To Win At Recruiting, Home Care Providers Need To Better Understand Job Seekers

With 7.8 million jobs expected to open up in home-based care and senior living facilities by 2026, it’s more important than ever for providers to understand what attracts employees and what leads to dissatisfaction.

That was one key takeaway from a recent panel discussion that took place last month at the Home Care Association of America’s (HCAOA) annual conference.

When it comes to employee culture, there are a number of areas where the home care industry is performing well, according to research from Home Care Pulse and Great Places to Work.

“This is not just a job — that’s what your employees love most about where they work,” Home Care Pulse President Todd Austin said during the discussion. “It has meaning. The people here are treated fairly, regardless of their gender, and people are treated fairly regardless of their race. They’re proud to tell others where they work. These are the four areas that as an industry, we really excel in.”

Austin pointed out that it’s important for providers to emphasize these points when trying to attract people to the home care industry.

“How many of you are telling stories that align with those four categories — probably not a lot,” he said. “That’s our opportunity. This is what individuals are looking for when they are in the job market.”

On the flip side, the home care industry struggles with compensation, a lack of special recognition programs, as well as a tendency to play favorites with employees.

Generational demographics can also factor into what individual workers value most, according to the data.

In addition to findings around what attracts workers, the research also made the case for the importance of diverse workplaces.

At Senior Solutions Home Care, hiring based on the ability to excel at work has helped the company build a diverse workforce.

“Our baseline was that anyone can be an excellent caregiver, and let’s give them that opportunity to do so,” Kunu Kaushal, founder and CEO at Senior Solutions Home Care, said during the panel discussion. “We also listen and watch for what isn’t making them a great caregiver, and really define it based on the quality of the person’s work, not who they are as an individual, in any other way.”

For Friendly Faces Senior Care, ensuring that the company has a diverse workforce was intentional.

“I’m that person that as a young child, I remember that feeling of not being included, and I remember how horrible that felt,” Qiana James, founder and CEO of Friendly Faces Senior Care, said. “For me, it’s a mindset. I’m a person that always wants to make sure that everybody is included. When I’m designing my agency, I made sure it was very intentional, and it’s not just the caregivers, but also our office staff.”

James noted that this is the exact kind of workplace that many job seekers are looking for.

“So many job seekers are actually looking for organizations that are diverse, and it’s a higher turnover rat, if you have an organization that does not include diversity,” she said. “We all know the problems that we have with caregiver turnover. We want to make sure that we have a diverse organization. We cannot afford any more turnover.”

Sara Wilson, president and CEO of Home Assist Health, believes that representation is a strategy for an effective organization.

“It promotes good innovation, positive decision making, strong outcomes and recruiting and retention numbers,” she said. “We want market sensitivity and employee engagement with authentic representation.”

Ultimately, workers will be attracted to workplaces where they feel valued, according to Emma Dickison, CEO and president of Home Helpers, said.

“A couple of years ago, a Home Care Pulse benchmarking study highlighted why caregivers left their organizations, and the top five out of ten were because of the way they felt treated by the home office,” she said. “So start there. Look at those types of opportunities and the data to say, ‘How have we unintentionally excluded [people], and how can they be part of our innovative solutions, as we think about shaping the company going forward?’”