Since the beginning of the year, the novel coronavirus has affected essentially every industry across the country, if not the world. While some industries – like hospitality – have essentially ground to a halt, others – like the senior care industry – have needed to ramp up their staffing efforts.
Even as the world begins to have some semblance of normal again, many hospitality workers are still suffering – and could be for the foreseeable future. Not only are people not traveling as much, but most hotels, entertainment venues, and resorts are under strict guidelines to operate at limited capacity, which means that the number of staff is also limited. Many employees are continuing to be furloughed, and more are losing their jobs on a daily basis.
For the senior care industry, which has had the opposite problem during this time and is continuing to actively hire more people, this is a huge opportunity. Many facilities have been recruiting individuals with hospitality backgrounds – but this has come with its own unique set of challenges.
Not everyone is going to have experience specifically with senior care
Many of the skills from hospitality to senior care are transferrable. For example, managers, cooks, and housekeepers have all been relatively easy to hire. However, it has been more difficult to find qualified applicants with specific skill sets, such as nurses, caregivers, and medical technicians. Some skills can be taught on the job, while others will require specific certifications or degrees.
There is a fear that working with seniors means increased viral risk
There are a lot of people that are – understandably – afraid of exposing themselves and their loved ones to the virus. After all, seniors care centers have been some of the hardest-hit areas, especially because they include some of the most at-risk individuals, many of whom have preexisting conditions that would make them more susceptible to difficult side effects.
Some furloughed workers might just prefer to wait for their jobs to come back
It seems as though there are others who have been furloughed from their hospitality jobs and are just happy to live off of the unemployment checks until their job pops back up. While this might seem like a good idea at the moment, many are discovering that they may not be so lucky. When recruiting, senior care facilities might want to push the opportunity to learn a new skill set and build up their resume in the meantime (or as a backup).
Hospitality workers looking for work offers a great opportunity. In fact, some senior care facilities might be overwhelmed by applications. One strategy to find top talent would be to hire a hospitality superstar and then ask him or her to reach out to colleagues who they know were also laid off or furloughed. Either way, the senior care industry is certainly lucky to have an influx of such high potential talent.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash