It’s no secret matching schedules with Caregivers is a major challenge in home care recruitment. Whether you have a new hire with limited availability or a top performer who feels they aren’t getting enough work, the effects of available hours on Caregiver recruitment are profound. Due to the unpredictable nature of home care, many agencies only offer part time hours, or if they have full-time positions for Caregivers they are in limited quantity. The latest research shows 35% of Caregivers are only interested in full-time hours. Think about this in terms of your market size. If you are hiring Caregivers and there are 1,000 potential candidates in your service area and your agency is hiring for part time positions only, that number instantly drops down to 650.
On the flip side, only 27% of Caregivers are looking for part-time work only. These workers are often easier to accommodate, but make up a small portion of the workforce. This leaves the remaining group of Caregivers and CNAs open to both part-time and full-time positions, but they may be likely to gravitate towards companies with more hours to offer. 80% of Caregivers report a preference to work for a single company if they can get the hours they want. While many Caregivers may piece together schedules from multiple agencies, the vast majority would prefer not to. If your agency offers Caregivers enough hours to meet their needs, it puts you at a competitive advantage over others recruiting CNAs and Caregivers in your market.
The data speaks for itself - agencies who are able to offer more hours to their staff are likely to draw wider interest in their markets. Of course a model of 100% full time Caregivers is unrealistic, but finding ways to work with staff and schedulers to maximize hours for those who are interested and building around the schedules of others who prefer a part-time arrangement can pay dividends. There are many ways to set your agency apart from other businesses recruiting Caregivers in your area - and as the market continues to tighten, any way you’re able to be competitive makes a difference.
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