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Creative Solutions for Your Top 3 Staffing Challenges

September 6, 2016 | Mike Pumphrey


solutions-for-top-staffing-challenges.jpgThis year, the senior care industry has been marked by many staffing challenges, not least of which is a labor shortage. At the same time, the population of older Americans who will require senior care services is growing. Having fewer workers available has made it even more difficult for providers to face and conquer the likes of wage pressures, managing multigenerational staffs and engaging employees.

Dealing with these three staffing challenges might make you want to throw your hands up in frustration. But there are best practices to employ and solutions to implement that can mean the difference between succumbing to the labor shortage and rising above it with a stronger workforce than ever.

  1. Multigenerational Management

The senior care industry is at a unique point where its labor force consists of workers from multiple generations. Millennial employees are highest in number across all industries, but baby boomers, generation X and a sprinkling of generation Z are all working for common goals within shared organizations.

Each generation has their preferences when it comes to communication, feedback and collaboration. Considering different workplace preferences and generational outlooks on work more generally, appropriately managing across the generations can be quite a challenge. Senior living and post-acute care leaders must consider new strategies to accommodate all staff members.

Solutions: Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to company communication. Instead, try to understand and abide by how each generation likes to communicate for higher quality responses and involvement. Aside from communication, flexible management and collaborative programs are keys to effective multigenerational management.

  1. Employee Engagement

High turnover rates and countless studies noting engagement as an important component of business success have spurred a greater focus on recruitment efforts, and recruiting the right staff is a great way to create a strong workforce. But what you do after new staff is hired is just as important.

What is your plan to make sure new staff doesn’t leave with in those first few critical weeks? Keeping employees interested in and connected to their work should also be a priority.

Engaging employees is an effective strategy to reduce the costs associated with turnover. Employee engagement doesn’t only improve a provider’s bottom line, though. It also does wonders to advance quality in senior care. When companies spend more time in attempting to keep their workers engaged, they stand to benefit tremendously.

SolutionsEngagement through recognition has the potential to boost business performance and enhance a company’s mission, and this can be accomplished through connections established across the hierarchy of employees. Other tips include establishing mentorship programs and conducting staff surveys to put feedback into action.

There’s no question that staffing challenges present in the senior care industry today provide obstacles in recruiting and retaining a solid staff. Continuing to focus on these challenges and working toward solutions can be your means toward overcoming the barriers.

  1. Wage Pressures

Senior care remains in competition for entry-level workers from other industries (think: retail and fast-food chains), so rising state and local minimum wages across the country pose both a threat and an opportunity for the industry. If operators can offer competitive wages to start, then they position themselves well to stay ahead of their rival employers. 

However, raising the bar for minimum wages is no easy—or cheap—task. Providers must look at different ways they can free up some funds to be able to afford paying workers more. In a recent survey OnShift conducted with McKnight’s Long Term Care News, 45% of senior care organizations had overtime that constituted 6% or more of their labor budget. Many senior care organizations can tighten the reins on labor costs and parlay those funds into better wages or programs to engage current employees. 

Solutions: Overtime can be an employer’s biggest downfall, so taking a hard look at overtime levels and making adjustments can make a big difference in allowing a budget available for higher wages. 

Setting a labor budget by position and shift can help you determine and maintain appropriate staffing levels for your community. Census and resident acuity should also be considered. Managing to a labor budget can save your organization money in the long run. Additionally, deploying scheduling technology can help identify unnecessary costs before they start to make an impact. 

Take steps now to address these critical staffing issues. As the workforce shortage intensifies, you will need to have strong strategies in place to stay ahead of the competition.

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About Mike Pumphrey

Mike Pumphrey is Vice President of Product Marketing at OnShift. His expertise in staffing and labor management strategies in long-term care and senior living is foundational to his role leading OnShift’s Product Marketing team. Mike works hand-in-hand with state and national associations, senior care providers, and with OnShift’s Customer Success and Product teams to create impactful best practices aimed to help solve the daily workforce challenges in senior care. Mike shares insights, research and recommendations to improve clinical, operational, and financial outcomes through regular blog posts and conference speaking engagements.

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