There’s never been a better time to own a senior care franchise. With a booming market that continues to grow, the financial rewards to opening a senior care franchise can be as rich as the emotional rewards that come with caring for seniors in need. But running a senior care business isn’t without its challenges.

Over the past several years, the supply of experienced caregivers hasn’t grown as quickly as the demand for in-home senior care. In response to this concern, Visiting Angels’ directors and franchisees have focused more than ever on hiring and retaining quality caregivers.

Thinking about opening a senior care franchise? If so, you’ll want to think about your strategy for staffing your agency. Below, we’ve collected some thoughts on how you can make this process easier.

Hiring Staff for Your Senior Care Franchise

The secret to a great in-home senior care agency is hiring great people. While the right mission statement, scheduling, and infrastructure are essential to your business, nothing makes a bigger impact on the quality of care provided by your agency than the quality of caregivers you employ.

That means investing the necessary time and resources into recruiting, interviewing, and screening new caregivers. Brainstorm what kinds of strategies and perks you can use to attract top talent, think deeply about the questions you ask and the qualities you’re looking for, and make sure to follow up on any references you’re given.

At Visiting Angels, we also require our franchisees to conduct background and criminal history checks on all potential caregivers. These checks provide a level of assurance to clients and their families as well as to our franchise owners. Drug screenings are also strongly encouraged for all potential caregivers.

When hiring caregivers for your team, always consider what type of caregiver you’d like caring for your parent or loved one. If the caregivers you hire meet the high standards for care you’d expect from someone working with your own family, then they are likely to meet the demands of your clients as well.

Retaining Your Franchise’s Senior Care Providers

When you’re caring for the personal needs of other people, your job can be stressful on its own. As someone running a senior care business, you play a major role in how your caregivers feel about their jobs. Many Visiting Angels franchisees have found that their success hinges on taking care of their care staff.

While some of the ways to keep caregivers happy can be obvious — higher pay, for instance — other less obvious steps can be equally effective. One strategy used by care agencies is to emphasize scheduling that fits caregivers’ lives. Other more creative strategies can include providing bonuses at key times or creating a resource center that helps caregivers perform their work more easily. While steps like these can be tough or costly to accomplish, the resources you save by reducing turnover are often worth it in the long run.

Working in a franchise network allows you the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other location owners. At regional and national meetings, you can exchange ideas with other franchise owners. Visiting Angels franchise owners can also take advantage of the knowledge of our home office operations team. Sharing ideas and learning what has or hasn’t worked is a great way to find creative solutions to staffing challenges.

Are you thinking of starting your own senior care franchise? If so, give Visiting Angels a call at 800-365-4189 to learn more about our franchise opportunities.