New Perspectives on Hiring in Senior Living Are Picking Up Steam

Hiring for senior living and retirement communities, particularly in higher levels of care, has historically been a challenge. But it’s one most communities have met with vigor, as management teams realize they must reach beyond competitive salary. Health benefits, commuting incentives, sign-on bonuses and other perks have traditionally helped when it comes to staffing the many departments dependent on quality employees: dining, operations, housekeeping, activities, maintenance, health care. But even these additional considerations may no longer be enough.

The post-pandemic world has shifted many perspectives on matters of daily life; attitudes toward how we make money and priorities around jobs and careers have moved seismically. People are no longer predominantly motivated by a paycheck and traditional benefits. More than ever — and significantly more celebrated than ever — is work that makes an employee happy.

Ebenezer Says What?

Ensuring their workforce is happy is not exactly something employers have, in the past, had to concern themselves with. Content … appreciated … paid fairly? Yes, those are things that have been — and should be — top of mind for leadership looking to hire and retain a strong workforce. But making employees happy? As leaders, is that really our job?

Happiness at work, it turns out, is not a luxury; it is a necessity for optimum productivity, lower absenteeism and, some studies  show, even mitigated health care costs.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy Prepared

Thinking about employees’ happiness and their experience within the walls of your senior community is a worthwhile exercise but one that’s often overlooked. In an industry that prides itself on a person-centered approach, there is a bit of irony in the fact that the workforce is sometimes overlooked when it comes to amenities and services!

“Oftentimes, employees are thought about secondarily,” says Dawn Sigmen, vice president of consulting for Angell Marketing. “If you look at employee break rooms, you can sometimes see they’re very much an afterthought: lawn furniture lines the walls, tables are castaways from other areas in the community. It’s just one operational aspect of a community but it can easily give the idea employees are not valued,” she adds.

The solution, according to Sigmen, is to put the same amount of energy into pleasing employees as you do pleasing residents. It’s not a mystery that both are key to creating a vibrant, thriving, happy community, but thinking about employees in the same way we think about residents requires a shift in mindset.

For well-established communities, creating a comfortable, well-stocked break room for teammates is a commitment sure to pay off. For blue sky communities — those in the development and building phase — planning for comfortable, utilitarian employee spaces will be impactful down the road.

Perks Important to Current and Prospective Employees

In addition to a thoughtfully designed and supplied break room, there are other employee perks that can make a difference in staff retention and, yep, employee happiness.

Here are a few benefits that can make your team’s workday more pleasant and even easier:

• Designated staff parking.
• Public transportation reimbursement.
• Free or discounted meals in the community dining rooms before and after shifts.
• Birthday PTO.
• A hot drink machine in the break room, offering free coffee and tea drinks.
• Designated paid hours for volunteer work each year.

Don’t forget about personal and professional development. Supporting your retirement community workforce in being at the top of their game is proven to benefit your organization and lets them know you are invested in their advancement.

Examples of professional support perks include:

• Quality headshots of staff. Display them throughout the community and send digital copies to staff. Have someone take the photos each quarter so they stay updated.
• A primer on creating and updating a LinkedIn profile where employees can keep up with industry information and interact with the company page. No matter the department — activities, dining, housekeeping, maintenance — encouraging staff to have an updated LinkedIn page lends professional credibility to the work they do.
• Opportunities for CEUs (continuing education units) for clinical and caregiving associates — either on your own campus or in partnership with local health care organizations. Making course catalogs from area schools available to staff is a simple way to show you care about their personal and professional development.
• Tuition reimbursement for continuing education — in subjects that can help grow your employees and make them better teammates: business, culinary arts, management, nursing, aging studies!

Hello, My Name Is

A major motivator for this whole new generation of employees is connection. They are seeking connection with colleagues, employers and, maybe most importantly, with the work they do. They value being “seen” and understood, and they want their work to mean something. The very good news for senior living communities is that we have a story to tell that makes working with seniors compelling to prospective employees in ways that maybe didn’t matter much before, but matter very much now.

The best way to capitalize on this need for connection to a mission is to make sure you are celebrating your community’s mission and vision with employees and with prospective hires. Ask yourself:

• Is your mission clearly visible on the About Us page of your website?
• Is it posted in your community for all residents, visitors and employees to see?
• Does your workforce know what the mission and vision are?

Some team huddles start with stating the mission — it’s a great way to reground yourselves in the reason you’re coming to work each day.

It could also be said that for those of us who find it an honor to work with seniors — soaking up their experience and wisdom — it’s our responsibility to expose our teams to that positive attitude. This is hard work, so it makes sense to put a concerted effort into reminding staff about the contributions they are making to seniors in these golden years of their lives.

One impactful way to create an attitude of gratitude about working with older adults? Encourage employees to take a few minutes during their shift to get to know residents — remember one thing about them (their granddaughter just graduated from dental school or that peach pie is their favorite) and make an effort to mention it the next time they interact. In team standups, ask for staff to share instances of resident connection: “Hey ya’ll, I found out this week that Ms. Robinson used to be a competitive ice skater. Next time you see her, ask her about her axels and salchows. That’s sure to get a smile out of her.”

Reach Hire and Hire

Keeping your employees happy is one challenge; attracting great talent is another. “Obviously, when there’s a shortage of staff, you risk overburdening your employees,” Sigmen shares. But what’s not as obvious is the fact that overworked employees are less likely to create social bonds and meaningful connections we now know are so important to them. So, like any part of your operations — whether you have an HR department, a single hiring manger or hiring for senior living is left to department heads — periodically reviewing your hiring process from start to finish is essential. We need to get candidates in the door before we can show them this industry can be rewarding.

From the help wanted post to the interview to the follow-up, make sure your approach to senior living recruiting is thoughtful:

• Keep messaging around your job openings very targeted. Describe the responsibilities in full.
• Highlight your mission in the job posting — yes, include your community’s mission statement.
• Point out the good your caregivers and support staff are doing for seniors, making their lives easier and more fun! Particularly when it comes to memory care and assisted living hiring caregivers, communities benefit from connecting these jobs to a sense of purpose and mission.
• Give examples of ways you value a healthy work-life balance. Mention family days on campus, birthday PTO and on-campus meal perks. (And if you don’t have these or similar benefits, get them in place now.)

In addition to staying in touch with area high schools and universities, recruit for senior living from other industries that make sensible cross-over opportunities. Hospitality and real estate are both ripe for recruitment to senior living, particularly for the sales and marketing department, as well as activities and operations.

“People who sell weddings and events are typically really good senior living employees because they have to work the lead for a long time, just like we do in selling a life plan community,” Sigmen says. “It’s all about developing and nurturing relationships.”

Someone working in real estate — at any level — is another good prospective employee for a senior community, particularly in sales and marketing. For life plan communities with an entrance fee, applicants with a real estate background understand the importance of qualifying. However, as Sigmen explains, it’s important for those with real estate experience to remember that the approach to selling senior living is different: “It’s not about the sticks and bricks; it’s about the lifestyle,” she says,

Don’t forget to recruit from within! Referrals from existing teammates — just like referrals from residents — are like pure gold. “When communities invest more in employee satisfaction, just like we do for residents, employee referrals go up,” Sigmen says. “Sometimes it’s difficult to think about the recruiting aspect of our budgets because hiring isn’t lead generating at face value. However it can be when you factor in employee retention,” she adds.

For communities in the development phase, Angell Marketing provides consulting on building sales and marketing teams from the ground up. Your employee teams will be the first people to truly inhabit the community. They may not be residents, but they certainly will contribute to its personality, culture and MISSION. If you need assistance establishing a sales team hiring strategy for your new community, reach out to us for information on how we can help.