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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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What would you do for $25?
I have an important question for the Director of Human Resources of your private duty company.
What would you do for $25?
- Would you sell your sister?
- Would you sell your best friend?
- Would you carpool for a year?
Probably none of these things, so why should you expect your employees to do any of them for a $25 bonus from your employee referral program?
When talking with my clients about the challenges they have recruiting high-quality people, I always ask if they have an employee referral program.
Joe HR: "We do, but no one participates."
Me: "How come?"
Joe HR: "I dunno."
Me: "How do you promote it?"
Joe HR: "We just tell them about it on their first day."
Me: "How much does it pay?"
Joe HR: "25 bucks. Who couldn't use 25 bucks?"
Me: "Gee, I don't know. Your caregivers would use it to go out to dinner with their husbands, assuming they didn't have to pay a babysitter."
Your caregivers aren't fantasizing about what they would do if they had $25 of extra money. That's not real money, that's the kind of money most of them get from emptying their husbands' pockets on laundry day.
Here's 10 quick tips to create an employee referral program that actually might be effective:
Tip #1: Pay More! Duh.
Tip #2: Write an article about your new and improved Employee Referral Program in your employee newsletter. Don't have a newsletter? Stuff it in their paychecks. Use direct deposit? Figure out another way to keep in better touch with your employees.
Tip #3: Write a separate check. Don't just add it to the payroll, take the time to cut and sign a special check. Make sure the check says the word "BONUS" on the memo line.
Tip #4: Say thank you. Some will do it for the money, others will do it for the thanks. Give them both.
Tip #5: Calculate your bonuses. Figure out exactly how much you're spending recruiting each new hire. Cut that number in half and use that as your bonus amount. You'll probably be paying much larger bonuses, but it will still be cheaper than recruiting traditionally.
You can calculate your cost per qualified applicant using our Caregiver Staffing Scorecard.
Tip #6: Convince them to sell their sister. Your best employees have sisters, brothers, and best friends with similar work ethic and values. Approach your best employees personally and ask them if they know someone that would make a great caregiver.
Tip #7: Chocolate. I'm a guy. The number of times that chocolate and/or flowers has gotten me out of trouble is, well... a big number. Seriously, you can supplement the check with a little thank you gift. You see, people who make an employee referral are likely to do it again and again. Make it heartfelt and personal, don't have a box of mugs in the back labeled "employee referral program gift".
Tip #8: Reward and Recognize. At the annual holiday party, give a plaque, trophy, or gift to the top referrers of new employees.
Tip #9: Create a tiered referral program. Your typical recruiting process is: get them to apply, get them working, keep them working. Pay bonuses at each level. Pay the referral source $25 on application, $100 on acceptance of first case, and $500 on the new employees' first anniversary.
Tip #10: Reread Tip #1.
Here is my next call to the agency.
Sue CEO: "Hello."
Me: "Want to fix your recruiting problem?"
Sue CEO: "Yes, absolutely. What do I do?"
Me: "Fire Joe HR. Hire someone who loves caregivers and wants to find more of them for you." |
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Recruiting Best Practices Survey
Let's take marketing for caregivers beyond the Sunday paper. We know from experience with clients, teleseminar participants, and readers of our newsletter that you are using a huge variety of recruiting techniques.
Which ones work? They all do.
Which ones work best? Nobody knows, YET!
We are going to change that, together.
Private Duty Today is excited to announce our most in-depth study into recruiting best practices in history. We will be taking a look very specifically at dozens of marketing and recruiting techniques designed to attract qualified caregivers. We will look at the techniques that generate the most applicants, as well as the techniques that generate the best quality applicants.
The 2008 Private Duty Today
Caregiver Recruiting Study
This study will look into the best return on your investment. Should you spend your money in newspaper ads? Should you buy time on radio stations? Should you increase payouts to your employee referral program?
In 2008 should you double your recruiting budget, triple it, or chop it in half?
All these questions are expected to be answered, with your help. Please participate in this in-depth survey. Whether you've been in business two months, two years, or two decades we need your insights. Tell us what you've tried. Tell us what's worked, and what hasn't.
Everyone who completes the survey will be receive the executive summary of the survey results at no cost. Help us understand what works and what doesn't in recruiting non-medical caregivers.
Complete the Survey Today! |
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Jump Start Your Private Duty Sales by Training Your Sales Representatives
All of our research shows that the best way to generate referrals that turn into admissions is through networking in the community and direct selling to referral sources. There are three categories of referral sources; consumers, healthcare providers, and trusted advisors.
Help your private duty sale professional learn the detailed steps of making effective sales calls. Help your sales person develop a focused sales plan to reach your target referral sources. And along the way your sales person can become a Certified Private Duty Sales ProfessionalTM
Leading Home Care and Decision Health have partnered to offer the 2008 Private Duty Sales Professional workshop. It will be held April 14 & 15 at the Omni La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio, Texas.
Join Stephen Tweed, CEO of Leading Home Care, and Michael Giudicissi, our Sales Training and Coaching Specialist, for two days of intense private duty sales training. Everyone who completes the course will be eligible to apply for the CPDSPTM designation.
Register today and jump start your sales in April. | |
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