Home health care providers provide an invaluable service to millions of Americans who struggle with illness, disability, and the effects of aging. Responsible agencies vet their workers carefully before sending any employee into homes to care for the vulnerable. But people aren’t static; things and circumstances change. If you’re employing home healthcare workers, it’s imperative to manage risk proactively rather reactively; ongoing employee monitoring makes that possible.
What is Ongoing Monitoring?
When we talk about ongoing employee monitoring, we’re not suggesting that you surveil your staff and watch for any indication that something’s amiss. No one wants that. Rather, ongoing monitoring by a professional screening vendor allows you to get real time alerts if a member of your staff engages in behavior that puts your clients and your brand at risk. You can determine what behaviors need to be on the watchlist and how you’ll respond.
What are the Benefits of Ongoing Monitoring?
The most important benefit of ongoing employee monitoring is safety. By keeping an eye on behaviors that might indicate safety concerns, you ensure your clients are protected. Other benefits include the following:
- Protects your brand and reputation from being damaged by bad actors
- Helps manage the cost of insurance premiums
- Provides protection against negligence lawsuits
- Boosts your business reputation and gives your clients an added measure of confidence in the services you provide
What Behaviors Should Be Monitored?
The types of employee background services available are extensive, but not everything needs to be monitored on an ongoing basis. The following three activities are the most typical candidates for ongoing monitoring:
Motor Vehicle Reports
Your care providers are regularly driving while on the job; they drive to and from clients’ homes, drive while running errands on behalf of clients, and may even provide transportation services as well. Because driving is part of their regular routine, you need to know if anything changes in your staffs’ driving records that might indicate a safety or liability concern.
An initial pre-employment MVR acts as a baseline; ongoing monitoring will send you a red flag alert if a member of your crew is involved in an at-fault accident, a DUI/DWI, or other relevant incident. Plus, your drivers will likely be more diligent about good habits on the road if they know they’re being monitored.
Criminal Records
A clean criminal record yesterday doesn’t mean the criminal record will stay clean tomorrow, next week, or next month. While not every criminal complaint is relevant to performance or safety on the job, you still need to know if something’s going on so you can make informed decisions and communicate to your clients that you’re doing everything you can to ensure your crew stays on the right side of the law.
Drug Testing
A pre-employment drug test captures one moment in time; all that test tells you is that, on the day of the test, the employee was clean. That one moment is not sufficient to safeguard your clients. Your healthcare workers have easy access to a host of meds and substances while on the job and have that access with little to no oversight or scrutiny. Random employment drug testing creates a strong deterrent against substance use and abuse while on the job and lets all parties know you’re serious about maintaining a drug-free workplace.
Contact your background screening partner about beginning your program of ongoing employee monitoring today.
