May 21, 2018 | Aging Life Care
Written by Renee Dills, Human Resources Manager at Windward Life Care.
The turnover rates for paid, professional caregivers are uncomfortably high nationwide and continue to rise each year. According to Home Care Benchmarking Study, national median caregiver turnover rates stood at 66.7% in 2017, up from 53.2% in 2013. Studies also show that the pool of available professional caregivers has continued to shrink over the past five years. Couple those statistics with the boom we are experiencing in the aging population, and it becomes clear why stable care options for your aging loved one may feel like they are hard to come by.
So how do we make sure our hardworking caregivers remain engaged and happy in their employment with Windward Life Care? It should come as no surprise that retention rates remain higher at companies where caregivers feel valued and know that their work is appreciated. At Windward, we believe taking the time to schedule regular performance evaluations with each of our caregivers is an important part of this process. The evaluations serve not only as opportunities to discuss performance feedback, but also as a valuable “check in” time for the caregiver to talk over any outstanding concerns they might have. It doesn’t hurt that each evaluation comes with the opportunity for a performance-based raise and/or bonus, making sure another well-documented piece of the retention puzzle – competitive wages – falls into place.
During these evaluations, our caregivers often share with us how thankful they are that the challenging work they do is noticed and appreciated. “I have been in this industry for years, and this is the first performance evaluation I’ve ever had. Thank you for taking the time,” a caregiver told us at her recent evaluation. We are grateful that so many of our caregivers feel this way about working with us. We are also proud that Windward’s caregiver turnover rate sat nearly 20 points below the national average in 2017 – and we feel we’ve only begun to scratch the surface on our retention goal. We are continually looking for new ways to ensure your favorite caregiver will be proud to remain a Windward employee for years to come.
As part of our continuous rigorous recruitment program, we’re always looking for people who are committed to our mission to improve the lives of our clients through services that center on the goals of the individual, and which foster a lifelong sense of purpose. We invite you to find out more about us by visiting the Careers Page on our website. Interested caregivers are able to apply online.