If you are struggling to keep up with the responsibilities of a terminally ill or bedridden loved one and manage your duties, hiring a caregiver can be a good option. Your loved one’s ageing and weakening state could also necessitate the assistance of a skilled attendant, especially when you cannot look after them 24/7. Thus in-home caregivers can help you with duties, including grooming, dressing, maintenance, and observing medication. They can also share your workload and accompany the person to the hospital whenever it’s due.Â
However, finding a suitable caregiver is not a task you should take lightly. Work nature, placement, and responsibilities are different from any routine job. You have to examine the professional’s personality and attitude apart from their performance track record. You want to find a person who can work well with a care-needing person, understand their requirements, and maintain flexibility in their service pattern as per the changing situation. That’s why pursuing a mutually agreeable code of conduct is necessary. The following sections discuss some tips to recruit a suitable in-home caregiver.
- Correlate requirements with caregiver’s expertise
Hiring for mere housekeeping duties is easier compared to caregiving services that involve the sick. Your carelessness in selection can harm your loved one at the hands of an unskilled medical professional. Thus if you need professional assistance, hiring a nurse could be wise. But before hiring a nurse caregiver, it is better to acquaint yourself with different types of nurses as per their qualifications. The practice will help you recognize the right candidate for your specific requirements.
Generally, nurses have in-depth knowhow to manage primary health requirements efficiently. Their caregiving can minimize the chances of unexpected emergencies, so you will not have to worry about the patient’s safety. You can also negotiate with them regarding other routine chores related to the patient. Overall, they can minimize your trips to a hospital and healthcare expenses.
- Discuss caregiving responsibilities with the caregiver
After you have identified a suitable candidate, it is essential to discuss job responsibilities with your employee. You should write down job responsibilities specifically and discuss them with the in-home caregiver. These responsibilities could involve assistance in tidiness, bathing, driving for appointments, administering medications, assisting and supervising meals, and other errands. Your patient may also need someone to listen to them provides emotional support and companionship.
Whatever the requirements, it is better to arrange a face-to-face meeting and ensure the presence of concerned parties. This way, all parties can know each other’s expectations. Since you do not want to fail after a rigorous recruitment process, this meetup will also help both parties to reevaluate their decision and compatibility. Likewise, the meeting can also familiarize the caregiver with their work environment and employer’s professionalism.
- Talk over the matter of service charges.
The matter of service charges is perhaps the most crucial for an employee. Since in-home caregiving services require extensive care, precaution, and diligence, they can be more expensive than mere housekeeping, even if their scope coincides. Even though you may want to pay bountifully for the sake of your loved one, it depends upon your resourcefulness. Thus before negotiating with the employee, you should examine the standard market rate against such services to get a better idea. You can also identify how others compensate caregiving services on a per-hourly basis.
It is also essential to clarify the possibility of additional benefits to the employee, such as food, refreshments, transportation, and others. In essence, thorough research will help you present your case and its compensation competitively. The practice will also prevent needless bargaining between both parties, and you can win over a potential candidate easily and get to work immediately.
- Document an agreed-upon contract
Similar to any other corporate job, maintaining an employment record is necessary. The contract should include all the specifications, including payment rate, work hours, leave days, job commencement date, and both parties’ obligations. Apart from that, you should also specify the duration of the contract and the way out to handle unexpected conflicts amicably. The more comprehensive and detailed this document, the better it will protect the interests of both sides.
The contract also binds both the parties on mutually agreeable terms legally. In case of disagreements, you will have evidence to seek legal help. More than that, it will benefit the sick with seamless supervision and monitoring service. Hence, spend time to draft such a comprehensive contract. Seek help from a professional advisor if needed.
- Maintain a flexible and upgradable logbook
The logbook is a source of evidence of whether an employer and caregiver are fulfilling their duties earnestly or not. Even though you have a contractual and trust-based relationship with your employee, you cannot overlook mishaps in caregiving. Unexpected incidents can jeopardize your loved one’s privacy and even threaten their well-being. It is also a means of assurance for the employee as well.
Thus you can think about possible options, such as installing a CCTV camera to monitor the caregiver’s routine. It is necessary for the safety of the elderly or patients, and you can observe their routine in real-time. In-house caregivers will also perceive it as a means of vigilance, and this way, they can deliver their service more attentively.
Similarly, you should also keep track of the economic transactions, including salary and routine expenses. This way, you will not have to bother about trivial details. But before deciding on recordkeeping, let your employee know and ask them if they have any reservations.
- Seek professional help in hiring a suitable caregiver
Hiring a caregiver for your in-home responsibilities is different from an employee for an organization. This task requires you to be more vigilant of employees’ personal and professional traits. As such, you have to observe their personality to determine their suitability. Who knows a person you hired is a chain-smoker, and they kept it a secret? Such habits are unhealthy for the well-being of your ill loved one. It means even if you have an idea of an appropriate attendant, it is a time-taking process, and mismatches can occur. There could be other crucial details that you may miss out on during the recruitment process.
Thus it is better to go about it professionally. Professional assistance will prevent creating an unpleasant encounter for both parties. Hence, why not seek agencies that specialize in connecting caregivers with potential employers? This way, you can save yourself from wasting time.
Conclusion
No doubt, caregivers’ assistance can be a helping hand when you cannot manage things alone. However, hiring an in-home attendant is more meticulous than it may look. So do not rush but go through it carefully. If you invest more time during recruitment, you can minimize needless issues in the future.
