A Quantitative Examination of the Relationship between Leadership Practices and Leadership Effectiveness in Personal Care Aide Job Satisfaction and Turnover and Customer Satisfaction in the Home Healthcare Industry

This non-experimental quantitative correlational research examined the relationship between the leadership practices of workers in the home healthcare industry who manage Personal Care Aide (PCA) employees, and leadership performance effectiveness (metrics) of PCA job satisfaction, PCA employee turnover, as well as the customer satisfaction for home healthcare clients who received services delivered by PCA employees. The problem that is addressed by the research is the lack of home healthcare leaders who understand and adopt leadership practices for enhancing PCA job satisfaction, PCA employee turnover, and PCA services customer satisfaction, amid the expanding U.S. home healthcare industry. Leadership practices were based on the self-observed scores collected from home healthcare workers who lead PCA employees, via the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI-Self) instrument. PCA job satisfaction, PCA employee turnover, and PCA services customer satisfaction, were based on archival data provided by a home healthcare organization and its leaders, collected as part of its ongoing quality assurance strategy. Correlational analyses resulted in statistically non-significant relationships between independent and dependent variables for the sample (N = 205). A supportive leadership style, as emphasized by The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® model, focuses on developing leader-follower relationships by demonstrating leadership practices in the best interests of individual employees, with the goal of maximizing organizational achievements. The principles of servant leadership emphasize the importance of supporting the performance of PCA employees, enabling their best efforts, and having a vision that brings all efforts together for a common purpose. Biblically, the life of Jesus Christ is depicted as the ultimate example of servant leadership. Keywords: LPI, leadership practices, effectiveness, satisfaction, turnover, home healthcare, personal care aide.