Hiring home health care workers requires the right people to provide exceptional levels of care and management of patients. Every single day, families are struggling to cope and the attention and care needed for a senior or special needs family member can become too much. So, families seek the help of an organization like yours. One that provides caregivers or nurses for in-home healthcare. This means you need to find employees that are empathetic and exceptional caregivers. But that’s easier said than done right?
What’s the best way to find employees for in-home health care?
Have clearly defined roles and qualifications.
For this example, we’ll take a look at how you can find high-quality Caregivers. By establishing early on what their requirements are you can ensure that applicants will understand what their job entails and be able to determine if it’s a good fit for them.
A good example of an opening for a home healthcare job description would be as follows:
You are naturally empathetic and are looking for an opportunity to give something back to elderly people in need. Imagine a career where you can not only craft your own schedule and befriend some of the most interesting people in the area, but also provide a level of personal support that the seniors will embrace. Supporting a small number of seniors, you will become an essential part of their family as a Caregiver with [COMPANY NAME].
You can include more information regarding well developed training programs for topics such as intensive dementia and Alzheimer’s, or other training programs that can help them increase their knowledge.
Here’s an example of a good intro for a job description:
As a dedicated CAREGiverSM, you can help these families restore balance, order, and peace to their lives and help their loved ones remain at home.
Caring for seniors is a labor of love that requires a special person with just the right touch. That’s why, when you provide care with the [COMPANY NAME] network, you become a CAREGiver with a capital “CARE.”
Becoming a paid caregiver is a unique job with many joys and rewards, as well as responsibilities and challenges, both physical and emotional. As a [COMPANY NAME] CAREGiver, you’ll meet wonderful people, build fulfilling relationships, and make a difference in the lives of your clients.
Screen well and Screen thoroughly
When finding caregivers or other positions for home healthcare, it’s critical that you thoroughly pre-screen candidates. You can do this either through the initial phone screens, or you can cut down on the time you spend calling each applicant with different screening tools.
Screening Questions
Here are some opening questions to pre-screen candidates that we’ve seen are proven in helping to hire excellent caregivers.
Question: Regarding family values and the importance of family, I believe that
Answer: Family connections and an emphasis on supporting family are the most important parts of life
or
having strong family ties are important.
an option to knock out a candidate would be if they responded with: they are nice to have, but not an essential part of life.
What this question does is enable you to determine which applicants truly understand the importance of each family member that they watch over. The more they care the better it is for you and the family that has given you the responsibility of watching over their family members.
Question: I have cared for the following number of seniors over the last 24 months
Answer: Over 6 seniors
Statistically, applicants for caregiver positions who have watched over 6 seniors in 24 months understand the demands of the position better and know how to handle various situations, making them better hires.
However, answers with 2-6 seniors in the last 24 months lead to exceptional hires as well.
Question: My most recent or current level of experience working with senior or elderly population is best described as:
Answer: Substantial involvement with the senior population – I have worked with the elderly or seniors such as in nursing homes, assisted living, in-home care or related health-care settings specifically designed for the elderly
or
Answer: Some involvement with seniors – I have occasionally worked with the elderly or seniors such as in a hospital or clinical setting
Question: Regarding my documentation habits, my colleagues and former supervisors will agree that:
Answer: I am detailed about documenting my client’s care, knowing that others may depend on my documentation
You can view the complete list of Initial pre-screening questions that we’ve used to identify great Caregivers here.
In addition, the above initial screening questions, we recommend using open-ended questions to learn more about an applicant’s actual experiences, skills or behaviors.
Here are the questions that we’ve found to be a good way to start.
Question 1.
Briefly, tell us about a senior that you have cared for. Give us an example of going above and beyond for that senior.
Question 2.
Please briefly describe a situation where you were able to get a senior to open up to you, even though they were hesitant at first.
Question 3.
What rewards have you received or think you will receive from caregiving?
Question 4.
What would be your ideal work schedule? (nights, days, only a few hours, weekends, 7/24, etc.)
These questions are a great way to determine a caregivers skills and how hard they work to ensure the best care possible. You can either choose to use these types of questions on the phone or with an app like HireMojo you can have all of these questions answered up-front when you receive their resume. You can view complete job descriptions and interview questions for previously filled Caregiver positions here.