Cultivating Tomorrow's Senior Living Workforce in Today's Economy by Argentum

5/3/17

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Building Tomorrow’s Senior Living Workforce in Today’s Economy: A Framework for Action by Dr. David DeLong Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference Nashville, TN May 3, 2017

Smart Workforce Strategies david@SmartWorkforceStrategies.com (978) 369-5083 www.SmartWorkforceStrategies.com © D.W. DeLong 2015

Would You Like To: §  Learn more productive ways to think about your industry’s workforce challenges? §  Identify leading edge solutions for recruiting, development & retention of critical staff? §  Take more productive steps in leadership development? §  Better align your company’s culture with your workforce & leadership development needs?

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What Are Your Assumptions About Tomorrow’s Workforce?

My Premise

Every senior living executive can enhance their company’s workforce strategy by taking any of seven steps.

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Agenda

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Where Do You Fit in This Story?

•  7 Critical Success Factors for Building an Effective Senior Living Workforce •  What Will You Do Differently?

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Size matters – Brookdale, national, regional, smaller operators

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Number of employees: 80,000+ to 100s

•  Geography is factor in recruiting & retention, Las Vegas, rural Minnesota, Cleveland •

Focus & offerings vary: assisted living, memory care, independent living

•  High-end boutiques, mid-market, lower end •  Level & strategy for growth varies

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Themes I Heard From You! How to: •

Improve recruiting & retention of front line caregivers?

•

Develop a workforce & leadership development strategy that realistically supports our business strategy?

•

Find more diverse pool of senior mgt talent to draw from?

•  Build a culture for developing & retaining talent? •  Make our industry “sexier”?

Why Senior Living Industry Will Conquer Workforce Problem §  Senior living jobs & career opportunities are not going away. It’s a growth industry! §  Industry offers relatively low-skilled jobs for grads who lack resources & networks to compete for higher skill professional jobs. §  It’s meaningful, mission-driven work that can attract millennials & younger boomers §  Challenging careers offer work/life balance §  Flexibility in designing solutions: no govt security clearances, can use part-timers, ages 18-80 © D.W. DeLong 2016

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EXERCISE: Why Will Senior Living Meet Challenges of Changing Workforce? •  Turn to colleague and answer: What gives you hope that the senior living industry will meet the challenges of an aging, changing workforce? •  Offer examples of initiatives or changes that have made a significant difference in addressing workforce & leadership development problems. •  Share your ideas with others. Notice similarities & differences between them.

Discussion Risk

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Macro Trends Change Strategic Importance of Workforce §  Aging demographics §  Work more technical, complex §  Recruiting/hiring process §  Changing values §  Competitors investing

Industries Struggling to Find Qualified Workers Different Sectors

Related Industries

§  Accounting

§  Health Care

§  Supply Chain

§  Construction

§  Public Utilities

§  Religious Workers

§  Trucking

§  Rural States – Maine

§  Aggregate Mining

§  Global Benefits Managers

§  Rail Transportation

§  Funeral Industry

§  Manufacturing

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Albert Einstein Said:

“The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them.”

7 Keys to Closing Skills Gaps to Drive Your Business Strategy

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#1: Watch Your Language!

Step #1: Define “Talent Management” For Your Organization Human Capital An umbrella term for “people” and all ac3vi3es to improve the value of workforce & leadership capabili3es

“Strategic Workforce Planning” Front-‐end diagnosEc & forecasEng process to idenEfy speciﬁc capabiliEes needed

“Talent Management”

(strategy, systems, processes, pracEces)

Investments & ac3vi3es to enhance recrui3ngà developmentà performanceà reten3on of high performing employees

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Talent Management “Lifecycle” Knowledge Retention Leadership Development

Recruiting

Retention of HiPos

Hiring

Performance Management

Onboarding Employee Development © D.W. DeLong 2016

#2: Prioritize Talent-Related Risks 7 Talent Problems That Kill Your Performance

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7 Talent Problems: That Can Kill Your Profits •

Bad Hires (or No Hires)

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Unproductive New Hires – Poor Onboarding

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Inadequate Employee Development

•  Unwanted Turnover •  Poor Performance Management •  Lack of Leadership Development •

Loss of Critical Capabilities & Know-How © D.W. DeLong 2016

Diagnosing Gaps: Talent Problems vs. Progress

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Exercise 1. How would you evaluate seriousness of these 7 problem areas in your organization? (On a scale of 1- no problem to 7-very serious problem) 2. Compare & discuss results with rest of your team. What are the similarities & differences? 3. Identify top 3 areas where the most work is needed?

Clarify Specific Capabilities at Risk & Prioritize Focus §  You’re not going to retain everyone! §  How do you set your priorities now? §  Not all high-potentials are created equal §  Some can be replaced more easily or you have more depth in role §  Who is most critical to sustaining future performance & expanding operations?

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Identifying Capabilities at Risk With Knowledge Silo Matrix (KSM) §  Losing wrong people creates serious quality, reputational & financial risks §  Knowledge Solo Matrix: structured capabilities assessment tool to evaluate talent risks §  Makes current skill base explicit, identifies emerging skills gaps & retention risks §  KSM identifies where knowledge transfer & retention initiatives most needed

Knowledge Silo Matrix Silos are areas of expertise such as: •  Tools •  Platforms •  Products •  Customers •  Processes •  Regulations •  History •  Physical Locs. •  Job Functions 24

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KSM Allows Management to Ask: §  Demographic profile of each employee who is expert/ mentor level? §  How many emps needed in each silo in 2-5 yrs & how many do we have now? §  Cost of training in silo X over time vs. in time crunch? §  Enables frank discussion of acceptable vs. unacceptable risks of turnover & succession planning §  Email me: david@DavidDeLongAssociates.com for copy of spreadsheet

#3: Relentlessly Experiment With New Tactics For Recruiting, Developing & Retaining Talent

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Technical vs. Adaptive Problems Technical – solvable by experts applying existing know-how, SOPs Adaptive – require experiments, new discoveries, new values/behaviors; can’t see end result; people expect leaders to know what to do IV

III

Adaptive

Focus Here

Type of Workforce Problems You Are Facing Technical I

Must Draw On Resources External Experts

Inside Organization See Leadership on the Line, Heifetz/Linsky

Solution

Some Solutions Your Competitors Are Trying §  Initiatives to address talent challenges •  12-month ED training program – shadow, 90-day rotations, promote to assistant ED •  Establish dedicated recruiter for line staff, constantly watching job boards •  Pay retention bonuses to reward tenure: 5% after 1st year, 10% per Q after 5 years.

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More Solutions Your Competitors Are Trying (cont.) §  Initiatives to address talent challenges •  Collaborate on Argentum’s efforts to develop talent mgt system, combines online and FTF training & links to college programs – USC, Geo Mason, Cornell •  Partner with non-profit agencies training caregivers, e.g., JVS-Boston CNA program. •  Analyze workforce in region before investing in or taking on properties

Solutions For Talent Challenges From Other Industries §  Conduct “stay interviews”…engage staff in more in-depth career conversations

•  Invest in mentoring skills

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Solutions For Talent Challenges From Other Industries (2) §  Millennials want mobile/ leading edge technologies

•  Sodexo Health Care – COO spent 90% of mgt forums telling stories of their impact on people’s lives

EXERCISE: Your “Bright Spots” in Talent Solutions •  Identify two things in your organization you have tried to address problems of recruiting, development or retention of critical talent? •  How have these initiatives impacted the agency’s performance? Be specific! •  Share your example with others. Notice similarities & differences between them.

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#4. Increase Retention & Development of Millennials

Key to Retaining Millennials: Clarify Team & Individual Purpose •

What does my department, group or team do that’s vital to government operations?

•  If we weren’t here, what would happen? •

If we weren’t here, what wouldn’t happen?

•  How does my job fit into larger whole? This job exists to… •  My job is to make sure that: … •  If I wasn’t here, this is what wouldn’t happen:… Adapted from “Millennials and Management”, Caraher, 2015

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Invert Traditional Pyramid So Employees Understand How Work Fits Agency Vision Agency Mission

Agency Vision

Team Purpose

Agency Mission

My Role

Team Purpose My Role

Source: “Millennials and Management”, Caraher, 2015

How You Can Use These Questions •

Answer questions in writing for specific employee’s role

•  Have employees answer the questions for their job •

Meet to discuss & clarify any gaps in answers

•  Identify significant gaps that require added training or allow you to predict tenure more accurately

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#5. Improve Your Team’s Talent Management

Improve Leadership’s Talent Management IQ §  Do your managers believe developing & retaining staff is central to their job? §  Innovators, champions, conformers, & laggards §  How would you evaluate your leadership team? §  What are you doing to improve laggards & conformers? e.g, teaching managers to have ‘honest’ conversations with staff about careers §  Are you still promoting laggards?

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#6: Accelerate Learning to Enhance Productivity & Retention •  Address Learning Overload •  Reduce Learning Curve With Skill Development Plans

What Are Risks of Learning Overload? •

Complexity of senior living sites, workforce, systems increases dramatically, combined with speed of change & shorter tenure on job

•

Interacting with residents, staff, execs with different levels of knowledge about functions, lots nuances.

•  Impossible to keep up with senior living details in different systems, changing needs •

So what? Greater risk of mistakes, burnout, need solutions.

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How to Manage the Risks of Learning Overload •

Make discussable, articulate costs of burnout & turnover, define roles realistically

•

Leverage technology support – organizational memory

•  Clarify learning priorities in specific roles; identify realistic learning expectations for job •

Invest in onboarding & mentoring capabilities to make learning more efficient. E.g. “air, food & water list”

Define Specific Knowledge Needed in Critical Roles

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Document Knowledge to Transfer Using “Skill Development Plan” •

Customized inventory of skills & knowledge for specific role

•

Includes added resources available & test questions to confirm knowledge transfer

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Creates a measurable approach to reduce knowledge loss

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Helps new employees drive their own on boarding & reduces time to productivity

Skill Development Plan Skill

Sequence Test Questions

Date

Write a …

1, 2, 3, 5

Resources specific documentation at 10-May location…

Design a …

1, 2, 3, 8

17-May name of a mentor

Analyze…

1, 2, 3,

formal training date and 19-May time

Lead … meeting

3, 4, 7, 8, 14

25-May specific template…

Build a relationship with

3, 4, 7, 8, 14

26-May name of a mentor

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Frame Knowledge as Answer to Key Test Questions Explain: 1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  8.  9.  10.  11.  12.  13.  14.  15.

The top 10 vocabulary words What are the # steps in the process and why each is important What are the top 3 things that often go wrong What is the relationship between x and y (how it fits in the Service Cycle) How do you troubleshoot the three most common problems What are the first 4 things to check when troubleshooting anything Who is/should be involved/affected/consulted and why How to identify and define a “problem” vs. a “crisis” in this area How to escalate a problem or crisis in this area 3 best practices for this topic Where to find resources (docs, people, samples, websites, etc) How to choose between x and y How “quality” is measured What standards exist and how rigorously they are applied What is the relevance of this tool or process to your job?

#7: Explore Technology Solutions For Looming Skill Shortages

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Technology Dramatically Transforming Employment •

Advances in automation, robotics, big data, improved analytics transform or eliminate many jobs

“There’s never been a worse 3me to be a worker with only ‘ordinary’

skills and abili3es to oﬀer, because computers, robots, and other digital technologies are acquiring these skills and abili3es at an extraordinary rate.” -‐-‐Brynjolfsson, E., and McAfee, A. The Second Machine Age, 2014

Technology Dramatically Changing Employment (Cont.) •

Robotic eldercare services, big data, self-driving carts, remote monitoring systems, automated office operations

•

Digital technologies improve rapidly but orgs & skills don’t keep pace.

•

For first time in history productivity/economic growth are disconnected from job growth.

•  Now in a race between education & technology so worker skills can stay economically viable.

•  Some experts say 50% of jobs in 10 years don’t exist yet! Stay vigilant, e.g. robotic maintenance Source: “Race Against the Machine,” Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011

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Technology Advances: Implications for Education & Talent Pool §  Can technology advances be realistic solutions for critical skill shortages in your field? §  Anticipate skills needed for new jobs & evolving roles; plan transitions for those with obsolete skills. §  What are barriers to using technology to fill skills gaps? Are there credentials needed for new techs? §  It’s musical chairs for declining middle skill jobs! §  Rural vs. urban opportunities vary greatly

QUESTIONS? Risk

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Integrating the 3Rs Retirements

Future Workforce & Leadership Capabilities Recruiting Talent

Retention/ Development of Mid-Career Employees

10 Years From Now What Will They Be Saying About Your Company?

They once could do incredible things....

Or, they developed & retained key staff & capabilities in a changing environment...

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Your Challenge: 7 Keys to Improving Your Workforce §  Develop shared understanding of “talent management” §  Identify capabilities at risk with knowledge silo matrix §  Continually explore creative tactics for recruiting, developing & retaining talent §  Create a Millennial-friendly culture to increase employee retention

Your Challenge: Moving the Needle to Improve Your Workforce §  Improve leadership’s talent management IQ §  Pursue opportunities to accelerate learning §  Focus on how technology is impacting skills

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For More Information See: www.SmartWorkforceStrategies.com

david@DavidDeLongAssociates.com 978-‐369-‐5083 Sign up for my newsle_er or blog at: h_p://www.smartworkforcestrategies.com/Contact/SubscribeTo.aspx