Care at home organizations are dealing with an influx of resignations on top of an already decades-long healthcare staffing shortage.

Dubbed “the Great Resignation,” the numbers associated with the worker scarcity are astounding: one in five healthcare workers have quit their jobs since February 2020. Of those who have stayed, 30% are considering leaving and nearly 80% of healthcare professionals said the national worker shortage has affected them and their place of work.

Care at home organizations are beginning to explore options big and small to retain their current staff and appeal to those who might be looking for new positions.

A Mileage Reimbursement Plan

One way organizations can set themselves apart is by offering a comprehensive mileage reimbursement plan. In this plan, caregivers are reimbursed for business miles driven on a cents-per-mile basis.

These plans offer a variety of advantages:

• Improve Employee Satisfaction – Caregivers who feel like they are being fairly compensated for their work are more likely to stay engaged and refer their friends to the organization.
• Reduce Risk – Paying your workers less than the federal mileage standard can open your organization to lawsuits and labor law violations.
• Decrease Costs – When compared to operating a fleet of company cars or offering a set car allowance, using a mileage reimbursement plan is the most cost-effective option.

Tips to Keep in Mind When Creating Your Reimbursement Plan

Car titles should only be in your employees’ names, as well as their own personal liability insurance. Make sure to keep records of proof of coverage and update them regularly.

Before any caregivers begin employment with your organization, they must sign a form for the Department of Motor Vehicles to release an employment driver record.

Work with your insurance provider to develop guidelines and plan eligibility. They should offer you hired and non-owned auto liability insurance for auto accidents or incidents while caregivers are working.

There is also the option to offer car maintenance reimbursement, but this is not a standard for every plan.

Some intuitive home care solutions include features that enable you to reimburse your caregivers for mileage quickly and compliantly. A mileage and travel time calculator feature automatically captures these details based on the visit address (mileage) and time (travel time) for users with more than one visit per day.

Using this feature can help retain employees and lead to long-term organizational success.

Axxess Home Care, a cloud-based home care software, includes a tracking feature that connects to Google Maps for automatic, real-time caregiver location tracking.