Some post-acute care companies are revamping their recruitment playbooks to attract Generation Z workers as they battle for talent with other healthcare companies.
Providers such as Good Samaritan Society, Bayada Home Health Care and Right at Home are developing strategies to recruit the demographic, which ranges in age from 12 to 27 and makes up a quarter of the U.S. population. Those organizations want to hire Gen Z because they are purpose-driven and adept at using technology, according to a 2023 study by financial services company Mercer.
Nearly 69 million members of Gen Z are in the workforce now or will be entering it in a few years. The demographic came of age during a technology boom and societal changes including increased gun violence and heightened awareness of health equity, Mercer notes.
But attracting and retaining Gen Z workers can be tricky. They tend to be less tied to their employers than other generations, with two-thirds actively or passively seeking new jobs, according to the study. Many are also burdened by student loan debt that averages about $40,000, according to the nonprofit Educational Data Initiative.
That can make it harder for nursing homes and home health providers to compete for talent with large hospital systems or other employers that tend to pay better, said Donna Biederman, clinical professor at Duke University School of Nursing. Some post-acute care providers are appealing to Gen Z members by offering advanced training that can help them improve their skills, better their careers and lead to pay increases.
Good Samaritan Society is among them. For the past year, the organization has been aggressively targeting Gen Z for its administrator-in-training program, a six-month intensive educational program that helps recent college graduates train for leadership positions within the nonprofit's 130 skilled nursing facilities across a dozen states. More than half of last year's cohort landed leadership positions within Good Samaritan Society after completing the program, said chief operating officer Aimee Midleton.
Good Samaritan Society targets college graduates like Deeqa Ali, who have degrees in healthcare or business administration.
The 23-year-old graduated in May from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. In June, she began training at a Good Samaritan Society skilled nursing facility in Howard Lake, Minnesota.
Ali said a strong sense of community service instilled by her immigrant parents, volunteer work and a part-time job at an assisted living facility during college sparked her interest in becoming a nursing home administrator.
“I researched [Good Samaritan Society] and I really liked their values and mission. That has been solidified throughout the entire AIT process,” Ali said.
Middleton said Good Samaritan Society operates nursing homes in mostly rural communities where the cost-of-living is lower. She said the nonprofit offers competitive pay in all of its markets, which also helps make it attractive to recruits.
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