The pandemic should provide the reason, and time, for providers to re-think labor.
When the weekly unemployment filings broke records last spring, there were some people who thought that with millions of workers newly unemployed, the labor crisis afflicting senior care might ease. As far as we have heard, it has not.
An unintended consequence of this pandemic is that with census nationally dropping by 1,000 basis points, or more, staffing needs have dropped as well. Fewer people to feed and care for means not as much staff needed, at least in theory.
So far, we have not heard of unemployed workers lining up to work in nursing homes or assisted living communities. Most likely the two primary reasons are wage rates and the perception of safety. The supplemental unemployment benefits also kept many away, for the time being.
In addition, many of the potential workers weren’t really qualified, at least on the care side. This pandemic will end at some point, but there has been no better time for the entire senior care sector to hit the “re-think” button when it comes to labor. This includes hiring, training, promoting and of course wages.
If you can’t survive financially with the minimum wage in your community at $15 per hour in the future, and all others higher, well, you might have to re-think your business plan. We are going to tackle this problem in a webinar on labor next month, so if you know anyone who has had some success, who has the secret sauce for labor in this market, please give me a call. A few years ago I said labor would be the biggest issue facing the sector, and I still believe so, other than the current pandemic, of course.
