Considering Starting A Homecare? Know Your Market And Your Potential Landmines
Kenyon HomeCare Consulting • February 28, 2021
The beginning of a successful homecare, home health, or hospice agency begins with a drive towards its mission. It is often here an owner decides to jump in with both feet. If this is where you are right now, then you need to take a step back and do your homework. Whether an existing agency looking to diversify with new service lines or someone starting from scratch, knowing about the business climate around you is crucial in making sure you can succeed.
Homework Isn’t Just The Steps To Get A License:
As a long time consulting agency that has helped hundreds of agencies get their start, we have seen every level of owner engagement, preparation, and drive to making the business succeed. If you have done your research on the steps to licensure, then that is great. However, many potential owners have not even considered the competition, the market, or where to really maximize on potential referrals. This is really where you can run into a big snag. Here are some items to consider before you take the plunge:
- Patient Population: In the geographic area you serve, what is the estimated number of people that are potentially in the patient demographic? You may be very rural and think that because there aren’t a lot of agencies around, you would be the main provider. If the costs to get the care to the patient means you can’t sustain the business, then there is no point to opening doors in that area.
- Competition: How many agencies are providing the services you want to provide? Knowing this helps you determine what type of community-based services to provide. Maybe you start a niche market in your particular area such as Peds, Hi-tech services such as blood products and immunoglobulin infusions, or a mental health focus. What can you do to set yourself above the rest? Consider the reputation of the agencies currently serving the area. Do they have a foothold on market share?
- Marketing: This has become quite the challenge in recent years. Considering many hospitals and medical facilities do not allow direct outside marketing anymore, agencies have to be creative to gain market share. New and existing business owners must consider non-traditional marketing efforts and educating local businesses and first responders on exactly what we do in this industry. There is still a large knowledge deficit out there as to what the actual potential of home and community based services can do.
Need Help Starting Or Diversifying Your Agency?
At Kenyon Homecare Consulting, we focus on high-quality, patient-focused, outcome based care. If you have questions and need help to start or diversify, we have start up packages or strictly consulting based services to get you to your goal. Call us today at 206-721-5091 or contact us online for your free 30-minute consultation. We can help you succeed
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HOPE Question and Answer Repository
Today, this article will look at little different than out typical articles. We all know the costs of losing employees and trying to hire and train new ones. It is exhausting and expensive. So, we think about our wages and benefit packages all the time. What can we do differently that makes people stay? We can’t change the job and we don’t want to keep people that don’t like the work itself. So, how do we acknowledge employees in a way that is valuable to them and that our businesses can afford to do? 5 Things To Consider About Employee Recognition At Your Christmas Party: 1. Years of Service: These can be based on milestone work anniversaries (5, 10, 15 yrs, etc.). If a person has been at your agency 11 years, you pull them up and acknowledge them in the group of employees who have been there at least 10 years up until the time they hit the 15 years landmark. This way longevity is recognized yearly. 2. Special Employee awards: Now, this may be difficult if your staff is very small, but acknowledge the employee who has gone the extra mile in the job they do. Tell the story. The employee needs to know when the employer is proud of the work that has been done. Consider a plaque or certificate. Don’t minimize the value of the employee having them to display. 3. Acknowledge all employees in the mix: Because we are a clinical industry, the administrative staff is often overlooked on day-to-day operations. Ultimately, don’t miss the chance to acknowledge the employee who was able to catch billing errors or collect on a large account. Staff doesn’t like to hear about money, but those types of collections keep Christmas bonuses in place! So, make sure the other staff knows the accomplishments of the finance department or the office manager that every caller loves to speak to. Don't ever forget the IT staff that is on call more than any clinical person in your agency! 4. Letters from the administration: Add a personal note to your staff either collectively or individually depending on the size of your agency. If you are larger, there are employees you don’t often see or get to talk to on a regular basis, so take the time so send a note with that Christmas bonus. 5. Consider the Christmas bonus: Listen, some of you can afford to do substantial monetary bonuses and that is fantastic. However, if you are not in that position, consider something in its place. Maybe small gas cards go with the letter from administration. With the cost of groceries, consider something that helps with the costs of daily living for employees. Big box gift cards in your area will always be used. You may do a lot of these things on a yearly basis to employees. All this being said, it doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons for acknowledgement throughout the year. However, your annual Christmas party is a good way to do it collectively. Between your annual party, write the individual cards to employees when you hear a patient interaction worthy of praise. Or, maybe you buy a gas card for the employee who has picked up extra shifts and always shows up on time. Ultimately, employees will feel valued. You will not regret the time, effort, and energy put into these efforts. Merry Christmas! If you want help with recruitment and retention strategies for your agency, please call Kenyon Homecare Consulting at 206-721-5091 or contact us online today.