Staffing Solutions: Two Letters to Improve Recruiting and Retention: AI
By Amanda Greene | March 11, 2024
Editor’s Note: This article was written and submitted by senior-living executive Amanda Greene. If you are a senior-living executive at a community with an idea for an article that you’d like to write and publish in Senior Living News you’re welcome to submit your written article or idea to our editor, Jim Nelson, at jnelson@seniorlivingnews.com. We welcome all ideas, including but not limited to, staffing recruitment and retention solutions, addressing the middle market, and successful new programs or technology.
As AI continues to revolutionize the recruitment/retention landscape, I would love to discuss and share the benefits of how organizations can leverage AI tools and technologies to enhance their staffing solutions, and how Commonwealth Senior Living is currently incorporating AI.
Our industry has acknowledged the need to enhance our social media presence and streamline our application and interview procedures to attract the younger generation. But have we truly embraced the ongoing rise of AI in various industries? How does AI intersect with senior living, recruitment, and retention?
As the director of talent acquisition at Commonwealth Senior Living, I have personally witnessed the positive impact of incorporating AI into our recruitment and retention efforts.
Artificial intelligence is one avenue in which Commonwealth Senior Living is creating and exploring in reference to recruitment and retention. My team and I have been focused on building and developing our department to enhance our employee value proposition and position ourselves for future growth in the eastern United States.
By investing in an in-house recruitment team and leveraging AI technology, we have been able to achieve record numbers and key performance indicators across the board. Our commitment to utilizing AI and leveraging multiple platforms has significantly boosted our recruitment and retention efforts. We have explored various forms and applications of AI, collaborating with numerous SaaS [Software as a Service] companies that have seamlessly integrated AI within their platforms. Additionally, we have leveraged one-off AI tools for specific purposes to further enhance our capabilities. The results have been remarkable, paving the way for our continued growth and success in the industry.
How has Commonwealth incorporated AI into Retention and Recruitment?
We beat the system! When it comes to gaining a strong candidate pool, we incorporate AI into our job positions. AI has allowed us to create more algorithm-friendly job postings, increasing their visibility to potential candidates without incurring additional costs. Additionally, AI has helped us analyze data and identify recruitment trends to make more informed decisions.
The CSL talent acquisition department employs two types of AI technology: traditional AI, which analyzes historical data to make predictions, and generative AI, which allows computers to produce content that is virtually indistinguishable from human-generated output.
Thanks to the implementation of AI, we have observed a significant increase in job applications, with a projected candidate pool increase of over 30 percent for 2024. Furthermore, our focus on employee value proposition has resulted in the hiring of more candidates from the younger generation.
How can AI be incorporated into talent acquisition?
Incorporating AI into talent acquisition can be done in several ways to streamline and optimize the recruitment process. AI can assist with automated résumé screening, candidate sourcing, chatbots for candidate interaction, predictive analytics for hiring, video interview analysis, onboarding and training, and more.
Retention is equally important to us at Commonwealth Senior Living, and we have adopted new platforms, including AI, to improve employee engagement and reduce turnover rates. The introduction of Retain, an employee engagement software, and Abundantly (also known as Pineapple People Praise), a platform that has AI-powered capabilities for peer recognition, has had a significant impact on our retention efforts. These platforms utilize AI functions to keep our employees engaged, motivated, and recognized, ultimately reducing turnover rates.
In conclusion, the inclusion of new platforms, traditional and generative AI, has led to significant growth and positive outcomes for Commonwealth Senior Living. I strongly encourage other senior living industry professionals to embrace AI and explore its potential in driving positive outcomes for their organizations and revolutionize recruitment and retention.
This article has been lightly edited.
