Practical steps for aged care providers to improve retention

A new study has proposed practical steps aged care providers can take to improve the retention and attraction of workers.

The Australian Aged Care Workforce Industry Council (ACWIC) surveyed over 172,000 aged care workers over three years, revealing 12 key insights into the workforce.

ACWIC Interim Chief, Sarah McLelland, said the data showed that providers were thinking more creatively about addressing the workforce's supply challenges.

"The insights create a way for providers to think about what else they can offer in conditions and incentives to meet the needs of their workforce better," she said.

"It's also helpful in how they engage and invest in their workforce.

"It also highlights the sector itself plays an important role in changing how people think about working in aged care."

Since 2009, the number of people thinking of leaving the sector was the lowest (25.8%) compared to other health sectors, such as disability (29%) and mental health services (30.9%).

Nevertheless, roughly 10 per cent of staff had specific intentions to leave the industry in 2022. 

The three most common reasons for leaving were being underpaid (9.6%), poor management (8.4%), and excessive workloads (6.5%).

Retirement had been the predominant cause for leaving over the past ten years, with an average age of 46 and over.

"This was not a surprising insight because, traditionally, the workforce had been older," Ms McLelland said.

"But that is now changing." 

Surprisingly, the average age is trending downward – half of all direct care workers are under 40 years.

Twelve per cent of the workforce is between the ages of 26 and 30, and over 13 per cent is between 31 and 35.

Ms McLelland said providers could manage this shift by planning ahead and considering the impact of generational leadership transfer as older workers retire.

They could also address the needs and preferences of younger staff joining their service.

"From talking to providers, we're seeing a lot of innovation in HR and a multifaceted approach in trying to attract more staff to aged care," Ms McLelland said.

"There's a much stronger investment from onboarding providers who invest in their own field philosophy around care and what their individual culture is."

The sector also showed notable progress in retaining employees regarded by their peers as 'quality staff.' 

The industry's 10-year average retention rate of over 41 per cent since 2012 outperformed other major health and community sectors in this category.

In 2021, the Royal Commission into Aged Care suggested that providers could improve retention rates by supporting employees to achieve job satisfaction. 

The Commission identified spending enough time with clients, feeling valued, having autonomy, utilising their skills, and maintaining good relationships with co-workers as key areas.

"Providers have done really well over the last couple of years," Ms McLelland said.

"If people are looking at moving on to another job within the sector, it's worth knowing what drives that decision.

"So it provides that opportunity for providers to get ahead of that and look at how they can invest and become an employer of choice."

Overall, the views on workload fairness remained stable in the past decade, hovering between 44 and 48 per cent. 

But the data found a significant disparity between male and female workers across all age groups.

Nearly 60 per cent of men reported the organisation's workloads were 'equitable and fair' compared to women (53%).

Men were also more likely to judge their workload in balance with their pay (55.5%) than women (47.6%).

On the other hand, women tended to approve more of their employer's decisions in addressing staffing issues (41.8%) compared to men (38.8%).

Ms McLelland suggested that providers speak with staff to better understand gender differences in perceptions of workload and staffing issues.

"There's a lot of diversity out there and a range of different things that providers are already doing," she said.

"But the great thing is that it offers various options for providers.

"It presents opportunities around flexibility and individuality in meeting individual needs, such as caring responsibilities and working hours."

Ms McLelland said the main reason people want to work in aged care is the relationship with clients.

"This is a strong point of differentiation from other healthcare settings such as health and community care or public health or acute care," she said.

"Money isn't everything that attracts people to aged care."

She suggested providers should invest in high-quality internal training and mentoring new staff to accommodate the younger workforce and emphasise career progression.

Providers could also forecast their workforce's future skill sets and target recruitment toward these skills.

"Providers have done an incredible job considering the ongoing pressures of Covid-19 and the aged care reforms," Ms McLelland said.

"These insights show that being proactive and creative is the best way forward."

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