Workforce innovations featured in our Top Home Care Innovations In Aged Care Report 2023 [Download here]. With the workforce being a major focus of aged care organisations, many organisations are looking for new and innovative ways to rethink their workforce strategy. In our 2023 report, we highlight three workforce-centric innovations focused on new working methods, improving the employee experience and utilising transformational education.
Innovation #7 Self-directed teams
The workforce has never been as diverse or varied as it is today, where many workers are opting for nontraditional work and a more positive workplace culture. The “Great Resignation” or “Great Reshuffle” saw a mass exodus of employees. Staff are no longer competing for amenities provided by the workplace but instead are competing based on the overall experience of being a part of the organisation or team. Teamwork is critical to the success of any business, project, or even entire organisation, and for employees, feeling valued, empowered, trusted and free to be creative is a priority. Self-directed teams are revolutionising the traditional workforce hierarchy as more and more companies are leaning into ‘new ways of working’ and changing work environments. Self-directed teams is a group of individuals who share responsibility without the supervision of a manager, they take ownership of their own workflows, processes and schedules and provide organisations an opportunity to explore a new way of working or structure. Team members commit to each other, embracing their workplace community. Commitment, rather than hierarchy, drives performance and productivity. By transitioning to this model, employees feel more engaged, empowering individuals to drive their own work, enhancing productivity and sparking innovation.
Innovation #10 Employee experience
We can no longer rely on a once-a-year survey of our workforce; we need to find new ways of listening to our employees and then look at how we can take these insights and observations into actions that improve your employee experience. We need to understand what matters to our employees and take what we learn to inform how we approach all aspects of the employer-employee relationship as an organisation. A robust voice of the employee program can be used to collect data through employee surveys, focus groups, interviews, and discussions. The Voice of the Employee program aims to open communication between the organisation, its managers and employees with the aim of boosting employee engagement.
Innovation #11 Transformational learning
Traditional learning approaches are costly, time-consuming and outdated. The way we consume information has changed. We have shorter attention spans, different work patterns and different needs when interacting with various forms of information. Workers are often time-poor and need to develop skill sets rapidly at a time that suits them. The rise of micro-learning and micro-credentialing has provided opportunities for workers to consume bite-sized pieces of information and quickly apply what they have learned in the workplace. Micro-credentialing has opened the door for workers to achieve mini qualifications quicker to complete than traditional qualifications like diplomas or degrees. Allowing a worker to participate in achieving formal recognition for smaller modules or certificates within a larger qualification. Allowing the flexibility needed to work and study at the same time.
Our report features case studies of where these three workforce innovations are being utilised within aged care sectors across the globe. To read about these innovative organisations, you can download the report here. We will also talking about these three innovations in our upcoming webinars which you can register for below.