This is the first of three articles about Workforce Development in Aging Services.  The focus of the articles will encompass three pillars:

1. Adopting Best Practices to Retain the Current Workforce

2. Creating Non-Traditional Growth and Advancement Pathways

3. Cultivating the Next Generation Aging Services Workforce

This topic is of great importance due to the national and global caregiving crisis for both paid and unpaid caregivers.  This series will focus only on paid caregivers, with an acknowledgement that the unpaid caregiver crisis impacts the need and demand for more paid caregivers. 

Pillar 1: Best Practices to Maintain the Current Workforce

Let's begin the discussion about the Aging Services Workforce by acknowledging that there are many wonderful and committed people caring for elders throughout the continuum of care- 3.7 million according to this LeadingAge Vision White Paper.

Sadly, the massive turnover experienced in this industry will keep the rotating door busy, without even considering the increasing demand due to the aging population.  

So, before addressing the need for new entrants, we should begin with discussing strategies to retain our current employees.  The LeadingAge Vision White Paper above provides an excellent roadmap of six strategies to build workforce and my intent with this series is to enhance the conversation by approaching the issue of retention from other angles.  

In the dynamic and challenging field of aging services, fostering a workplace culture that prioritizes empathy, generosity, and happiness can significantly impact employee retention. As professionals navigate the complexities of providing care and support to older adults, the emotional well-being of employees becomes a crucial factor in ensuring both quality service delivery and sustained job satisfaction.

 

 

 

 

With CMS adding new metrics for turnover and staffing levels into the star system, healthcare leaders are looking for meaningful ways to retain staff. Employee empowerment is one key area of employee satisfaction often overlooked in a task-driven culture. A recent survey found that 2,034 nursing home administrators revealed a greater staff empowerment practice score was positively associated with greater retention.

It is time to get serious about changing the onboarding process for new hires, and there is no time to lose.  Maggie Keen, Vice President of Corporate Development at MissionCare Collective delivered this impactful message for AGE-u-cate's February Virtual Road Trip entitled, "Building Culture:  Rethinking recruitment, onboarding, and retention to drive better care and a better workplace."  

I found advice from Forbes, dated December 31, 2018, that I believe is spot on about setting 2022 new year's resolutions, and it goes like this, "This year, set goals instead of resolutions."