Recruitment Tips from a Distant Colleague

Bring your thing to a career in aged care.

Those nine words come at the end of an upbeat, one-minute video sent to me last week by a colleague in Australia. The video, created by the Aged Care Workforce Industry Council, is the centerpiece of a new campaign to encourage Australians to bring their skills, talents, and passions to a rewarding career in the field of long-term services and supports (LTSS).

It left me smiling—and determined.

My smile was prompted, in part, by the video’s three “stars”—young people who were drawn to the field of aging services because it offered them something they weren’t getting in their current jobs.

There’s the chef who feels trapped in restaurant kitchens where “I don’t even get to meet the people I cook for anymore, let alone see their smiles.”

There’s the retail clerk who wants to do more than just sell clothes. “I want to work with people because fashion is about being human.”

And there’s the young man who, while at university, “loved cracking a well-timed joke when everyone needed a good laugh.” Now he’s making older adults laugh as part of his full-time job.

What a clever way to view recruitment of “nontraditional workers” who hail from other sectors, like hospitality and retail. Rather than focusing on what these workers can offer LTSS organizations, the video turns recruitment on its head by focusing on the myriad benefits our organizations can offer workers: fulfilling careers, meaningful relationships, feelings of accomplishment, a sense of purpose, the joy of serving others, and the satisfaction that comes with sharing your gifts with people who value what you have to offer.

The campaign raises important questions about how providers of aging services can best welcome new workers by helping them identify their unique gifts, hone their innate talents, and share those talents with residents and clients. This nurturing approach to recruitment and retention, if adopted broadly, could put our field well on its way to building a qualified, productive, committed, and stable workforce.

That explains my smile. My determination stems from how I received the video—from a colleague who lives and works 10,000 miles away. That long-distance exchange illustrates clearly that the LTSS workforce crisis isn’t just an American crisis. It also should reassure us that we are not alone in navigating that crisis.

I’m grateful for the willingness of providers around the world, including my Australian colleague, to share their strategies for addressing our shared workforce challenges. At the same time, I’m determined to make sure this exchange continues and expands.

International exchange isn’t optional in our globalized society. Rather, reaching out beyond our borders is essential to the well-being of our organizations and the people we serve. I firmly believe this exchange holds the key to our ability to serve older adults now and into the future.

Thirty years ago, LeadingAge was instrumental in establishing the Global Ageing Network to facilitate international exchange in the field of aging services. Every LeadingAge member is also a member of the Global Ageing Network, and is welcome to participate in the important global interaction the network facilitates.

That interaction has been particularly vital over the past year as providers turned to one another for help in fighting the deadly coronavirus. Our global network also serves as a forum to exchange ideas on many other topics, including how to strengthen the LTSS workforce, support people living with dementia, defeat ageism, and promote age-friendly housing.

At the end of the Australian video, the narrator invites prospective employees to “bring joy to those who need it.” That sounds like a wonderful goal to instill in every employee—and in the culture of every LTSS organization around the world.

Let’s strive to reach that goal—and let’s do it together.

Recruitment Tips from a Distant Colleague

Bring your thing to a career in aged care.

Those nine words come at the end of an upbeat, one-minute video sent to me last week by a colleague in Australia. The video, created by the Aged Care Workforce Industry Council, is the centerpiece of a new campaign to encourage Australians to bring their skills, talents, and passions to a rewarding career in the field of long-term services and supports (LTSS).

It left me smiling—and determined.

My smile was prompted, in part, by the video’s three “stars”—young people who were drawn to the field of aging services because it offered them something they weren’t getting in their current jobs.

There’s the chef who feels trapped in restaurant kitchens where “I don’t even get to meet the people I cook for anymore, let alone see their smiles.”

There’s the retail clerk who wants to do more than just sell clothes. “I want to work with people because fashion is about being human.”

And there’s the young man who, while at university, “loved cracking a well-timed joke when everyone needed a good laugh.” Now he’s making older adults laugh as part of his full-time job.

What a clever way to view recruitment of “nontraditional workers” who hail from other sectors, like hospitality and retail. Rather than focusing on what these workers can offer LTSS organizations, the video turns recruitment on its head by focusing on the myriad benefits our organizations can offer workers: fulfilling careers, meaningful relationships, feelings of accomplishment, a sense of purpose, the joy of serving others, and the satisfaction that comes with sharing your gifts with people who value what you have to offer.

The campaign raises important questions about how providers of aging services can best welcome new workers by helping them identify their unique gifts, hone their innate talents, and share those talents with residents and clients. This nurturing approach to recruitment and retention, if adopted broadly, could put our field well on its way to building a qualified, productive, committed, and stable workforce.

That explains my smile. My determination stems from how I received the video—from a colleague who lives and works 10,000 miles away. That long-distance exchange illustrates clearly that the LTSS workforce crisis isn’t just an American crisis. It also should reassure us that we are not alone in navigating that crisis.

I’m grateful for the willingness of providers around the world, including my Australian colleague, to share their strategies for addressing our shared workforce challenges. At the same time, I’m determined to make sure this exchange continues and expands.

International exchange isn’t optional in our globalized society. Rather, reaching out beyond our borders is essential to the well-being of our organizations and the people we serve. I firmly believe this exchange holds the key to our ability to serve older adults now and into the future.

Thirty years ago, LeadingAge was instrumental in establishing the Global Ageing Network to facilitate international exchange in the field of aging services. Every LeadingAge member is also a member of the Global Ageing Network, and is welcome to participate in the important global interaction the network facilitates.

That interaction has been particularly vital over the past year as providers turned to one another for help in fighting the deadly coronavirus. Our global network also serves as a forum to exchange ideas on many other topics, including how to strengthen the LTSS workforce, support people living with dementia, defeat ageism, and promote age-friendly housing.

At the end of the Australian video, the narrator invites prospective employees to “bring joy to those who need it.” That sounds like a wonderful goal to instill in every employee—and in the culture of every LTSS organization around the world.

Let’s strive to reach that goal—and let’s do it together.