6 Recruiting Tips to Overcome the Workforce Shortage in Senior Care

We’ve heard it time and again in the senior care space—the workforce shortage is upon us. That means competition is fierce for attracting new candidates, and post-acute and senior living providers alike need to rethink their approach to recruitment if they want to tap into the best talent pool possible. And since millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce, it makes sense to give them special consideration.

This might entail exploring different social channels for job postings, or casting a wider net in terms of where you’re looking for potential senior care workers. Consider these recruiting tips to overcome the workforce shortage and solidify a capable, reliable staff.

1. Create accurate job posts: It might seem an obvious step in the recruitment process, but what you write in a job listing can either attract or deter potential candidates. What’s more, if you’re honest about what a job entails, you’re more likely to find someone well suited for the particular position. Check your current job posts to be sure they’re accurately describing the position at hand in a way that’s easy to understand. In future listings, be sure to explain what the job requires and what type of person you think would be a best fit.
2. Streamline the application process: There’s no easier way to discourage potential workers from applying for a job than with an application that forces them to spend an excessive amount of time filling out several pages of information. To avoid losing candidates before they even apply, make your application process less complicated.
3. Look at different social channels: Across all forms of health care, millennials reportedly consult at least a dozen resources on average before applying to a job. That means you can’t rely solely on your company’s website to get your job postings to the masses. Consider sites like Glassdoor and Indeed and social channels like LinkedIn, among others, to reach a broader pool of candidates.
4. Cast a wider net: The Internet and various social platforms are clearly necessary when it comes to recruitment today, but to overcome the workforce shortage, it’s also necessary to think outside the box—and sometimes revert back to past recruitment tactics. Perhaps a job fair at your company would tap into the community at large and draw a different type of candidate. Partnerships with local community colleges and universities also prove beneficial when it comes time to make a hire.
5. Build your company’s branding: If job candidates don’t know who you are as a company, then they’re less likely to seek you out or recognize you when they come across a job posting. Get your company name out there through community events and social media outlets to promote the benefits of your organization, highlighting community outreach and other appealing aspects. You can also leverage your current employees’ positive experiences and their social media presence to attract potential workers to your company.
6. Showcase technology: Millennials like and expect to use technology on the job. Let prospective employees know which technologies they can expect to use at your facility either in the job post itself or during the interview. If you use an EHR, scheduling software, and other automated systems, that is a selling point for many job-seekers.

The workforce shortage in post-acute care and senior living is daunting, to be sure. But it doesn’t mean attracting new workers to your company needs to be painstaking. In fact, senior living and post-acute providers have the unique opportunity to revamp their recruitment techniques, especially given the nature of the business and providing care for a population that needs it.