Regularly solicit client feedback for caregiver career development

672 words, approximately a 2 minute read

Building the ladder

How many times have you read: “in order to retain your caregivers, you need to build a career ladder so they can see ‘upward mobility?’”

How many of these guides went into enough detail to where you feel equipped to build that type of program? The what (career ladder) and why (empower your caregivers) are apparent, but the how is unclear.

“The what (career ladder) and why (empower your caregivers) are apparent, but the how is unclear.”

Empowering your caregivers is critical to employee retention and client happiness.

Giving caregivers clarity and structure to know that performance will be rewarded is a powerful first step.  But successfully empowering your caregivers to best serve families is a big (and necessary!) undertaking.

Instead of tackling everything all at once, let's start with the first step - identifying the individuals who should receive the bonuses and promotions.

It's industry standard to check in with the client / family within the first week(s) or month. But according to Levo’s direct experience and industry research with owners and caregivers, it trails off after a job is "up and running."

The first step

To take that first step towards building the career ladder for your caregivers—truly being the employer of choice—start a “feedback culture” by asking your clients how your agency is doing on a regular basis.

The frequency doesn’t have to be prescriptive: it can be once a week, it can be once a month. But make sure it's regular enough to become a habit.

“The frequency doesn’t have to be prescriptive: it can be once a week, it can be once a month. But make sure it’s regular enough to become a habit. ”

After a few weeks or months of collecting feedback, you can look at trends in performance. This data provides you with specific examples to point to when rewarding your employees.

A client tells you a caregiver was great this past week?  Follow-up by asking for a specific example. The same goes to your office staff, who can also benefit from the feedback and areas for development.

What if the client / family doesn't want to answer the two question quality check?

Question 1: How was your experience with our agency this week/month?

Question 2: Is there a particular employee you'd like to recognize / offer constructive advice for?)

One potential resolution is to remind them that their comments directly affect their care teams' compensation and promotion potential.

This simple reminder is elegant for two reasons

1. If the client (or family) cares about their caregiver and is invested in their success, they will be prompted to communicate their feedback.
2. If they’re hesitant to provide feedback, it can be a sign that something about that job could be improved. Most people are conflict-averse and clients are no different. In this case, no response is just as informative as a critical response.

By establishing a feedback culture in your business, you are laying the foundation for both caregiver recognition and better client service. In a later article, we will cover how to message the feedback to caregivers to help them grow in their careers.

“By establishing a feedback culture in your business, you are laying the foundation for both caregiver recognition and better client service.”

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