Steps to Improve Case Acceptance Rates For Home Care Agencies

According to the Home Care Pulses (HCP) annual Home Care Provider Report, over 85% of agencies across the US & Canada were forced to turn down cases in the last year due to a shortage of caregivers on staff. The report also notes that the cost of acquiring clients has fallen to the lowest in nearly five years. So, what can agencies deduce from this information?

1. The demand for in-home care is increasing.
2. The supply of caregivers available does not meet the demand.

Consequences of Having to Turn Down a Client:

As the demand for in-home care services grows, agencies are finding that more and more, they have to turn down clients due to a lack of caregivers. With this being the case, agencies miss out on the following:

• Revenue: An agency's median revenue per caregiver is nearly $14,000. This number varies widely depending on the market, but one thing is clear: when you're turning down clients because you don't have enough people on staff, you're losing out on some serious revenue.
• Referrals: For every case turned down, agencies miss out on the chance for a referral from that client. The average agency gets about half its new clients from referrals — meaning that each time you turn down a client because you don't have enough caregivers available, there's another opportunity lost for acquiring new business.

Improving Your Agencies Recruitment & Retention Efforts to Increase Case Acceptance:

Historically, home care agencies have had an exceptionally difficult time recruiting & retaining caregivers. So much so that Home Care Pulses report stated the top two threats agencies will face in the upcoming are:

1. Caregiver Shortages
2. Caregiver Turnover

With this being the case, agencies lacking the means to throw money at the problem must approach this topic more strategically. So, where should your agency start?

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