5 keys to generating innovation in your home care agency

The home health care industry is growing. Home health agencies are facing greater competition as demand for these services is increasing. Offering innovative home care services might be a great way to stand out from the pack.

For many businesses, innovation is a team effort. The home health aides, personal carers, and other staff you employ could have the next great idea that boosts your home care agency’s success!

Here are five ways to encourage innovation in your home care agency.

1. Welcome new ideas

Making employees comfortable with sharing their ideas is the first step to offering innovative home care services. Asking them for ideas and feedback at several points in their employment can be good motivation:

• When you hire new home health aides, ask them why they’re leaving their old agency and what they liked about working there.
• Schedule formal brainstorming or feedback sessions throughout the year where staff can voice their opinions.
• Make it easy for staff to share ideas informally, such as by email, a comments box, or during one-on-one meetings with you or their manager.

2. Hire people with a passion for home care

Employees who love what they do may naturally find ways to improve the carer services they provide to clients. They are dedicated to giving clients the best care possible, and they may be more willing to go the extra mile for your home care agency.

Passionate home health aides are often those aligned with your agency’s values and vision. If they believe in what you’re doing, they may be more driven to improve and innovate on the job. You may also find that they already have ways of working more efficiently that they can share with your current staff.

3. Encourage teamwork

Many innovations are the work of entire teams rather than a single individual. Encouraging teamwork could create innovative ideas for improving personal care services or running the agency.

Don’t limit teamwork to just staff at the same level or with the same job descriptions. Everyone can get involved—from senior leaders and new home health aides to office staff and IT professionals.

4. Don’t expect perfection right away

Few ideas are perfect from the start. It often takes testing and adjustments for innovations to become game-changers for a business. Rather than seek perfection, encourage your staff to:

• Share ‘raw’ ideas, as others can help build upon the initial thinking.
• Encourage staff to test their ideas.
• Don’t become discouraged if an idea doesn’t work; learn from mistakes and use those findings to drive more innovation.

5. Reward good ideas

Incentives can be a great way to drive innovation while making staff feel valued. Rewarding creativity helps create an environment where people want to share ideas and contribute to your home care agency’s success. Ways to reward your staff might include:

• Gift cards or other monetary bonuses
• A staff outing or party
• Public recognition and a sincere ‘thank you’

Protecting your home care business

Innovation can drive home care success for your business, but it may also come with risk. Managing these risks is part of running a home care agency. Home health care professional insurance is one popular way of minimizing risks and protecting your finances.

Home care agencies often consider different types of insurance to manage common industry risks:

Professional Liability – Also known as Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance, this type of policy protects your business against claims of negligence, misrepresentations, or mistakes. Professional Liability claims are typically made by clients who allege some form of financial damage as a result of your services, products or employees.

General Liability – Also referred to as Commercial General Liability (CGL) or “slip and fall coverage”, this insurance can protect your business against bodily injury or property damage lawsuits from outside parties.

Business Owner’s Policy – A Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) is a combination of policies, combining covers such as General Liability insurance and business personal property coverage, to help protect small businesses from costly interruptions to service.

Workers’ Compensation – Workers’ Compensation insurance provides benefits to your employees when they make a claim against your workplace for injury or illness.

Shield your home care agency in minutes with BizInsure. Compare coverage made for the home health industry from top-rated insurers and get instant protection online or over the phone. Get your free quotes today!