Home Instead Focuses on Caregivers as Much as Clients
Home Instead Senior Care Birmingham focuses on keeping its caregivers happy, which helps keep clients happy
That is the number of clients who are served by Home Instead Senior Care Birmingham, which provides non-medical care to seniors and the disabled so that they can stay in their own homes.
Home Instead’s 149 caregivers visit each client at home, assisting with their bathing and dressing, as well as providing meals, doing household chores and helping with medications.
Although some home health agencies classify their employees as independent contractors, all Home Instead’s caregivers are company employees who receive workplace benefits, including paid vacation days, 401(k) contributions and dental and vision care policies.
The company uses an advanced system for matching caregivers with clients that is based on personality, skill level, availability, flexibility and the caregiver’s geographic proximity to a client’s house.
It has also distributed more than $6,000 worth of free gas cards this year for caregivers who accepted an open shift on short notice.
Home Instead has been a Detroit Free Press Top Workplace every year since 2010. For 2014, the Birmingham franchise won first-place honors among midsize companies.
“Caregiving can really be a thankless job,” said Birmingham franchise owner Bert Copple. “You can have a caregiver working for a client who has Alzheimer’s or dementia, and never hear the words ‘thank you,’ ”
While the employee turnover rate is high in the home health aide business, Copple said high morale among his Home Instead’s caregivers has meant a turnover rate well below the industry average. Most Home Instead caregivers have been with the company for six to seven years.
“We operate by the mantra that happy caregivers equal happy clients,” Copple said. “If you don’t take care of the caregiver, you have high turnover, which actually decreases client satisfaction.
“There has to be a support system in place for that caregiver, to make them feel validated and important, and that’s what we really focus on as a team — to make our caregivers feel that not only are they making a difference everyday in the life of a client, but that they are valued.”
Contact JC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com
Home Instead Senior Care Birmingham
Headquarters location: Birmingham
Year founded: 1999
Number of employees: 165, including 149 caregivers
Principal business: Provides at-home care and assistance for seniors and the disabled
Key benefits: Offers employees an array of benefits that are not common in its industry, such as paid vacation and 401(k) contributions.
source: http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/top-workplaces/2014/11/15/home-instead-birmingham-top-workplaces/19039263/