The caregiver arrives. The shift looks busy. Laundry moves, dishes disappear, and several small jobs get done. But the reason you hired remains uncovered. Your father still misses lunch, your mother still waits for help getting dressed, or you still receive the call you were paying someone else to prevent.
Do not begin with a general question such as, “How is it going?” That question produces general answers. Begin with the one result the shift was supposed to deliver, then compare that result with what actually happened.
1. Write the reason for the shift in one sentence
Use an observable result, not a description of effort.
Write: “This shift exists so that __________________________________________.”
Examples: “Dad has breakfast before I leave for work.” “Mom is dressed and ready before transportation arrives.” “Someone is present while my parents complete the evening routine.”
If you cannot finish that sentence, return to Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring and define the job before judging the worker. A caregiver cannot reliably protect a priority that the family has not named.
Do not put five outcomes in the blank. Choose the result that made you hire. Everything else is either necessary support for that result or additional work.
2. Reconstruct three shifts without using adjectives
For each shift, write what was expected, what was completed, what remained, and when the priority work occurred. Do not write “good,” “lazy,” “caring,” or “disorganized.” Those words cannot be checked against a shift record.
Shift: ____________________
Priority result: ____________________
Completed: ____________________
Not completed: ____________________
Priority started at: ____________________
Priority finished at: ____________________
What interrupted it: ____________________
Who requested the interruption: ____________________
Three shifts are enough to reveal a repeated sequence without turning one difficult shift into a conclusion. Keep the record to events you observed, a written shift note, or an answer from the person who was present. The site’s method for separating usable records from unsupported statements is explained in How We Write the Sheets.
3. Put every unfinished item into one of four columns
Label four columns: “Priority not stated,” “Time ran out,” “Could not perform,” and “Blocked by the house.” Place every missed item in one column.
Use “Priority not stated” when the caregiver completed lower-priority work first because no written order was provided.
Use “Time ran out” when the caregiver followed the stated order but the shift ended before the list did.
Use “Could not perform” when the caregiver says the task is outside the agreed service, requires help that was not scheduled, or is work the caregiver has not been prepared to do.
Use “Blocked by the house” when the task could not begin because access, instructions, cooperation, or a required item was missing.
Do not choose the column you prefer. Write the caregiver’s explanation beside the item: “The reason given was __________________________________________.”
If the same item lands in different columns on different shifts, the explanation is not settled. That is the problem to take into the next phone call.
4. Make the phone call about one missed result
Call the agency contact or the person you hired directly. Read the written result from Step 1, then use these questions in order.
Ask: “Is this result part of the work you agreed to provide?”
Listen for a direct yes or no. “We try,” “usually,” and “it depends” require a follow-up: “What condition changes the answer?” Write that condition down.
Ask: “What prevented it on these shifts?”
Listen for an explanation tied to the actual sequence. A usable answer identifies the task, obstacle, and decision. A vague answer describes personality, busyness, or a misunderstanding without naming what happened.
Ask: “Which work should be removed or moved later so this result happens first?”
Listen for a specific change to the task order. If the answer is only “we will remind the caregiver,” ask what the caregiver will see in writing before the next shift.
Ask: “If the assigned caregiver cannot complete this work, who tells me, and when?”
Write the name or role: ____________________. Write the contact method: ____________________.
If you are still deciding whether the responsible party should be an agency or the family, compare those two lanes on Hire a Caregiver in St. Louis: Agency or Direct.
5. Run one corrected shift
For the next shift, give the caregiver a short ordered list.
First: ____________________
Second: ____________________
Only after those are complete: ____________________
Also state what may remain unfinished. Write: “If time runs out, leave __________________________________________.”
This is the test. If the priority result now happens, the earlier problem was likely the order of work. If the caregiver follows the order and time still runs out, the list and the available hours do not fit. If the caregiver does different work instead, the written priority is not being followed. If the caregiver cannot begin the first item, identify the exact barrier rather than adding another reminder.
At the end of the shift, record only four things: whether the first item started, whether it finished, what stopped it, and who made the decision to move on.
6. Choose the next move from the record
If the priority was unclear, replace the broad task list with the ordered list and give the same copy to everyone who can direct the caregiver.
If the work does not fit the shift, remove lower-priority work or compare a different schedule. Do not keep the same hours, the same list, and the same expectation while calling the result a performance problem.
If the caregiver cannot perform the agreed work, ask for the provider’s specific correction: preparation, a different assignment, or a written statement that the task is not available. Record the answer and the person responsible for carrying it out.
If the house blocked the work, correct the named barrier before using another shift as evidence.
If you need a public office or public lookup connected to hiring in the St. Louis area, use Local Help for Hiring a Caregiver. The site’s collection of public source pages is kept on Sources.
Signs to walk away
Walk away from the proposed arrangement when no one will say whether the priority result is included, when the explanation changes each time the same work is missed, when the provider refuses to put the correction in writing, or when the only proposed fix is another verbal reminder with no change to the task order, staffing, or responsibility.
Write the final decision in one line: “We are continuing only if __________________________________________.”
If that condition is not accepted in writing, you have your answer. The question is no longer whether the caregiver stayed busy. The question is whether the arrangement covers the reason you hired.