More than 4.8 million people aged 65+ live in Australia. The demand for aged care services is slated to continue to grow over the next 20 years. Since most older Australians want to age in place, in their own homes, home care is the perfect business opportunity for you to investigate with an established network such as Right at Home.

Daryl and Karen Sahli founded Right at Home Australia in 2014 after experiencing caregiver demands with their own ageing family. Right at Home was founded by Allen Hager in Omaha, Nebraska, where the care mission to improve the quality of life for those we serve™ was created. For many years, Allen worked in healthcare as a hospital administrator. While in the hospital environment, he watched many of his patients – especially seniors – return home but not necessarily to health. Once home, many of his former patients were unable to care for themselves.

Right at Home was one of the first companies to enter senior care and is now a leader in the home care industry. Daryl and Karen wanted to bring that care philosophy to their community in Australia, targeting a standard of 100% positive client experiences – a lofty goal but their vision nonetheless. Right at Home is focussed on client centred care, and strives for quality while creating caregiver and client satisfaction.

There are more than 2.65 million Australians caring for someone they love. 72% of Gen Z plan to be a caregiver for their parents in the future while 60% plan to help support their parents financially when the time comes. Home care is in demand and will continue to be for years to come.

Rosalynn Carter, wife of former US President Jimmy Carter, once said, “There are only four kinds of people in the world – those that have been caregivers, those that are caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.”

Starting a home care business is a worthwhile and profitable endeavour when you do it right. Right at Home is here to help you enter the home care industry. We’ll share what you need to know to be successful. 

Finding & Training Staff

Once you have been through the Right at Home recruitment process, and you have attended our RightStart new owner training course, the first order of business in home care is securing your caregivers. While many of our owners are Registered Nurses, many are not, and therefore the recruitment of a Registered Nurse Care Manager is priority number one. Without a nurse your business cannot take on complex clients, perform client needs assessments, and write accurate care plans. Registered Nurses are also excellent at training caregivers and talking to families about wellbeing and reablement.

Demand from a client perspective is there, but it’s important to have an adequate supply and flow of caregivers coming forward. Once recruited, it’s your job to keep them motivated and supported as you move into the next phases of your business. The home care industry attrition rate is reported to be 34% in 2022 with Right at Home's figure well below that at 6.89%. All industry providers report caregiver shortages and high caregiver turnover but we know that as a casualised work force that provides lots of flexibility, this is not uncommon.

There are two ways to look at this data:

1. The industry outlook is not good.
2. The industry is ripe for disruption by using best practices to hire the most qualified caregivers and retain them long term with training and support.

Here are a few best practices to keep your recruitment and retention in check: 

• Happy caregivers are the secret ingredient to unlocking growth. One franchise owner shared that his clients often come from word-of-mouth referrals like “a happy caregiver, a satisfied client, or a neighbourhood referral source”. When you position caregivers and clients on the same level of priority retention of both becomes better.
• Right at Home has developed a world class Job Board system to attract and process caregiver applications. This process gives caregivers confidence that they are in safe hands.
• Capitalise on what makes your franchise different leveraging social media. Facebook consistently ranks high as a caregiver recruitment source. This means that you need to double down on what makes your business different, telling your personal story, and sharing why a caregiver should work for you (instead of the home care business next door).
• Training is vitally important. Train your caregivers for compliance and productivity. Right at Home has defined caregiver training requirements. Balance your training curriculum with a healthy dose of what keeps you compliant, while also surveying caregivers for what they want to learn more about. 
• Right at Home has developed a Learning Management System (LMS) to help with mandatory training and targeting training opportunities, many of which are offered by the Government for free.

“At Right at Home we’re greatly encouraged by home care business owners who treat their caregivers with dignity and respect. It shows in their data and continued growth.” — Right at Home People & Culture Manager Nicole Hamilton.

Embrace the Enterprise Management System and Other Tech

At your RightStart^TM training you will learn about our tech suite – VisualCare (Enterprise Management), XERO (accounting), SharePoint (data and library) and more. The platforms are integrated to make running your business seamless and exciting. As the home care industry is highly regulated, compliance is vitally important. These tools are designed to make sure that you maintain high levels of compliance and in so doing setting your business up for success. Additionally, our Reward and Recognition platform is utilised to attract, retain and communicate with your staff. 

Here are some key features to be aware of: 

• Billing and receiving 
• Scheduling and visit verification
• Caregiver Phone App for accurate dispatch, care notes, and care plan execution
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Recognition, reward and communication with staff
• Assessment and care planning 
• Financial accounts
• KPIs for your business
• Marketing and promoting your business on the website and social media

These are the foundations that will set you up for compliance and jumpstart your business growth. 

In addition to these Right at Home provides:

• A training platform for your caregivers
• Advice and guidance on all other HR-related compliance
• Advice and guidance with client take-on compliance and care management

These technology platforms and support will keep you connected and prepared to navigate change. 

Marketing Your Home Care Business

Marketing is the engine that keeps your prospective clients moving down the pipeline, closer to scheduling an in-home assessment, or signing a service agreement. We train you on how to do this during your RightStart^TM training. Here are some strategies we teach you to get started quickly.

We will help you by setting up your Google Business (GB) listing. This is a free listing that gets eyeballs on your business. We fill out as many fields as possible and be sure to add some FAQs that help families in your area feel confident in your ability to serve them. It’s also going to be the hub for your clients to leave 5-star reviews. 

Your business will join our Google Ads campaign, our national media campaign and we will conduct some Local Are Marketing for you to get started with a recommendation you continue local area marketing as its one of the most effective ways to get traffic to your pages on the website and get calls from interested families and caregivers. 

Right at Home has a print store that will help you assemble and distribute your initial marketing materials.

This means collateral like: 

• Flyers 
• Business cards 
• Posters 
• And more

Once you’ve got those pieces in hand, you can go to market and knock on doors with community partners such as retirement villages, nursing homes, active adult communities, doctor’s offices, hospitals, and more. This tip is probably the most intense, but it will likely be the most fruitful with the connections you build. 

Don’t be afraid about having to sell your services to referral sources. They are just people like you who will respond to your personal story and your enthusiasm and excitement for your business.

Expanding Your Services

Right at Home is an Approved Provider under the Aged Care Act meaning you can deliver government funded home care services to older Australians. This gives you a huge opportunity compared with trying to set up your own home care businesses from scratch. Our accreditation will get you up and running quickly.

Once you’ve had a chance to settle into your new business and maintain consistent clients and new business, take some time to explore service expansion opportunities. 

We at Right at Home provide different models of care that you can run as a home care business owner, including: 

• Home care business for older Australians is the traditional model of care that you’re already familiar with, and where you are managing assessments, care plans, and schedules for clients and their families.
• Disability services under the NDIS includes a range of service types based on your skills and capability.
• Brokerage services performed on behalf of other care providers who may be short staffed or need skilled or outsource services as part of their business model.
• Government funded transitional care services for people recovering after a stay in hospital.
• Allied health services like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or massage therapy.
• Day activity centres for older Australians: These provide much needed socialisation activities in a warm and friendly environment.
• Respite centres provide support for primary caregivers or family members who need a break from their care responsibilities. These centres provide accommodation and care from a few days to two weeks depending on need.

Adding service lines will help to differentiate your company from other brands and add value to clients who might not have been able to work with you before. At Right at Home, we’ve built a software and wraparound agency management platform that scales and moves with your home care business. 

Are you Ready for Your Next Challenge?

Our franchise owners are committed to keeping caregivers front and centre. Joining Right at Home means that you agree to deliver our promise of excellent client experiences and caregiver support – guaranteed to set you up for success.

Keep up to date with COVID 19 information on the following links: 

Australian Government Department of Health 

Victorian Health and Human Services 

NSW Health 

Queensland Health 

ACT Health 

WA Department of Health 

Tasmanian Department of Health 

Northern Territory Department of Health 

SA Health 

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care, and assistance to seniors (elderly and aged care), and any adult who needs our care at home including adults living with a disability who want to continue to live independently or age in their home. Right at Home is your local expert for issues related to caring for your loved ones and is dedicated to keeping you informed about home care. With no package management fees, Right at Home allows you to get more care from your package or budget. 

Right at Home is a 'My Aged Care' government approved, home care provider for levels 1 – 4 and offers flexible in-home care services such as nursing care, after hospital care, post-operative care, respite care, dementia and Alzheimer's care. Right at Home also offers assistance with daily living and personal care such as grooming, hygiene, transport, shopping, meal prep, domestic services and social support, so your loved one can enjoy a more independent, vibrant life. Our nurses and caregivers are screened, highly trained, and insured prior to entering your home so you can trust us with the caregiving while you focus on your loved one. 

To find out more, please give us a call on 1300 363 802 or visit our website. 

Right at Home Offices in Australia: ACT & Queanbeyan; ACT Canberra; Adelaide Central; Brisbane Bayside; Brisbane North; Brisbane South; Brisbane West; Central Queensland & Wide Bay; Central West New South Wales; Darling Downs; Far North Queensland; Gold Coast North; Gold Coast South; Gosford; Greater Logan; Hunter & Port Stephens; Ipswich Lockyer Valley; Kalgoorlie Wheatbelt; Macarthur Penrith; Mackay; Melbourne Brighton: Melbourne Glen Waverley; Melbourne North; Moreton Bay Region; Newcastle; Noosa, Gympie & Hinterland; Northern Rivers; Padstow St George; Perth Midland; Perth Northern Suburbs; Perth South Eastern Suburbs; Perth West Coast; Southern NSW; Southwest Victoria; Sunshine Coast; Sydney Central & Eastern Suburbs; Sydney Five Dock; Sydney Inner West; Sydney Liverpool; Sydney Lower North Shore; Sydney Northern Beaches; Sydney Norwest; Sydney Parramatta; Sydney Ryde; Sydney Sutherland Shire; Sydney The Hills; Sydney Upper North Shore; Townsville;