CUSTOMER STORY
How Angels On Call Used Home Care Pulse to Build a Reputation that Increased Caregiver Applicants 26% Year-Over-Year
About Angels On Call:
Angels On Call is dedicated to changing the landscape of Home Care & Home Health in Pennsylvania. We created an integrated system of post-acute care and personal care services to provide our patients and their families, a community of caregivers and clinicians whose sole focus is excellent care with dignity and respect.
Each day we transform the definition of responsible & loving care in Pennsylvania and strive to change the face of healthcare in our region for our patients, our employees and the communities we serve.
In the middle of 2020, Angels On Call was in a growth period and needed to ramp up recruitment to meet existing demand.
VP of Strategy and Business Development, CJ Weaber, recognized that in order to scale they needed to create an employment brand that would attract applicants and differentiate themselves as an employer.
Creating a Reputation That Drives Applicants
To make this strategy happen, they started conducting in-house surveys to learn their strengths and weaknesses so they could create a culture that would attract caregivers to them over other agencies.
“When we decided to go with surveys, we knew data drove decisions and because we were at a critical point, especially with the pandemic, we needed to make better decisions and we needed to make them quickly.”
At first, they created their own survey program in-house, and the data from their in-house surveys told a story that everything was great. But when caregivers with seemingly perfect surveys started leaving, they quickly realized it was hard to guarantee the results were accurate.
“It was a little weird that everything was fine all the time. I talked to my owner about it, and he said we needed to start thinking about a third party because we need true results – that’s the purpose. [When deciding on Home Care Pulse] we knew we needed someone who understood the business, was going to ask the right questions, and could be a great partner to us long term.”
According to CJ, they immediately saw better results when they switched from in-house surveys to Home Care Pulse surveys. “Home Care Pulse surveys give you the data to really focus on making sure the caregivers have a good experience and that in turn, the clients have a good experience. We know that {accurate data} is going to show up in our surveys and we’re going to be able to adapt, and if something is not working, we’re going to be able to change it quickly.” CJ says.
It was a similar story when it came to online caregiver training. Angels On Call began using Home Care Pulse’s training (formerly In the Know) in October 2020 and it’s helped them empower their care team at a higher level than ever before.
“Before [Home Care Pulse] we tried doing our own digital training. Try training a class in Zoom and you have the bed, and the dummy, and you’re trying to show positioning – it was just not effective. [When we were using our training program] we noticed a spike in our turnover, and we really did think it was because the caregivers just didn’t feel prepared.”
A quick note: Angels on Call is part of the larger Honor Health Network (not to be confused with the Honor Care Network), which includes various home care brands under its umbrella. For simplicity’s sake, we’ve focused on the results reported by leadership at Angels on Call, although many of the other brands in the network have seen similar results. Similarly, the initiatives discussed here for Angels on Call are holistically reported results/strategies that don’t necessarily include every location.
Using Training to Differentiate Themselves as an Employer
On top of general preparedness, surveys and training allow Angels On Call to differentiate themselves.
“We used survey data from Home Care Pulse, along with market research, and figured out how we could do something different and add value to caregivers that they weren’t going to get at another [agency] or [employer].”
Their survey results showed one strong way to differentiate themselves – more caregiver training.
Increased training options benefit their current employees and ultimately clients, but also allows them to cast a wider net to applicants with no home care experience.
“One of the reasons we get a lot of applicants is because we advertise that you don’t need experience to work with us—we’ll pay you to train,” says CJ. “That’s why we added Home Care Pulse.”
They also use it as a tool to attract more seasoned caregivers or individuals looking for a long-term career in care, such as CNA students.
“Part of the reason we chose Home Care Pulse is because we offer a CNA reimbursement program. We go to the CNA schools and say if your CNAs are looking for a job, we will partner with you to reimburse for their initial training but also pay for their continuing education because we have [Home Care Pulse Online Caregiver Training] in place.”
The amount of training Angels On Call offers is well above the industry average, which sets them apart from other employers.
Recruitment Results
Outside of new applicants, surveys and training help to create a culture that current caregivers want to stay in and tell their friends about. “Our numbers have gone up because we offer a career path, not just a stop on a resume.” CJ says.
Their focus on creating a strong employment brand and differentiating themselves from other employers led to a 26.6% increase in new hires in 2020, compared to 2019.
CJ attributes this increase to the employment brand/reputation they’ve built with the help of training and surveys.
“Our ability to hire more caregivers has grown because we have Home Care Pulse’s robust platform in place.”
CJ Weaber, VP of Business Development and Strategy at Honor Health NetworkAn Employment Brand Focused on Success
“If you want to bury your head in the sand and act like everything is good, you’re not going to survive in today’s world,” she says. “People have a lot of choices – this is a very personal decision and caregivers need to be well prepared. Retention drives client satisfaction and the surveys help give you that data.
“As your clients grow and their length of stay extends, their diagnoses are going to change, and if you want to make sure you’re retaining those caregivers you need to provide additional training to prepare them for those situations.
“It’s incredibly important that you’re keeping the pulse (no pun intended) on what’s going on within your agency and with your caregivers and giving them the tools necessary to be successful. Caregivers want to work for the agencies that equip them for success.”
Two Tools – One Strong Reputation
With the current caregiver shortages and demand for home care that’s higher than ever, there simply aren’t enough caregivers to go around. Using our Client and Caregiver Experience Surveys and Caregiver Training in tandem has allowed Angels On Call to create an employment brand that drives new hires.
