September 2, 2021

Do you need a care recruitment agency?

Table of contents

Do you really need a care recruitment agency? Read our top tips to see how easy it could be to recruit without the extra spending

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Recruitment is one of the biggest challenges of running a home care agency. As a manager or care coordinator, we know how time-consuming it can be for you to find the right carers to complement your team.

Many home care agencies resort to using a specialist care recruitment agency to avoid the hassle of hiring, but although this saves time, it also costs money. Managing a budget is a key factor in running a successful home care agency, and we know that every penny counts. Here at Birdie, we believe there are ways you can navigate the recruitment process without having to pay a third party recruiter.

In this article, we share some advice on how to hire carers for your home care agency without using a care recruitment agency.

The right approach

Recruitment isn’t simply a job to tick off the list; it’s your chance to find an honest, reliable individual who can be an asset to the team in the long term.

To attract a high calibre of candidates, you have to take the right approach to the hiring process, from start to finish. To find carers who are fully aligned with your ethos and approach to care, we recommend using values-based recruitment.

Whereas traditional recruitment methods focus solely on experience and skills, values-based recruitment considers the personality traits and behaviour of the candidate to make sure they are a good fit for your agency. A candidate might have the necessary expertise, but if they don’t have the integrity and temperament to maintain the high standards of care you expect, the hire will probably be unsuccessful.

To read more about values-based recruitment, check out our article.

A robust strategy

If you’ve used a care recruitment agency in the past, you’ll know that they have a strategic and systematic approach to hiring. You can follow the same process when managing recruitment yourself.

The first step is to write a solid job description that accurately and fairly represents the role and the ideal candidate. You can then use this job description to create interview stages that assess each of the desired qualities and skills you need.

Each stage of the application process must have a clearly defined outcome, so you can stay focused and find out the information you need to make an informed choice. By the end of the process, both you and the candidate should know whether you are a good fit.

Good initiatives for carers

We know that care work is a demanding and challenging role, and as a result, it can be hard to retain staff. Offering initiatives and incentives to staff will attract carers who value personal development and progression and take pride in their work. Frequent training opportunities and the possibility of career progression and promotions show applicants that you’re a supportive and employer who values ongoing learning.

It’s also vital that you are prepared to pay a fair wage that reflects the physical and emotionally demanding work expected of carers. Rates of pay are probably the biggest factor in attracting - and keeping - the right people.

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What initiatives are in place for your staff?

Careful and considered recruitment

Recruitment mistakes are costly, so you want to avoid rushed decisions or risky hires. When you’re desperate for staff and are struggling to cover shifts, it can be tempting to hire the first person who comes along. Don’t fall into this trap. Further down the road, issues can arise, and you might be dealing with problems that you could have avoided with a more measured approach.

No matter how short staffed you are, take your time to find the right person for the job. Just because someone meets the minimum requirements, it doesn’t mean they’re a good fit for your company. Investing time to find the right candidate means they will probably stay in the position for longer and integrate into the existing team.

Support your carers with the right software

Even on a good day, being a carer has its challenges. To make life easier for your team, make sure you use the right digital tools to streamline their day and ease their workload. Adopting digital processes, including record-keeping and eMAR, can eliminate the need for paper trails and help free up the carer’s time so they can deliver the outstanding care your clients deserve. Using digital systems in this way shows candidates that you value their time and do all you can to reduce workload where possible. Find out more about the digital tools that can help your business here.

Covid has added additional pressure to the care industry, and we know that you may be finding it particularly difficult to recruit right now. To help, we created an eBook to help you overcome this challenge.

Download Fast track recruitment: How to recruit in a crisis here: https://pages.birdie.care/ebook-how-to-recruit-carers-crisis

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At Birdie, we want to help care agencies succeed in all areas of their business. In a recent survey we undertook, over 80% of those who responded told us that their greatest challenge as a home care agency was recruiting staff. We know that recruitment can be difficult so we've done the legwork for you. We've spoken with experts, compiled research and created useful articles, eBooks and webinars to help you. Explore this page to find the right resources to help you - from writing your job advert to implementing an onboarding process, we've got it covered. Explore our other content below: