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Why a great workplace culture is key to your home care agency’s growth

Close up view of young business people putting their hands together. Stack of hands. Unity and teamwork concept.

One well-trodden saying goes: people don’t leave bad companies – they leave bad bosses (and teams!). If you’ve ever felt trapped in a work environment that felt unsupportive and uninspiring, you know it can strain motivation to keep performing at a high level.

Now, consider this: if any of your employees are currently feeling this way, not only is it impacting their morale, it’s likely leaking into overall morale too. Disconnected staff members start to lose trust in their organization, which eventually impacts clients – and your bottom line.

Employees as advocates for your home care agency 

Employees are some of the best advocates for a home care agency. In today’s world, where it’s harder and harder to know whom and what to trust, people have shifted their trust to relationships within their control – and that includes employers.

Earning and maintaining that trust bears real fruit: a recent study found that employees who have faith in their employer are far more likely to advocate for that organization, are more engaged, and remain far more loyal than their disenfranchised counterparts. In home care, where attracting and retaining top talent from a shrinking pool is a reality, agencies simply can’t afford to lose that faith.

One company that wholeheartedly embraces this philosophy is BAYADA, whose leaders presented at our 2019 Better Outcomes conference in Niagara Falls. What Mark Baiada started as a one-office enterprise in Philadelphia back in the 1970s is now a global leader in home health care. In fact, they recently served their one millionth client.  

Key to their growth – including a transition to non-profit in 2019 to ensure long-term access to quality home care– is a focused effort to engage employees and build a strong workplace culture.

Such engagement begins with transparency and communication. In fact, Mark used to personally call each employee at every office during the holiday season. When this personal touch started to become unmanageable (BAYADA became so big it took five days to call everyone) he changed tactics – but still kept an approach built on personal connections through company retreats and office visits so each employee to share feedback directly with him.

Eventually, these conversations translated into what’s known today as The BAYADA Way. This is the company’s core philosophy that connects employees to the agency, building and maintaining trust and collaboration. Together, employees celebrate accomplishments and unite under the guidepost of The BAYADA Way. This is exhibited in weekly routines were employees take the time to share stories about how their work reflects the company’s core values. It seems to be working as reflected in a 90 per cent approval rating for the CEO, David Baiada, who continues to foster The BAYADA Way, and an 81 per cent rate of people who’d recommend working for the company to a friend.

Keeping a workplace culture strong

The importance of fostering a strong culture holds true across any industry – technology included.

At AlayaCare, we’ve always placed a major emphasis on offering a great experience for employees. Because we want the best to work for us – and we know what it takes to recruit them in a high-demand industry.

Home Care Agency Culture | AlayaCare
 
In short order our small Canadian startup has grown into an award-winning global home care technology company. Not only do we focus on creating and innovating, but we take time to have fun and go the distance to make each team member feel part of a family.

Clients are always a critical focus for any home care agency, but no organization should lose sight of its most valuable asset: the staff providing and maintaining that care.

Treat employees well, build an authentically positive workplace culture, and everyone benefits.

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