Life brings with it different stages and challenges. Over the years, our loved ones need more and more care and support, especially when health and independence begin to falter. Contrary to appearances, providing proper care for the elderly is not a simple task at all. To ensure the highest standard of care for seniors, many families choose to cooperate with agencies that offer care on-site – at the home of the person they care for. Germany, as a country with a high standard of living, has become a place where the demand for such services is growing. How to choose the best agency? We present a guide to recommended elderly caregiver agencies in Germany, so you can be sure that your loved one is in the best hands.
In the rest of the article, you will learn the following:
- what is an elderly caregiver agency,
- what is a home round-the-clock care service for seniors,
- how to assess where the elderly care company comes from,
- What are the criteria for evaluating a care agency?
Organizing care services is a complex undertaking. The best employment agencies for senior caregivers pay special attention to:
- data security,
- effective work,
- process optimization,
- using modern and innovative solutions.
A list of care services from recommended care agencies can be found on the Hrily Care Service portal. Current job offers have been posted on the portal. If you want to work as a caregiver, this page will make the recruitment process easier for you. If you are interested in working legally abroad, check out job offers in Germany and other countries. Hrily is a safe company with good working conditions. In addition, if you want specific information about the job, or have questions related to working abroad, you can be sure that they will do their best to answer them.
What is an elderly caregiver agency?
A caregiver agency for the elderly is a specialist company that offers care for seniors, focused primarily on their well-being and comfort. A distinctive feature of this type of service is home care. This means that the caregiver does not come for a few hours a day, but in the vast majority of cases lives together with the senior, so they are available almost around the clock. Thanks to this, the senior has a sense of security and constant company.
Many of the caregivers who work with German agencies usually come from Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries. Their experience in the market and dedication make them an invaluable support in caring for the elderly. What’s more, care agencies provide services tailored to the individual needs of the family, which ensures that every senior receives the right care. Even the seasons don’t matter, as care is available for 365 days. This gives the family confidence that their loved ones are properly cared for, at all times.
What is a home round-the-clock care service for seniors?
Round-the-clock home care for seniors is a comprehensive solution designed to provide the highest standard of care and support for the elderly, without the need for them to move to specialist facilities. In practice, this means that the caregiver of the elderly person lives together with the person in care so that he or she is always available and ready to meet all the demands of everyday life.
So what does the work of a caregiver look like? The scope of care services includes care for the elderly, which is tailored not only to the current needs of the resident but also to the changing requirements of the caregiver of the elderly person and their family. It is important to emphasize that a caregiver can take care of one or even several people, depending on the specific situation and the needs of the household members. The scope of duties is completely tailored to the requirements of the family, which allows for an individual approach and ensures the comfort of each senior.
Salaries for caregivers in Germany in the round-the-clock home care model are very attractive, which results in greater interest of caregivers in this type of work.
Employment in the care of the elderly requires several conditions to be met. First of all, the qualifications of the caregiver are crucial and always correspond to the level of illness of the senior. The caregiver not only takes care of the basic physical needs of the resident but also takes care of the home – shopping, cleaning, and cooking. However, his duties often go beyond these basic activities. The caregiver is also a motivator, and time organizer, accompanies in visits to doctors, during rehabilitation, and in many other activities that help the senior feel better and more independent.
What country is the care agency from?
A seemingly simple question that might seem silly, but the devil is in the details. Employment agencies for caregivers for the elderly in Germany, like many other companies, can be highly complex in terms of structure, origin, and organization. So, let’s take a look at the individual features of these agencies that can indicate the country of origin of the company.
First of all, the company is of course registered in one country, but it can have branches in several or even be part of a larger group of companies. When it comes to the owner’s background, the answer may be unequivocal, but what if the business owner had a parent from Poland and Germany? Or what if the care company has two owners – one from Germany and the other from the Netherlands?
In addition, the care agency may offer services provided by employees from different countries, for example, Germany and Slovakia. For a family seeking care services, such information may make it less clear to identify the agency’s country of origin.
Another interesting case is when a residential home care service is organized by two different companies. One company locally recruits families who are looking for caregivers, while the other partner company recruits people whose career choice is to work as caregivers in Germany.
The above cases indicate that the answer to this question does not have to be unambiguous. However, from the point of view of the senior’s family, the most important thing is to focus on the quality of the residential care service, regardless of the agency’s country of origin. If the care is professional, empathetic, and effective, it is these qualities that are crucial, not the place of registration of the company.
Evaluation criteria for elderly caregiver agencies
Choosing the right elderly caregiver agency is an important decision that affects the quality of life of your loved ones. The simplest and clearest solution for someone who is looking for the best agencies would be a ranking list. However, creating such lists is subjective and serves different purposes. Each list is compiled by someone who has followed their criteria and given them validity according to their belief. What is important to one family may be less important to another. Nevertheless, the ranking of babysitting agencies has some general criteria that are worth considering:
- The quality of the round-the-clock care service for seniors: Among many other important aspects, it is worth noting the experience and qualifications of the caregivers. Keep in mind that these items are often tied to the rates that the family is willing to pay.
- Prices for care services: It is crucial to understand the factors that determine the monthly rate and other elements of the contract that affect the rules of cooperation with the agency.
- Legality of work: Professional companies operate fully legally. However, it is worth realizing that many details are not publicly available and are not presented to the public.
- Transparent terms of service: It can be difficult to compare contracts offered by different employment agencies for senior caregivers, but it’s worth taking the time to understand which one best suits the family’s needs.
- Clarity of the caregiver agreement: Although the content of the caregiver agreement is not always publicly available, it is worth asking the agency about its main points.
- Number of complaints: Each complaint should be considered individually. Often the problem stems from misunderstandings between the family, the caregiver, and the agency.
- The willingness of the caregiver to work with the family again: If the caregiver wants to return to the same family, this is usually a sign of satisfaction with the terms of the cooperation.
- Families are satisfied with the caregiver’s services: If the family wants the same caregiver to come back to them, it shows their professionalism and appropriate approach to the caregiver.
It is not difficult to recognize a reliable care agency. Those of the best standard cannot afford reprehensible opinions. A reliable care agency cares about its position in the agency’s ranking, which is why it pays special attention to ensuring that the quality of services provided is at the highest level. When choosing an agency for caregivers for the elderly, it is worth being guided not only by the above criteria but also by your intuition and recommendations of other families who have used the services of a given company. After all, it’s about the well-being of our loved ones.