This year, hiring has been a challenge for several different industries, meaning that an employee's experience is more important than ever for the home health care industry to retain and attract ideal candidates.
The U.S. Labor Bureau estimates a 33% increase in jobs in the home health industry by 2030. But with a median pay of $27,340 a year, most home health aides live under the poverty line, and turnover for employers is around fifty percent.
Home healthcare employers need to think outside of the box to boost morale and reduce turnover in 2022.
One option for employers is to look into potential work perks. Unique benefits show employees that you appreciate them while also doubling as a strategic initiative to attract, engage and retain talent, which has been difficult recently.
At Whirks, we help businesses improve their back-office processes and get one step better every day. Finding the correct payroll and HCM provider can help you centralize these processes, save time and money, and get your focus back on growing and managing your company.
We're going to review seven potential work perks that can help you attract and retain the best employees for your home health care practice.
1. Tenured Sabbaticals
A standard annual paid time off (PTO) policy is a baseline for employees across industries.
While some employers try to differentiate with more comprehensive PTO policies, others take time off to another level by offering monthly sabbaticals to workers based on tenure.
For example, companies like Adobe and PayPal have adopted a policy of five years of service
= one month of sabbatical, on top of regular PTO.
Although the tech industry is different than home healthcare, employers will need to get creative after employees experience a year of difficulty that impacts their working environment.
Implementing tenured sabbaticals gives dependable employees added time off but can also help with retention efforts by giving an incentive to recharge and return.
2. Remote Health Services
Sometimes workers just need a breather. Since some people may still have reservations
regarding in-person gym classes, employers should look at other options.
For instance, offering weekly virtual health classes like yoga or meditation can ensure employees take some time to step away from their work duties to focus on wellness.
This can be a great addition to a comprehensive wellness program, which most employees think their employers should offer, according to data from isolved.
3. Continuing Education
Employees have career goals outside of their current position, including learning a new skill, getting a promotion, or obtaining a new degree.
Offering a Learning Management System (LMS) with a robust course catalog can be a great way to help employees achieve their goals while also developing their talent within the organization.
Additionally, employers can consider providing learning grants or reimbursements for classes, seminars, workshops, and other paid events.
4. Student Loan Reimbursements
Assistance with student loan repayment can be a big perk, especially for younger workers.
Whether this is offered as a trade-off between other types of reimbursements or in addition
to them, having a program that matches employees’ student loan payments – similar to a
401(k) – shows that HR is doing more than cookie-cutter programs.
5. Expanded Family-Focused Leave
The drive for expanded family leave is occurring predominantly at the state level but
organizations can lead the charge as well.
Offering paid paternity leave, generous bereavement policies, and flexible childcare programs that allow workers to take time off for themselves and their families are all great options.
6. Prescription Drug Price Assistance
An excellent healthcare package goes a long way. But for employees with chronic illnesses or who rely on life-saving prescription drugs, additional financial support to cover out-of-pocket rely on life-saving prescription drugs, costs show you’re genuinely committed to their well-being, personally and professionally.
A Consumer Reports survey found that out-of-pocket expenses increase yearly for almost one-third of Americans are prescribed drugs.
Reimbursing for these upticks can help make medical expenses more manageable and permit employees to focus more on work and less on stressful costs that are out of their control.
7. Pet-Friendly Policies
Offering pet insurance is a great perk, but companies can also take pet-friendly policies a step further. For example, you can consider granting flexible work arrangements to employees who foster pets, volunteer at shelters, or care for aging or ailing animals.
One way to do this is with PTO add-ons that accommodate commitments to pets in need. Although these suggestions just scratch the surface for employers' innovative work perks, they are certainly worth considering.
After all, the goal is to support employees, boost engagement, improve culture and attract top talent.
Retain, engage, and attract great employees in your home health care business.
Operating a health care practice is complex, and managing the labor is one of the chief reasons.
Tracking attendance and hours, managing schedules, and ensuring compliance with regulations are just a few of the challenges health care professionals face, which can consume many hours each week of your time or your HR manager's time.
You can minimize the time spent on these tasks while improving accuracy and boosting engagement with an intuitive HCM platform, which seamlessly connects and manages your workforce while adapting to the future of your business.
If you're searching for a payroll and HCM provider, read this article on Viventium vs. Whirks to get you one step closer to finding the best partner for you and your business.
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