Employees are the most important assets of a senior care franchise, but they are sometimes overlooked. FrankCrum's Vice President of Benefits and Human Resources, David Peasall, recently shared his thoughts on how to safeguard them in Franchising USA.
Below is an excerpt of the article:
A senior care franchise owner has their hands full of regulatory constraints, client needs, family expectations, competitive pressures and profitability concerns. Clearly, some of these are easier to manage than others.
Another important area, that of human resource management, can be either a source of positive results or a cause of friction. The good news is that you can control this part of your franchise’s destiny — if you have the proper systems, processes and values in place.
Often a senior care franchise owner can find themselves locked in operational mode, with too little attention paid to HR management. Here are a few ways to change that and create a more productive, quality-oriented senior care franchise that focuses on client care as well as employee satisfaction.
Hire and Retain Quality Employees for Your Senior Care Franchise
- Make the right hires: Rather than trying to retrofit skills and values, why not look for the person who is the best fit to start with? Senior care can be a challenging occupation, both physically and emotionally. Often turnover is high in a senior care franchise, and it’s difficult to find the right people. Look beyond the resume to learn why candidates are interested in the position and how they approach senior care. Although frontline care workers may move from position to position for relatively small raises, many choose senior care because they are compassionate, caring people and may have even been a caregiver for a family member in the past.
- Explain your core values: Discuss not only what the franchise does but why you do it, so candidates can judge whether it’s a good fit for them.
- Train for skills, but also client care: New hires should have detailed position descriptions, training that includes hands-on competency training in key physical care areas and soft skills training to help them succeed with sometimes-difficult clients.
- Offer competitive pay and benefits packages: A senior care franchise that experiences a higher rate of employee satisfaction and retention offers fair wages along with healthcare benefits and paid time off. Adding flexible scheduling, weekend shifts or job sharing may also be attractive to people who are looking for part-time positions.
- Get managers on board: Your managers play a key role in employee retention, so it’s important to provide them with the training they need to coach, train and lead their staff.
- Engage employees: Treating employees with dignity and respect is one of the best ways to improve employee satisfaction and increase candidate referrals from existing staff. Here are a few ideas that work well in the senior care setting.
