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Page 20 — Health Care Properties Quarterly — October 2017
Senior Housing & Care
W ith the decade-long boom
in senior living and health
care real estate develop-
ment in Colorado, a key
challenge for operators is
to attract and retain top talent on
all levels. With the Colorado unem-
ployment rate hovering under 2.5
percent, the 2017 job market out-
look is unequivocally positive, with
the overall prospects for job seekers
being the best in 15 years. Given
the fierce competition for labor,
employers need to have a solid
game plan and proactive strategy
to retain the best and brightest in
their workforce.
According to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, employment of
health care occupations, which
includes senior living caregivers, is
projected to grow 19 percent from
2014 to 2024, much faster than the
average for all occupations, adding
about 2.3 million new jobs. Senior
housing and health care occupa-
tions will add more jobs than any
other labor group, with this increase
due in part to the growth in our
aging population. In a high real
estate development area like Colo-
rado, this means hundreds of senior
living communities, skilled nursing
facilities, hospitals and home health
care, among others, are all vying for
the same top talent. So what does
this mean for employers? Retain-
ing your workforce will be harder
but adopting new and dedicated
recruitment and retention strate-
gies can help to ensure you remain
competitive in your labor market.
Senior living and health care real
estate assets’ suc-
cesses are highly
dependent on a
strong and suc-
cessful workforce
and well-managed
human resource
effort by the opera-
tor.
Key strategies in
today’s workplace
include having
a dedicated and
knowledgeable
human resource
focus with a fin-
ger on the pulse
for several areas: the ever-changing
competitive job market, best prac-
tices for hiring and recruiting a
multigenerational workforce, creat-
ing opportunities to excel in wage
and benefit options, leadership
development of supervisors and
building an attractive work environ-
ment in which employees thrive.
A common human resource the-
ory is that employees do not quit
jobs or companies, they quit man-
agers. How does your management
team compare to your competitors?
Having well-trained managers will
go a long way toward retaining your
best employees. Focus some of your
retention efforts on helping manag-
ers be the kind of leaders that peo-
ple want to work hard for. This may
be a shift from managing to coach-
ing. A manager shows someone
how to do something, such as the
day-to-day tasks for his job and a
coach goes a step further to help an
individual realize his full potential
and maximize positive outcomes,
including fostering job growth and
work satisfaction. How does this
help with retention? An employee’s
self-worth is often derived from the
importance of what she does for a
living, the ability to positively affect
others and the feeling of being rec-
ognized for good work.
Colorado is a state that has
attracted large numbers of millen-
nial workers. The millennial genera-
tion is the largest generation in U.S.
history, yet a recent survey indi-
cated that only 28 percent of senior
care organizations have adapted
their practices to attract and engage
millennial workers.
In a talent market challenged
by caregiver shortages and high
turnover, senior care providers
need to understand key workplace
satisfaction goals with the millen-
nial population in order to be suc-
cessful. Firms with an emphasis on
attracting millennials are moving
away from traditional employee
work area design features and
developing well-designed spaces
to represent their brand and aid in
attracting top, young talent. Creat-
ing workspace that is open, conver-
sational and efficient is important
to millennial workers. Having an
employee break area that offers fit-
ness options, comfortable furnish-
ings and technology access also is
a growing design strategy. Software
and tech companies are great at
attracting young talent because
they understand that millennials
thrive on collaboration and a sense
of openness and cooperation, which
can be supported through environ-
mental design features.
Colorado also offers a strong focus
on technology development, which
can serve to help attract younger
workers to the senior living and
health care workplace. A winning
technology focus includes systems
that streamline communication
processes to make work efficient,
and even fun, not frustrating. The
decision to implement new tech-
nology throughout a senior living
community can have a big impact
on recruitment and retention. When
choosing technology, be sure to con-
sider the needs and desires not only
of your residents, but also the ben-
efits to your employees.
Identifying and attracting top
talent are key to the growth and
success of your organization and
real estate asset. When looking at
why people are leaving their jobs in
2017, the U.S. Labor Department’s
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Survey finds that “voluntary quits”
are far outpacing layoffs. More than
50 percent of those leaving jobs
right now are doing so voluntarily,
compared with only fewer than 30
percent being laid off. Colorado is
a state where top talent, no matter
what the position, can be selective
in their job acceptance and continu-
ation. Having a robust talent man-
agement strategy and designated
team to work proactively on creat-
ing and retaining a great team can
make all the difference! ▲
Nancy Schwalm
Chief business
development
officer, Vivage
Senior Living,
Lakewood