How to Prevent Clients or Caregivers from Cutting Your Home Care Agency Out

In the home care industry, keeping clients and caregivers happy is a must. In this blog post, we’ll share practical tips to help your agency maintain strong relationships and prevent clients or caregivers from leaving.

Why Caregivers and Clients Cut Out the Home Care Agency

Family caregivers and clients can decide to cut ties with a home care agency for a few reasons. Understanding these reasons is essential to preventing such departures.

1. The Caregiver Wasn’t Vetted Thoroughly

It’s common knowledge to always vet a potential caregiver before hiring them. Despite this fact, home care business owners might fall short in thoroughly vetting the best fit for their agency.

2. The Caregiver and Client Have a Close Relationship

You want your clients and caregivers to have a close working relationship, but, because of the amount of time they spend together it can lead to your agency getting cut out.

3. The Client is Looking to Pay Less

You might come across a client who is financially strapped and doesn’t know how to approach the agency to renegotiate their contract. They will instead talk this over with the caregiver to see if the caregiver is willing to work directly for them.

7 surefire Ways to Protect Your Home Care Agency From Getting Cut Out

Let's look at six effective ways to prevent clients and caregivers from leaving.

1. Hire the Right Fit for Your Agency

The hiring process is the first guardrail protecting you from hiring the wrong caregivers. It should be at the top of your caregiver retention strategy. Here are some key red flags to watch out for during the caregiver recruitment process:

Lack of eye contact
Suspicious work history
Lack of specific work examples
Leaving jobs due to disagreements
Job “hopping” from one location to another
Gaps in employment
Arriving late
Missing home addresses
Poor listening skills
Missing interviews
Not asking questions
Background check issues
Resume errors
Inappropriate language
Rambling
Lack of factual support
Unprofessional appearance.

Orientation sets the stage for company policy and human resource processes within the home care agency. All private caregivers should receive an employee handbook, employment agreement, and all documented processes and company policies. caregiver and client caregiver retention

They should have a clear understanding of the rules regarding client care. This includes sexual harassment, theft, workplace safety, and what to do if a client asks for them to work directly with them.

The supervisor should explain and emphasize the repercussions of breaching the employment contract.

2. Prepare a Well-drafted Service Agreement

One common way to prevent your clients from taking your family caregivers and vice versa is through a well-written contract.

A non-solicitation agreement specifically asks the caregiver to not solicit the agency’s clients up to a certain period determined by the home care agency.

Even with legal protections in place, though, there are no guarantees that you’ll be able to take action if one of your employees does violate the terms of the agreement.

Have a legal professional review your contract to make sure it will hold up if an employee violates it.

3. Look Out for the Warning Signs

There are warning signs to pay attention to before your current client or your caregiver gets poached.

The caregiver spends time at the client’s home at unexpected times or past their work hours.
The caregiver isn’t as communicative with the client.
The client speaks glowingly about the caregiver but includes tasks that the caregiver did that aren’t on the care plan.
The caregiver and the client start to have an inappropriate relationship.
The client starts to complain about the invoice.

4. Establish a Personal Rapport With Your Clients and Caregivers

The quality of the relationship you have with your clients and caregivers can determine their willingness to overstep their boundaries by breaching their contract.

Caregiver loyalty increases when they feel their needs are met. This can greatly help reduce the poaching of your clients.

A great way to get to know your clients is to have an in-person meeting with them to understand their values, their likes and dislikes, and what they want in a home care agency.

If you can’t meet up with your client then you can give them a call to introduce yourself and use that opportunity to build rapport with them.
Schedule meetups with your caregivers to have lunch with them close to where they have clients.
Set up team-building activities to not only allow your employees to get to know each other but also to see your caregivers in their natural state. Team building activities are a good way to get to know your employees.
Find out what their communication language is. Some people prefer calls, some prefer text messages, and others prefer face-to-face meetups.

5. Check-in Frequently

Using a CRM, set regular check-in times, at least twice a month to touch base with the client and also to build a good relationship with him.

If you are a larger home care agency, employ a dedicated customer success specialist to handle the calls, it’s good for the client to feel comfortable with one person in the office.

During the call ask them how they have been doing, if they have any concerns, if there is anything you can assist them with, and log their responses in the CRM.

6. Set Expectations and Deliver

Do what you say you are going to do and get it done promptly. If the client begins to feel like they cannot trust your agency, they will find alternatives, this includes hiring your caregiver directly.

7. Provide Opportunities for Growth for Caregivers

Quality training and career development opportunities are your secret weapons in preventing clients from taking your caregivers.

Offering exceptional training and career advancement prospects to your caregivers keeps them loyal and also draws new talent to your agency.

How to Handle a Client Who Has Broken the Agreement

Even when you’ve taken measures to reduce the chances of your client poaching your caregiver or vice versa, it does happen that your client violates the agreement signed. Here’s what you should do when they break the terms and conditions of your agreement:

1. Remind them of the Agreement

No matter the reason, you need to let your client know that breaking the contract is unacceptable.

Pick up the phone and have a tough conversation with them to explain what will happen if they breach the contract.

Remind them of the terms of the agreement, clearly outline everything they committed to paying, and bring it to their attention that they are still responsible for the entire term of the agreement even if they do not use your home care services.

2. Send a Cease and Desist Letter

If that doesn’t work it’s time to take legal action. Get your lawyer to draft a cease and desist letter. Although the cease and desist letter doesn’t have a legal effect on its own, it is used to begin the process.

The client oftentimes takes this more seriously if it comes from an attorney. Most attorneys charge a nominal fee for the letter.

A cease and desist letter is useful because it might stop your client from taking any more actions with the caregiver. If they don't, you have written documentation that you have notified them of the possible consequences of ignoring your request.

3. Use a Buyout Agreement

Once the client reaches out after facing legal action, you should approach the conversation with a willingness to negotiate. You most likely will not get the total amount for the full term of the agreement but you are due some kind of compensation.

When the client comes to the table to negotiate, sending them an amount over $10,000 usually doesn’t work. Most agencies have success with $7,000-$10,000.

Another fact is those agencies that try to take their clients to court usually don’t come out on top. Trying to get the client to pay is a long process and can cost you more than you are willing to pay to go through these means.

It is always best to try to find a sweet spot with your ex-client and get a good amount from them before letting them go.

Final Thoughts

To ensure home care agency success, thoroughly vet caregivers, use clear contracts, build client and caregiver rapport, and maintain communication.

In case of agreement breaches, remind clients of the terms and, if necessary, consider legal action or negotiations. These steps protect your agency from client and caregiver departures, ensuring long-term success.