When Olivia Wilson went to her first Argentum conference in 2016, she noticed something missing among the crowd of senior living executives in attendance.
“I didn’t see a lot of representation of people of color there, and it was concerning to me that this great, mission-driven industry had a really big drop in diversity when you got to certain senior levels within organizations,” said Wilson, who today serves as senior director for human resources and DEIB at Argentum.
In the years since that conference, Wilson said she has seen marked progress in the senior living field in improving opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds. However, she believes it’s only the beginning.
“I think as an industry we’re doing a lot better,” she said. “But just because you make progress, that can’t mean that you stop. It’s about continuing to look at yourself and work to improve. That’s something we should all be doing.”
Wilson said Argentum’s biggest focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives in the industry is improving diversity in executive positions. Wilson noted that the senior living industry continues to have a “very diverse” workforce in frontline positions, but the industry shows considerable room to grow when it comes to promoting that existing base of talent and attracting new diverse talent to the field.
Consequently, Argentum is working to raise awareness of the senior living field, the long-term career opportunities that are available and the personal satisfaction that can come from making a difference to older adults. “We want to make more people aware of this great industry and the great careers that it offers,” Wilson said.
Argentum is also working closely with its members to understand the specific issues at play and how to improve on them. Here are some of the ways how.
Surveying the field
A critical step for senior living was the release in 2022 of the first Senior Living Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Survey, which was conducted by Ferguson Partners and sponsored by the Senior Living DEIB Coalition. The coalition, which is a partnership among Argentum, American Seniors Housing Association and the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging within the seniors housing industry. A second iteration of the survey was released in 2023.
Among the key findings of the survey is that 40% of participants have a formal DEIB program (up 13 percentage points from last year), while another 37% have implemented some DEIB initiatives or policies (the remaining 23% do not focus on DEIB at all). Also notable was that survey participation increased 36% – from 44 to 60 companies – indicating that more owners and operators are prioritizing DEIB initiatives to meet their organization’s strategic goals.
“We’re seeing progress,” Wilson said. “We know that people are really looking at this and focusing on this in their respective organizations.”
Critical to the survey is that it has helped Argentum develop a baseline for how its members are doing – where there are strengths and where there are opportunities to improve. Wilson said the survey has helped organizations view their operations holistically, considering everything from policies to staff makeup to get “a stronger picture of how they are doing.”
Dionna Johnson Sallis, head of diversity, equity and inclusion for Ferguson Partners, said the survey shows that in senior living “the higher that you go, the less representation there is.” For instance, 46% of senior living professionals overall are people of color, but people of color make up just 14% of those in executive management, 18% of senior-level-employees and 26% of mid-level employees. Also eye-catching is that 73% of senior living professionals are women compared to only 50% of executive managers.
Wilson said when organizations take a clear-eyed look at their DEIB policies and practices, they can be surprised at shortcomings they were unaware existed. Wilson said several Argentum members said the survey revealed where assumptions they had made were incorrect.
“You might have a very diverse makeup of frontline workers, then when you start to look closer at it and you look at your senior-level positions you may say, ‘Wow, I thought we were doing great. When I look around, I see a lot of diversity. However, when I move up the career chain, I see that we’re not doing so well,’” Wilson said. “It allows them to look at the different segments of their population and their different policies and understand them better.”
Sallis said the survey results serve as a powerful reminder of why a comprehensive approach is necessary.
“It’s about making sure that your efforts are a high priority just like other facets of your business,” Sallis said. “It should not be a separate thing – DEI needs to be a thread through every facet of an organization – and it should be seen as important as everything else.”
Concrete tools for concrete results
Wilson said the surveys have helped Argentum refine and focus on areas that it sees that members want and need to learn more about, and the results from the first survey informed the DEIB Coalition’s creation of a DEIB toolkit for owner-operators. The toolkit, which was curated and designed by the Axela Group, strives to be helpful both to organizations who are new to developing a dedicated DEIB program and those who are more experienced with it. It provides everything from basic definitions and terms to best practices.
“It could be as simple as taking the first step of writing a diversity statement for your organization – why is DEI important to you?” Wilson said. “The toolkit has a lot of resources to help organizations move forward with their DEI journey. We hope it’s going to be a long-term resource that our members are able to use.”
A multifaceted approach is necessary to tackle the challenge, and Annette Jorden, director of talent development at LCS, a senior living management provider, pointed to some approaches that LCS has taken.
“Our leadership development programs help to identify and develop diverse talent in our organization,” Jorden said. “These emerging leaders and formal mentorship programs help to prepare employees for senior-level roles. We are also investing time in the future leaders of our industry by forming strong partnerships at colleges and universities across the nation to prepare a new generation of diverse students to become leaders in the senior housing and care profession. Through the LCS Foundation, we are helping develop academic programs and providing internships and scholarships for students who pursue careers in the field of senior living.”
Among the key steps for members to take is analyzing their policies and identifying barriers that may be favoring one group over another in a variety of ways. For instance, a new Argentum initiative this year is helping members gauge the diversity of their suppliers.
Among other major efforts, Argentum’s DEIB Roundtable formed last year, and Wilson said the roundtable has provided its members with an opportunity to hold dialogues about vital DEIB topics and to share resources.
Collaborating with peers can be a powerful way of advancing your efforts. Jorden said she actively engages with industry peers in conversations about diversity and inclusion topics, especially during Argentum’s DEIB meetings.
“These are valuable meetings that provide an opportunity for camaraderie and best practice sharing so that we can learn from each other,” Jorden said. “The DEIB enables participants to better understand challenges, potential opportunities and missteps to avoid. Importantly, it provides a forum to share successes. The real advancements in this space happen in one experience, one conversation, one learning moment at a time. This can happen exponentially when we share our experiences.”
A pledge to improve
One of Argentum’s areas of emphasis is encouraging more of its members to take the CEO Action Pledge, a pledge that commits the signers to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in their workplaces. Executives from more than 2,500 organizations have so far signed the pledge, representing a range of industries. James Balda, CEO of Argentum, signed the pledge in 2021 and Argentum has encouraged its members to follow suit. Wilson said it’s a meaningful step.
“When you make that pledge on such a huge platform, it’s a way of holding yourself accountable,” Wilson said. “It helps you bring a focus to these issues. And it also helps you see that you’re not alone in this journey.”
The CEO Action Pledge is another way of senior living joining together to work on DEIB issues.
“We have made good strides as an industry, but we have a ways to go,” Jorden said. “A comprehensive and intentional approach is necessary to make improvements. Standing together as an industry is key – initiatives like the CEO Action Pledge send a strong message of how our industry values diversity and creates awareness for the rewarding careers we offer.”
As a signatory to the pledge, an organization gains access to a database of resources and tools designed to help enhance its DEIB efforts. The pledge also hosts meetings for the DEIB point people at participating organizations.
“It provides great, tangible resources for people who are looking for some guidance,” Wilson said. “We’re excited about it, and we want to share it with our members. We want them to understand what’s available to them and to see how many other CEOs that it’s important to.”
The hard work of progress
DEIB should be a priority to an organization for a wide range of reasons, but Wilson said one of the more pressing reasons is that the makeup of senior living residents is becoming more diverse, heightening the importance of having diverse leadership teams. Frontline workers appreciate a diverse leadership team, too, in part so they can see that there is a viable path for them to climb the ladder within their organization – otherwise, retention will suffer.
Jorden said that senior living providers that embrace DEIB will have a competitive edge in attracting workforce talent.
“For years we have said when employees feel valued and respected, they are more likely to stay, and reduce our turnover rates, but we also know that diverse teams bring a variety of perspectives and ideas to the table,” Jorden said. “In senior living, this can lead to more innovative solutions and better decision-making processes that consider the needs of all residents. To that point, our residents are also increasingly diverse. DEI initiatives promote understanding and respect for different cultural practices and beliefs, which are essential in providing quality care that is sensitive to the needs and preferences of residents from all backgrounds.”
Wilson noted that DEIB for the workforce is not just about diversity – it’s also about ensuring workers feel welcomed, appreciated and valued.
“It’s about fostering an environment that’s representative of the world,” Wilson said. “We live in a diverse world, and you should want to have that diversity within your organization.”
Wilson described Argentum as “early in the first quarter” of its efforts, but she said she is pleased with the progress and response that she has seen. Continued progress will require hard work, and there will need to be many small, incremental gains to achieve the largest ones.
“This is not something that miraculously changes overnight,” Wilson said. “A lot of this is the culture of the organization and what are the things that they focus on. When you look at your organization, it needs to be ingrained into every facet of your business – your colleagues, your employees, your customers. That’s how things get better.”
Read more information about Argentum’s DEIB initiatives here.
