says Christian Alaimo, Caribou’s co-founder and chief operating officer.

“The results with Right at Home franchises show how powerful rewards and recognition can be for any in-home care agency’s growth goals and operational efficiency,” Alaimo says.

Within six months, Right at Home pilot franchises saw 15% growth in active staff, 15% improvement in Electronic Visit Verification, and a 65% improvement in retention for new hires.

“Since our inception, Caribou has helped agencies improve their operational efficiency while directing money back into the pockets of caregivers,” says Alaimo. “We’ve put over 5 million dollars in the pockets of hard-working caregivers. It’s a virtuous cycle that positively impacts every stakeholder in the ecosystem.”

Rosaleen Doherty, co-owner at Right at Home Boston, has been using Caribou since 2022, and notes the success she has had with the platform.

“Caribou is a way for us to reach people across our entire company, and help them be seen for the great work they do. We know this equates to job satisfaction, and that’s what we’re all aiming for with our teams,” Doherty says. “Thanks to Caribou, we have a tool in our toolbox that helps us reward our team easily and immediately — without any extra administrative work.”

To date, upwards of 3,000 Right at Home caregivers across eleven states are using Caribou with their local Right at Home office to get points, redeemable for cash incentives, for clocking in and out, referring qualified candidates for open roles, completing important onboarding tasks, or picking up extra shifts.

“We’re excited to see how this partnership evolves year after year, and our Right at Home franchises will be thrilled to have access to a tool like Caribou that their caregivers love,” says Schultz.

Caribou fuels excellence across entire organizations; improving retention, recruitment, and staff performance, all while improving overall operational efficiency. Caribou’s referral programs have generated thousands of hires for agencies, moving the needle on the caregiver shortage that impacts the lives of millions. Find out more about Caribou’s mission at www.caribou.care.

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While many of the current hurdles are due to macro-level forces that are largely outside of an operator’s control, some can be cleared with the help of smart scheduling, strategic incentives and impactful training programs.

Improving “speed to schedule” – or how long it takes to get a prospective caregiver in the field, caring for clients – can also make a major difference, according to Allan Levine, senior vice president of growth and revenue for e-training solution Nevvon.

“The faster you can get a caregiver working, I think the better that will be with recruitment and retention,” Levine said Wednesday during a Home Health Care News webinar sponsored by AlayaCare. “There’s a lot of applicant tracking and onboarding solutions that are out there.”

HHCN and AlayaCare recently examined the industry’s biggest pain points and opportunities as part of an online survey of 145 home-based care professionals, conducted from Dec. 15, 2021, to Jan. 10 of this year.

About 75% of respondents reported having to increase the cost of care due to staffing shortages. And because of problems recruiting or retaining in-home care workers, 80% of respondents said their companies were actively turning away referrals.

Additionally, about 40% of the respondents reported having to increase the use of contract labor in 2021 – a trend that has continued into 2022 for many.

To gain an edge in recruiting, home-based care employers should be using data to identify where they’ve most successfully found workers in the past, according to AlayaCare’s Naomi Goldapple, who serves as vice president of the technology company’s AlayaLabs division.

“Look at your data and see what has worked in the past,” Goldapple said, also speaking on Wednesday’s webinar.

Alex Oosterveen, co-founder and CEO of Caribou Rewards, echoed that idea, adding that providers should likewise explore employee-referral programs.

“We really believe in the law of attraction,” Oosterveen said on the webinar. “Your happiest, most reliable staff are going to tend to hang out in circles with similar people. So if you don’t have a referral program today, I’d really encourage you to make that one of your next experiments.”

Meanwhile, on the retention front, employers should further consider technology investments that streamline the more burdensome tasks caregivers and clinicians are saddled with on a daily basis.

“Help to support them,” Goldapple said. “Give them decision-support tools and make everything very easy so that they can have mobile solutions, so that any of the onerous tasks are kind of reduced. Make their job easier.”

Once hired, seamless scheduling is important as well. In the HHCN-AlayaCare survey, 18% of respondents said “inconsistent schedules” was their top reason for caregiver churn.

“Without them having good schedules that give them enough hours or give them the hours that they want, at the time of day and the frequency that they need, they won’t be happy,” Goldapple continued.

Along with scheduling improvements, many home-based care employers hoping to curb staff burnout are investing in training and education opportunities, creating “career ladders” for caregivers to keep them engaged. In the HHCN-AlayaCare survey, 36% of respondents said they were “managing or preventing staff burnout and churn” by “increasing training and development opportunities.”

Prior to the public health emergency, home-based care providers often leaned heavily on in-person training, Levine explained. During the COVID-19 surges, many pivoted to fully virtual methods.

Now, most are sticking to hybrid training opportunities with a mix of in-person and virtual, he said, noting that trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

“Giving them the flexibility in their training to do it on their own time, at their own pace, when they want, where they want, within rules, of course – that really is a trend that we’re seeing going long and far,” Levine explained.

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