In Home Care - Your First Visit Sets The Standard For Care

The first day of service is where home care agencies either earn trust or create doubt, and it happens faster than most teams expect. We break down what a great start of care actually looks like, using real field lessons from years in home care sales, operations, and private pay growth. If you’ve ever had a brand-new caregiver paired with a brand-new client and held your breath, this conversation gives you a practical plan that reduces risk and protects your reputation. 

We talk through why sending someone from the office on day one should be the standard, not the exception. We cover the problems that show up at the door: caregiver no-shows, late arrivals from getting lost, sudden changes like “walker” turning into “wheelchair,” surprise pets and allergies, and questions that caregivers should never have to answer about billing, holiday pay, or policy. We also show how a warm, confident introduction helps the client feel safe inviting a stranger into their home and helps the caregiver feel supported instead of alone. 

From there, we get tactical: how to walk the care plan without “training on the client’s dime,” how to tour the home respectfully while verifying safety, and what to check for bathing setup, mobility access, supplies, and emergency contacts. We also share simple time management coaching that prevents unfinished laundry and last-minute chaos on short shifts, plus why witnessing transfers can stop injuries and complaints before they start. We wrap with what to do when caregivers change and how to handle 24-hour home care handoffs so knowledge transfers cleanly and the care plan stays accurate. 

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Transcript

Welcome And Housekeeping

SPEAKER_01 0:00

All right, we're gonna go and get started. Welcome to Mastermind May 20th. This year is just flying by. Just can't even believe it's May 20th already. I'm Don Fiella. I have been with Approved Senior Network for four years now. I have a 20-year background in home care and have spent a lot of time with a lot of you helping you to increase your private pay revenue. That's really a big piece. Home care growth is that private pay side of the business. We talk a lot about that here and in our sales training. And speaking of sales training, I'm going to go ahead and introduce or let Annette introduce herself. She's our sales training guru. Go ahead, Annette.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Hi, everybody. I'm Annette Ziggler. I've been with ASN for two years and I teach the sales training classes here. I see a I know a lot of you here. If you don't know me, I have over 20 years home care sales experience, and I just love teaching everybody what I did when I was boots on the ground. And it's fun to see everybody do so well and teach you the tips and tricks that make you successful and getting those private pay referrals. So welcome today.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Yes. And Lisa is out sick today. We're hoping she's better soon. Um and Valerie may hop on at some point today. I know she had back-to-back meetings all day long. All right. So housekeeping, rules, lines muted unless speaking. Share your stories and experiences and tips. We'd love for you to chat with us. If you're not comfortable talking verbally, you can always send a question in our chat. So ask those questions, make recommendations. If there's something you would like us to cover in a mastermind, we'd love to hear about that too. Sometimes we come up, we get stuck, huh, Annette? On what should we talk about next? Because we've done so many of these. And so we'd love to hear your feedback about that as too. We do give a free giveaway every time we have a mastermind. You have to physically live be here, which all of you are. You just type the word yes in the chat if you would like to be in a drawing for the free giveaway for our July leave behinds. The only caveat is you have to send us pictures of your July leaf behinds when you are out in the field marketing with those. So we will create all of the July leaf behinds. You're going to see them today. They will have your logo and your colors, your contact information. So you won't have to do that yourself. So if you are interested in that and you promise to take pictures, please type yes in the chat and we will put you in a dry net. Is I can see her just taking out those names. Lisa usually does this. We are Lisa's got some big shoes, probably not physically, but here at some big shoes to give. We have been slammed doing her job. Really good at what she does. All right. So today we're going to talk about your start of care. So this is the sign, the client is signed, services are scheduled, and it is time to go

Why Start Of Care Matters

SPEAKER_01 2:50

out to the home and meet your new client. And so we're going to talk about best practices because it is their first impression. You need to make sure it counts and handle that well. And I can tell you, I've done it both ways, and I'm going to talk about that as we go through. And one way is definitely better than the other. So what we're going to cover today is why the first visit sets your standard and the art of showing up. And before you leave, verifying, confirming, and having a strong close. So why does the first visit set the tone of everything? So I've worked at two, I've worked at a couple home care agencies, but two of them were very different. One, I would go out for the start of care, or we had somebody from the office go out for the first day of service for start of care. The other company we did not. And I'm telling you, the impact is very different. So many things can happen that first day of service that the caregiver's not prepared to handle, and it's really not their job to handle. I can tell you a hundred different situations of things that can happen. So that first impression is really long-lasting. They're still, yeah, they paid their deposit or they signed up for services. They said yes to you, but they haven't really started yet. And the way this goes down could make or break the rest of this job if they're going to stay with you or not. So it's a visit, it's not just an administrative formality. It's the moment your client decides whether to trust your agency. Did they make the right decision picking your agency? That's what they're deciding. And what's at stake is the client confidence in your agency, the caregiver clarity and comfort, family reassurance, compliance of the care plan, and reduce risk of early termination. And so we're going to go through the reasons why it's important to have an administrative person on the first day of service. I'm going to pick an eds brain too, because I have a couple of questions about how she did this as well. So the golden rule always send someone from the office first day. No matter how experienced that caregiver is, every new startup care should include an administrative staff member or a supervisor from your agency. It's not an option, it's a standard that protects your clients, your caregivers, and your business. It should be a non-negotiable. It has to be the right person with the right mindset too. Because they need to be prepared to the marketing person told me this. Dawn was at my home and she told me you were going to do X, Y, Z. And now you're saying you're not going to. And so that's a problem that the caregiver, the caregiver is just going to freeze right there on the spot. They don't know anything about the administrative side of the business, and they shouldn't have to know that piece of it. So there's five main reasons why an administration person needs to be there. The caregiver no show. If that unfortunately, and I've never figured out how to fix this,

Office Support Prevents Day One Disasters

SPEAKER_01 5:35

especially when you're an agency, we had 400 clients. It almost always, and you can tell me note if this happens to you too. It's almost always a new caregiver with a client. No matter what we do, it's just like we hired this person. This client came in at the same time. Because what other option do you have? You're going to pull your very best caregiver off a client who's had this caregiver for six months and put them on a new start. You can, but that client's not going to be very happy about it. So a lot of times it's a brand new caregiver going out to a brand new client. Are they going to show up? We don't know. We have no track record with them. So that for me is a huge reason why somebody needs to be from administrative office, needs to be there with that caregiver. If they know show, guess who's it? You're going to be that caregiver until somebody else comes. I used to send a, we call them our QA or quality assurance. They were CNAs and they were out doing supervisory visits. And that's who we would send because they could do the hands-on care. They knew how to do it. Many times the client didn't even know the caregiver didn't show up because the CNA would just pull it off. I'm the one. So having that backup plan just in case that caregiver doesn't show up, big deal. And it will save you more times than I can even tell you. Annette, how did you handle that piece?

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Just like you were saying, I feel like it's deja vu, but I not I was never crazy about having to use a new caregiver, but really that's a lot of times that's all you have if you have new clients. So we did, we would go there the first day of service. I have to say it was not my favorite thing because I would go and I'd be calling the office. They're not here yet, they're not sometimes they would show up like a minute before. So then when we started a new client, we started having them come 10 minutes before and we met in the driveway so we could talk. We paid them the extra five, 10 minutes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

But important key, everybody have them come 10 minutes early to their first client.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Yeah, because yes.

unknown 7:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

We used to meet in the parking lot or the driveway and talk. And I just it was either myself, I would go. Sometimes I really wanted to go because I signed the client, or it was our lead scheduler or our client care coordinator. But I just think it is so important to be there that first day because everybody's getting to know each other. Sometimes they have questions, sometimes the family's there. And if they don't show up, maybe they you're calling the caregiver, maybe they got lost, but you have to. I hate it when that happened. But it does, it does.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

And the caregivers too, because it's their first time, sometimes they get lost and they're so lost and they're now late and they're flustered and they're just not coming now at all. It's not gonna happen. But if you're at the home and you're on the phone with them and you're like, oh yeah, just make a left here, make a right there, they just tend to give up if they're already late. Everyone's already gonna be mad at them. They'll just give up and not come. So having somebody there, you know, I again I liked it to be a lead caregiver, quality insurance person in scrubs, ready to go to work if they needed to. But it's smart too, as Annette was saying, the marketer could be there, the person who signed them. They already love you, they already signed because of you. So that's not a bad plan either. And things, so number two, when things go sideways, and this has happened where I've signed up a client, they were in the sniff, signed them up there. I was told they were gonna be using a walker. It's in the care plan. Caregiver gets there, she's in a wheelchair, and caregiver is freaking out. If somebody's not there from admin to say, oh, okay, the care plan says walker, let's talk about this. Or let me get Dawn on the phone and find out there's something's not right here. You can't expect that a caregiver is gonna go, oh, it's a wheelchair. Okay, they're just not, they're not equipped to do that. They were told it was the walker, they're not ready to handle a wheelchair. There needs to be someone administratively there to handle that. Annette, can you speak to that? And you had issues like that happen.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Yes. And also, too, there were times where maybe we forgot to we didn't know they had a cat. It was hiding. We forgot to me that's the most important thing. But the caregiver walks in and they're like, I can't stay here. There's a cat. I'm allergic.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Yeah, there's a lot of things that could go wrong. That's why you need to be there. Somebody needs to be there the first time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

There's also questions beyond the caregiver scope that can happen. They might ask about billing, they might ask about Memorial Days coming up. Is it time and a half? The caregiver has no idea, no idea at all. So it's important. Again, the admin person can answer those questions. Caregivers also have questions. Even the experienced ones might have a question that a supervisor needs to answer. They might have a question. Oops, I've lost my spot here. There we go. They might have a question about their payroll, their paycheck, something like that. So it's important again, the admin's there. The warm introduction, I can't stress this enough. Either imagine you're the caregiver, you're going into this home, you're new, probably, more than likely, you're new with this company, and you've never met these people. Just to walk into someone's home, and am I in charge? Do they want to tell me what to do? Do I wait for them to tell me what to do? Do I just walk in and start doing the laundry? It's nice to have that third person there with a warm introduction, kind of guiding them through the care plan just the first time. It really sets the stage. And then you don't leave it up to the family. I've had families that do want to direct the caregiver and tell them what to do, but I have a lot that are like, she just sat on the couch. That's because she was waiting for you to tell her what to do. They shouldn't have to wait for the client to do that. And many clients don't want to have to tell them what to do. So having a third person there, okay, these are the things that need to get done today. This is on the care plan. How would you what laundry detergent do you want us to use? I see there's two in here, but whatever the case may be, it's important to have someone help to set that stage because it's a very awkward situation, otherwise.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

I was going to add too, John. I've been out of having worked in a home care agency for a couple of years. But we I found it important. We would bring a logbook. It was like a small log book, but it had who to call, the in the office, if they needed anything. Once I took signed the assessment, who's the client care manager, if they need anything. I just thought it was important to bring something like that too, just so in case they need to get in touch with the agency, letting them know there's somebody on call 24-7, if they need us, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Yeah, yep. That's a great idea. That's a great idea. And that's important. I the log books, I had good and bad situations with that. If the caregiver is entering things on this log, handwriting things, they will write some things that really you don't want the family to read. And the family's gonna pick that book up and they're gonna read it cover to cover. So if they're gonna be writing in there, they need to be trained and understand. The family's gonna look at this. We don't see this until we come in and take pictures of it or it gets brought into the office, whatever. But the family's gonna be reading this. So that just to keep that in mind, too. True. So the art of the introduction, many caregivers are excellent at their job, they're skilled, they're compassionate, they're reliable, but showing up at someone's home for the first time as their caregiver without a proper

The Warm Introduction That Builds Trust

SPEAKER_01 12:36

introduction can feel really awkward for everyone involved. And so we just talked about that. But I think it's really good for to have that warm introduction and setting that stage for the client and for the caregiver. The client's welcoming a stranger in their home, probably for the first time. And I can tell you, and all of you know this, 99.9% of them had to be talked into this to begin with. They didn't want to do it, they still don't want to do it, and they're waiting for you to make a mistake so they can call this whole thing off. That's how they feel before services start. So that again is another reason someone from the admin administration needs to come. We chose this person for you, we stand behind them. You're you're there. Whoever that third person is, they're there saying, we chose this caregiver for you. This is gonna be good. Always use the client's name, share something about the caregiver, something personal about them, not their whole personal life story. But I noticed that you like photography. She's a photographer. Whatever maybe they have in common, share something about that. Highlight any relevant skills. She took care of her grandma, who was also using a walker or who also had dementia. Something that is going to help them feel comfortable about this caregiver you've chosen for them. And then for the caregiver, you want them to benefit from a strong start. Walking into an unfamiliar home without any context is stressful. They walk in and there's cats running around and they're allergic to cats. I've had caregivers just leave. I didn't know there were cats and they just leave. They don't call the office, they never hear from them again. So having that admin person there, because they can take the caregiver side and say, I understand, this will just be the day. We will get somebody else in here because you don't want to lose the caregiver over it. And they will leave if you're not communicating with them. So introduce them by name with warmth and confidence, brief them on the client's personality and preferences. And that said, meet in the driveway, give them a little rundown. We always send them some kind of profile PDF of everything about the client the night before they were scheduled. Let them know you'll be there to answer their questions and signal to them it's a team effort. They're not out there by themselves on an island alone. Of all the people who work in home care, caregivers need that team more than anybody else. And then we send them out to home all by themselves. So it's not, it's not a good thing, there's nothing we can do about it. It's the way that it works. But if they have somebody with them the first day, it can make all the difference in the world for them. So walking the care plan, I and I've had so many clients be careful about this. You do need to walk the care plan, you do need to talk about the services

Walk The Care Plan Without Training

SPEAKER_01 15:10

being provided. Maybe they have a different kind of hoyer lift and the caregiver is going to be doing the hoyer. You need to look at all of that and talk about all of that. And the clients will say sometimes, don't train your caregiver while I'm paying you. Annette, how many times have you heard that?

SPEAKER_00 15:25

No, I've heard that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

You haven't?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

No, I have heard that. I have, I yes, I have heard that.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Yes. Why am I paying you to train your caregiver? They should have been trained when they came here. This is another, but they need that. They need that. Yes, you worked with Mrs. Smith last week. This is Mrs. Jones, and things are a little bit different. And so, to that, when a client says that, just say every client's different, you all have different needs. We want to make sure this care is specific to you, your personality, everything. Some people want their washcloths folded, some want them rolled in a ball. Whatever it is, we want to make sure the care is specific to you. And so we are going to work while we walk through the home. And I'm not training her, she's been trained already. So review, don't train. Assume the caregiver already has foundational skills. Use this visit to confirm how those skills apply to this specific way because they are all a little bit different. Be task-specific. Go through each care plan item, walk through how it will actually happen. If bathing is on the plan, go into the bathroom together. Does a wheelchair fit through the door? Do they have a shower chair? Is there a hose? Whoever signed this plan up should have already done all of this, right? They should have already made sure that a shower is possible. Safe shower is possible, that we're not wheeling them in their lawyer all the way to the bathroom. That's not okay. So that should already have happened, but walking the caregivers through it, making sure logistically that it's possible and that they understand what they're doing. Transfers are involved. Look at the furniture, the equipment in the room, and respect the client's home. Keep the tongue collaborative and natural. Don't just barge your way in there and just start walking through the home. It's always, if it's okay with you, which shower will we be using? And then have them point it out to you. Oh, it looks like your wheelchair fits through here. Great. All right, that's one. You have a shower chair. You've built this is fabulous. So keep them in the loop as you're walking through the home. Annette, you have anything to add?

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Oh, just I just, you know, just really making sure that if you have a client that requires standby assistance or you have a client that has dementia, you have to make sure you have a caregiver that has experience in that. Not that they've never done this before, that they've never provided standby. So I agree with everything you say. You just have to do a review and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:44

All right. Walk the space, practical care plan, verification. So again, bathing, go into the bathroom together. Is everything in there that they're going to need? Is a shower chair accessible? Is there a grab bar? Does the layout work safely for the client? Mobility access. Does the wheelchair fit through the doorway? I say that because I don't know how many times it doesn't fit through the doorway. It's crazy. Are the pathways clear? Is the hospital better? Lift equipment positioned correctly and in working order? Medications and supplies. Is all of that there? Yes, the caregiver is not making decisions about medication. They're not handling the medication, but is it there? If we're going to remind her to take her 10 o'clock med, is that medicine there or is it the pharmacy still? Did anybody get the meds? Because I can tell you how many times that's happened too. Emergency contact information should be posted or listed. Do they know who to call if something happens? On the caregiver's badge, we had the office number on the back. It was the best thing we ever did because they did the same office number. Like I don't have it memorized or whatever. So they can put that on the back of the badge is a great idea. Something that I didn't think about when I first started in home care, and it's a big issue. Maybe you're doing a three or four hour shift and laundry and dishes are included in this shift.

Time Management For Short Shifts

SPEAKER_01 18:59

Time management needs to be taught to the caregivers in training, but also when you're doing this specific training at the client's home. If there are dishes and laundry to be done, those should be started at the beginning of the shift. Why? Because we don't want to leave wet clothes in the washing machine or dry clothes in the dryer that haven't been folded. And so teaching the caregiver to start the tasks that are going to take the longest first, and I know this seems like common sense, but I can tell you many times daughter comes to mom's house on Saturday and there's wet moldy clothes in the washing machine. Why they're supposed to do laundry. And then we call the caregiver. Oh, it did get done before I left my shift. Okay, but it was a four-hour shift. So sometimes setting that time management. And for those of you that are new to home care, this is a big deal. So make a note of it. They need time management skills. If there's laundry, if they need to bathe the client, that also takes some time. But the laundry can be going while we're bathing the client. The dishes can be running while I'm bathing the client. So think about those things when you're walking through the care plan, when you're setting up your training for your caregivers in general, talking about time management in that training is a very big deal. Anything to add in it? I keep asking because I know we've been in the same industry, but you might have other things that I'm not thinking about.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Yeah, no, that's true. And also when you're doing the training with the caregivers, it just sounds like common sense, but it's a four-hour shift. Walk in, throw, take the sheets off the bed, throw everything in the laundry. Sometimes they don't think. Oh, I'm takes another hour to dry it. So these are all really important things.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

And the rule of thumb is if something takes more than 20 minutes to complete, start it now. Start at the beginning of the shift. Any time-sensitive chores done early, keeps the shift running smoothly. And I think too, they're really nervous and they're more concerned like the client needs to be bathed, they need to be fed. Those trump laundry and those trump dishes. They do. But if they just calm down a little bit and get those things started, they'll be able to get all of it done, which is what everybody wants at the end of the day. So key questions to ask before you leave, before wrapping up the start of care, take just a few minutes to confirm that everyone, the caregiver and the client, all family

Questions To Ask Before Leaving

SPEAKER_01 21:17

members feel confident and ready. So ask the caregiver do you have everything you need to get started today? Are there any tasks on the care plan you have questions about? Do you know who to contact if issues come up? Are you comfortable with the home layout and supplies? Is there anything about the client we haven't covered? And for the client, do you have any questions about what your caregiver will be helping you with today? Is there anything you'd like to know about your preferences, us to know about your preferences? Do you feel comfortable with the plan we've discussed? Is there anything in your home we should be aware of? And do you have our contact information if you need to reach us? So making sure that you tie up all the loose ends before you leave also is going to be important. And what I will add to this is if there is a transfer involved, we always witness the transfer. We just Not leave the home until we saw the caregiver transfer the client. And now, if the client's asleep, of course, you're not going to make wake them up and make them do all of that. But it is important to witness that transfer so that everybody is safe because that's where things can go sideways. And we want to make sure the caregiver feels confident. So they like to be watched doing the transfer. So in our situation, the CNA, the QA person would do the transfer, and then they would watch the carrier do the transfer. And I think we would tell them they were trained in the office, they know how to do a transfer. This isn't the first time they've done this. Everybody transfers just a little bit differently. And so before we leave, we want to make sure you're safe. And so that's the one where it might feel like we're training on their dime, but it's an important safety feature that I think needs to happen. Did you guys do that too, Annette? Yes, yes, we did.

SPEAKER_00 22:50

Just okay. Because everybody's different.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

Yes, they are sizes. Some people are weak on one side, or he transfers better on the left, she transfers better on the right. Use a gate belt with this, but they're all so different. So witnessing that transfer will really help as well. So now my big question to you, Annette, because this is this can be when you have a client that has been going through caregivers, not because they're bad or whatever,

Transfers And Ongoing Caregiver Changes

SPEAKER_01 23:16

maybe it's just been bad luck. Does somebody from the office come every time a new caregiver is assigned to a client?

SPEAKER_00 23:23

We did. You do.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

Can you talk about how you do that? Because we have 400 clients and we tried really hard.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

I don't I don't want to say we went every time, but if it wasn't like if we were having a situation where they there was two or three and they weren't happy or they weren't the right mix, we really tried, we always tried really hard to make the right match. And I have to say we did a good job, so we didn't have a lot of issues, but once in a while, it's just not a good match. I wouldn't, I would say maybe we'd send somebody else, maybe if it was too like the third time and it was still wasn't working out, we would send our client care coordinator to just go see what's going on. Sometimes I don't want to blame the client, but sometimes the client could just be it can be really picky too.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

Yeah, yeah, it can be for sure. Yeah. So I guess my so my question is also maybe it's a 24, seven days a week.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

And a question for that, John. Actually, somebody just asked, How do you handle the 24-hour services?

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Oh wow, I haven't even seen that.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

How do you handle 24-hour services with the yes?

SPEAKER_01 24:27

That's what I was just gonna say. So there's five, six caregivers, seven days a week. Does every caregiver get that? Do they all get we didn't? We didn't. We can either so what we did, yeah. What we did is the first caregiver did, and then when that nighttime caregiver, because we did two

Handling 24 Hour Service Hand Offs

SPEAKER_01 24:45

12s and awakeness, they were both awake. The second kid, the first caregiver, the second caregiver would come about 15 minutes early, give us the transfer, tell them all the things. But that means that first caregiver has to be a powerhouse. You have to be able to trust that person, they're gonna show them, they're gonna, it's gonna be really important that they transfer the knowledge. They've been with them for 12 hours. That's a long time. That's a lot of information. She likes this, she doesn't like that. Watch the right side when you transfer her right leg, drags, whatever those things are. And then it's up to that caregiver to put that information in the care plan. They need to call the office and tell the office did anything change in the care plan in your first 12 hours? Is there anything you learned in your first 12 hours that all the other caregivers need to know? And so that's how we would handle it. The daytime caregivers might, the next couple might get the admin to come out too. But the hope is that each caregiver is going to do that. That's how we handled it. How about you and F?

SPEAKER_00 25:41

We would we would do an intro, we call it an intro client intro on the first day, and then the each caregiver would introduce the next caregiver. We did the same, same thing. Okay. And we for 24 hours, we sometimes we did two 12s and or we did three eights. It would kind of depend. When we did the 12s, unfortunately, you you then they're getting into overtime. So I think we used to try it, would depend. Yeah, I felt like we tended to do more three eights so they can have the caregiver a few more days rather than when you do the 12s, they're they're into overcome.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Because then they can have five shifts and stuff, which is free. So you avoid the overtime. And that's good. And I think it's good to not to have thousand caregivers on a 24, but I think it is important to have three, four, five because they need to have backups. And what'll happen is if you have one primary caregiver that's there like all the time, they start to control everything. Have you seen that?

SPEAKER_00 26:34

The day person does. The day person.

SPEAKER_01 26:36

They start to I'm calling the shots, I am in charge. I'm and the family feels the same way, but sometimes that's a backfire down the road because then they start trying to control the family. So I think, and we just tell them we want you to have a really good backup plan. We want you to be comfortable with everyone who comes in here. We're not going to send 20, but we're going to send a good amount of caregivers because we want you to feel comfortable. We want to see who you line up with best, and we want you to have backup plans if somebody's out. And so that's what that's the method behind that. That's why we're doing that. And then that usually works. They agree when you tell it to them that way. Any more questions? That might be the oh, we have a couple more slides, but any more questions? It was the only question. Okay. You guys can keep putting them in there if you want to. So, what a great start of care looks like. Arrive together early, like Annette said. Have some time to talk a little bit about the client, address any concerns

What A Great Start Looks Like

SPEAKER_01 27:32

the caregiver might have. They might say, Oh, I was reading the care plan. I didn't know she had mild dementia. I'm not sure how I feel about that. No, they're going to be, they're scared, they're nervous. It's their first time with your company. And so they want to make a good impression. They want to do a good job. Introduce and walk the care plan. Do the warm intro, do a home tour, verify the test. Don't be afraid to do that. I know it can feel uncomfortable. When I was signing clients, I and I'm like, oh, they're doing bathing. I'm going to have to go and ask if I can see the bathroom. And is it a layup over a bathtub, or is there just a small lip in the shower? Or pick the bathroom that's going to be best. I'm in charge of picking that bathroom because we want the safest bathroom. So it felt really uncomfortable the first couple of times. So do you mind if I walk through the house? Which bathroom are you thinking? And then if they pick the bathroom with the show, the tub, I would say, what does your other bathroom look like? Because this can be a challenge. Like this is a leg up over, and that that's just adding risk, and maybe we don't need to. So hopefully, who's signing the clients is already doing all of that and they'll like how thorough you are. I was nervous about asking permission to do that. But then when I started doing it, they appreciated it so much I wasn't nervous anymore. It's okay to walk through their home, but always get permission first and ask them where are you thinking the shower needs is going to happen? What bathroom do you use? And I had a master shower with the bathtub, but the hall bathroom didn't have a bathtub, which seems odd. It's not usually that way. And so we're going to bathe them in the shower, in the hall event, because that is the safest choice. So lots of different, it's important to walk through the home both times. Prepare, review the care plan, and brief that caregiver before they even go to the home. Tell them to come early. I always tell the caregivers, do the mapping the night before and see how long it's going to take. And add some time because it's morning and there could be traffic. They need to be thinking about this stuff, and not all of them do. They're like, oh, it's about five. I have a stay. How far is this for how long a drive is this for you? And they'll be like, oh, 10 minutes. Did you map it? And it's almost always longer than they think. So in training, we always taught the caregivers go into your phone, put the directions in, see how long it's going to take. If you have a morning shift, add some time because it's going to take longer in the morning. Debrief and confirm, answer questions, and confirm the readiness before you leave, and always witness those transfers. Yeah. So raise the standard of care at every start of care. Every client, every new client deserves a proper, supported, professional first visit, no exceptions. Every caregiver deserves a start and is of an assignment with clarity and confidence and a warm intro. And every agency that holds that standard earns trust, reduces risk, and retains your clients longer. It's hard to get a client on board. Your marketers out there marketing, you've got all your online stuff going, you have an assessment, you sign them. It's so much. And this you could lose them because they didn't start well. All that effort and work, it's much easier to retain a client than it is to go find another one. So put the time in at the start of care and it'll pay off. It definitely will pay off. So I think Annette, you're up for your the sales training. We've got some new dates. Yay.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

And I am going to add about this intro, and I'll be honest with you, it

Sales Training Program And Results

SPEAKER_00 30:41

was the least favorite job. I didn't do it, I would do it once in a while, but it wasn't my favorite job. It's very important, but you would sometimes you'd go and they were lost or they didn't show or there was an issue because things do happen. So it's the thing is you weren't there. So I would try to do it so much if you do it, but sometimes I I every person that I signed up, I had this I felt invested in them. I wanted to make sure follow everything through. I think that's a marketer's heart. Yes. So there were certain people that I'm like, I'm gonna be there because I this has to go right. So it's very important, but that's all I wanted to add. Oh so I we have some of our sales training class members here today. We have our GoCare Pro sales training program, and I like I said, time is flying. We have we've started our May classes and now we're one today. Yeah, we're signing up on people yep for June and July. It's 12 weeks once a week via Zoom. Uh, we will teach you everything you need to know, what to say, what to do, you feel confident by taking this class if you've never sold before. We do if you do everything we say, we do see people getting referrals by week six. So if you're interested, let us know. Uh, we'd love to have you join us.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

And I can't tell you guys, Annette gets so many good reviews. People that take her class. They love, love, love this class. And we get text messages in our CRM. So when you guys text me, everyone can see it. When then you text Annette, we can all see it. So I see the text she gets from her class members, and this woman is dedicated to her people. Like they will text. Oh, then they text their wins. I just signed that slide. No more. It's my first claim, you know. I just signed them. Thank you for all of your help. Or we'll get a quick no, I'm going into a sniff. I'm so nervous. Can I just talk to you for five seconds just to make sure I know what I'm saying? She is so dedicated to her people, and that's why they're doing oh, someone just said Anette's the best. Kelsey says Annette's a best. She really truly is. She's gonna take a by the hand and they teach you everything you need to know, 20 years of experience, and really help you. She's really in this 150%.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

And I think I did this for seven and a half years. I was a marketer for home care agencies. I've been through it, so I know the pros and the cons, the ups and the downs. I love being on the back end. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 33:11

And you've seen the side-eye at the SNP when you walk in for the hundredth time and you got past it because you can and you have to.

unknown 33:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

And look, Ruth said Kelsey got a referral on her first in-service, and she did.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

Oh wow, that's fabulous. Because Annette told me exactly what to do. That's great. Congratulations, Kelsey. That's exciting. So you did an in-service or lunch and learn. That's fabulous. So it this program really works, guys. It's fabulous. And Annette does a great job. So if you want any more information, send us something in the chat. Okay, so now we are going to talk about leave behinds. We have July done for you guys. In the Leaf Behinds, you're going to get the slides. And when we show you a leaf behind,

July Leave Behinds And Cooler Idea

SPEAKER_01 33:54

and we there's something that goes with it, the cue to help them remember who you are. So it's like a piece of paper and something goes with it. It's called situational referral marketing. When we do that, every slide has a like a little store on the bottom. And that store is going to take you, click on the store, and it's going to take you to the leave behind Amazon links. And so we don't get anything for this. We've been asked to organize it better. So I will show you those when we get to that point. Annette, do you want to talk about this? Because they sent this over to you. This is really cool.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

So I wanted to share Mark from Touching Hearts at Home. He is in our sales training and he shared this. We give you lots. Lisa creates amazing leave behind. So you I love when you share things that you find and that you're doing. They found these coolers right now are on sale at Target for $4. You can order them online. That's what they did. They ordered 50 of them. They're great little coolers. And they have made a little tag wishing you a cool summer. And they filled it with, as you can see, like little snacks and a seltzer water. And they've been he dropped them off this week and he got three meetings. He and he even gave one to the gatekeeper. But I thought this was a cute little gift because you want to do something that's they will use again. And this is like a little lunch tote, or what they could put some use it. So if you're interested, we're gonna send you these PDFs. We put even put the target link on here, but I thought this was really nice for summer.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

I couldn't believe they're only four dollars. Four dollars that's a really great price, and they have some really cute ones. They have some checkered ones, they have them in all different. And this is a quick throw some stuff in there with some ice and it'll stay cold. So yeah, this is great. And I'm not surprised he got any gave one to the gatekeeper. Bravo, Mark. That's what you do. The gatekeeper, powerful person that gets ignored lots and lots of times. So are you doing leave behinds or I'm doing them?

SPEAKER_00 35:48

I could do them. Lisa's our leave behind queen, but we'll go through these quick because we're there any more questions?

SPEAKER_01 35:54

I was looking in there and it seemed like good.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

You will get a replay in all the PDFs. We had somebody ask that, but and everybody put yes, who wants to be included in the lead behind. So great. All right, thanks, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 36:08

Thanks, everyone. See you next time. Bye bye.