Most awards, certifications, and memberships in home care exist to signal trustworthiness, not prove it. They are marketing tools more often than they are markers of good care. Accreditation is different: it certifies that a business has basic standards, policies, and practices in place and actually follows them.
Home Care Awards
Awards are usually more fluff than substance, and they are the least trustworthy badges you will see on a provider's website. Many are given through paid advertising schemes where the "winner" simply paid to participate. Others are popularity contests that tell you nothing about whether the care is any good. We receive several awards each year that we decline to pay for.
Certifications and Memberships
Some certifications reflect real business commitments. Others just sound nice.
Becoming a Social Benefit Corporation or a Living Wage employer both demonstrate an ongoing financial investment in service quality, because both cost the company real money on a continuing basis. Better Business Bureau membership indicates a willingness to resolve customer service issues, though the BBB also promotes paid memberships ahead of unpaid ones, which muddies the signal.
Senior Advisor and Aging Consultant certificates are another matter. They are usually taken by people who do not have a background in the care industry. The certificate is meant to signify expertise, but in practice it often means the opposite.
Accreditation
Accreditation from a recognized agency shows that a provider has basic business standards, policies, and procedures and holds itself to them. That is worth something, but it is primarily about business administration and has very little to do with whether a company delivers home care well. A well-run, unaccredited agency can easily outperform an accredited one at the actual work.
Recognized accreditors in Canada include ISO, CARF, Accreditation Canada, and the Canadian Home Care Association.
CommunityPlus has been certified as a Living Wage employer since 2018. We are currently in the process of becoming accredited but have always run on comparable standards.