Owning a senior care franchise can be a very rich opportunity for both personal and professional growth. It allows you to be your own boss. In other words, you call the shots and make the big decisions that will shape your business. You can decide where to focus your energy and financial resources, which will determine how the community perceives you. One of the  things that will have the biggest impact on the success of your business, is your staff. How you choose to fill your positions should reflect the vision you have for your franchise. The road to growing a business will look different for everyone. However, the very heart of any new franchise should be a common mission: to provide accessible and exceptional senior care. 

Below are the top 3 best strategies you should consider to bring your senior home care franchise vision to fruition. 

1: Hire the Right People 

Any home care agency is only as good as its staff. You can have a solid business plan, the best intentions, and the strongest resources, but if caregivers on the front lines aren’t providing excellent care and making meaningful connections with the clients you serve, your business won’t get off the ground. The process of onboarding the best caregivers should be three-fold:

• perform a thorough screening process
• consider personality in the hiring process
• seek out specialized caregivers

The Screening Process

Implementing a thorough screening process is a key component in ensuring the competency of your senior care services. Your caregivers need to be qualified and equipped to perform their duties. At its core,  a comprehensive employee screening process should include a complete background check, thorough employment history review, and personal and professional reference checks. This allows you to get a holistic view of the applicant and take note of any red flags or inconsistencies.

The screening process should also include a mandatory competency test to ensure the prospective hires can provide the level of care for the standard you set. When you decide to move forward with the strongest candidates, it’s beneficial to put them through a trial period on-site, so you can assess their skill set in a real-life care situation. 

Looking Beyond Their Skill Set

When selecting the best team to serve your seniors, it is important to consider personality. While skills can be taught, personality can not. And having the right skills and the right personality for senior care really go hand-in-hand. Your caregivers need to make meaningful connections with your clients to create both a positive experience for them and higher levels of retention for your business. As the leader, you need to vet your candidates to make sure a passion for helping seniors is at the heart of their work. It needs to be the primary motivator if you want to build a team of exceptional caregivers with a shared philosophy in the level of care they offer. 

Caregivers with specialized training are much more marketable, making your business more marketable. Caregivers are expected to have a certain set of skills and be competent to perform them. However, employing a few caregiving staff that have specialized training or experience can make your agency stand out from the competition. For example, being able to offer caregiving professionals with special training in conditions like Alzheimer’s can appeal to families seeking care for loved ones suffering from dementia.  

2: Hire the Right Administrative Staff

Having great caregivers on the front lines is essential. Though, having an effective and organized administrative staff on the back end is just as important. Administrative professionals are true assets when it comes to running your business efficiently. They are responsible for keeping meticulous records, which is crucial in senior care services. They need to be technologically proficient, have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and regularly take initiative to step into leadership positions. 

Computer skills are a foundational skill in any administration job. Nevertheless, the right admin staff will be comfortable in learning new software programs, performing website maintenance, and managing social media accounts for your business. We are living in a progressive, tech-based world. So, your administration needs to be adept at navigating new programs. They also must possess a readiness to learn about new systems and upgrades to enable your franchise to offer the best quality of senior care. As the owner of a senior care business, you wear many hats. Therefore, you need an office staff that is highly organized, pays fine attention to detail, and takes the initiative to get things done when you aren’t available. 

3: Take an Active Role in Client Care 

Franchise ownership will keep you busy. It is easy to become overwhelmed with the day-to-day operations and fall short of making meaningful connections with the clients. Carving out time to make personal connections will serve you and your business well. This could mean regular check-ins with clients or their families via phone call, scheduled home visits with the assigned caregiver. By doing so, you’ll be able to observe how things are going. You can also reach out with satisfaction surveys, sponsor local community events that appeal to, or serve, the senior population. Greater interest in your clients will lead to more investment in your services. 

Making an Impact 

Franchise ownership and operating senior care businesses presents many opportunities for personal and professional growth. There are resources available to help you decide if this business path is right for you. Reach out to A Better Solution in Home Care to know more!