Case Study - LCB Senior Living
LCB Senior Living, LLC is one of the nation’s fastest-growing developers and operators of Independent, Assisted, and Memory Care Living communities for seniors. For more than a decade, LCB has provided the highest caliber of hospitality and service for residents, their families, and guests. Headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, LCB owns and/or manages 32 upscale senior living communities across the Northeastern United States.
LCB is rooted in a company culture that values family life, professional development, collaboration, and mutual respect. Therefore, there are no “employees” at LCB, but rather “associates” who work together toward a common mission – To create a community where residents, their families, and our associates experience: Good Times, Good Friends, and Great Care.
To maintain its values-driven culture, best serve its residents, and retain engaged associates, LCB prioritizes hiring the most qualified people, versus simply increasing headcount. The company is constantly hiring, averaging 150 job openings at any given time. Most positions comprise hospitality roles (like chefs, servers, housekeepers, dishwashers), but LCB also hires nursing professionals, customer service personnel, administrators, and more.
Challenges
LCB’s corporate HR team supports their communities’ individual hiring initiatives by providing the tools and resources for reaching the right candidates. In 2020, the HR team set out to identify new sources for talent and ways to attract more qualified applicants. LCB was already using some of the most well-known general job boards but wanted to try an industry-specific approach. Such an approach would help them unlock additional talent streams, especially in the hospitality services and healthcare sectors.
By adding an industry-focused recruiting platform to its mix of sourcing tools, LCB could target candidates with certain skillsets. At the time, thousands of workers from restaurants, hotels, and foodservice companies had been laid off or furloughed due to COVID-19. LCB sought to create job opportunities for hospitality talent outside of the senior living realm and show job seekers how their skills (like guest service, cooking, food handling, and event/activity planning and management) translate well for LCB’s open positions.
Solutions
LCB discovered iHire, an employment platform with 57 industry-specific talent communities, including iHireHospitalityServices and iHireNursing. iHireHospitalityServices, home to more than 209,000 job seekers, caught LCB’s eye and would allow the organization to target their ideal candidate personas: experienced professionals in the hospitality field who do not rely on other job boards to find work.
In fact, 51% of iHire candidates don’t use many of today’s general job boards, while 90% have at least one year of professional experience. Plus, applicants can see how well they qualify before applying for a role with iHire’s iScore Resume Match, which scores resumes against the requirements of a job posting. This simplifies the screening process and narrows down the applicant pool.
To reach iHire’s unique talent stream, LCB selected automated Job Slots. By integrating seamlessly with LCB’s applicant tracking system (ATS), iHire’s Job Slots post all the organization’s ads without any manual effort. Postings are advertised to matching job seekers on relevant iHire’s communities and search engine results pages, and in branded job alert emails sent to active members.
Moreover, the integration with LCB’s ATS enables iHire candidates to complete applications without leaving the platform, creating a better user experience and increasing applies. Applications are sent directly to the ATS so recruiters can keep tabs on all incoming resumes in one place.
LCB also took advantage of iHire’s employer branding tools to highlight its unique and familial culture. With an iHire company profile, LCB showcases its job openings, benefits, employee testimonials, videos, and photos to attract applicants. And, as an iHire Choice Employer, LCB receives extra exposure with display ads on iHire’s platform, premium placement in job alerts, and more.
Results
With iHire, LCB is promoting approximately 150 job postings at once, saving time and resources through automated postings. Thus far, LCB’s job postings have attracted 786 candidates, while active jobs on iHireHospitalityServices are currently receiving a view-to-apply rate of 22.7%. This means more than one in five candidates who view LCB’s hospitality jobs submit an application, giving LCB a 6.6% higher view-to-apply rate than the current industry average on iHireHospitalityServices.
To date, LCB credits iHire as the source for 26 great new hires, demonstrating the value of iHire’s industry focus and unique talent pool. Some hires have come from industries outside senior living, including hotels and restaurants, which is what LCB envisioned during the height of COVID-19 layoffs.
Every LCB community has benefited from iHire, with most having onboarded an iHire candidate. Because talent retention is vital to LCB’s culture, attracting qualified candidates is critical to associate engagement companywide.
“With iHire, we can reach applicants who use other methods in their job searches besides the generic job boards and target candidates in the hospitality field,” said Brian Robinson, Director of Talent Acquisition and Associate Engagement for LCB Senior Living. “LCB Senior Living is able to find quality in-industry and out-of-industry applicants that have been amazing new hires to our company. We see deep value in this partnership.”
Lastly, LCB has found that working with iHire is raising its brand awareness, which strengthens its reputation as an employer of choice and makes hiring more efficient. “We’ve had candidates who had never heard about our company before. The platform has introduced new people to us and allowed us to be introduced,” Robinson concluded.
Looking for a rewarding career in the senior living industry? Check out LCB Senior Living’s job openings and discover what makes LCB a great place to work.