What Home Care Employers Can Learn from Walmart, Amazon

For an overwhelming majority of caregivers, access to further education is a factor when determining if they’ll accept a job offer at a home care agency. Additionally, the likelihood of caregivers staying at their current agency increases when they’re offered resources to further their education.

That’s according to a new survey conducted by CareAcademy, a Boston-based training platform for home care professionals. The survey, which included feedback from 1,500 in-home care professionals, explored caregivers’ interest in furthering their education, the roadblocks they face and what role their employers play in their career development.

The CareAcademy survey found that for 94% of caregivers, access to further education is a significant consideration when deciding whether to join a home care agency. As home care providers continue to face workforce challenges, education can be a mechanism for bringing new caregivers into the field while retaining existing ones.

Advertisement

“Education is not only a way for people to feel more connected to their work and more tied to their employers,” Helen Adeosun, CareAcademy’s founder and CEO, told Home Health Care News. “But ultimately, we can really upend this [workforce] shortage and the climate we’re in by providing a means for people to come in and to stay by leveraging tools like education.”

The survey also found that 85% of caregivers have a greater chance of staying on at their current agency if they are given the resources to continue their education. This means monetary support, flexible work schedules and overall support from their employer.

Caregivers were also specific about their areas of interest when it comes to furthering their education. About 24% of caregivers identified nursing as an area of interest, with 17% of respondents wanting to earn a CNA license and 13% of respondents wanting to transition into health care administration.

Advertisement

Even the 20% of respondents that weren’t able to specify a role expressed an interest in the health care sector.

Still, caregivers face roadblocks. Roughly 27% of respondents said the cost of continuing their education presented a challenge. About 26% of respondents said their work schedule was a hindering factor; 24% pointed to their household caretaking responsibilities.

Further compounding matters: 75% of respondents said that their employers have never presented them with an opportunity for additional training or education.

“The very act of even just asking a caregiver, ‘What do you want to do in life?’” Adeosun said. “‘What do you want to ultimately grow into, and how do we help you?’ That is what those caregivers were reporting in terms of the fact that they’ve never spoken to their employer about educational opportunities.”

One major takeaway from the survey is that home care agencies should offer access to education, apprenticeship and training programs in a way that addresses the barriers that caregivers often face.

In order to do this, employers should offer tuition assistance, talk to caregivers about their goals, create flexible work schedules, offer a variety of opportunities and promote these programs when trying to recruit workers.

Additionally, home care agencies can form partnerships with universities, community colleges, training programs or organizations like CareAcademy.

“Organizations like Amazon and Walmart are providing education as an employee benefit,” Adeosun said. “We think that home care is no different. That is really what is driving the research and the findings here.”

For eligible employees, for example, Amazon will pay up to 100% of tuition and fees (for up to a yearly maximum) toward a certificate or diploma in qualified fields of study that lead to in-demand jobs.

Meanwhile, through a partnership with Guild Education, Walmart associates can earn degrees in business, supply chain, technology and health.

Companies featured in this article: