Future-proofing for recruitment
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Future-proofing for recruitment
As we continue to respond to the workforce challenges faced by the aged care industry, we looked to drive a proactive recruitment strategy across BaptistCare and activated a Talent Acquisition Team.
This team is on track to implement a Recruitment Management Solution (PageUp) in August 2020 which will enable an automated and streamlined recruitment process, reduce costs by increasing efficiency, waste and re-work, which can occur when double handling data. PageUp will also promote greater visibility of the procedural requirements and tracking of progress throughout the recruitment process to managers.
We also put into place behavioural (psychometric) screening for frontline roles, using a tool named Care Advantage, in July 2019. Care Advantage sees applicants complete four assessments including personality/job fit; attitude; cognitive; and engagement, and enables BaptistCare to recruit the most suitable employees.
In March 2020, as we experienced significant staff issues at BaptistCare Dorothy Henderson Lodge as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak, we moved quickly to future-proof our homes for any further potential outbreaks.
We recruited a 120 person strong Care Reserve Team with an initial contract period of three months, which was later extended by a further five months.
To recruit this team, we looked to industries or companies where employment was becoming untenable in the current climate, such as childcare providers and QANTAS.
The new employees were deployed across our aged care homes after completing our rigorous recruitment process and a dedicated training program. By supporting our existing staff and undertaking on the job training via a buddy system, these new employees will enable us to be flexible and responsive should there be a need to move a significant number of experienced staff into a home with a COVID-19 outbreak.
It is hoped some of these employees will remain with BaptistCare in direct care roles into the future.