Assisted Living Challenges: making the most of high unemployment

Two sectors of our economy seem to be thriving: education and health care. My company (Institute for Senior Living Education) happens to be nicely poised in the intersection of these two sectors; yours is likely more in the health care/senior care sector.

Unless your census has suffered significantly with the economic downturn, you’re likely in the hiring mode, not the lay-off mode.

Applicants may be, for the first time, plentiful and qualified.

If you’re lucky, you may have this edge in hiring for the next several months.

Taking advantage of it, however, it not a slam-dunk. It may take a little more thought and consideration to be able to hire the best and keep them into the economic recovery.

What can you do? Here are some thoughts taken from a wide range of studies and industries that seem to apply to this environment:

1. Spend some extra time thinking about the kind of person you’d love to hire for each opening you have. Look at current employees who are your stars in similar roles. What makes them so great? Consider personality, character and other factors that may be independent of experience and training. You may have the opportunity to hire individuals with similar personality traits and train them to become equally valuable members of your team.
2. Get plugged into technology to help you with the hiring process – now. Never used Craig’s list before? Give it a shot now. Look for other online job boards you can use. Consider utilizing an online application option to allow those interested in your positions to apply online, without needing to develop a resume or fax/mail/drop off an application. Many tools are available, including one developed by my own team that is currently available at no charge to senior care employers (see www.apply2care.com). Link your job postings or want ads to the application website and gain the advantage of being the first employer to see the application, delivered directly to your email inbox, looking tech-saavy and current to your prospective employees at the same time.
3. Select carefully. You may have the opportunity to interview several candidates for a position – a delightfully new situation for many providers. Involve individuals who will be working with the new hire in the interview process and don’t hesitate to take your time to interview twice, check references, and slow down the process. Hiring carefully now can save you time and money in turnover later.
4. Think about career advancement opportunities you can offer in-house. If you hire individuals who may be somewhat overqualified for their new position, offer these employees extra training to be ready to advance as opening occur in your own internal career ladder. Perhaps you don’t foresee any management openings; offer training anyway to keep the motivated hire interested and engaged.
5. Consider additional training opportunities all the way through your team. This is a proven strategy to reduce turnover and increase employee engagement; now may be the perfect time for you to implement enhanced training programs for all your staff members.

While other companies are laying off employees, most of us are still hiring. Take advantage of this change of pace, and build up your team to become the very best it can be.