Time to rethink: 'We must explore new avenues'
A job offer in the local newspaper has little clout nowadays. This is something Martina Dietrich is adamant about. She is responsible for housekeeping and administration at the Kardinal Frings House, a nursing home run by the Caritas organization – and knows full well how difficult it is to find good nursing staff. 'We must explore new avenues to win over new members of staff', she says. For this very reason, Dietrich co-founded a working group three years ago which aimed to launch concrete measures for recruiting and retaining employees in the Cologne region. The benefits program includes onboarding gifts for new colleagues, a small treasure trove with products for the teams, which is replenished every fortnight, bonuses for recruiting new staff members, etc. A € 20 shopping voucher awaits those taking on additional shifts. When a shift involves helping out in another nursing home, a lump-sum travel allowance of € 80 is granted.
Caritas in a favorable financial position
'We want to create incentives so that people want to work for Caritas, Dietrich stresses. Three-shift days, work on bank holidays and at weekends – that is what many young people shy away from, the resolute lady believes. 'They look around for jobs with employers who can offer regular working hours. Many school-leavers go on to study because they hope to earn more money than in the care sector in the medium to long term. 'But even there we come out fighting'. Good public relations is more important than ever before in showing how attractive careers in the care sector can be.
The market for skilled workers is empty
A lack of enthusiasm for this career path and fluctuation is not the only problem, though, says the 61-year-old: 'Nursing professionals and housekeeping staff cannot tackle the mountain of work because there is such a lack of trainees and students in this field. The market in the care sector has been swept clean. Nursing services search desperately for skilled staff. And the situation is barely different in the healthcare sector. The lack of skilled workers became even more precarious in Germany when conscription was abolished, also marking the end of alternative community service as a way to whet the appetite of young people for a career in care', according to Dietrich. Corona also put an end to school visits, during which Dietrich advertised her trade among school leavers. Similarly, placements in care homes are no longer possible. 'The young people can no longer be given a foretaste of working life in geriatric care and decide for themselves whether it's for them – and that means fewer potential applicants'. This has the effect that recruiting campaigns, however good they may be, go down for the most part like a lead balloon. It was this that led Dietrich to discover the impact of social media and social recruiting. 'In our channels, we provide insights into the average working day in this sector by looking over the shoulders of our colleagues. This allows us to address suitable candidates and convince them of our work'. Nevertheless, e-recruiting is still difficult terrain. And not every applicant is suitable. Moving from being a candidate to becoming a fully trained care worker requires a great deal of stamina.
Foreign care workers provide support
Caritas sees new approaches to recruiting staff and extending a welcome to workers in geriatric care from abroad. As a result of this drive, a care worker from Tunisia will soon be employed in each of the care homes in the Cologne region. 'The six men and women were already care workers in their home country; in Germany, they will start as ancillary care workers. Within a year, they will learn the language, be integrated into their new environment, and be introduced to everyday life in the home. They will get to know their colleagues and the elderly residents. After twelve months, they will enter full employment as carers in a hospital, a care home or other social institution'. Dietrich has great expectations of the program. And there is no denying that care workers will be in big demand in the future, even more so than today.
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