The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated challenges in the senior living workforce. During the EFA Conference + Expo session, “Design Strategies to Address Staffing Shortages,” speakers discussed the challenges and offered design and operational strategies that communities could employ to help attract and retain staff.
Presented by Daniel R. Godfrey Jr., partner at RLPS Architects (Lancaster, Pa.) and Matt Schuler, director of culinary development at SCOPOS Hospitality Group (Ephrata, Pa.), the speakers noted that in a competitive environment good staff are hard to find and harder to retain. “To address the post-pandemic desire [of employees] to find a healthy work-home balance, savvy employers will focus on health and wellness in the workplace by providing spaces and programs that respond to this goal,” Godfrey said.
Investing in staff spaces is a good place to start. For example, Schuler said it’s important to have dedicated break areas away from residents to allow employees a chance to decompress. “Staff spaces should be designed with the same care and consideration as resident spaces,” he said. “Hospitality trends and aesthetics are just as applicable for staff spaces as they are to resident and shared common spaces.”
For example, Schuler shared that SCOPOS is currently developing a staff break room prototype for a large healthcare system that enables staff to have 24/7 access to healthy foods, such as salads, via automated technology. “Healthy food options represent a culture that promotes the health of residents and staff,” Godfrey said. “This culture is what will attract staff and differentiate your community from others.”
Other strategies that can help retain and attract employees include providing housing and childcare resources. For example, providing on-site workforce housing can be a means to alleviate long commutes and housing shortages in a market area for employees. Godfrey said he’s seeing some communities looking at older residential buildings to reinvent as workforce housing to attract and retain staff. “It can be a real difference maker for prospective employees,” he said. ”Workforce housing can alleviate the strain caused by rising gas costs and assist potential employees with limited access to a vehicle or public transportation.”
Proving on-site childcare program can be another attractive amenity to retain employees, with some communities exploring strategic partnerships with childcare services to provide programs within arm’s reach of their staff, Godfrey said. “This has become especially important to staff who have had their childcare interrupted by the pandemic,” he said.
On the operational side, efficiencies used during the pandemic like grab-and-go or curbside food delivery options can be continued to help alleviate pressure on staff. “Reducing strain at peak meal times on an already depleted staff allows them to have positive interactions with residents and each other,” Godfrey said.
