The Vacant Job

When Alouette Special Care Home is looking to hire for a position one of two things has happened. On rare occasions a job is being filled because we are trying to meet a need for the residents that we previously never provided. Most often we are hiring for a position that was left vacant by a staff who retired or accepted a job in a nursing home or hospital.

When a staff provides notice we first look to our current employees to fill the vacant position. Often employees wish to switch positions to try something new or to work different hours.

At all hours of the day and night Special Care Homes are regulated to meet staffing ratios as outlined by the Standards and Procedures for Adult Residential Facilities. The hours that are left to fill by the current vacancy are the hours for which we are hiring.

In the meanwhile, staff are usually taking turns working overtime to cover those hours and are anxious for the new hire to come on board. Our staff are very unlikely to switch shifts with a new hire because they already worked their way into the hours they most wish to work.

Supervisors set out the training schedule for recently hired personal support workers. Personal support workers are trained by members of the team that work the same hours for which that person was hired.

Management at Alouette Special Care Home accommodates cross training for staff who express interest in another position in advance of an open position.