Leveraging the Laws of Attraction to Add New Home Health Staff

Finding and keeping competent caregivers from the slim applicant pool can feel like an uphill battle. The shortage of direct care workers is dire and has been recognized by industry leading organizations such as the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) and the Home Care Association of America (HCAOA). They released a joint Industry Report and Call to Action that offers extensive top-down solutions and policy recommendations for the industry. Many of the solutions shared were aimed at galvanizing various stakeholders to create long-term systems of change to address the staffing shortage. In this blog, we’ll review many of those concepts, as well as give some suggestions on how agencies can address the challenge.

The Power of Positivity

An understaffed environment can lead to frustration and caregiver burnout as well as have a ripple effect on the entire organization. When a negative mindset takes root, it can breed pessimism within and about the organization to the surrounding community. Industry reports identify that agencies must address workforce well-being to help solve staffing problems. To generate a resilient agency and attract emotionally strong staff, it is essential for leaders to maintain a positive attitude and outlook while experiencing the ebbs and flows in staffing patterns. Though the advice can seem superficial, cliché, and easier said than done, there are actionable ways to set a foundational tone of positivity to infuse throughout the organization. After all, potential hires will often evaluate the work culture before accepting a position.

Agency leaders are naturally hard-working, motivated, goal-oriented individuals who often relentlessly seek ways to improve their agency. With prolonged periods of being short-staffed, however, it’s easy for anyone to feel a strain on morale. This is where the study of positive thinking comes in. Principles of the Laws of Attraction can be summarized to suggest a positive mindset attracts more success and positivity in all areas of life, including running a successful business. In contrast, a sustained negative outlook tends to lend itself to poorer performance and outcomes. Proponents of these Laws suggest some actionable ways to incorporate a positive mindset by incorporating such methods as:

• Reframing negative events
• Visualizing what success looks like
• Practicing gratefulness

Some ways agencies can move toward and stay in an optimistic mindset by using the Laws of Attraction can include:

• Visualize what a thriving, fully staffed agency looks like. Write down what successful operations look like for your agency and set goals accordingly. Be patient, as it might take longer to find the best employees for the agency. Prioritizing hires that best fit the current culture over speed in filling gaps, however, can lead to better retention and team dynamics. This is in line with long-term goals.

• Reframe the problem. Being short-staffed does not mean the agency or any one individual is a failure. It does not reflect how the agency will always be and typically one event did not lead to the current situation. Recognize many others are facing the same problems.

• Actively look for the positives within the agency and practice gratitude. Empathize with current staff and reassure them you are thankful they are weathering the storm to help build a strong, resilient organization that is dedicated to moving forward. Broadcast that your agency is dedicated to improving staffing levels and help improve workforce well-being. Give them hope through providing a timeline of tangible interventions the company will take and remind them the future is positive.

By focusing on what’s within your control, you create a foundation of resilience. The key to positivity, as with most things, is to practice. Since potential employees often look at an agency’s leadership and culture when deciding whether to join, why not leverage the power of positivity?

Attracting Talent: Employee Referrals

Agency leaders may feel at a loss about how to find qualified staff when they often have vacant postings with few to no applicants. When a workplace has an established positive culture, leaders can more easily funnel new recruits by leaning on their current staff’s connections.  A key part of attracting talent is understanding that the best candidates often come through referrals. Indeed identifies several benefits to employee referrals such as:

• Large savings on recruitment costs
• Quality candidates since current staff already know the company culture and what it takes to be successful in the role
• Shortened onboarding time
• The potential to find employees with specialty skills your agency is seeking, and
• Boosting the morale of the team and an easier transition into the organizational social dynamics for the new hire(s)

By having a supportive and open environment within the agency, staff will share their positive experiences with others. When employees feel valued and motivated, they become natural advocates for your agency. Consider incentivizing employee referrals through a bonus system or a recognition program, and make sure to acknowledge the importance of their role in building a cohesive, sustainable team.

Not getting any employee referrals? Anonymously surveying your current staff to identify ways in which the organization can do better now or could have done better in transitioning new team members can give leadership a sense of areas to improve upon. This information can be very beneficial not only for recruitment but retention as well.

New hires who feel genuinely supported and valued are more likely to stay long-term, creating stability and continuity within the agency. Part of the onboarding process should include sharing the positive approach your agency takes to thrive amidst the overall stressful healthcare climate. Positive thinking practices can be embedded throughout the orientation process or nurse mentorship programs to support new hires’ resilience as they face stressful and potentially uncharted territory in their new role.

The Takeaway

In challenging times, a positive mindset and proactive planning can play a significant role in agency success. The laws of attraction teach that like attracts like, so by embodying positivity with a solutions-focused approach, you’re more likely to attract people who will share and display those same values. By tapping into the experience and insights of your current team, you create an inclusive environment where every member feels like a vital part of the agency’s mission. The solutions presented help support agency staffing in the short term, and hopefully in the near future, long-term nationwide initiatives and policy changes can take hold to support home health agencies.

References:

1. Understanding the laws of Attraction
2. Indeed career advice
3. HCAOA ndustry Report and Call to Action
4. HCAOA- workforce well-being
5. Visualizing what success looks like

Other blogs you might find helpful:

1. Home Health Certification Training – The key to exceptional staff building
2. Six keys to solving staffing issues in homecare agencies
3. Boosting job satisfaction to retain home health nurses
4. Home care agency work/life balance tips for clinicians
5. Top strategies for developing strong homecare teams
6. Is it time for a policy update in your home health agency?