The importance of this cannot be overstated. Regardless of how well you may get along with the senior that you are helping, if they cannot depend upon you, your employment relationship will falter.
It is very easy to say “Be Dependable”, how do you maintain and increase your dependability as a senior caregiver? Here are some easy steps!
Be honest about your availability and willingness to perform various tasks. What does honesty have to do with dependability?
Well, I have seen time and time again where a helper indicates that they are willing to do something. In reality, they are not eager to do the job because it will be a hassle. What inevitably happens is that the helper ends up finding all sorts of excuses. This is a major let-down for the senior.
Be honest with the senior up front and tell them if you are not keen on working the hours asked or performing the task requested. If you do accept the request, though, you must follow through with it!
Transportation issues can hit anyone, but they are much more likely to hit those who are not performing regular maintenance on their car.
This one is relevant for the mom’s out there who do caregiving/helping while their kids are in school or daycare.
The best thing a caregiver/helper can do is try to line up some alternate child care plans. I had one caregiver ask the senior client whether it would be OK if they had to bring their child with them from time to time. It was a great discussion to have. In that case, the helper was able to determine how realistic of a contingency plan this was.
At the end of the day, dependability as a senior caregiver is a function of honesty and preparedness. Knowing this, it is very possible for you to take concrete steps in making yourself more dependable. Check out all of our caregiving tips here