The faces of our workforce: Strategies to recruit and retain caregivers [Webinar Recap] 

It’s no secret that home-based care agencies face a huge challenge: caregiver retention. Even after the often-difficult task of recruiting caregivers, 57% turnover within the first 3 months of employment. As a result, 85% of all home care providers are currently turning away cases due to a lack of staff.  

AlayaCare sponsored a webinar with HHCN in partnership with MissionCare Collective to share data and insights into why caregivers turn over plus several impactful ways to improve your caregivers’ experience to naturally increase employee retention and engagement, improve client outcomes, and boost revenue and business performance. 

Presenters: 

Billie Agnone  

Associate Director, Customer Enablement, AlayaCare 

Maggie Keen 

VP, Corporate Development, MissionCare Collective 

Here are the main highlights from the webinar…

Latest workforce trends affecting caregivers and agencies

The two biggest pain points reported by a survey conducted by Home Health Care News (HHCN) and AlayaCare were recruiting and hiring and employee retention and turnover. And according to the Benchmark Report conducted by Home Care Pulse, the median annual average turnover rate is 65%, and most of the survey respondents said that caregiver shortages were the top threat to future business growth, with more than average stating that caregiver shortages have an extremely negative or very negative impact on their business. Turnover rates are even higher in assisted living and skilled nursing, with the latter having a turnover rate of over 90% in 2022.  

Maggie stated that “it’s not just about the turnover and the impact on the continuity of care, as it’s also about the cost, as you said, very detrimental to our businesses and our bottom line that turnover causes as well.”  

“[AlayaCare] conducted a focus group, we wanted to better understand the factors that drive caregivers to resign,” said Billie. The focus group, conducted by AlayaCare’s R&D team, revealed that caregivers often quit due to scheduling issues such as inconsistent and unpredictable hours, which resulted in them not knowing what their income would be from week to week. Course scheduling management, lack of flexibility over the caregiver’s preferences, and not feeling valued were also reasons cited. Maggie then emphasized the importance of the time from application to hire and from hire to the first shift, as they are significant areas of drop-off for caregivers. 

Watch the full webinar to see more statistics on caregiver churn and retainment.  

The 7 caregiver personas and how to recruit and retain them 

Maggie discussed a study conducted by MissionCare Collective and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice to study the state of the direct care workforce. The study presented the 7 caregiver personas: 

1. Caring On the Siders 
2. Career Caregivers 
3. Young & On the Move 
4. Single Moving Mommas 
5. Empty Nesters 
6. Oodles of Offspring 
7. Still Going Strong Retirees 

During the webinar, Maggie covered the best ways of recruiting and retaining the seven caregiver personas based on the results found in the study, for example, it was found that it’s important to have a flexible hiring process and consider factors such as past job history and reference tracking. The days from the date of application to the first assignment are also crucial, as shorter wait times can lead to higher retention rates. 

Billie emphasizes the use of data, with the recommendation to track application to hire ratio and the time from hire to the first shift. For example, according to a case study conducted by Nevvon, a partner of AlayaCare, a mentorship program was able to increase retention rates by 89% among participating agencies. The mentored caregivers expressed greater satisfaction in the first 90 days and were more likely to recommend the agency. 

It’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work when it comes to recruiting and retaining caregivers; but by understanding the unique needs and motivations of each persona, organizations can tailor their strategies to better attract and retain the right individuals. As Maggie notes, “We need to recognize and understand that we have seven different personas and they’re all looking for something different. And so, we need to create opportunities for them to find that thing that they’re looking for.” 

Overall, this theme emphasizes the importance of being adaptable and data-driven in recruiting and retaining caregivers and recognizing the individual needs of each persona in order to create a positive and supportive work environment. 

Watch the rest of the webinar to see Billie and Maggie discuss impactful strategies and tools to improve your caregivers’ experience.