3 Ways Technology Can Help With Streamlining Costs & Addressing The Current Labour Shortage At Retirement Homes

Across Canada, a number of industries including the senior home space, have been affected by a shortage of workers, which has been made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of workers choosing not to get vaccinated, not returning to work or getting sick.  Technology has long been seen as a stabilizer to help industries “do more, with less” given that there is still work to be done by usually even with less staff available.   Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in higher costs because of items like PPE, cleaning supplies, etc.  In this article, we’re going to discuss a few ways to help streamline costs while helping to potentially help address the current labour shortage in the senior home industry.

1. Keep your staff happy & turnover low

Although it should always be a goal to keep your staff happy, which has a direct correlation with staff turnover, during the current labour shortage, this is even more important. With a high staff turnover, you may find it difficult to employ equivalently experienced staff in the position that has just been left vacant.  Additionally it costs significant amounts of money to advertise, interview and on-board new employees, so you want to minimize this by finding & keeping great employees.

You want to use technology that makes the life for your staff easier or more convenient, so it frees them up to engage more with residents (which they enjoy more of) versus say administrative tasks (which they don’t like as much).  For example, our dining solution includes tableside meal ordering capabilities and a POS system that streamlines the dining process to create extra time for staff.  It also includes features that protect staff from making mistakes such as a dietary profile for every resident which includes alerts for dietary incompatibilities and allergies!

2. Retirement homes are missing out on at least $10K in missed revenue & cost savings opportunities!

Technology can save you money – increase revenue & lower costs.  Improving the efficiency at your home – by reducing food wastage could result in thousands of dollars saved every year by eliminating mistakes in food orders or optimizing food orders to suppliers based on actual menu preferences of residents.   Guest meals or special types of transactions that may not be tracked all the time today because there is a manual process used to track these types of sales, resulting in thousands of dollars in missed revenue every year at every home! 

3. Younger workers are growing up accustomed with technology

Many workers coming straight out of school are being trained using the latest technology and are being taught the benefits of technology in healthcare. If you do not have a good solution for your home, workers entering the workforce will likely be able to spot that early on. With the lack of labour available, younger workers may make decisions on where to work based on the type of environment they find enjoyable, which may include whether a home uses technology or not!

Continyou Care

The Continyou Care solution is helping 70+ communities across Canada with wowing their residents, keeping & hiring the best staff available, and streamlining their overall operations to reduce costs while capturing thousands of dollars in missed revenue! To book a demo and for more information, click here! 

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*Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels