This article is sponsored by Nevvon. In this Voices interview, Home Health Care News sits down with James Cohen, Co-founder & CEO, Nevvon, to explore the intersection of technology, training, and home care, and Nevvon’s strategies to support future growth and innovation within the home care space. He talks about Nevvon’s approach to helping providers navigate the tumultuous staffing environment and administrative inefficiencies in today’s operating landscape. And he also explains the steps Nevvon is taking to stay ahead of the regulatory curve as the industry evolves, ensuring that the training provided remains relevant and up-to-date.
Home Health Care News: What are the most significant recruitment and retention challenges organizations face today, and how does Nevvon’s approach to training help address these issues?
James Cohen: Clearly, there’s a shortage of qualified Caregivers both in the United States and globally, as the workforce is too small to meet the growing demand driven by our aging population. Statistics indicate that in the United States alone, 10,000 people a day are turning 65 years old, and they’re living longer with more comorbidities, making a larger caregiver supply an absolute necessity.
The physical and emotional demands of caregiving, along with low wages and limited career advancement opportunities, have made burnout a top challenge for providers. Consequently, the competition for potential candidates is intense, with agencies often competing against other industries like retail and hospitality to attract and retain staff.
Nevvon helps providers mitigate this challenge by shortening the time between hiring and the first shift. We achieve this by starting mandatory Training immediately upon hiring and streamlining the in-person onboarding process. We also bolster an agency’s workforce by building caregiver confidence and providing mentorship frameworks to alleviate job-related physical and emotional stress.
Offering quality training that caregivers can complete flexibly empowers them and demonstrates the agency’s investment in their development. Unlike the past, where caregivers might have needed to commute for long periods to the employer’s office for training, now they can access all their training on their phones, in convenient, bite-sized lessons tailored to their native languages.
What are some of the key drivers behind Nevvon’s growth that could be beneficial for others in the home care space?
One of our core values at Nevvon is simplicity. We recognize that for many home care aides entering the industry, adopting technology can be a challenge. Thus, we’ve designed our technology solution to be straightforward, without unnecessary complexity. We provide exactly what they need — no more, no less — and they truly value this approach.
We’ve also developed a cost-effective solution that enables caregivers to deliver better care. Comparing the return on investment of hiring a nurse, covering transportation costs for in-office training, and paying for their time against the efficiency of completing training on their phone, online training proves to be far more economical.
Our emphasis on user-friendliness has resulted in exceptionally high completion rates, exceeding 90%. Even agencies initially skeptical about moving their training online, due to concerns over caregivers’ technical skills, have observed successful technology adoption. Our focus remains on making the technology extremely simple and centered around the caregiver’s needs, and that will shape how we develop our technology in the future as well.
How does Nevvon’s platform leverage technology like APIs and single sign-on to streamline administrative and operational processes for its agencies?
Starting with our Open API, this is arguably one of the most significant achievements at Nevvon. We have meticulously designed our technology to drive operational efficiencies by integrating with the diverse technologies that agencies already use. For instance, we are integrated with leading agency management or EMR providers like HHAeXchange, AlayaCare, Kantime and AxisCare, along with another half dozen platforms.
Our integrations also extend to payroll companies like ADP and Viventium to enable straightforward payroll mapping, ultimately reducing data entry errors and human mistakes.
Through Single Sign-On (SSO) integrations, agencies can offer a seamless experience for caregivers eliminating the need for multiple logins or, in some instances, separate applications. We understand the frustration of managing numerous open tabs on a computer. The essence of single sign-on is to consolidate access points.
Nevvon’s integrations with these agency management systems are comprehensive, featuring advanced functionalities like dynamic shift blocking, pay code mapping, and certificate porting. Additionally, agencies can utilize Nevvon’s Open APIs to streamline any desired process, offering the flexibility to integrate with our APIs whenever necessary.
How does Nevvon confront technology adoption challenges head-on to facilitate smoother integration and implementation for its clients?
When founding the company, we debated whether to white-label an existing learning management system. There are a lot of learning management systems and massive online courses (MOOCs) we could have utilized, but we decided it was key to build our own learning management system from the ground up.
Our decision was based on the fact that most learning management systems were not designed for field workers who enter people’s homes, and who typically study on their phones instead of at a computer. We tailored our system specifically for home care, developed by experts in the field, allowing us to concentrate on the aspects most important to an agency and their caregivers.
This focused approach significantly improved the user experience by presenting only the most relevant content, thereby shortening the time needed for adoption. As mentioned before, caregivers value this simplicity — having exactly what they need, no more and no less. Every new Nevvon client is assigned a dedicated account manager to support their platform success, guiding them through the training lifecycle for their caregivers.
We also offer multilingual staff support for caregivers who might forget their passwords, get stuck on a lesson, or have trouble downloading the app. And finally, we’re continuously enhancing our range of integrations to address the complex challenges our clients face, especially those with operations in multiple states and across various disciplines. Our goal is to streamline their experience with multiple systems, ensuring seamless operation regardless of the geographical or disciplinary scope of their agencies.
What steps is Nevvon taking to stay ahead of the regulatory curve in today’s evolving home health landscape to ensure that its training remains relevant and up to date?
Nevvon has a team specifically focused on monitoring changes in regulatory requirements and ensuring that our training and educational content is updated well in advance of enforcement dates. Our large educational content team includes clinicians, scriptwriters, graphic designers, and instructional designers who are adept at creating engaging content through gamification and other contemporary learning approaches. Given the complexity of the regulatory environment, which varies from state to state, we also collaborate with leading experts in the field. This network of partnerships enables us to stay ahead of the curve and ensure our content remains current and effective.
What are the next big steps for Nevvon in terms of innovation and technology as provider needs change?
In the pre-COVID world, many home care and home health agencies preferred the traditional approach of having their caregivers come into the office for training. Being an industry generally slow to adopt new technologies, the shift necessitated by COVID was abrupt. Home health care aides still required compliance and training, but the option for classroom settings vanished due to social distancing measures, leading many to adopt online learning.
Now, in the post-COVID world, agencies are seeking the best of both worlds. They desire the flexibility and cost-efficiency of online learning while also recognizing the value of in-person interactions for building connections and culture. In many states, the continuing education requirements are 12 hours annually,but agencies still might have caregivers come in for an hour or two of training, with the remainder completed online.
To support this desire for flexibility, Nevvon has introduced a hybrid learning module that facilitates face-to-face time with caregivers to enhance their experience and to support agencies’ cultural initiatives. We also offer a peer mentorship program that has clearly demonstrated success in improving. Our focus is on caregiver confidence and satisfaction, and we plan to continue expanding in both medical and non-medical training areas, providing the seamless training experience that agencies increasingly expect.
From Nevvon’s perspective, how does targeted and effective training contribute to not just skill development, but also to enhancing staff retention rates within health care organizations?
By providing relevant training that is easy to understand and engaging, we help caregivers retain essential information, boosting their confidence to deliver better care. If caregivers provide higher quality care, we can hope for improved health outcomes for the loved ones and vulnerable populations we serve, which is of great importance to us.
Caregivers who perceive their agency as investing in their skills and development are more likely to stay with them longer. In fact, agencies that have integrated Nevvon’s training with mentorship programs have achieved retention rates of 89% compared to the industry average of ~60-65% among agencies without such support. This demonstrates that targeted and effective training can significantly aid in the recruitment and retention of caregivers.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited for length and clarity.
Nevvon’s e-training & survey platform is designed to educate and motivate caregivers anywhere, anytime, on any device. Our innovative approach ensures that caregivers have the flexibility to access high-quality compliance training, dementia training and more, tailored to the home care industry’s needs without being restricted by location or device. Our course library of over 1,000 lessons covers everything an agency needs to stay compliant and/or upskill caregivers. Nevvon’s platform makes it possible for caregivers to achieve and maintain their certification, stay updated with the latest industry standards, and improve the quality of care they provide to their clients. For more information visit nevvon.com
The Voices Series is a sponsored content program featuring leading executives discussing trends, topics and more shaping their industry in a question-and-answer format. For more information on Voices, please contact [email protected].
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