From staffing to marketing, there are many factors that influence a home care organization’s success. It’s important for home care organizations to ensure their clinical and operational strategies align to support the organization’s viability and growth while still meeting client goals.
In an education session at the 2023 Axxess Growth, Innovation and Leadership Experience (AGILE), Lisa Malone, RN, Clinical Product Manager at Axxess and Brian Nelson, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Axxess, discussed how home care organizations can marry clinical and operational goals to reach shared visions of success.
“[Clinical and operational focuses] need to look like a pair of glasses,” Nelson said. “You may have a different prescription for each eye … but at the end of the day, they only work if they’re operating together with that separate focus. That delivers that shared vision of what your agency wants to be.”
Shared Visions
Throughout the session, Malone and Nelson shared examples of how clinical and operational focuses can come together to achieve a shared organizational vision.
Satisfied Clients and Caregivers
High quality caregivers lead to satisfied clients. The clinical team must continually evaluate hiring experienced caregivers as well as newer caregivers, balancing their value and needs. The operational focus of sourcing caregivers includes assessing the quality of recruiting efforts as well as balancing performance and personality.
“Our shared vision is adding together or balancing clinical client care, and for the operational side of that, sourcing those caregivers, and that adding up for the agency to be satisfied clients and caregivers,” Malone said.
Healthy Clients and Profits
Clinical leaders want to solve the personnel puzzle. They’re trying to avoid missed shifts and assess what is essential for client safety and goals. Operationally, organizations are also prioritizing profitability, objectively evaluating the business and reducing unnecessary costs.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to have healthy clients and profits,” Nelson said. “You can’t be a business without taking care of your clients, and you can’t take of your clients if you’re not in business.”
Scalable Processes and Procedures
Home care organizations strive for a culture of compliance, even if they are not beholden to federal regulations. Compliance with the organization’s own policies and quality standards is key. Operational leaders will similarly be focused on efficiency, trying to consolidate policies and procedures across the board.
“[When we have] one lens of our metaphorical glasses focused on compliance and the operational lens focused on efficiencies, that adds up to the vision of scalable processes and procedures,” Malone said.
Keys to Success
Malone and Nelson outlined three areas organizations can focus on for success.
- Trust: Start (or restart) relationships with the expectation of trust and create relationship-building opportunities for teams.
- Communication: Set a structured rhythm for meetings and other opportunities to share information and communicate constantly across teams.
- Shared vision: Focus on the common goals of the organization and keep the vision in focus.
One way to incorporate all three of these keys to success is to celebrate wins across the office.
“Talk about and celebrate some of those wins,” Malone said. “Keep bringing those up and keep that shared vision because you’re celebrating and reminding everyone what exactly you’re here for.”
With more than 250 attendees, more than 40 sponsors and countless connections made, AGILE 2023 was a massive success for everyone. Check out the recap video and mark your calendar for AGILE 2024, April 21-24 in Dallas.
