One of the common challenges for franchisees responsible for recruiting capable, compassionate new carers is ensuring they have the workforce capacity and flexibility to deliver. They also need to protect current carers from having to juggle pressured work schedules, which may mean recruiting new carers as a matter of urgency.
As a key principle within our philosophy, we recommend focusing on values, personal skills, and character over formal qualifications when planning a recruitment drive. While we can, and do, support all successful candidates in securing certifications, the positivity, kindness, and respect we expect from our CareAngels are impossible to teach!
Why Does Values-Centric Recruitment Help Private Home Care Agencies Succeed?
Any recruitment manager or business owner looking to hire more care professionals will need to begin by assessing the specific experiences or abilities they need.
This might mean that some territories will, for example, require more accomplished home carers to step into specialist roles, such as providing home-from-hospital support. In contrast, others could need more dedicated carers to deliver personal care and domiciliary assistance.
However, prioritising values and personal qualities as the biggest aim in the recruitment process remains hugely meaningful, regardless of whether you need home carers who can start working quickly with minimal induction training or wish to expand your teams gradually to keep pace with demand.
Here’s a quick snapshot of why this approach is proven to work:
- Clients in any community organising care for themselves or a loved one will always want carers they trust who have the warmth and rapport that makes care recipients feel comfortable, relaxed, and safe.
- An experienced carer being recruited for live-in care work must be a good match for the individual. Picking applicants with shared interests, a great sense of humour, and who are guaranteed to be reliable benefits both the person and the care provider.
We’ll discuss the practicalities shortly, but the goal is to ensure that any carer you employ who will be working in clients’ homes can offer the companionship and dignity that care recipients expect. This means their personality and compassion are as valuable, if not more, than previous experience.
How Can Home Care Owners Offer Better Career Opportunities When Hiring Carers?
Earlier, we touched on the ability to offer funded training. In almost every case, a care provider who invests time, resources, mentoring, and effort into helping their teams become the best they can be is rewarded with commitment—because a home care agency that supports its staff is a great place to work.
Caring has long been perceived as a lower-paid career, but over recent years, amplified by shortages in social care and home care provisions, many have recognised the crucial role care professionals offer and the value they bring to the quality of life of vulnerable people and elderly adults who wish to remain independent at home.
That said, if a home care company advertises care roles that carry a significant amount of responsibility in return for minimum wages, skilled carers may consider alternative roles with a similar salary they consider easier to perform.
While that doesn’t mean home care agencies have to pay more than their budgets allow, it does mean that competitive remuneration packages, opportunities for onward career development, and access to coaching and training carry considerable weight.
We take our dedication to helping each CareAngel reach their full potential seriously, which means that offering funded Care Certificates and further training at NVQ level isn’t only a positive for our carers but that we build workforces who love their jobs, strive for improvement, and actively commit to continued professional development.
Optimising Home Care Recruitment Ads to Attract High-Calibre Applicants
Bringing all the above elements together when you advertise home care positions can help create recruitment drives that generate excellent results, both in terms of the number of applicants interested in joining your team and the quality of those applying.
Taking a look through the Guardian Angel Carers careers pages is a great way to gain inspiration and see how we communicate our core values and aims within recruitment ads while also clarifying what we are offering and what the role entails.
Although exact pay packages and incentives vary depending on the location and seniority level of the vacancy being advertised, that can mean:
- Reiterating the training and career pathways built into the job, ensuring that entry-level and junior carers, those rejoining the home care workforce, or more experienced carers can see that they will be respected, valued and rewarded for their hard work.
- Offering information about pay rates, whether hourly or on a salaried basis, with details about additional pay offered for peak periods such as weekends and bank holidays.
- Outlining what the work structure will look like, whether the successful applicant will have the flexibility to organise shifts as fits into their other responsibilities, or whether there are certain days or hours we need applicants to commit to.
- Prerequisites, such as owning a vehicle and being happy to travel between visiting care appointments, being a team player who will thrive within our workplace culture, and having a reliable, professional and friendly nature.
For many of our carers, the non-financial incentives are as important as above-average pay rates. If you need to attract amazing candidates to join your team, it’s always worth providing as much information as possible about what these involve.
Independent Guidance on Best Practice Recruitment in Home Care
Finally, we recommend that recruitment be seen as a collaborative exercise, where you promote all that your home care franchise stands for and communicate why it is a fantastic place to work—rather than filling in job details as a tick-box exercise that simply won’t appeal to standout carers or those committed to a future career in home care.
This helps home care territories differentiate themselves, attract candidates who might be in demand, and engage with the best people for the role, who will remain part of your home care team for the long term.
Of course, new and aspiring franchise owners can seek support with their recruitment from the knowledgeable Guardian Angel Carers team or are welcome to contact us with any requests for advice or assistance.