Wage increases for senior living and care employees are predicted to dip from 4.43% in 2023 to 3.64% this year, according to responses to a newly released Ziegler CFO Hotline survey.
The news comes as providers continue to be challenged in recruiting and retaining workers, with compensation as one strategy.
The 250 chief financial officers and other financial professionals responding to the survey primarily work at not-for-profit senior living and care organizations, “with a heavy bent toward not-for-profit life plan communities.” Approximately 61% of the respondents were from single-site senior living and care providers, whereas the remaining 39% represented multi-site providers.
“Wage pressure continues to rise and in every employee engagement survey, employees feel they are not paid competitively,” one respondent said.
Providers ranged widely as to how much of the budget they have set aside for employee wages and benefits. At the low end, some providers said they set aside 15% of the budget, and at the other end, some providers dedicate as much as 87%. The average among respondents was approximately 56%.
Forty-three percent of the respondents to the specialty investment bank research said that they do not offer attendance bonuses. Of those that do, 37% said that the bonuses usually are given to someone filling in on an open shift. Four percent of the operators said they offer weekly attendance bonuses.
A majority of respondents (71%) said they have a resident-funded holiday bonus account, “wherein residents contribute money that funds year-end holiday bonuses for employees.” The fund most often (49% of the time) is managed by the resident association; 20% of those with resident-funded holiday bonus accounts said that the association and the community managed the account jointly; 31% have an account managed by the community alone.
The survey revealed ongoing provider struggles with employee compensation as part of a strategy to attract and keep workers.
“It never seems as though we can do enough,” one respondent said. “We raise payroll to what our consultants say is a competitive wage until we have staff leaving for $1.25/hour [more] for the same job somewhere else. We offer significant sign-on and referral bonuses and then staff bide their time till they qualify for the entire payout and then a week or two after, they leave.”
