HR Industry Brief

According to a new survey from the American Senior Housing Association (ASHA), 67% of providers say the expect to expand their workforce in the coming year. Among other findings:

• 82% expect employee base salaries to increase. Those salaries are expected to range between 2% and 4%.
• 6% of companies say they expect salary decreases for executive management and function-head levels. These are attributed to voluntary salary cute related to the pandemic.
• 76% of respondents report maintaining a cash bonus program.

Taking time to stop and look at what works, what doesn’t, and what new processes or steps are needed is key when businesses are facing a crisis and time of great change. One tool to help with this is called Start, Stop, Continue. Here are the basics:

• Have the team list items that they think would have a positive impact on quality, accuracy, safety, productivity, etc. that aren’t being used already.
• Have the team list activities or tasks that aren’t helping achieve goals and objectives and/or actually be interfering with or hindering performance.
• Have the team list what steps, tasks, processes, or actions are working well and should be continued moving forward.

• People will … [Read more...] about (4/22) ‘Start, Stop, Continue’ Lets You Listen, Learn, and Leap Forward

Words matter. You teams may not tell you that they crave appreciation and recognition, but the right words – backed by action – can distinguish you as a great leader that builds great teams. Consider these 7 things you should be saying more often:

• “I have total confidence in you.”
• “This was great work.”
• “I want to play to your strengths.”
• “What questions do you have?”
• “What can I do better next time to support you?”
• “What do you think?”
• “This is what we’re accomplishing here.”

Diversity and inclusion are more important to your employees than you may realize. According to a new survey, more than half of respondents said they would exclude a company from their job search if they didn’t agree with the organization’s diversity and inclusion policies. The numbers were even higher among people age 30 and younger. Among other findings:

• Pre-pandemic 64% of U.S. employees worked completely on-site, 16% worked completely remotely, 20% worked a hybrid mode.
• 49% of workers are now working completely offsite.
• The number of completely remote workers has risen to 28%.
• Those working both onsite and remotely only increased 3% during the pandemic.
• Only 14% of U.S. employees would prefer to work completely offsite, while 50% would prefer a combination of remote and onsite work.

Like death and taxes, regulatory change is pretty much inevitable. How you manage this change can help ensure compliance throughout your organization. Here are some issues to consider as you plan for regulatory change and how you will handle it:

• Lax compliance during the pandemic in 2020 may have introduced hidden risk for activities that normally would have had deeper oversight.
• When communicating change across the enterprise, establish responsibility to manage it.
• If conducting quarterly testing of compliance requirements, it may be challenging to identify key areas in advance that could slip, such as controls around IT/cybersecurity.
• Companies should shift to best practice or common checklists that can be standardized and shared across the enterprise.
• Historically done manually in-house by visible teams, monitoring and testing for compliance purposes may be conducted remotely.
• Verifying and certifying online … [Read more...] about (4/19) Six Considerations Impacting Strategic Regulatory Change Management

Identifying problems is much easier than solving them. So it’s not surprising that when your team identifies problems or issues, these don’t always get addressed or resolved. To facilitate better, more efficient problem-solving, consider the following:

• Create an environment that welcomes both creativity and analytical thinking. Don’t let your team get bogged down by overthinking things, but don’t let them be impulsive about change or innovation. Instead, give people a set time to analyze and question, then work on solutions.
• Be clear about the changes you’re looking for. Help your team to be solution focused. If there are financial or other limitations they need to consider, state these upfront.
• Talk to your team as a group and individuals about what you want them to do differently. Don’t allow for personal blame or finger pointing.
• Set new norms. Encourage new ways of thinking and speaking.
• Role model. Be direct and … [Read more...] about (4/16) Is Your Team Solving Problems, or Just Identifying Them?

According to a new study, it may be possible to reduce stress, burnout, and turnover if CNAs are encouraged and enabled to practice self-compassion. In the study, CNAs received instruction about guided meditation, practiced skill-building exercises, and participated in discussions after the activities. They also were encouraged to practice their new self-compassion skills at home. Attendance and program satisfaction were high, and self-compassion improved significantly. The CNAs also experienced much lower levels of stress and depression through the following three month period. The authors recommend a brief six-hour format to maximize participation. Read the full article. … [Read more...] about (4/15) CNAs Reduce Stress, Improve Skills with Self-Compassion Training in Nursing Home Study

According to startling new data, more than 5.4 million women’s jobs were eliminated from the U.S. workforce between February 2020 and January 2021, and 2.1 million women left the labor force completely. At the same time, a new survey shows that many working moms feel unappreciated and anxious. Specifically, these employees:

• Rate the competitiveness of their salary as 25% worse than dads surveyed.
• View their perceived worth to their organization 33% more negatively than their male counterparts.
• Rate their managers’ concerns for their wellbeing 10% less favorably than dads do.
• Are about a third more likely to see their workload as unmanageable.

Employers are making COVID vaccines for their workers a priority, according to a new survey. Among the findings:

• 60% of employers say they’ve communicated the value of vaccines to employees, and 35% say they are planning or considering such efforts.
• 35% say they have created policies and procedures to facilitate worker vaccination, and 50% of considering doing so.
• 23% are obtaining vaccines to administer to employees or doing so via a third party.
• Two in 10 respondents say they’re offering vaccine incentives, including providing extra leave to get vaccinated and/or additional leave for those who have negative reactions to one of the COVID-19 shots. One in 10 say they’re offering cash incentives.
• 1 in 10 employers are considering requiring proof of vaccination by employees and new hires, and 23% are planning or thinking about making vaccination a prerequisite of returning to the worksite for remote workers.

The pandemic has had many lessons for HR and other managers and leaders in the health care sector and beyond. Among these:

• Departmental heads are expected to communicate regularly, transparently, and effectively with employees, collaborate with business partners, and meet the needs of all stakeholders. Powerful storytelling is key.
• It’s time to rethink relationships and how they will look in the ‘new normal.’ It is important to be creative and consistent about spending meaningful time with colleagues, team members, consumers, and others.
• Downsizing and decluttering are taking center stage. Companies have realized the need for less office space but more (or at least better) technology.
• Employees want and need new, different benefits. Be creative and think of things like a stipend employees can use for things like the Calm app or wellness books/webinars.
• It’s important to create safe spaces for people to talk about fears, … [Read more...] about (4/12) More Workplace Lessons Learned During the Pandemic