For Assisted Living Operators, Workforce Shortage Becomes #1 Customer Satisfaction Issue in 2021

Assisted living has always had, and continues to have, very satisfied customers. Over the last five years, 90.3% of assisted living customers have been willing to recommend their community. This is a very high level of customer satisfaction for any industry.

2020 brought incredible difficulty and concern to the sector. Even so, customer sentiment remained high. As a matter of fact, Q2 of 2020 saw an increase in customer satisfaction, with 91.3% of residents and family members recommending their community to others. Many residents felt an incredible amount of gratitude to their senior living community and its employees for keeping them safe. “They managed to keep the virus completely out of the building. I am grateful for that,” said one recipient of a Pinnacle Quality Insight survey. According to National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC) data, 64% of assisted living facilities reported no COVID deaths in 2020.

However, 2021 has brought a new challenge to senior living, a workforce shortage that is compounding the lasting effects of COVID-19 on senior living operators. Customer sentiment hit a ten-year low in Q3 2021. Recommendation rates were at 87.7% in Q3, down 1.8% from Q3 2020 and 1.7% from the previous quarter in 2021. This is the first time rates have dropped below 89%, and the biggest drop realized in a single quarter.

When asked for their recommended improvements in Q3 2021, staffing was the number one issue voiced by customers. Recommendations mentioning staffing were up 57% from Q3 2020 and customers aren’t as understanding of this problem as they were the COVID outbreak. “They keep saying they're short on staff. Damn it! Hire some more!” said one respondent to a Pinnacle survey.

Recommended Improvements

When asked for recommended improvements, these items were most commonly mentioned in Q3 2021.

Although customer satisfaction rates are still relatively high, customers are less satisfied now than any other time in the last ten years, including the very difficult months in 2020 when residents were not allowed visitors. The workforce shortage combined with the lasting impact of COVID is proving to be very distressing for senior living customers. Operators must tackle the staffing shortage by recruiting, cross-training, retaining, and rewarding employees.