In order to prepare for the caregiver shortage, each business owner should be designing employee retention programs that begin from the moment of recruitment. Focusing on retention during recruitment stems from the overall shrinking labor pool paired with the increased demand for qualified employees.

Many psychologists agree that the greatest need of every human being is to feel needed or appreciated. It goes back to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Recognizing and meeting that need with your retention programs will go very far in satisfying retention goals and reducing turnover. Establishing the best "fit" for each employee as they are hired improves the odds of that person being successful in the new job. Although there are several steps to ensuring the best fit possible, these steps allow better recruitment for better retention.

What does better recruitment for better retention look like (based upon best practices)?

•Define each job in the organization to include what must be accomplished in order to be successful. What do they do? List of the top 6-8 things a person must do to be successful and include performance objectives. Develop objectives that are quantifiable, measurable, and include an established time-line for accomplishment. Try determining what is required for success in a position by comparing to a person with proven performance record - this will help better staff the position.

•Screen applicants. After defining the position, advertising and job postings become much easier and applications can be screened to seek those who meet the job definition.

•Interview. Ask the same questions of each applicant. Prior to the interview, the interviewer should have a desired answer defined for each question. Using open-ended questions should be used in this process. For example, begin with phrases such as: "How did you…," "Have you ever…," "Give me an example…," "Tell us how you…" and "What do you do…" are used throughout the process.

•Competency testing. Many positions today require specific skills that cannot be subjectively quantified, but can be identified through the use of a test that identifies what skills and levels needed to be successful in the position. Using a third-party to maintain objectivity and making sure the score correlates directly with the job is important. Remember, we want to hire people who will be extremely successful in the position and one who won’t leave in 90 days or less due to a poor match of skills, knowledge, and abilities.

•Background screening. This is a must! Three employment reference should be checked per candidate and criminal background, credit checks and driving history are required. It is important to protect yourself especially when working with fragile populations. CAUTION: Care must be exercised during this phase to preclude running afoul of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) or other government-imposed restrictions.

This process may take a bit longer than some hiring approaches, but these steps will lead to a better candidate fit for the position. Employment offers should be fair, contain an adequate salary (for position in your market) and identify benefits offered. After the offer is accepted empower your new employees to perform their best by using training opportunities. Most industry leaders in Industry Week Magazine empower their employees and provide at least 40 hours training per year. Companies that take empowerment and training seriously consistently rank among the best performers in quality, implementation and relationships. Fulfillment and peace of mind are two of the most desirable human qualities. Hiring a better fit candidate in a job they can do leads to a sense of fulfillment. Removing frustration will lead to peace of mind. In a recent opinion survey of current CK employees, more than 30% reported that the reason they stay is Personal Satisfaction.

Remember - we all want to feel needed and appreciated! It all begins with better recruitment for better retention!