Once you have shortlisted your preferred caregiver, it’s important that you voice to them the type of in home care solutions that you and the elderly person are looking for. They should also let you know if they are able to deliver or if they have concerns of their own. This will ensure that both of you are on the same page moving forward.
You should also make them understand that you are not only employing them to care for the elderly person. For most older care patients, senior comfort care and gentleness from their caregivers is a basic need.
They are most often than not all alone save for the occasional visitor who may be a child, sibling or a good friend. The caregiver should therefore double up as a companion besides being an employee. You should not only expect them to offer the bare minimum, but additional care assist home health services should be taken into consideration.
The best care should be warm and welcoming at all times. If the shortlisted candidate checks all the boxes, great direct home care can begin. To find the best service provider, you can search online for something like “care for you company” or something similar.
Before you hire a caregiver, there are a few things that you might want to take into consideration. This is based on the sensitive nature of care-giving. It is important to note that people who require care-giving are those who are incapable of carrying out active daily activities by themselves. If you are hiring a caregiver for your older adult, your choice of caregiver should get along with the senior. Unfortunately, hiring a good caregiver is easier said than done. There are a lot of factors that people tend to overlook and end up regretting. The entire process should be broken down into phases so that you can understand what to do at each stage. This way, you can easily get the right person even when you do the hiring yourself without involving an agency. Below are some tips on how to hire a caregiver.
Have a Job Description
Since it is obvious that you are looking for a caregiver for your older adult, ask yourself if you have in mind what the caregiver is supposed to do on a day to day basis. Care-giving is a profession like any other. Before you even initiate the process of searching for someone, sit down and reflect on a typical day of the caregiver. What are some of the responsibilities that will be incorporated into care-giving. It can be chores such as light housekeeping, meal planning, meal preparation and running errands. You should also take into consideration whether your older adult needs 24 hour care. The whole point of having a clear job description is because you need to find someone who is willing to carry out the chores as outlined. It is assumed that you already know what the older adult needs so that you don’t then again start altering the job description long after the caregiver has started working.
Be Flexible and Fair on Pay
When you decide to hire a caregiver, you can either decide to do it independently or use an agency. Agencies tend to be very rigid in terms of pay where the payment is fixed. If you decide to hire a caregiver yourself, be flexible with regards to the payment and more importantly, be fair. This is one strategy that can help you attract some of the best caregivers around. In your job listing, you might want to mention that your hourly rate is flexible meaning that there is a chance to negotiate or compromise on the rate with the preferred candidate. It is also important to consider the current rates for caregivers around your area. You cannot pay below the market rate and still hope to retain a great caregiver. They are likely to walk away once they get a better deal elsewhere.
Do a Background Check on Candidates
This is an important step for the safety of your older adult. A background check doesn’t have to be complicated to an extent that the caregiver feels like the process is militarized. You just need to ask for a few references. Most people will often ask for references as a formality and will not confirm whether the said references are genuine. If your candidate has worked somewhere else in the past and claims to have an excellent record, the previous employer should be able to verify these claims on the dial. Just pick up the phone and call a few references. Ask about their experience with the said caregiver and how good they are in terms of their work. Once this is confirmed or refuted, you can then decide on the next course of action which includes either accepting or rejecting the job application. It is important to note that references are an important exercise when you are looking to hire a caregiver.
