At Rosemark, we’ve spent over three decades working with home care agencies across the country. One thing has become crystal clear: aligning your care company’s processes with your purpose is the most effective way to achieve your business goals.
But where should you start to create this alignment? And what should the end result look like? Let’s dive into some details that can help any agency that’s spending too much time and money trying to “figure things out.” Understanding why restructuring and establishing repeatable processes is time well spent can make all the difference.
Start With Your “Why”
Every agency owner has a unique reason for starting their business. Some enter the industry after thorough research, recognizing its lucrative potential. Others may have personal experience as caregivers or home health aides, driven by a passion to provide better care to those in need. And many fall somewhere in between—wanting to offer exceptional care while also making a good living.
Whatever your reason, the first step in aligning your processes with your purpose is to clearly define that purpose. Why did you start your agency? What are your goals?
Your agency should have a mission statement that outlines your business objectives—essentially, why you’re running this business. Beyond that, crafting a unique value proposition (UVP) helps you determine the value your services provide. It clarifies what makes your agency stand out from the competition, why your clients should care, and what they gain from choosing you.
Once you’ve defined your goals and UVP, putting the right processes in place becomes much easier.
- Is your primary goal to increase profitability?
- Ensure you’re not missing any Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) submissions and that reimbursements are processed promptly.
- Is providing exceptional client care your top priority?
- Evaluate whether the steps you’re taking genuinely add value for your clients.
Providing Value
As a software company, we fully embrace technology—but we also understand that sometimes, technology might not offer the best value to your clients.
For example, you might have a client who struggles to see a mobile device or tablet clearly. In such cases, having a printed document for them to sign might be much easier than trying to capture an e-signature on a small screen.
If client care is your number one priority, adapt to their needs. Print out that piece of paper, then scan or photograph it, and upload it securely. This small adjustment can make a big difference in client satisfaction.
Evaluate Your Current Processes
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Start with the basics.” Many agency owners believe that simply purchasing home care software will magically streamline their workflows and smooth out operations overnight.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case if you’re holding onto old processes that were slowing you down in the first place. Some agencies might not have any formal processes in place. Others might be using outdated procedures that no longer fit with current technology, leading to wasted time and resources.
To create an efficient, repeatable process that allows your agency to collect money for the services you’ve provided, you need to review, revamp, and sometimes completely rework the most basic tasks.
Using Medicaid as an Example
If your agency isn’t getting reimbursed for services from Medicaid, the Veterans Administration, or another third-party payor, there’s a reason for that. To reduce the risk of this happening frequently, it’s best to start by examining the basics. Thoroughly review every step of your processes and evaluate each one until you find any gaps or issues.
For instance, if your agency bills Medicaid, your repeatable process should look something like this:
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- Staff schedules a shift
- Staff assigns the shift
- Caregiver accepts the shift
- Caregiver arrives on time and clocks in
- Caregiver records tasks and adds notes
- Caregiver collects client signatures
- Caregiver clocks out
- Staff verifies that all steps match the original care plan
- Staff prepares billing
- Staff syncs EVV data with the state aggregator
Best Practices to Consider
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- Implement checks and balances to ensure no steps are missed.
- Thoroughly evaluate each step to avoid wasting staff time and to ensure prompt payment.
- Ask tough questions, like “Is this step necessary to achieve our desired outcome?”
Practice Data Governance
Consistent data management is crucial. Every piece of data must be handled the same way every time, by every member of your staff. Building healthy data management habits at the foundational level leads to repeatable, reliable processes.
Once you’ve established a solid process, train every staff member to perform it exactly the same way. One process shouldn’t be executed in ten different ways by ten different people.
If something gets missed, it becomes much easier to identify where the breakdown occurred and quickly resolve the issue. No agency should be manually reconciling data because staff members aren’t using technology consistently. Proper training can easily solve this problem.
Think Outside the Box by Utilizing Partner Resources
Take a close look at your processes and assess whether the work your agency is doing is worth the time and effort. Sometimes, partnering with a third-party vendor is a more efficient and cost-effective way to accomplish a task.
If you’re struggling to find someone with the right skill set for specific operations—or you don’t want to incur the costs of salary, insurance, benefits, or managing paid time off—a partnership might be the right fit.
Need marketing help but aren’t sure where to start with SEO or website maintenance? Lean on the expertise of an agency like corecubed that specializes in home care marketing.Frustrated with delays in Medicaid or Veterans Administration reimbursements? Consider Paradigm Senior Services to help you unlock new referral sources and automate your billing.Drowning in paperwork because caregivers are submitting paper timesheets? Can’t keep track of license renewals? Need a caregiver app to ensure EVV compliance? Companies like Rosemark can be game-changers, saving you dozens of hours each month and helping you achieve a better work-life balance.
Ready to Create Repeatable Processes?
When it comes to data, identify what’s important to your agency, determine your end goals, and decide what information is necessary to effectively measure those objectives. Once you’ve accomplished that, you can begin the task of creating repeatable processes.
By aligning your processes with your purpose, you’re setting your agency up for success. Not only will you operate more efficiently, but you’ll also provide better value to your clients—ultimately helping you reach your business goals.
About Kevin Lantzy
Director of Sales & Marketing
Rosemark
Guest blog for corecubed
Kevin Lantzy has worked in the Home Care Industry for 13 years, tackling new challenges, guiding agency growth, and helping craft the vision of what home care will be in the future. With extensive experience in marketing, sales, and operations he knows what it takes to make a business successful.