According to the World Health Organization, one in six people will be at or over the age of 60 by the year 2030. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the global population over 60 years of age is projected to increase from 12% to 22%. With this growth in the senior population comes an enormous growth in the need for caring, experienced, and dedicated professionals to work in senior care and assisted living.
From the top-level executives to the people working “on the floor” daily, every individual has a role to play in ensuring that clients get compassionate, thorough care that meets their unique needs with dignity. At Aspen, we are committed to placing top talent at every level, matching the right skills with the right roles to offer the best possible support to clients and their families.
These highly-qualified, hard-working professionals directly impact the care provided to clients, with complex and often demanding jobs that can be challenging mentally, physically, and emotionally. The stresses of the past few years, however, have resulted in a mini-exodus from healthcare overall. In April 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported around 512,000 healthcare workers leaving their jobs, or about 2.4% of the workforce. Those numbers are slightly lower from the immediately preceding months (which saw between 550,000 and 570,000 healthcare workers quitting per month). Still, they indicate that healthcare – including niches like senior care and assisted living – must do a better job of supporting the frontline workers who face the greatest pressures on the job.
Recruiting top talent for these key positions requires a deep understanding of what both clients and employees need. In many instances, these overlap. For instance, one top concern among senior care professionals is the need for adequate staffing. Care professionals want to make sure that they will be able to perform their duties without skipping breaks, being overscheduled, and becoming burnt out. Similarly, clients benefit from having appropriate staffing levels, as it means better focus on individual client-provider relationships and a much lower likelihood of oversights and errors.
Key roles in senior care and related fields can require highly specific qualifications, experience, or other job requirements. That’s why it can be helpful to work with an expert recruiter like Aspen. With extensive expertise and connections across the industry, you’ll be much better positioned to find top talent in a competitive market. Plus, a recruiter can save you time and money by pre-screening candidates to ensure they have any necessary qualifications and that they’d be willing to accept the terms of your offer, before you’ve even made it officially.
When it comes to caring professions, it’s the frontline workers who truly make or break an organization. We couldn’t be prouder to work in an industry filled with such dedicated, hard-working, and skillful professionals!
By Tom Zeleny, NHA