Effective rostering is essential for delivering quality care, but the requirements for scheduling in homecare and care home settings can differ significantly. Efficiently organising care visits or shifts can greatly enhance a care company's performance, resulting in happier clients, less stressed staff, and considerable savings in both time and money. This allows your business to manage costs more efficiently and reduce operational expenses.
Rostering truly is the lifeblood of any care service. Having worked in the sector, I have noticed distinct differences in how rostering is managed in homecare settings compared to residential or care home environments. Below, I will explore these key differences.
Homecare rostering is inherently more complex due to several unique challenges:
· Staff and clients are often located in various areas, making travel planning crucial.
· Factors such as traffic, road conditions, and distances must be taken into account to ensure timely service.
· Some care staff may hesitate to travel long distances or drive at night, particularly in rural areas.
· Optimising routes is crucial for minimising both travel time and costs.
· Personal preferences are crucial in matching care staff to clients. For example, one client may prefer a female carer, while another nearby client might specifically request a male carer. Balancing these preferences without causing delays is an ongoing challenge.
· Many clients require care visits during specific times, such as early mornings when they wake up.
· Overlapping demands for specific time slots can lead to scheduling challenges.
· Some care tasks, such as hoisting, require two people to assist simultaneously.
· Coordinating their schedules to ensure both arrive on time adds an extra layer of complexity. Even with best efforts, traffic-related issues could cause delays for one or both people.
Rostering in care homes is generally more straightforward than in homecare and residential settings.
· Care staff operate at a single location, eliminating travel challenges.
· Managers can prioritise optimising shift coverage instead of coordinating logistics.
· Rostering typically involves three defined shifts: morning, afternoon, and night, over a 24-hour period.
· Predictable schedules simplify staff allocation. Additionally, many people prefer longer shifts which can help.
· Care homes need a wider variety of staff than homecare. Rostering must accommodate various roles such as 7 care assistants, 2 nurses, 2 kitchen staff, 1 cleaner and 1 activity coordinator per shift.
· Maintaining the proper mix of staff consistently complicates shift planning.
· While personal preferences remain important, it is easier to manage personal preferences in care home settings compared to homecare.
· Staff assignments can focus on skills and availability, not location or time.
Understanding the unique challenges of homecare scheduling underscores the necessity for effective care management platforms. These tools can simplify complexities by automating schedule optimisation, tracking preferences, and enhancing communication between clients, families, care staff and admin teams.
On the other hand, while care home scheduling benefits from a structured environment, there is still potential for innovation to boost efficiency and staff satisfaction.
By acknowledging and addressing these differences, care managers can achieve better outcomes for clients and staff in any setting.
Careberry uniquely offers both homecare and care home rostering. Contact us today to see how we can help streamline your scheduling and improve your care delivery.
