The senior living industry has always had staffing challenges. Still, the results of a new survey from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) have shown that 77% of assisted living facilities are in the midst of a historic staffing crisis.
Why is there a sudden decrease in staffing for assisted living homes, and how can staffing and background check companies help move the process along?
Why the Shortage?
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, all industries have faced staffing shortages; however, the senior living industry has faced the most challenges as employees fear contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to the residents. Additionally, the lack of funding to offer a competitive wage is turning candidates away, especially those unwilling to abide by state- or employer-mandated vaccines.
Employees Leaving
One of the main reasons current employees are leaving the senior living industry is due to exhaustion; Patti Cullen, CEO of Care Providers of Minnesota, says: “They’ve left because they’re exhausted. Eighteen months fighting COVID with full [personal protective equipment] is exhausting.” Companies also report that many employees have left because the unemployment benefits are more attractive than their wages working at nursing homes. AHCA/NCAL has proposed measures to increase the funding for the industry in the Care for Our Seniors Act, a bill they are calling on Congress and states to pass. The agencies state if nursing homes and assisted living communities can offer competitive wages and training, then the “workers will follow.”
Unqualified Candidates
Most nursing homes and assisted living facilities that have reported staffing shortages are identifying the most significant problem as not having enough qualified candidates to hire. Hiring staffing or background checking companies, such as ClearStar, can help efficiently sort through candidates to determine who is qualified and maybe a good fit for the company. They can also assist with speed-to-hire with mobile technology to speed up the hiring process. During stressful times due to low staffing, new employees need to handle being hired, trained, and moved straight into working without burning out. Background screening can find those candidates before the interview process begins.
Staffing with ClearStar
ClearStar is integrated with SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting to deliver accredited, award-winning, mobile background and medical screening capabilities to clients. ClearStar is certified by the SAP ICC to ensure quick and easy implementation and is also a partner in the SAP PartnerEdge program. As such, our company is empowered to build, market, and sell software applications on top of market-leading technology platforms from SAP. To quickly and effectively find new qualified employees, work with ClearStar and SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting on background screening and hiring.
To learn more about ClearStar’s integrations with SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting, visit https://www.clearstar.net/sap-successfactors/. To place an order for a social media screening report or other background checks, contact ClearStar at +1.888.982.4648 or visit https://www.clearstar.net/contact/.
