Lighten the load with technology that saves money and retains staff – opinion

Finding and keeping the staff required to deliver the best of care for older Australians is no simple undertaking, as aged care providers across the country can undoubtedly attest.

According to the 2022 CompliSpace Aged Care Workforce Report, around half of the nation's 280,000-strong aged care workforce is considering exiting the sector by 2026, as low wages and increasingly onerous compliance requirements continue to take a heavy toll.

January 1, 2025, will see direct care workers receive a generous increase to their base pay rates, with a second increase to follow later in the year. But while a larger pay packet may serve as incentive for some, aged care providers will still have their work cut out for them keeping high-value employees on the payroll. That’s in common with other organisations in the community services sector and the workplace at large.

Dayforce’s 2023 Executive Survey found the top workforce challenges across the board were employee engagement and retention, followed by labour and skills shortages, and increasing compliance and regulatory complexity.

Looking for ways to lighten the load

The implementation of digital systems and processes can help aged care providers boost efficiency and productivity in the office and provide a better employee and resident experience on multiple fronts and there’s certainly no shortage of automation solutions on the market, for everything from client management and clinical care, through to finance and analytics.

But given the benefits, both direct and indirect, it can generate for frontline workers, there’s
a compelling case for focusing on human capital management (HCM) first.

For many aged care providers, that would mean swapping standalone legacy systems and processes, for powerful, cloud-based software, that enables them to prioritise the needs and wellbeing of the staff upon whom their operations depend.

Tools to make the task easy

If your organisation opts to go down this route, it pays to choose an intuitive, user-friendly technology platform, one that can synthesise an array of inputs, including workplace health and safety requirements, legislated staffing ratios, and residents’ care requirements, into a detailed picture of exactly when and where staff are needed most.

Armed with these insights, your rostering team will be better placed to ensure the right people are in the right places, at the right times. Taking this data-driven approach will ensure frontline workers aren’t stretched to their limit during periods of peak activity or placed in unsafe situations if, for example, mandated staffing ratios cannot be achieved.

Fairer rostering and reduced unplanned overtime should ensue – both pluses for providers seeking to contain labour costs in what remains a low margin industry – as should lower rates of absenteeism and burnout.

Lessening the strain on workers while they’re on shift will mean they’re likely to stick around for longer, which, in turn, also generates savings on recruitment and training costs.

Making employee engagement a priority

Having the right HCM platform in place makes it easier to interact positively and productively with frontline workers, too. Feeling heard is critical to employee engagement and most employers, including aged care providers, have some room to improve on this front.

Providing regular patterns of work wherever possible and seeking – and actioning – feedback frequently sends a strong signal to staff that they are valued and their voices matter. So does introducing digital tools that allow them to enjoy ‘self serve’ human resources (HR) interactions, rather than having to lodge enquiries or requests manually and possibly wait days for a return call or response.

Being able to swap shifts, check leave balances and request time off digitally, and receive rapid or automatic approval, is a powerful time saver that’s good for the team and the HR department alike.

Setting your organisation up for a stronger future

A happy and high performing workforce will always be your greatest asset and the strategic deployment of HCM technology within your business can make it easier to attract and retain the right people.

If maintaining a workforce of qualified and motivated staff who are genuinely committed to supporting older Australians is a priority for your organisation, it’s an investment you can't afford not to make.

Matthew Kane is the Vice President of Solutions Advisory for the Asia Pacific and Japan at Dayforce, a global provider of human resources software and services.

Read more: Automating debt management improves performance of aged care providers – opinion | New body to drive digital health strategies and tech innovation | Union alleges some aged cares reclassifying staff to meet care minutes

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