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Private Duty Today
Welcome to Private Duty Today, the bi-weekly electronic newsletter for Private Duty Home Care Leaders from Leading Home Care ...a Tweed Jeffries company. In this issue, we bring you ideas, information, and insights to help you grow your Private Duty Home Care business.
Private Duty Today is a permission-based newsletter. It is only sent to our recent customers and those individuals who have requested it, or who have given permission for their address to be included on our list of subscribers.
I'm Jason Tweed, Director of Business Development for Leading Home Care, and Editor of Private Duty Today.
Private Duty Today is published every other Wednesday, and currently goes to over 6000 subscribers. |
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Your company has grown from a two-person operation to an organization of a dozen full-time office staff. Unfortunately, as the CEO it seems like you're busier than ever. And now, you're starting to experience office staff turnover for the first time.
You're not alone. Many private duty home care companies experience these growing pains, and unfortunately, when managed improperly office staff turnover and inefficiency can severely stunt your growth and profitability.
One of the biggest challenges growing home care companies face is constantly evolving job descriptions. The CEO and her administrative assistant used to be responsible for everything. Now you have a scheduler, a human resources specialist, an office manager and a director of marketing.
Unfortunately, that means some people are doing tasks outside of their area and other tasks may fall through the cracks.
Whether it's cleaning the gunk out of the drain in the break room, or terminating insubordinate caregivers, there are tasks, big and small, that just plain stink. The reality of small companies is that there are unpleasant tasks that need doing. When your company is very small, a handful of people share tasks and have redundant skills, the least enjoyable tend to be spread around and the downright awful tend to fall to the CEO.
As your company grows and evolves, people have a tendency to specialize. While logic would have it that these unpleasant tasks can be spread around even further, specialists tend to resent doing things outside of their "job description".
Additionally, the pleasant tasks are also spread around. You end up having people who get specialized out to the most rewarding aspects of their job. While they may be more suited for the position they are in, they don't always enjoy it. The person who enjoys talking to caregivers on the telephone may hate the pencil pushing and attention to detail associated with scheduling. |
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The Evolving Job Description Exercise
So how do you make certain that every task is completed, and every office team member is reasonably happy? Try this exercise.
Get your team together and write down on 4 x 6 cards every task, no matter how large or small. Pushpin or tape the cards to a wall or bulletin board. Have your team members remove the cards one at a time, assigning each card to a team member. That team member has ultimate responsibility for getting this job done.
Tell your team members that these responsibilities are theirs for a specified period of time, perhaps six months. At the end of the six months, do the exercise again. By this time you may have evolved and grown, adding more team members. Your tasks may also have grown and evolved.
Essentially your team will create their own evolving job descriptions.
Find the best individual for a task. Your team's goal when removing a card from the board is to identify the best person for each given task.
In order for a task to be removed from the board, there are three rules.
- There must be consensus among the team as to who is the best person for the task.
- The individual must "volunteer" to accept the task.
- The designated leader, usually the owner or CEO, has veto power.
Tell them to ask the following questions while determining which individual is best suited for a given task.
- Does the task require specific skills, education or training?
- Does a task require the individual to be out of the office frequently?
- Does the task require someone with an outgoing personality?
- Does the task require someone with attention to detail?
- Does a task require oversight?
- Does the task require team organization or participation?
- How important is successfully completing the task to the overall organizational goals?
- Does the task have an unpleasant aspect that may lead to burn out?
You will find that as a tasks come off the board, your team will have a natural tendency to snatch up some of the most important ones quickly. As the board gets depleted, the tasks will require more discussion and maybe even some wheeling and dealing.
Have one person act as facilitator and moderator, keeping the group moving. This could be the owner or CEO.
Make sure the three rules are met for each and every task, even the ones that seem obvious. This will establish protocol as the process becomes more challenging.
Finally, the person who gets the task of cleaning the sludge-crusties out of the coffee pot should get a raise. |
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Attention Owners: Avoid micromanagement
Avoid micromanagement. Peter Drucker once said, "So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work."
I've seen private duty companies struggle with micromanagement as they grow. Typically you have an owner operator who started the company 15 years ago and they have held every job description and completed every job task associated with growing that company.
Now they're hiring new office staff and training them personally.
Unfortunately, the process of "training" often gets extended long-term, becoming micromanagement.
Offer guidance and suggestions; but when leading your employees, focus on the results of the tasks, rather than the tasks themselves. Let your employees do their jobs. |
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Staffing as a Strategic Issue
Our work with home care agencies across the country suggests that the ability to attract and retain capable people can be a major source of competitive advantage in your marketplace. We are convinced that your ability to grow your business and get ready for the future will be based on your ability to recruit people and market your business. The key to your success will be to keep your recruiting and your marketing in balance.
As an up and coming leader in home care, you recognize the importance that staffing plays in the growth of your company. Your ability to serve more clients will be determined by your ability to attract and retain capable staff. The fastest growing segment of staffing is personal caregivers, home care aides, companions, homemakers, and personal care attendants.
Before you can provide service to your first client, you must have recruited someone to actually do the work. If you want to have a growing profitable business with many delighted clients, you'll need to begin by finding and keeping capable staff members.
Order the Strategic Staffing e-Book and you'll receive an email within seconds with your personal download link. You may download your complete 116-page e-Book anytime within the next 24 hours. This manual is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Order Strategic Staffing for only $149 Today!
Need help or have questions about this Strategic Staffing e-Book or any other product? Call our experts at 1-888-668-9333. | |
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