Caregiver Recruitment & Retention Strategies with Nikki Holles

Caregivers are the heart and soul of what we do at Right at Home. Our mission is to provide compassionate, quality care to all who need it in the communities we serve. And that mission depends on the ability of our franchisees to recruit and retain qualified caregivers.

This is true for new franchisees and veteran owners alike. Whether you’re assembling a staff in anticipation of opening your doors for the first time or you're a long-time owner with a growing footprint, caregiver recruitment is vital to your operation.

But how exactly do you get started with recruitment? How do you keep new caregivers coming through your pipeline as your franchise matures? And how can you create a culture that encourages long-term commitment from your caregivers? To find out, VP of Franchise Development Jen Chaney caught up with Senior Vice President of People Strategy and Governance Nikki Holles on a recent Tuesday Talk.

Supporting Recruitment and Retention

Nikki has been with Right at Home for six years, but she has three decades of experience in people strategies. As Nikki explains it, ‘people strategies’ is “just a fancy term for Human Resources.”

Nikki’s people strategies team works on two different fronts – providing direct support to the team at corporate as well as providing support to our ever-growing network of franchises. At the corporate level, Nikki’s team is focused on “recruiting, retaining, engagement, benefits, payroll – all of those pieces that our fabulous internal people rely on for help supporting our franchisees,” says Nikki.

“And then we have our franchise people strategy team, which is 100% dedicated to supporting our franchisees and their office staff in all things related to the caregiver journey and experience,” says Nikki, “all the way from posting that first caregiver job through the entire journey to the end, including offboarding employees.”

Starting the Caregiver Journey on a Good Footing

When it comes to retention, Nikki says, those first few days are actually the most critical. She explains that a lot of aspiring or first-time caregivers will come to some pretty clear realizations early on in their journey.

“It’s that first shift. It’s the first encounter that they have working a shift alone with a client. Those are going to be the turning points for caregivers,” says Nikki.

As a franchise owner and employer, you’ll likely learn a lot about the caregivers you hire in those critical first moments. Those who excel in these moments are the caregivers who will most likely be with you for the long haul. Nikki explains that “if you have a caregiver who lasts beyond that first shift alone with a client and lasts for the first 30 to 45 days, chances are you're going to have them for as long as you want them in your agency.”

Nikki concedes that retention rates and typical tenure lengths vary widely. One reason is that many first-time caregivers actually join the Right at Home family later in life. Many of the caregivers in our network transition directly from family caregiving to professional caregiving, and are often in their 60s when they do so. Often, these later-in-life caregivers are able to commit for a longer duration than the average college or nursing student.

As a franchise owner, you’ll start to recognize some of these age-related patterns, and that familiarity can help you recruit with greater success. In any case, Nikki notes that the average tenure for a committed caregiver is typically 3 to 5 years. On the other hand, some of our offices have been in operation for more than 20 years and still retain some of their original caregivers!

Creating a Culture of Commitment

So what is it that separates franchises with strong retention rates from those with high turnover? What do you have to do to build the kind of workplace where caregivers stick around for 3 to 5 years, let alone two decades and beyond?

“It's all about the culture,” says Nikki. “It's all about how you are treating that caregiver. How are their relationships with the office staff? Do they feel like they can trust the office staff when they're calling in with a schedule change or request, or to report something that may have happened?”

In short, you want to create an environment in which your caregivers feel truly acknowledged. Of course, you need to pay your caregivers a fair wage, says Nikki. But that’s really just the first step.

“Beyond that,” says Nikki, “there are so many things that are free that you can do to keep your caregivers. It’s the ‘thank yous’ or ‘I remembered your birthday’ or ‘I remembered that your spouse just had surgery, and I asked about them.’ It's the small things that really make a difference for caregivers.”

Supporting Recruitment From End to End

As Nikki explains, a toxic or dismissive office culture can quickly drive away potentially excellent caregivers. Fortunately, Right at Home provides franchise owners with a wealth of resources in support of creating a positive and empathetic workplace.

“We've built an entire suite of best practices that will walk franchisees through everything step by step,” Nikki explains. “That might mean templates for job postings, or vendor-contracted negotiated rates for different technology platforms like Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) or job boards. It might be interview guides, onboarding templates, or onboarding PowerPoints with plug-and-play videos.”

Not only do these support resources cover a lot of ground, but they also provide guidance on even the smallest details. As a franchisee, you’ll receive guidance on the steps required to add caregivers to the employee file, the documents you’ll need to finalize hiring, and all the training tools you’ll need to onboard new employees.

Not only that, but you’ll have personalized support throughout the process. Nikki points out that “you'll be assigned a dedicated coach at the corporate office who is constantly thinking about you and your business, and how you can modify things to be even more successful.”

“We’re with you all the way through the entire journey,” says Nikki.

Tapping Technology

Right at Home is always looking for ways to evolve and improve its approach. In many cases, that means embracing cutting-edge technology like Caribou Care. Nikki explains that the Canadian company “uses technology to drive engagement with caregivers. They provide a platform that integrates with the franchisee operating system, elevates engagement, and rewards the behaviors that you're looking for in caregivers.”

Caribou allows franchise owners to track certain performance indicators, like, for example, on-time clock-ins. As a Franchise Owner, you can improve motivation by incentivizing on-time clock-ins with rewards.

Caribou also facilitates caregiver recognition programs, open feedback loops, and caregiver satisfaction initiatives. Each of these is an opportunity for positive engagement with caregivers. As Nikki says, “We talk a lot about engagement when we think about culture and really being purposeful with your employees. This applies not just to your caregivers, but to your office staff too – everybody.”

Leaning Into Your Network

In fact, that engagement extends well beyond your own team, and even beyond corporate HQ in Omaha. One of the best things you can do to refine your recruitment and retention strategy is to learn from your fellow franchisees.

“Stay engaged with your peers in the network; with other Right at Home franchisees,” Nikki advises. “We are surrounded by 300+ franchises just here in the United States who are ready and willing and love talking about their own businesses and what makes them successful.”

“Use that,” says Nikki. “Soak it in. Be engaged with your neighbors.”

Sharing a Sense of Purpose

When you do engage your neighbors, you’ll learn that the most successful among them lead with a greater sense of purpose than just profit. The work that our caregivers do is so important. The impact that we make on the communities we serve is immeasurable. For our clients, that impact can be life-changing.

The most successful franchisees understand this, and they succeed at creating an internal culture where office staff and caregivers share this understanding. After all, this work is as demanding as it is rewarding. Long-term commitment requires a true belief in the mission.

“Nobody's looking to buy a home care franchise because they're looking for a next job. This is a career. This is an asset. This is a business where you’re building a legacy,” says Nikki. “Having that strong vision, that strong purpose behind it, naturally cascades through your staff.”

Listen to Nikki's full discussion on our YouTube Channel.