The Great Resignation has turned into the Great Opportunity to build a “dream team” for senior living providers that focus on organizational culture, according to workforce solutions experts.
Touting strategies that go beyond conventional approaches, management and consulting firm Health Dimensions Group discussed employee recruitment and retention practices and techniques, as well as employee engagement strategies, during a Tuesday webinar.
A shrinking talent pool of trained staff members to meet the needs of a growing population of residents needing specialized care is the biggest issue facing aging services providers — and it’s only going to get worse, according to HDG Senior Vice President of Recruitment Services Sarah Friede.
According to a workforce projection report released earlier this year by Argentum, senior living settings will have three million job openings by 2040. And a LeadingAge snap poll from earlier this year revealed that 70% of assisted living respondents still were experiencing a significant or severe workforce shortage.
To compete for workers, Friede said, providers will need to find more effective ways to recruit new talent and retain existing talent by increasing salaries, embracing innovative technology and offering meaningful benefits.
“We still have an opportunity,” Friede said. “If we focus on one thing, we’re going to need to think creatively to attract, hire and retain workers — a focus on organizational culture will be critical.”
Employers can find themselves managing four different working generations — Generation Z, millennials, Generation X and baby boomers — that have different expectations and varying communication styles.
But those different generations do have some common wants from their employers, including personal/professional life balance, remote/hybrid work, recognition and communication, and evidence of a strong corporate mission and vision.
Recruitment techniques and strategies
The long-term care industry can take some cues from Amazon in “relating to all walks of life,” Friede said, by homing in on organizational culture.
Friede said she subscribes to the 80/20 rule in which employers spend 80% of their time recruiting talent and 20% of their time interviewing for positions from their workforce pipelines. Achieving that pipeline involves creative thinking and explaining “the why” — a company’s mission and vision.
“Treat them like your residents — red carpet in, red carpet out,” Friede said of prospective employees. “Greet them like they are shopping for a position. How do you sell your community?”
Having a strong mission and purpose, an attractive benefits package, competitive wages, career growth opportunities, flexible work schedules and remote work opportunities can go a long way in inspiring people to believe in a company.
“If you hire people who believe what you believe, they will give you their blood, sweat and tears,” Friede said.
How to retain new hires
Once an employer sells a worker on the organizational culture, employee engagement becomes critical to retaining those workers, according to HDG Vice President of Consulting, People and Culture Julia Eiland.
“When employees are truly engaged, they are more likely to be retained,” Eiland said.
The effective employee engagement practices that employers have used to retain employees relate to a positive work culture, strong leadership, teamwork, autonomy, and regular feedback and communication, she said. Employees also appreciate opportunities for personal and professional life balance, development opportunities and recognition.
Achieving a positive work culture, Eiland said, can lead to a 22% reduction in recruitment fees, a 50% cost-per-hire savings, a 36% increase in employee productivity, a 28% increase in profits and a “dramatic” increase in retention rates. Increasing employee engagement investments by 10%, she added, can increase profits by $2,400 per employee.
Although the workforce solution begins with a strong recruitment plan, Friede and Eiland said, other factors are necessary to proceed — the onboarding experience, mission and purpose, a culture rooted in valves, appropriate wages and benefits, career development paths and investments, recognition and rewards.
“Change takes time,” Friede said, “but it’s doable, and you’re going to have all of these things going in the right direction, starting with organizational culture.”
