I'm not talking about the "getting married" meaning of engaged; but for a moment, let's keep it social.  Do you enjoy attending a party if you don't know anyone else who's going to be there?  Ever felt anonymous in a crowd?  Would you be inclined to attend that party? 

Neither will your caregivers attend your parties and picnics if they feel anonymous at your agency.  There's nothing wrong with having parties.  A little laughter, entertainment and celebration can be a great thing; but if it's your primary method of caregiver "engagement" - you're off the mark.  Something more foundational is missing.

Quite a few people have told me:  that's the nature of the beast in home care (meaning there is no alternative to caregivers remaining anonymous).  These are the same agencies which have high turnover and throw parties, but nobody comes.

I recently had conversations with two different members of management in the same agency.  We'll call them Supervisor A and Manager B.

Supervisor A has not had any face to face contact with the vast majority of her staff since their interview, in some cases for years.  She is always on the phone handling the crisis of the day.  If her staff is able to reach her at all by phone, she has to give them a quick reactive answer to their question rather than taking a proactive approach of talking them through the whole process.

Manager B decided she wanted to do something about the common complaint in the agency that caregivers "do not feel heard".  She also wanted to grasp the true needs of caregivers (and clients) "in the field".  She initiated a program she calls "Ride Along, Meet and Greet", where she spends time with caregivers in client's homes.  This is what she shared with me about the experience.

• At first caregivers were surprised to see her and suspicious of the reason for her visit.
• Shadowing someone and trying to learn their job develops mutual trust.  Before, caregivers would say, "You just don't understand."
• The best way to learn about their jobs is to get in there and do it.  It gives you perspective and credibility when you're dealing with a personnel issue.
• Clients and caregivers both ask her questions that are easy to explain.  They are looking for guidelines:  can caregivers shovel snow; what to do if the family trashes the house over the weekend; what to do if they're asked to change Mom after they clock out.
• It helps to see firsthand the quirkiness of clients, e.g. Herman just likes to have a woman give him a bath.  Caregivers feel more appreciated and valued.
• Clients like to brag about their caregivers to her, and her visits show a higher level of interest in them.
• Caregivers open up and tell her about their needs and even personal issues.
• In checking out how people actually perform the processes, she is looking for the best way.
• Stability at the Supervisor level is very important to caregivers.  When there are multiple changes in Supervisors, caregivers feel the rug is being pulled out from under them.
• Meeting with caregivers in client's homes is extremely helpful and productive.
• It's all about building relationships. 

Do you think the caregivers who work for Supervisor A or Manager B are more likely to attend the company picnic or even jump ship?  There's an old Native American saying, "Tell me and I'll forget.  Show me, and I may remember.  Involve me, and I'll understand."

Now I'll admit that I'm getting a little ahead of myself with this article; I just couldn't help sharing with you such a clear example.  After we get the selection piece put to bed, we want to do some things to help you with recruiting and retention.

There is a proper order to approaching the whole staffing issue.  If we don't select people who are a good fit for the job, no retention program in the world is going to help. (Remember the analogy I used in a previous article about the thoroughbred horse in a swimming race.  He was born to run.  Nothing is going to make him happy in the water.)