3 Staffing Tips From Today’s Senior Living Human Resources Execs

I had the pleasure to moderate the Human Retention Strategies and Best Practices panel at the 2017 Senior Housing News Summit in Chicago. It was a great discussion where I shared my experiences and gathered best practices from fellow senior living HR executives over the course of the Summit. 

The discussion started by each senior living panelist comparing today’s workforce challenges to those that the industry faced from 2005 to 2008—when unemployment was between 4.6 percent and 5.3 percent.

I totally understand this sentiment, as the situation that senior living HR departments face today is difficult to say the least; low unemployment rates (currently 4.4 nationally), increased competition and a nursing workforce shortage represent some of the biggest industry-wide issues.

But much of our discussion centered around the difficulty recruiting and retaining millennials. Here are the top three lessons learned:

1. Stress the sense of purpose senior living offers

Today’s executives are extremely concerned with attracting and retaining more qualified candidates; specifically, millennials. However, that task is made even more challenging given that today’s workforce consists of four generations: baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, and now Generation Z. But millennials represent the largest area of focus for companies, as they make up over 50 percent of the workforce, and nearly 70 percent of new hires belong to this generation. 

Attracting young workers is difficult because retention programs that worked for baby boomers and Generation X don’t necessarily work for millennials. 

You see, millennials are driven by a sense of purpose and want to make a difference in people's lives. So senior living is an obvious attractive career option for this group. 

Julie Simpkins, Chief Operating Officer at Gardant Management Solutions, explained that she is part of an effort to put programs into place that will stand the test of time and provide a direct link between jobs and purpose. Gardant is in the midst of a four-year revamp of its leadership program to ensure leaders have the resources they need to be successful.

2. Recognize it’s not always about the paycheck

Similarly, Lisa Rogers, Director of Human Resources at Pathway Senior Living, says her organization is educating its leadership team on workplace trends and where they are going in the near future.

“You have to change it from a focus of ‘let’s give them 50 cents or $1 more an hour’ and really focus on how can we better ourselves to care about the folks that are in our organization,” said Rogers.

Showing you care about employees can take many different forms. For Joseph Machiote, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Erickson Living, that meant going back to the basics. Instead of giving new hires a giant binder of information on their first day and sending them on their way, the company created Erickson Living University. This program helps onboard new hires and chart a career plan for them. 

“They are looking for something a little different. They’re looking for that relationship with the manager. They’re looking for ‘what’s my next step going to be?’” Machiote explained.

3. Don’t fall victim to tired training programs

Employee retention starts the moment they walk through the door. The executives that were present agreed that companies should alter training programs to create a more welcoming feeling for new hires. Rogers said little things, such as knowing where a back door is, go a long way toward creating a welcoming and caring work environment.

Simpkins echoed that sentiment and said Gardant has moved away from giving new hires a large binder of information. Instead, Gardant's new hires are greeted on their first day with a red carpet rollout where they enter the office to thunderous applause. That may sound like a small effort, but Simpkins says it sets the tone for a new hire’s first week.

Additionally, Gardant gives information in bits and pieces, though materials like the employee handbook are readily made available online. Simpkins explains how Gardant’s new training program ensures a new hire meets with someone each day, such as herself, the president or the CEO. Employees also have a 45- and 90-day check-in to see how they’re doing. But the check-ins are also used by Simkins to see how Gardant is doing in terms of onboarding the new hires.

Every organization has a plan in place to hire and retain employees. But gone are the days where having tuition reimbursement, 401(k) matching and casual Fridays are enough to attract prospective hires. All panelists agreed that senior living providers should be open to making changes to utilizing social media, training, onboarding and office policies to become more appealing to younger workers.

“We really have to band together as an industry, work together as partners, not competitors, to figure out how we attract millennials and young people to this industry,” Kozloski adds.