3 Tips to Hire Quality Caregivers

With access to quality caregivers in the job market shrinking, employers are becoming hastier with their hiring and highly prioritizing recruitment and retention.

Even though we, at Sixth Sense Solutions, believe that your hiring velocity is the #1 way to compete for the top talent, it should not sacrifice the quality of your recruitment process.  

“The investment in ongoing recruitment and building a labor pool/ hiring new caregivers and training them is usually far less than the opportunity costs of not doing so” – Keith Freeman, Strategic Consultant at Sixth Sense Solutions.

As strategic consultants, we have worked with many business owners and administrators on their recruitment and onboarding of new talent. Each of these agencies has their own unique set of values and wants.

Nevertheless, we have seen success across all the care focused organizations we worked with when they began implementing these three recommendations as part of a larger focused strategy. These tips will help you make informed decisions that draw from a bigger strategy when hiring the best talent for your needs.

3 Tips To Hire Quality Caregivers

1.  Values-Based Hiring

Once you know what your organization values, you need to be hiring caregivers who emulate them. When interviewing your candidates, it is crucial that you ask the right questions to uncover how they work and what is important to them. Find people who fit in with your culture and are model matches to their assignments to avoid the constant turnover.   

For example, if your company culture values quality conversations and constant communication throughout the week, your new hires values should resonate and reflect this in their performance Some caregivers come from different company cultures and may not like the idea of working within a culture of accountability of or other environments. You also want to understand where candidates may feel where they are being micro-managed.   

2. Referrals and Word-of-Mouth

If you have a pool of staff that align with your values, chances are they will be able to refer other like-minded people who share your values and align with your purpose. Having a program that encourages referrals through recognition and rewards is highly valuable.

If you need help implementing this type of process, we encourage you to set up a complimentary discovery meeting with our team. We will determine your values and figure out how to best encourage referrals in your organization.

3. Interview Questions

Most caregivers don’t interview “well.” Which is why, as the employer, you need to have a skilled interview process to help draw out the best in them. The interview questions help you uncover the most genuine and authentic self (and help determine alignment in values).

The best interviews are the ones that have a built-in process of discovery, open-ended questions that draw out values, situations, and critical thinking. Use your time to really get to know them and discuss scenarios that help you understand how they would behave within the organization and faced with situations that require values-based alignment and the skills you need.

Implementing an Effective Recruitment and Hiring Program

Our strategic consultants are currently offering a complimentary discovery meeting to get you started in the right direction. We have the expertise to be able to help you with every aspect of the recruitment process, and beyond.

For more information on what we do, you can review our Services or Contact Us.  

About the Author

Keith Freeman, MBA

A dynamic thinker with a great sense of humor, Keith Freeman, MBA, is a Strategic Consultant offering unique solutions to transform healthcare organizations such as hospitals, hospice/palliative, home health, and home care, RCFE/assisted living and skilled nursing facilities and professional healthcare staffing services that support them.