Using Technology to Satisfy the Senior Care Workforce
Senior care organizations should take advantage of automation and artificial intelligence to augment their workforces, said Steven VanderVelde, director of senior living partnership at ProviNET Solutions. This goes beyond using robots in dining areas. What redundant tasks could be done by bots? Where can passive patient monitoring be used? How can organizations improve IT strategic planning so that they can actually make use of software integrations?
Aaron Fields, CIO of the Rochester, N.Y.-based St. Ann’s Community, explained how his organization turned to automation to assign single sign-on employee accounts and provide accessible documentation for work-related questions amid heavy staff turnover. He noted that senior care organizations must adapt to a changing workforce. “Show me a 22-year-old that wants to make a phone call,” he said.
Fields highlighted a same-day pay solution with a payroll provider. “It’s that empathy. It’s meeting staff where they’re at and understanding what’s important to them,” he said.
READ MORE: How to connect rural communities to aging services.
Mary Lynn Spalding, president and CEO of Christian Care Communities, said that her organization offers same-day pay for employees and a rewards system in which high-performing employees can earn points for Amazon purchases.
Employees want to feel valued, Spalding said, and technology can facilitate that. She shared that the HR management tool her organization uses supports active retention strategies: If it appears that an employee is at risk of leaving the organization, the team can address issues as they arise.
“Set up your technology with reports that you’re actually going to use. Do not waste your money,” she advised.
Ultimately, senior care organizations must talk directly with employees about what’s meaningful to them. “Celebrating staff and recognition is incredibly important,” said Peter Corless, executive vice president of enterprise development at OnShift, a senior care HR software company.
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