Ageing population means we must find and retain more carers

The disability and aged-care sectors face the seemingly eternal challenge of attracting quality workers.

Whiddon Group chief executive Chris Mamarelis.

The disability and aged-care sectors face the seemingly eternal challenge of attracting quality workers. With the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, competition will only intensify an ever-growing demand.

The disability and aged-care sectors are incredibly rewarding to work in and, while they can be demanding physically and mentally, job satisfaction is greatly enriched by the services provided and by the differences they make to those whose lives they touch.

Within the industry, the tight workforce market has helped improve enterprise agreements, strengthen employee benefits and generally enhanced employee conditions. This is on top of the additional benefits offered by the not-for-profit organisations that dominate the sector.

But the industry still competes intensely with other organisations in the health and hospitality sectors for quality employees.

The disability and aged-care industries need to be more sophisticated and innovative in marketing themselves to the workforce by selling their benefits. Underpinning this is projecting a strong employee brand that says to prospective employees: “That’s a place I want to work.”

Aged care is growing at speed with no signs of slowing. In 1984 there were 120,000 people in Australia aged over 85; that figure is now up by 400 per cent to 455,000 and in 2024 it will be 602,000.

Government data shows we will need 75,000 more residential care places by 2023 to care for the population. This sort of data paints an ominous picture when we consider existing challenges.

Foreign workers and the older workforce are regularly pushed forward at this point and are an excellent source of skilled and motivated talent. But these resources still leave us with workforce gaps as Australia’s population ages.

While there is no one-size-fits- all answer, companies can adopt several strategies to retain talent, given a high-quality workforce is imperative. Effective strategies should include a real investment that will attract, develop and retain people through diverse work experience, enhanced training opportunities, career development and other incentives.

Managers should focus on empowering people rather than driving them. This can be achieved through engaging internal communication, tailored leadership programs and funding tertiary education, along with the delivery of a meaningful platform that connects people to the organisation’s vision and values.

By taking innovative approaches and implementing creative ageing programs, people can be provided with opportunities to learn skills that make work more interesting. For example, training people in new engagement techniques such as play, music and other creative formats can enable them to think differently about how they deliver care, making every interaction with residents and clients meaningful and increasing workplace satisfaction.

For a people-centric industry that operates across metropolitan, regional, rural and remote Australia, it is vital that we recognise the critical role skilled employees play in caring for our diverse population. In addition to a focus on our diverse and multicultural population, we must also ensure appropriate and respectful care is available for indigenous, culturally and linguistically diverse and older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

Having a culture that acknow­ledges that people are the heart of an organisation and empowers them every day is vital. By empowering and upskilling employees, companies are creating an engaged and resilient workforce positioned to evolve in a dynamic environment.

Chris Mamarelis is chief executive of The Whiddon Group.