As the home-based care industry adapt to an increasingly challenging workforce environment, many operators are focused on differentiating themselves from their competitors so that they can attract and retain talent.

Training has quickly jumped to the forefront as a notable strategy for care providers to stand apart, especially as they look to other industries for talent they can recruit into care positions.

Many organizations are already moving in this direction, according to the results of Home Health Care News’s “State of Home Care Training 2023” survey, conducted in partnership with CareAcademy, a training, upskilling and compliance management platform used by home-based and facility-based care providers. In fact, 63% of survey respondents indicated that their organizations currently use a training platform, and many of those believe it has a direct impact on their ability to attract and retain staff. Survey respondents included 97 professionals who work for organizations that provide home care.

Takeaway: Training impacts recruitment

Among those who currently use a training platform, more than half believe it has made an impact on recruitment and nearly three-fourths believe it has made an impact on staff retention.

“Regardless of size, all roads lead to training as a key ingredient in our clients’ recruitment recipe. We’ve also seen firsthand how training is being leveraged to address other common industry themes that align more with retention issues. Everyone is interested in doing more with less,” says Ginger Barrientez, director of customer lifecycle marketing for Boston-based training platform CareAcademy. “Whether an organization wants to develop a strategy to expand their workforce, elevate and standardize their brand’s reputation for quality care, or upskill to provide care for higher acuity patients — including training in their strategy is mission critical.

Takeaway: Online training formats gain adoption

Due to the nature of remote work and the ability for many caregiving staff to access online resources from home, many organizations are turning to online training to some degree.

While many states require some form of in-person training for certain caregiving staff, an online component has risen as a way for caregivers who are onboarding to complete some of their training from home. With a platform like CareAcademy, they are able to conduct their training from any location at any time, and the employer can monitor progress as the training takes place.

For half of survey respondents, their organizations utilize a combination of an online training provider, third party staff and in-house staff, according to the results, while for just 25%, training is primarily provided in-house with an on-site nurse.

“Combining technology with education is a huge benefit to you and your caregivers,” Barrientez says. “Having a trusted training technology partner can help you succeed across all facets of your business with less effort on your part.” “Training compliance is a great example of this – when you have a resource that can automatically assign training and remind your caregivers to complete it, think of the time that frees up for you to focus on other tasks and organizational goals.”

Regardless of the format, the industry says there is significant value in home-care training, both for staff and those receiving care. The value spans regulatory compliance and reporting, and improving quality of care at the high end, as well as factors like improving caregiver confidence in providing care, career pathing, and speed of onboarding, among others.

Takeaway: Incentives to complete training are mixed

Even with a formal training program in place and online offerings available to new and existing staff, getting caregivers to complete training is a challenge many providers face.

Just 56% of survey respondents report that they incentivize caregivers to complete training, even though the workforce largely feels that training helps them acquire skills to help them do their jobs.

“Overall you have to do what works best for your organization when it comes to training completion tactics,” Barrientez says. “In conversations with our clients, some garner success through incentivizing their caregivers and staff to complete the training.”

These incentives may vary widely, however, depending on the culture of the organization and the individual preferences of those who are completing the training, she says.

“A lot of the process is finding out what excites team members — whether that is a financial reward, access to more specialized courses they want to take, personal time off or time together like a team pizza party. If you’re going to do it, take the time to find out what excites your team, follow through, and keep track of it. One of the fastest and easiest ways our clients track their caregivers’ progress is by using our platform’s reports – they accurately reflect the training progress for you so you can follow through on rewarding those who meet the training goals.”

Download the full survey results.

This article is sponsored by CareAcademy. CareAcademy’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to a caregiver-centric healthcare system by elevating caregivers and enabling excellent health outcomes. With a care enablement platform that offers accessible and engaging training content, streamlined technology solutions, and measurable insights, CareAcademy is transforming the way we train essential caregivers. See how we can help you achieve your operational and staffing goals, visit www.careacademy.com.

The post The State of Training in Home-Based Care: Key Takeaways appeared first on Home Health Care News.