How to Improve Caregiver Retention Using Technology

For homecare agencies, there are few matters as important as caregiver retention. High turnover rates leave personal and home care providers struggling with high recruitment costs, low-quality care, and various obstacles preventing on-time services.

The issue is widespread and only getting worse. The median turnover rate for caregivers, for instance, came close to touching a staggering 80% in 2023. The same report found that four out of five employees quit within the first 100 days on the job.

Fortunately, there are several steps agencies can take to retain employees, many of which focus on harnessing technology. In this article, we’ll outline some ways to support caregivers and take an employee-first approach using advanced software.

What are the Main Causes of Caregiver Turnover?

To find a solution, we must address the root of the problem. In this case, it’s worth understanding why home care agencies all over America are currently struggling with a crippling staff shortage. Here are some prominent factors and ways to ease your employees' burden:

• Heavy workloads: Providing care has always been a labor-intensive job. But coupled with a rise in geriatric populations and chronic diseases, workloads have increased tremendously over the last few years. Smart scheduling can ensure that caregivers have enough time to recuperate between shifts, even if the workloads are extremely taxing.
• High stress levels: The Psychological Association of America finds that stress affects an adult’s mental health, susceptibility to illness, and ability to engage in tasks. Many caregivers with poor work-life balance risk getting burned out. Creating a positive work environment where employees get mental support, are listened to and treated with respect and empathy can boost morale. It is advisable to conduct teambuilding exercises, collect feedback, and provide psychological help to the employees affected by high stress.
• It doesn’t pay enough: Home health care agencies that struggle with employee churn also struggle to offer fair wages. The lack of a competitive salary drives potential employees away, completing a frustrating cycle. It is vital to establish transparent and competitive reimbursement practices with recognition and rewards for professionals who put in extra effort.
• Lack of resources: Employees need to be nurtured, trained, and supported. Agencies that stick to outdated practices and don’t invest in equipment, supplies, and future development struggle the most. Employee training and promotion of continuous education will solidify confidence and potentially improve the efficiency of conducting caregiving tasks.
• Outdated practices: As other industries embrace digital transformations, home health care services are lagging. Employees who don’t have access to the latest administrative software and tools suffer.

At the end of the day, many of these problems can be solved with the right approach. Whether you are just starting a homecare business or already operate an established enterprise, the first step is to accept that your employees are leaving not because they want to, but because they are forced to. With this understanding in mind, consider implementing various caregiver retention strategies. Arguably, the most productive way to achieve higher employee retention rates is through the use of modern technological solutions.

How Technology Boosts Caregiver Retention Rates

As with most other industries, digitization has brought incredible benefits to home care agencies. Caregiver management software has revolutionized the way employees work—streamlining time-consuming administrative tasks and leaving more time for care.

At the same time, cloud-based caregiver management tools unlock a world of efficiency and productivity for the agency—allowing managers to cut unnecessary costs that can be used to reward employees instead. Several technologies work together to make this happen. But here are some of its more prominent applications.

Enhance Communication

Caregivers, like most other employees, need open lines of communication to do their job. Whether it’s with back-end teams or families of clients, coordinating between different parties has proven to be a mammoth, time-consuming task. Technology eases this process significantly.

With the appropriate software, caregivers can get access to all company files, resources, and patient health data and enhance teamwork through virtual calling and meeting options. Caregivers can also use its rich feature set to share updates with families of clients in one centralized location—without the need for multiple calls or emails.

A solution like Jiris, for example, can act as the broker for all communication between back-office administrators, front-line caregivers, and your clients.

Streamline Scheduling

Many software solutions also focus on improving scheduling as a means to offer employees more flexibility and control over their time. A caregiver scheduling software can take over various tasks like checking availability, assessing patient needs, or pinpointing locations—and help match clients with an appropriate caregiver.

Smart scheduling takes significant pressure off management, reduces errors, and makes service delivery more efficient. Crucially, it also allows caregivers to have more time and energy to develop a crucial work-life balance.

Automated Processes 

Caregivers can also focus more on the task at hand when they are freed from repetitive tasks and time-consuming manual processes. In this case, software solutions don’t just take over boring work—they do so with higher levels of accuracy and efficiency. 

Caregivers benefit from automated scheduling, tracking, and care plans, while managers ensure their employees offer quality services by maintaining comprehensive Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) logs. EVV data is also a crucial compliance requirement, many aspects of which software helps improve too.

Human resources teams also benefit. The software could help automate background checks and help assess a candidate’s abilities. This helps agencies find more dedicated employees, who are likely to respond to your retention initiatives. 

Simplified Billing and Payroll

Navigating the billing process is a struggle and one many caregivers don’t want to spend much of their time on. But with appropriate software, billing and invoicing processes are automated, more accurate, and a breeze to tackle.

Many features allow caregivers to track and monitor claims and payments—data that helps agencies make better decisions and save costs. Moreover, software also tracks working hours very accurately, ensuring caregivers are paid appropriately and on time.

Training and Education

Very few things hurt employee productivity more than a lack of direction.

Caregivers who feel as though there isn’t enough space to grow or that they are stagnating professionally are more likely to lack job satisfaction and want to quit. Software combats this issue in multiple ways—enabling e-learning, sharing detailed resources with caregivers, and opening virtual training sessions. When employees feel more valued or that they are gaining something from being employed, they won’t want to leave.

Data-Driven Decisions

All caregiver support programs, tools, and applications capture and record rich data, which agencies seriously benefit from. This data can be studied to understand pain points and allow agencies to take targeted measures to counter high turnover rates—such as creating a rewards system. This data can also be parsed by agencies to adjust services in a way that benefits their employees and gives them more free time.

Finally, data helps agencies match clients to the most appropriate caregiver—ensuring their employees get to do what they do best and the client receives the best possible care. It’s a win-win situation, whichever way you look at it—and just more proof that technology can have a huge bearing on retention rates.

The Bottom Line 

Finding the right software to help boost retention and reduce turnover can be tricky. Software comes in many shapes and sizes and may have a wide range of features. Some focus on streamlining EVV, while others ease workflows and automate processes. Jiris, meanwhile, does it all.

This industry-leading caregiver management software helps you find and recruit new talent, manage schedules, match clients, as well as streamline payroll processes. Each of these capabilities results in happier employees, which in turn boost bottom lines.

Sounds too good to be true? Demo the software for free here and see for yourself.