Hiring Caregivers

Caregiver turnover is on the rise and the retention is low. Recruiting the best caregivers is getting to be more of a trial than ever. So, how do you ensure you are hiring the best caregivers? By choosing the best questions to ask in a caregiver interview. As a supervisor, you want to be able to get a feel for what the potential caregiver is capable of and their capacity to grow with your company. This will help you know if you have a high-quality candidate from the start. Using a specific set of questions the right way will help you recruit your ideal caregivers.

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Get Right To the Point

Many companies are phasing out the brainteaser questions in interviews. Questions like this can make poor candidates and stellar candidates look like fantastic options. Instead, try asking more direct questions. Some great sample questions could be:

  • Have you ever worked with senior adults?
  • Do you have any CPR training?
  • Are you comfortable with the duties of this position?

These questions are not always a challenge, but help you understand the potential caregiver better, learn their background, and how they could add to your team.

Learn Their Skillset

Many companies use a pre-employment test to measure whether the potential employee is a great match for the company. Pre-employment tests can save you time going through applications and bring you the best-qualified candidates for a face-to-face interview. Tests can also assure everyone is getting the same treatment. They help maintain equality in the hiring process.

If you choose to forgo the testing, try to really target your interview questions and make sure you ask the candidates the same questions to maintain equality. Approach each in-person interview with an open and clear mind. These questions could be what to do in case of a heart attack, how to protect your client’s privacy, or about other basics of elder care.

Pick Their Brain

Make sure to ask the potential candidate behavioral questions about any past situations to see how the caregiver would work in similar situations the company. One method which can help you clearly ask behavioral questions is the STAR technique. The STAR technique is a great acronym to remember while interviewing.

The Star Method:

  • Situation

  • Task

  • Action

  • Result

An example of a STAR question is: Name a SITUATION where you were asked to do a TASK. What ACTIONS did you take towards the task and what were the RESULTS?

By asking questions like this, you can learn more about who the person is, rather than specific skills.

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Hypothetically Speaking

Since we have gone over behavioral questions, it is time to see how the potential caregiver would do in a future scenario. You can ask the potential employee a question to see what they would do in an on the spot type of situation. “How would you react if your client fell?” “What would you do if your client became unresponsive?” “How would you deal with an unhappy client?” Questions like this measure how the potential caregiver’s experience could help them and how they would react in stressful situations. Would they act appropriately? Or is there room for improvement?

When choosing a new caregiver, it can be frustrating and feel as though you are never going to find the perfect candidate. By asking the right questions, your caregiver interviews will be worth your time and you will be able to find employees which will benefit and help your company for a good, long while

Need Help Retaining Your Caregivers?

Home Care Pulse can help you retain those new employees by finding out what they like, or dislike about your company. By increasing your client and caregiver satisfaction, you can increase your caregiver retention and reduce caregiver turnover.

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8 Comments

  1. PapayaCare November 11, 2017 at 2:33 am - Reply

    This is a great blog. Thank you for sharing here.
    I am owning a Assisted Living Senior Care Community: PapayaCare and this blogs seem very helpful for me to hire a suitable and best caregiver for my community and it’s senior adults.
    I will keep visiting this blog very often. Keep posting such more helpful.

  2. Andre Monteiro December 14, 2017 at 10:13 am - Reply

    Exceptional Care demands Exceptional people. That’s why at Home Helpers Home Care North Central CT we devote ourselves to finding, training and retaining the best people. The best reward comes with our clients’ recognition, as in this case where they nominated our caregivers for the Exceptional Caregiver Award: https://www.homehelpershomecare.com/enfield/blog/2017/12/senior-care-enfield-clients-nominate-exceptional-caregivers

  3. Bobby Saint December 28, 2017 at 8:47 pm - Reply

    I couldn’t agree more when you mentioned getting straight to the point when hiring the best caregiver for your loved one. Even before hiring the services of a caregiver, it’s recommended that you become upfront and ask questions such as how long they have been caring for senior adults and what types of certification or training have you taken. This is important to ensure that you will be getting quality service from the caregiver. You certainly would like to hire someone who would be able to provide all the needs of your loved one. If I were to look for a caregiver, I would make sure to keep this in mind. Thanks.

  4. Kiara Woodsland January 12, 2018 at 2:10 am - Reply

    I totally agree that it’ll be best to ask the caregivers that you’re considering to hire direct questions to help you understand their background. My husband is looking to hire a caregiver for his mother. It’s important for him to know if the caregiver that he will hire has experience in working with senior adults. This is to make sure that the person he will hire knows what the job is all about. This is also to make sure that the caregiver he will hire can handle seniors like his mom. I will make sure to share your blog with my husband.

  5. Latoya Anderson February 9, 2018 at 7:28 pm - Reply

    I like that you talked about how you can consider asking the caregiver that you’re interested in have they ever worked with senior adults to make sure that you can get an insight of their background. I consider this tips of yours as very helpful because it’s important for me to hire a caregiver that has substantial experience in working with senior adults. This is to make sure that my father is going to get the attention and care that he needs to keep a healthy body. I will make sure to consider all your tips for hiring a caregiver. Thanks!

  6. Rohn May 29, 2018 at 9:03 am - Reply

    There is senior care software provided by senior Insight, who provides many functions to make the old people life easy and comfortable. This software is very easy to handle. You can maintain all your documentation, medication and many more by this software.

  7. Charlotte Fleet June 30, 2022 at 6:33 pm - Reply

    My siblings and I want to get a home caregiver for our mom. It makes sense to consider a caregiver’s skillset before hiring them. We’ll keep an eye out for a highly-skilled caregiver.

  8. Elina Brooks March 11, 2023 at 5:20 am - Reply

    I’m glad you told us that home care agencies assess the skillsets of their candidates first before hiring them as caregivers to ensure that they know at least the basics of elder care. My grandma has trouble moving around on her own, so we have decided to get her a caregiver if we’re too busy to look after her. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind while I look for a senior home care agency to contact soon.

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