Robust Training Program Contributes to Enduring Success in Seattle

Dale Kiesz and Amy Kirby have leveraged comprehensive training for caregivers and word-of-mouth marketing to build their Homewatch CareGivers home care business

They’re a perfect team with complementary strengths: Dale Kiesz, a baby boomer, has years of experience in corporate finance and management. His business partner, Amy Kirby, is a millennial who worked in human resources before making the move to Homewatch CareGivers. Both are motivated by a driving passion to help the aging population with dignity and care. Dale launched his Seattle home care business 14 years ago, and it has grown by leaps and bounds since, especially as Amy recently joined as a partner.

What explains their success? Word of mouth referrals drive their business, Dale says. Amy adds that in their daily operations, they routinely hear about how they’re helping solve all the challenges related to senior care, including health and loneliness issues. Their home care business is particularly impressive for the large number of care providers it employs. Of the 150 staff on board, more than 100 have been with the location for many years.

Dale and Amy point out that ongoing educational offerings and a caregiver training program is key to employee retention. “We strive constantly to be supportive of our caregivers and help them with difficult clients,” Dale says. “We’re a hands-on organization and try to foster a real sense of teamwork.” All training is done in-house to meet rigorous standards. “We have clients with advanced stages of Parkinson’s, dementia and MS, all of which need skilled people and our caregivers undergo the training to meet those needs,” Dale adds.

Dale and Amy are active members of the community and have invested in outreach with local organizations, including the American Parkinson’s Disease office in Seattle, which caters to low-income patients with the disease.

The bottom line, they say, is the sense of purpose that Homewatch CareGivers gives them. “I wanted to find a home care business where my work could have a difference in people’s lives,” Dale says. And that’s exactly what he has built.

Learn moreabout Homewatch CareGivers and its extended family network of franchisees.