Tips for hiring

Useful Tips When Selecting a Care Provider

Until you spend time with your provider and come to trust that person, you will be dealing with a stranger. Below are suggestions to help you stay safe and begin a successful relationship with your new provider.

These suggestions are offered as guidelines to individuals and families. Rewarding Work and NH ProviderLink cannot be held liable for any interactions between people who use this website.

• Develop a telephone interview to determine whether the provider meets the minimum requirements of your needs. Be honest about your needs, and their responsibilities, the pay, and the hours. Preparing a list of questions and priorities will help you focus the interview on the things that are most important to you, and prevent discrimination since you will be asking every applicant exactly the same questions. Click here for a list of Interview Questions: Do’s and Don’ts.
• Determine your level of comfort before meeting the provider for the first time. Will you hold the interview in your home? If so, will there be anyone else in the house? Would you like the provider to meet your family and the person requiring the care? Or, would you prefer to meet in a public place, such as a restaurant or library?
• Listen to your instincts. If you have a bad feeling about someone you are interviewing, there may be a good reason for your feelings. Remember, this person will be in your home, caring for your loved one. Trust yourself to know if it is a good match.
• Be as clear as possible about the job responsibilities, your expectations of your provider, and what they may expect of you. Present a job description explaining the services they will need to perform.
• Always ask for and thoroughly check provider's character and employment references.  Ask for detailed examples when checking references; do not limit yourself to yes or no questions.
• You may want to do a criminal background check. Not all providers on this site have completed background checks. You may consider electing an Employer of Record to assist you with your responsibilities.
• After hiring, develop a simple contract that you and your provider can discuss and sign. This lists the provider responsibilities, the pay, and the hours. This is a good way to clarify expectations and prevent misunderstandings later on.