Over the last few years, the main challenge for care homes seems to have stayed the same: staffing. This is relevant both when it comes to recruitment, as in finding and retaining the right carers, and all the costs associated with them. To give you a general idea, staffing costs have increased by 50% over the course of the last decade, resulting in £25,938 per resident every year.
Let’s look into the reasons behind the present, unsustainable situation and give you the tools to improve it in your care home.
Why Care Home Staffing Costs Have Increased
Unfortunately, there’s more than one reason behind this staffing problem.
Rise in National Living Wage
While this is a factor that goes beyond the care sector, the constant increase in the NLW is impossible to ignore.
From a £5.80 National Minimum Wage in 2009, it slowly turned into an £8.21 NLW over ten years and it’s recently been increased to £8.72.
Staff Shortage & High Turnover Rate
The main curse of the care sector is the lack of qualified staff. This is, again, due to a combination of factors, such as the stigma faced by the care sector, Brexit uncertainty when it comes to EU staff, and unclear career progression.
Furthermore, hiring someone doesn’t always result in a long-term investment for care homes. In fact, the sector struggles with a 30.8% turnover rate.
The most common reasons behind it seem to be uncertain contract terms and a lack of career progression.
Because of the difficulty in attracting and retaining the right staff, care homes have had to rely on agencies more and more. 52% of nursing and 41% of residential homes are now using this service.
Obviously, this solution comes at a cost. Depending on the type of care establishment, agency fees range from 6 to 9.7% of total staff costs.
Inflation
Again, a factor that other industries have had to deal with too, but that, because of the already challenging situation, has been particularly detrimental to care homes.
As a consequence of the increase in inflation experienced several times over the past decade, their staffing cost situation has worsened.
From hiring costs to providing food to carers, inflation has made things even more difficult for care homes. In the meantime, a weaker pound sterling has also increased the cost of imported goods.
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What This Means for Care Home
The result of this combination of factors is an arduous reality.
On average, staffing costs now amount to 45-60% of all care home fees. This meant that, over the last decade, their average profit margins have lowered by 5%.
What Care Home Can Do To Tackle Increasing Staffing Costs
Many of these factors, like the NLW and inflation, are obviously beyond a care home’s control.
However, what you can focus on is attracting the right staff and reducing this high turnover rate. This will help you cut hiring costs and, most importantly, stop relying on agency work so frequently.
Make Your Offer More Attractive to Reach the Right Candidates
Do your website and marketing materials make the perks of working with you clear and competitive?
While some benefits might be obvious to you or someone who already works in care, they might not be for those who’re looking to enter this sector.
Don’t forget that you’re also dealing with an unfair stigma that could discourage the perfect candidate. We recommend reviewing your online copy and marketing strategy to emphasise these benefits and show what the negative media portrayal of care homes fails to mention.
You should also make them as inclusive as possible for EU staff to help tackle the problem of Brexit uncertainty. Your care home should feel welcoming for them and, whenever possible, address the most common doubts and fears that foreign carers might have when it comes to the new immigration laws.
Offer Progression and Regular Staff Training to Retain Them
Hiring the right staff is a remarkable first step, but it’s not enough to cut staffing costs. In order to absorb recruitment efforts and stop relying on agencies so much, you must retain your employees for many years. This is not impossible, despite what the high turnover rate will have you believe.
Instead of trying to cut costs with questionable zero-hours contracts and then having to face even higher fees through longer recruitment processes and agency work, retain the right candidates by offering them competitive contracts.
As for career progression, not only should you make it as clear as possible from the start, but you should also encourage it with regular staff training. This will show them that your care home has their professional interests at heart.
Furthermore, regular training has been proven to boost employees’ morale. Investing in affordable online courses can help you make your care home training a valued priority without having to worry about costly in-person sessions or reorganising your staff’s shifts to optimise them.
While the increasing staffing costs in care homes have been a painful challenge for many years, there’s already a lot that can be done to tackle this burning issue.
