The Magic of Caregiver and Client Matching

Did you know that everything you needed to learn about caregiver and client matching you learned in the first grade? Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

As an agency owner or an agency scheduler, your day is filled with scheduling, coordinating, and matching caregivers and clients together. It may seem simple at first glance, but one misspoken word can cause a whole relationship to crumble. In this article, we’ll walk you through tips and tricks to become magical at Caregiver and Client Matching. We’ll begin with the basics, and continue to ways to match beyond what your software indicates.

Agency Management System

First, make sure that you’re using your Agency Management System (AMS) such as WellSky Personal Care, AxisCare & SwyftOps. These systems will allow you to track the requirements and preferences of your clients, with the skills and qualifications of your caregivers. The below picture shows you some of the basic matching criteria.

These systems will also allow you to set up alerts to remind you when caregivers’ certifications such as CNA licenses, Driver’s Licenses, or TB Tests are expiring. By storing the data in your AMS, you can filter out which caregivers can work with which clients. Matching based on these criteria is the minimum required to be successful. This is where the bar begins.

Talk!

So how do you go beyond the basics? You talk! There is no way to know if you can make a good match unless you know your clients & caregivers.

Take time to talk and learn about your client’s interests and the personalities and interests of your caregivers. This is the data that is harder to quantify and is subjective. A client who is 45 years old, is going to have different matching criteria than a client who is 80 years old. If your client wants someone to assist them in walking to and from the library in town each day, you’ll need a caregiver who is okay with walking enjoys reading, and respects the quiet policies of the library. Other clients may prefer for the caregivers to have conversations with them all day long. If a client is hard of hearing, then you need to send a caregiver who speaks (or is willing to) loudly. 

You also need to take into account the Emotional and Empathetic qualities of your caregivers when matching clients. If you have a caregiver who wears their heart on their sleeve, they shouldn’t be paired with a client in hospice. When that client passes they will be devastated. However, an empathetic caregiver working with a 35-year-old paraplegic may be a good match, because they’ll understand the emotions that the client is going through.

Other topics to consider when matching clients and caregivers are dietary preferences. Make sure your caregiver can cook them the food they like or are prescribed to eat. As a subset of this, consider religious dietary restrictions. If your client is Jewish and follows a Kosher diet, make sure your caregiver knows how to prepare the meals properly.

Here is a list of some of the different considerations to remember when you are matching Clients and Caregivers.

• Religion
• Language barriers
• Hearing
• Trauma
• Personality
• Skillsets
• Patience
• Food preferences
• Physical Fitness
• Politics
• Others living in the home
• Driving restrictions
• Cleanliness expectations
• Client prognosis and care goals
• Caregiver fears
• Social etiquette

Golden Rules

There are several “Golden Rules” that you should keep in mind when matching clients and caregivers together.

1. Do not place new caregivers with new clients
2. Do not start a new client or a new caregiver on the weekend or middle of the night
3. Protect your staff, do not risk your caregiver’s mental health for the sake of the client.

The Magic of Great Matching

By properly matching clients and caregivers, you’re building a relationship. The best relationships have a little magic in them!

You’ll spend less time scheduling and coordinating care, and this can lead to higher Client and Caregiver satisfaction rates. Higher satisfaction rates lead to more referrals, more retention, and more revenue. Don’t believe us? Home Care Pulse has ranked client and caregiver compatibility as one of the top 5 indicators of both client and caregiver satisfaction since 2019! So talk to your clients and caregivers, learn about them beyond the basics, and watch your agency grow.

Tell us your successes or failures with client-caregiver matching. If your agency is interested in learning more about the magic of caregiver and client matching or has any other operational questions, please schedule a free consultation! Our team looks forward to working with you.