Carl Dutton, Compass Associates’ Director of Elderly Care recently discussed his key observations into market trends occurring within the private and independent elderly care markets across the last six months.

Carl is one of Compass Associates’ longest serving employees and is responsible for the Elderly Care division. He personally leads on senior appointments, regularly speaking to industry leaders across both the private and Not-For-Profit sectors, gathering insight into the key challenges throughout the market.

What is the size of the Elderly Care division and what markets do they focus on?

The Elderly Care division at Compass Associates consists of 24 consultants spanning both our Manchester and Portsmouth offices, all of whom operate across niche areas within Elderly Care, divided geographically to deliver a tailored approach with specialist localised knowledge.

Divisional breakdown:

• Senior Appointments (Regional Management and above)
• Interim Appointments (Managerial)
• Home Management (Nursing & Residential)
• Home Care / Retirement Living
• Clinical Appointments (Registered Nurse > Deputy Manager)

What were your division’s recruitment market trends over the past six months? If so, what reasons were there for this?

The past six months has generally been a more challenging time for recruiting across the Elderly Care sector, more specifically at mid-senior level management. With the sector being short-staffed, in combination with ever increasing operating costs  – retention is currently a primary focus for the majority of our clients. We’ve observed internal promotion becoming more prevalent than ever, meaning potential “active candidates” are less inclined to apply for new opportunities.

What successes has your division seen over the past six months?

The Elderly Care division has had a commercially strong six months – the division has had another successive record-breaking year, resulting in organic growth with the team expanding by a further three consultants, and the creation of a new Home Care / Retirement Living desk across both the north and southern regions.

What key observations have you seen in the markets on budgets with the impact of the cost of living?

Due to the impact of rising costs, employers are realising the value of retaining staff more than ever due to the increase in budget and risk associated with hiring new talent. We’ve observed counter offers becoming increasingly more common throughout recent times as a result.

Have client expectations changed at all? Any demands for a certain skill set at present?

The skillset demand is changing, but in a positive way, internal development has become a real “focus” area for many of our clients. Companies are becoming more risk-averse, with increased expectations.

 What changes have you observed that permanently changed during the pandemic and have never reverted to post-Covid?

Post-Covid, we have seen more fluidity with remote interviews, and I believe meetings via Microsoft Teams / Zoom are here to stay – becoming the norm especially for first stage interviews.  The benefits of remote interviews far outweigh the disadvantages,  and have supported many of our clients’ processes in relation to time efficiency.

What predictions / plans do you see coming to fruition within the division due to foreseen client expectations / demands?

The division has grown to help facilitate the demand of incoming assignments where we are seeing an increase in clients asking for our services. Therefore, ensuring our consultants are upskilled, aligned to our high quality approach is incredibly important. The demand for the homecare market is growing exponentially and we will therefore be looking to grow our newly created desk within this market.

Find out more about Carl and the Elderly Care division here.

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