ARTICLE | DEFINING CAREGIVER SUPPORT
What Should Caregiver Support Look Like?
Key Takeaways:
- Case-based care solutions are not comprehensive or scaleable, leaving gaps other point solutions will eventually need to fill.
- “Technology” such as back-up care databases are not proactive despite advancements that allow for personalization.
- The most engaging and impactful solutions leverage the power of both technology and human navigation.
Since 2020, the landscape of employee benefits has drastically shifted. Employers have recognized the need to support employees’ professional and personal needs in order to attract, retain, and engage top talent. One of the most popular areas of innovation has been programs supporting working caregivers.
As a result, several caregiving solutions have emerged with various approaches to caregiver support. From human-based solutions to tech-exclusive platforms and everything in between, what should caregiving support truly look like in order to engage and impact working caregivers?
1. The classic concierge model
We call this Caregiver Support 1.0. While these types of solutions were innovative and industry-leading when caregiving benefits first emerged, they lack the native and intelligent technology that drives ongoing user engagement and long-term business impact.
Concierge-based solutions require caregivers to proactively open a case in order to make contact with an expert who can offer support. This takes time in order to fill out the proper intake information, and results in a waiting period while being matched to the right care expert.
While this model certainly supports caregivers, it isn’t as comprehensive or scaleable as employers may think. Eventually, this model will leave gaps that other point solutions will need to fill, and lead to dwindling engagement as caregivers lack the time to create a case for each new care need that arises.
Additionally, concierge support solutions rely solely on an expert’s time, making them more expensive to scale. This also presents a high level of friction as the most important resources and information are gated by access to these experts in real-time, with many variables like availability and scheduling, leaving caregivers unsupported in a moment of need.
Working caregivers may not always have time to schedule a call, or wait for responses to important questions or referrals. The lack of technology in these early models of support makes it impossible for caregivers to self-serve and access curated information and resources on their own time.
2. Tech-focused point solutions
Many platforms presented as comprehensive care solutions are, in reality, more like point solutions– built to address one specific caregiving need such as back-up care. While these solutions are effective at meeting a caregiver’s immediate needs, they are reactive rather than proactive.
This technology isn’t built to recognize and anticipate needs– instead, it works to hastily fill a gap once it’s already occurred. As a result, caregivers cannot rely on these solutions for sustainable, everyday support.
This technology solves one small piece of a much larger and more complex caregiving puzzle. While these are valuable resources for employees who are juggling care alongside full-time work, they should not be considered comprehensive solutions to address the full spectrum of a working caregiver’s needs.
Additionally, these platforms lack any human connection via coaching or expert navigation. This lack of communication can leave caregivers questioning if they are choosing the best option for their family’s needs.
3. Innovative solutions leverage the power of both human touch & technology
The most comprehensive and impactful caregiver support solutions recognize and leverage the power of both technology and human navigation and support. This is how we’ve built the ianacare solution, and why it’s the most innovative option on the market.
Technology has the capability to deepen and personalize the support individuals can access from 1-1 conversations with an expert. That’s why we’ve leveraged the power of technology to complement the incredible support our Caregiver Navigators offer, and as a result, see increased and engagement and impact for users.
Our mobile-first platform leverages powerful technology that allows caregivers to create a team to organize & mobilize friends and family, access expert content, connect to local and community resources, and unlock personally curated employee benefits. This technology is paired with unlimited access to a highly specialized Caregiver Navigator trained to offer users white-glove concierge guidance through their unique needs and challenges.
The ianacare product recognizes and leverages both the power of technology and human navigation. 80% of interactions on the platform are tech-driven, reserving the remaining 20% of human navigation for when it’s most needed and desired.
The flexibility of our technology paired with the deep expertise of our Caregiver Navigators ensures that ianacare can support all phases of care – from the moment someone is thrust into a care situation, through acute care, ongoing chronic care management, hospice and end-of-life, and even post-death grief. Where most solutions specialize in only one of these phases, our platform is able to carry the caregiver through the entirety of their journey with comprehensive, curated, and vetted support resources.
With a wide range of solutions available and intensifying buzz around caregiving, it can be hard to determine which platform is the best investment. But for organizations seeking reliable, cost-effective, and clinically-proven support for caregiver employees, innovative platforms with comprehensive capabilities and user-centric design will drive the most engagement in today’s modern digital age.
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