Making a Career Out of Making a Difference: Working in Senior Living

Oct 10, 2017 | Executive Corner

Recently, Love & Company partnered with LeadingAge Pennsylvania to help tackle a problem many of their member communities are facing: hiring the millennial workforce. While senior living isn’t necessarily the most attractive industry at first glance, evidenced by Rob Love’s experience at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, the good news is that senior living communities can offer what studies say millennials are looking for most in a job.

A recent study by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School found that meaningful work was one of the most important aspects of a career to millennials – even more important than high pay. When the entire mission of your organization is to serve seniors, you have a natural fit for people who want meaningful, impactful work.

“Not-for-profit senior care communities provide vibrant and beautiful environments to work in,” said Lisa Hoffman, LeadingAge PA Senior VP, Member Services. “By working in these communities, employees have an ability to make a difference, not only in the lives of the residents that live in these communities, but they also have an opportunity to work in mission-driven organizations where caring and compassion are part of the culture.”

How do you reach millennials and inform them of the variety of opportunities for meaningful work in senior living?

Video! Studies show that the millennial age group (25-34) watches the most online videos, and by 2019, internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic. Video is a key part of any marketing strategy, and when you’re recruiting, you’re marketing your field and community to prospective employees.

“What we wanted to do was tell the story of real people who work every day in real not-for-profit senior living communities in Pennsylvania,” explained Tyler Sprecher, Love & Company principal and executive vice president of creative and brand strategy. “At Love & Company, we have a passion for serving seniors, and this video was a great way to help spread the passion and fulfillment you find when you work in this field.”

Lisa added, “The video was a way to showcase that not-for-profit senior care is not what you may think. They are more than just a nursing home with frail residents, and the people that work in not-for-profit senior care love what they do.”

The video features film from four communities in Pennsylvania – Waverly Heights, Providence Point, Concordia at Cabot, and SpiriTrust Lutheran – The Village at Shrewsbury.

“All of the feedback we received from the staff about the video has been positive. We have head that it was a great experience, and they were happy to participate. Any nervousness during the interviews was quelled by the interviewer from Love & Company, who did an excellent job in making them feel comfortable in front of the camera,” said Lisa.

“When we started working on this video, we knew that it was going to be something special. As a company, we’ve specialized in senior living for more than 20 years. We’re powered by our passion for improving the field, and an important aspect of that is recruiting the senior living leaders of tomorrow,” said Tyler.

Without further ado, please enjoy “Making A Career out of Making a Difference.”

For more information on Love & Company’s video services, call Tim Bracken at 410-207-0013.

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