High staff turnover in aged care
The executive director of the US Institute for the Future of Aging Services, Dr Robyn Stone, has warned Australian aged care providers that stemming high turnover of direct care staff will be the key to survival in aged care.
Dr Stone said major workforce and workplace reforms are required across the entire aged care sector if a major crisis in the supply of professional and trained staff is to be averted.
“In the US, the average cost of staff turnover is US$3,500 per direct care worker, comprising US$2,500 in direct costs and US$1,000 in indirect costs.”
“In fact, governments in the US lose a total of US$2.5 billion per year through staff turnover in long term care,” Dr Stone said.
“There is no point in talking about funding a sector if you don’t have anyone to work in it.
“There are such enormous savings from reduced staff turnover and increased retention, that you’d be crazy not to invest in your workplace,” said Dr Stone.
Dr Stone highlighted the importance of flat structures where staff are mentored and coached, rather than ‘supervised’ and where all levels of staff receive meaningful and rewarding training on a continuous basis.
