A Sustainable Workforce
Worcester County human services providers struggle every day to field the best team possible to support the individuals in their care. Staff must be caring, committed and highly competent in order to assist those who often have intensive medical and social needs. The compensation barely competes with jobs that require far less skill.
A high rate of vacancy and turnover continually undermines the human services profession. In any given year, one quarter to two-fifths of all human services positions will turnover, and countless jobs go unfilled.
The Hiring Treadmill
In our agency, we came to the realization that we had to step off the âtreadmillâ of constantly signing up new replacements for departing employees. We needed to find a better way to build a more sustainable workforce, to make people want to stay in our organization, and create demand for new job openings.
In 2000, we launched a diversity initiative that was designed to strengthen our workplace and our workforce, celebrate similarities and differences among employees, and create the most comfortable work environment possible.
The clear-cut results have been employees who more deeply value their work experience and a vacancy rate of 6 to 8 percent, among the lowest in the profession.
We employ many staff born in Africa, Latin America, and Eastern European countries, along with, of course, those born in the United States. To ignore the cultural distinctions not only makes it harder for staff to interact, it also deprives staff of the cultural enrichment that results from learning about the customs, the food, and the passions of other cultures.
Common Sense Approach
HMEA used an array of very simple, yet highly effective, strategies to build its diverse team. Training programs that strengthen the skills of foreign-born staff were important in equipping these workers with the tools they need to succeed in the job. Awareness-raising programs were designed to help those born here better understand and appreciate the values and customs of those born elsewhere.
It is easy to lament Massachusetts' workforce woes.
The answer, however, is not to scour the world for people to hire or to engage in hand-to-hand combat with other care providers for the sake of finding employees. By truly embracing, and then implementing, a diversity program, organizations will realize not only improved vacancy and retention, but also a steady stream of new job applicants who hear from their friends and acquaintances about a great place to work, and who want in.
Michael E. Moloney is the president & CEO of HMEA, a Franklin-based human services nonprofit.
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