By Stephen Tweed

What’s the biggest threat facing you and your home care agency?

According to the 2016 Home Care Benchmarking Study from Home Care Pulse, the number one threat CEOs are facing is “Caregiver Shortages.”

• 62.8% of company owners said caregiver shortages is their biggest threat
• This up from 48.9% in the 2014 benchmarking study
• When asked “what sets your agency apart as a provider?” 41.9% said “Caregiver Quality”.

So, what sets you apart from your competitors is “Caregiver Quality”, and the biggest threat to your agency is “Caregiver Shortages.”

Sounds like a big problem to be solved.

How to Solve Big Problems – OPE

After three decades in the home care industry as a Board Member, Agency CEO, researcher, and consultant, I’ve concluded that the best way to solve big problems and grow your business is through OPE – “Other People’s Experience.”  You can’t do it alone. Other people have great ideas that work.  Other leaders have tried things and found that they didn’t work.  When you share ideas with other successful home care leaders, you learn fast and solve problems effectively.

We’ve learned this from the three Home Care Mastermind Groups that we have organized and that we facilitate.  When owners of similar sized, non-competing home care companies come together regularly, then can share ideas, solve problems, support one another, and learn from OPE.

OPE and Caregiver Quality

Now, you can take advantage of OPE as it relates to caregiver quality.  This Thursday, January 26, 2017 we will kick off two virtual Caregiver Quality Mastermind Groups.  One group will be made up of independent home care companies from non-competing local markets across the country.  The other group will be made up of franchise home care companies from different franchise organizations, and from non-competing local markets across the country.

The reason we have a separate group for franchise agency owners is about competition.  We learned from our first three Home Care Mastermind Groups that independent agencies are uncomfortable sharing ideas and insights with franchise owners even if they are in different local markets.  To minimize that fear, we are setting up two groups. That’s fine anyway, because the response so far has been amazing, and we’ll have more than enough members for two groups of about 25 companies.

How Caregiver Quality Mastermind Groups Will Work

These will be “virtual mastermind groups”.  That is, the groups will meet online using our new video platform that enables every member to see and get to know every other member.  It’s almost like meeting in person except you don’t need to leave your office. And, it means you can bring in your HR professional and your recruiter without having to pay for travel and lodging for a face-to-face meeting.  While our face-to-face mastermind meetings are amazing, we are confident that this virtual format will work great for sharing ideas and solving problems related to Caregiver Quality.

The first group, the Caregiver Quality Mastermind for Franchises will kick off this Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 2:00 pm eastern time.

The second group, the Caregiver Quality Mastermind for Independent Agencies will kick of Thursday at 4:00 pm eastern time.

Our first meeting will focus on getting to know the other group members, laying the ground rules for participation, and developing a list of future agenda items. We’ll also get used to using the new video conferencing platform.  We’ll also dig right into some caregiver recruiting solutions by discussing the latest research from Leading Home Care on the best practices in attracting “best caregivers.”  After that, each group will meet once a month in a virtual online meeting. And, you’ll have access to your group’s own private web page were we will post videos of past meetings, worksheets and checklists, suggested interview questions, samples of successful job ads, and other useful tools.

To register for this first meeting, click on this link and fill out the form. We’ll register you in a group and give you instructions on logging in to the virtual video meeting.

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First Come, First Served

There will only be one company per local market.  In order for you to participate, you must be the first one to register from your local market.  Here is a list of local markets that are already taken:

Independent Agency Markets spoken for:

• Bernardsville, NJ
• Chicago, IL
• Denton, TX
• Grand Haven, MI
• Howell, NJ
• Kansas City, MO
• Los Angeles, CA
• Maulden, SC
• Mesa, AZ
• Orlando, FL
• Riverside, CA
• Stanley, NC
• Statesboro, GA
• St. Louis, MO

Franchise Agency Markets spoken for:

• Atlanta, GA
• Canton, OH
• Kettering, OH
• Kirkland, WA
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Santa Clarita, CA
• San Mateo, CA
• Sarasota, FL

If you are located in a city other than those listed above, we invite you to explore the opportunity to become a member of one of these two Caregiver Quality Mastermind Groups.

No Obligation.  When you register for this first meeting, you are under no obligation to continue as a member of the group. You’ll be able to visit and evaluate before you make a commitment, as long as you understand that another company from your local market could come in and sign up first.

PS:  Don’t Forget to participate in the 2017 Home Care Benchmarking Study from Home Care Pulse.  The survey opens next Wednesday, February 1, 2017. Get a free copy of Aaron Marcum’s new eBook, “7 Key Strategies Leaders Use to Decrease Caregiver Turnover and Fuel Growth”.