Maintaining a strong workforce through innovative strategies

Just about every news story on the aged care industry currently mentions the workforce shortage the sector is facing.

The Federal Government has outlined some plans to attempt to address this crisis, including raising wages and recruiting migrant workers, but what can you do as a provider to strengthen your own workforce right now?

With decades of experience in the sector, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prestige Inhome Care, Nick McDonald, has some innovative ideas about what providers can do to attract and retain workers.

Mr McDonald believes there is a “suite of strategies” that can help to alleviate the workforce crisis.

But first he says it’s important to understand first why the workforce shortage is occurring.

Aged care workers are leaving the sector in droves due to a variety of reasons, but the top reported reasons are low pay, feeling undervalued and overworked, and pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People are burnt out,” explained Mr McDonald.

“It’s emotionally and physically challenging work, and the influence of the pandemic on this population has pushed many people over the edge into retirement or a career change.

“Border closures have also reduced the available immigrant workforce.

“Many people have been unwell with COVID and there remains a cohort who choose not to get vaccinated and are therefore unable to deliver in home care.”

Strategies to “turn the tide” on workforce shortage

Some innovative strategies are needed to stop the industry from falling further into crisis and to move towards a future where there are enough aged care workers to provide quality care to all of Australia’s ageing population.

According to Mr McDonald the strategies begin with boosting rewards for workers and improving conditions of work.

“We [at Prestige] believe we cannot wait for the Government or the industry to lead the change,” Mr McDonald said.

“We have recently announced pay rates of up to 38% above award, in addition to a suite of other reward and development opportunities.

“We are also looking to move a greater percentage of our current workforce from casual to permanent roles.”

Sign-on bonuses are another initiative Mr McDonald has used in his business with good effects, and he has seen it work effectively for other providers in the industry.

Aside from financial benefits, making an effort to understand what workers need and the challenges they are facing has been a focus of Mr McDonald’s.

“We conducted focus groups with our existing employees and found that many of our care workers desired longer shifts where possible and a roster of shifts that suited their personal commitments, giving them work-life balance,” he explained.

“Another example is that our carers told us they didn’t want to have to pay for required certifications such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme worker screening check.

“That’s why we now cover the cost of a number of required certifications for all permanent care staff. Retention is equally, if not more, critical right now [compared] to attracting new talent.”

Lessons from elsewhere

Looking to other industries facing shortages, such as education and hospitality, to see what strategies are working there and adapting these to fit aged care is another suggestion of Mr McDonald’s.

“It is essential to step outside your own ‘sandbox’ to benefit from collective wisdom,” he said.

As the shortages in these industries are addressed it will provide key learnings for aged care providers on what may work and what to avoid.

Many countries overseas also face issues with staff and workforce in similar countries to Australia.

For example, the United Kingdom and United States are also experiencing shortages in healthcare workers.

Keeping an eye on what these countries are doing to solve the issue may uncover an innovative solution to bring to Australian shores.

Mr McDonald said an example of this is other countries’ prioritisation of employees’ health and wellbeing.

“At Prestige, we have partnered with an Employee Assistance Program provider to give all staff access to a confidential counselling service for assistance with any workplace or personal issues that may be impacting upon their performance or wellbeing,” he said.

Using technology to maximise people power

When talking innovation, many people automatically think of technology as a way to bring about change and efficiencies.

Technology can make a difference and relieve some pressure from aged care workers, particularly when used in conjunction with other workforce strategies.

“Investment in ‘best of breed’ technologies for recruitment, onboarding, scheduling and payroll, etc are critical to efficiency and an outstanding experience for employees,” explained Mr McDonald.

“Using technology to nail communication is also a massive priority for us as we hear loud and clear from our workforce that communication needs to be better.

“In order to be an employer of choice, you need to provide the systems, technology and even hardware to ensure your workforce has the tools they need to do their jobs well – they don’t want to be distracted with laborious manual processes that take them away from helping the clients that we are all here to serve.”

However, Mr McDonald doesn’t believe technology alone can be the solution to attracting and retaining workers, so innovative technology needs to be used in conjunction with innovative strategies.

Multiple types of strategies will also be needed, as the worker shortage is a complex issue, Mr McDonald believes no one has yet found a “silver bullet” to put the issue to rest.

Where should the Government step in?

Although there are many ways providers can take control of the situation and strengthen their workforces service by service, some changes could also be made by the Federal Government to help this along.

Mr McDonald hopes the Government will allow older Australians on the Age Pension to work more hours without having their payment reduced.

He feels this would unlock a cohort of workers still physically able to contribute to aged care positions, and potentially with decades of experience in care, but currently prevented from working by the tight financial Pension requirements.

The second key action the Government could take to boost the workforce is to amend visa rules to allow more care staff to be brought in from overseas, Mr McDonald said.

The Government has indicated it will look at both of these options to assist in attracting more workers into aged care.