Tips on Scheduling for Summer

During the summertime, agencies face the most scheduling challenges. Many agencies experience workforce shortages due to a variety of factors once summer rolls around. Making sure you have caregivers available at all times is a key part of your agency’s success. With advanced planning, you can seamlessly transition into the summer by anticipating what challenges lay ahead and developing a game plan for how to navigate them.

Employee Availability

When school is no longer in session, many of your caregivers will need to change their schedules drastically. If your employees are made up of mostly parents with school-age children, they may no longer have daytime availability. The good news is that potential employees unavailable during the school year may be searching for summertime employment. During summer breaks, students and teachers typically look for extra income. If your agency is still struggling to fill vacant timeslots, you may want to consider offering more flexible scheduling options to accommodate family obligations. Larger agencies could even consider a camp or on-site childcare option to assist caregivers with young children.

Vacation Requests

In the summer, vacation requests will be at an all-time high. Agencies could be inundated with caregivers wanting the same weeks off for vacation. An efficient scheduling system can help manage caregiver schedules and ensure coverage. Requests for time off can be logged into the system and managed by the administrator. Scheduling programs ensure efficiency and help avoid common summertime issues like double booking and missed sessions. Be transparent with all caregivers and let them know that you will try to honor their preferences as much as possible.   

Activity Changes

Depending on your geographic location, the summer weather could have a direct impact on the types of activities you can schedule. Warm weather activities like visits to local parks are an option, but you may want to consider indoor activities too for a change of pace and an alternative if it’s too hot outside. Potential indoor activities to put on the agenda include indoor movie nights, museum trips, and bowling alleys. Listen to client and caregiver feedback to gather ideas for what types of activities are preferred during the summer months. Of course, it’s important to make sure you have an EVV solution if you’re going to start offering Home and Community-Based Services in addition to your Day Services program.

New Clients

During the summer, your agency may receive an increase in the number of new clients who require services. While balancing employee schedules and activity changes, you need to prioritize new clients in need of services. Even if you are low on staff, you don’t want to compromise your service goals. Still take the time to match up caregivers with clients to ensure good fit. Although summertime availability is important, you still want to employ caregivers who will honor the core vision you have for the agency. The summer could be a good time to launch an employee incentive program if you don’t have one to improve client experiences.

Need help getting your agency ready for the summer? Use DCI’s scheduling module to manage caregiver visits and arrange fun summertime activities. To hear more about the many benefits of DCI, request a demo!