By 2024 the NDIS sector will need a further 83,000 workers. 

This number alone is worrying, without considering the 213,000 workers expected to leave the sector by the same year according to the National Workforce Plan.

And yet, nearly every organisation we work with is already experiencing difficulties attracting the right people to fill existing frontline worker vacancies.

With the volume of jobs available candidates are fielding multiple offers and have no trouble finding alternatives to their current organisation if they’re unhappy. 

Knowing that this situation is likely to worsen, are we seeing concerted efforts to make disability support organisations great places to work? Not yet.

What is an EVP, and does it make a difference?

An employee value proposition (EVP) is the unique rewards and/or benefits that your organisation offers current and prospective staff, in return for their consideration, performance, and commitment. Your EVP should include everything you are doing to attract and retain staff.

Does having an EVP make a difference? You bet it does.

According to LinkedIn’s Employer Brand Statistics Report, the number one obstacle candidates experience when searching for a job is not knowing what it’s like to work at an organisation. In addition, a massive 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job.

However, even with the above alarming numbers in mind, most NDIS providers are still doing the bare minimum when communicating their EVP (if they have one) to the prospective staff they so desperately need.

Support worker ads tell the same monotonous story

We recently reviewed ten Seek ads for frontline support workers and observed little evidence of real employee value propositions (EVP).

While we saw some variance in pay rates, we know that providers’ hands are somewhat tied by the Disability Support Worker Cost Model (DSWCM). This restriction has some oragnisations getting creative with baiting and switching in the market (advertising higher than award rates but classifying at the minimum level).

As for benefits, they were underwhelming, if included at all. For example, five of the ten providers’ ads we reviewed did not list any legitimate benefits of working at the organisation. The remaining five only mentioned standard not-for-profit benefits (salary packaging) and access to basic training.

Interestingly, many not-for-profits believe their mission will attract candidates. Unfortunately, from an applicant’s perspective, many of these missions are aligned to the same themes, offering little to no advantage. As a result, we have reason to believe that the benefits offered by these providers do not convince most candidates.

Finding a point of difference isn’t easy, but it is possible

It is challenging to build a genuine EVP in the support worker market within the pressure of the price guide, but some organisations have made ground.

An organisation setting itself apart offers certification to its candidates through a training organisation they manage. While seemingly inconsequential, this enables the organisation to target the less qualified segment of the candidate pool and find additional value and retention by committing staff to an internal certificate.

We found significant variations in qualification and experience requirements between organisations. This variance is noteworthy because the expected qualification did not correlate with pay rate or any articulated benefits. For example, 50% of Seek ads we reviewed expected a Certificate III in Disability at a minimum, and 80% preferred some prior experience in disability support work. 

These selection criteria further highlight the need for a genuine EVP; if the sector is consistently growing, and 80% of providers expect prior experience, where will providers find more staff?

Some organisations are building robust induction processes and entry-level assessment tools to reliably select new workers who can develop skills and possess the right traits for support work. The view is that these systems pay for themselves since they spend less time in the market, typically pay a lower rate, and have effectively reduced their turnover by allowing staff to see the investment in their career. 

How this transaction nets out remains to be seen, but at minimum, these organisations have a clear strategy to gain an unfair share of a limited candidate pool. A clear approach to segment sections of the labour market is becoming crucial.

A grim outlook for support workers seeking career development

Our experiences with engagement surveys have convinced us that at least 25% of the support workforce are very sensitive to career development. So what kind of signal are we providing to these people? Checking the numbers, the DSWCM suggests a span of control of 15 FTE per supervisor, which provides pretty low odds for promotion. If we add in lower contract sizes, lower turnover for supervisors, and a degree of external recruitment, the chances of getting promoted are ~1% each year. While not everyone has crunched the numbers, many people we work with know this reality.

Some organisations address the development problem by decentralising their supervision. Rather than the 15 FTE model, these organisations have more supervisors with a significant billable component of their work. This allows them to flatten their management structure and provide a clear promotional signal to their teams. 

A more novel approach is “micro qualifications”. While discussed in the National Workforce Plan, implementing this model and attaching it to varying pay rates is far more complex. We have seen organisations further flatten their structure by creating senior support worker roles contingent on these micro qualifications.

Avoiding the race to the bottom

We cannot pass on additional costs to our customers in the support work market. We also face the threat of organisations taking extreme risks with their employment pool to minimise costs. This often compels us to take similar risks just to compete. To avoid this race to the bottom, developing a genuine EVP to attract candidates will make a difference for providers as the workforce expands.

Does your organisation have a real EVP or point of difference to offer staff? Reach out and let us know. Are you worried about the implications of a race to the bottom? Tell us about your challenges in building or revamping your EVP.

As always, if we can help, please reach out.