“The senior living sector is facing a workforce crisis that pay rises alone will not solve. The pipeline is narrowing. Attrition in the first hundred days is the industry’s most preventable cost. And the shift toward health span is changing everything – what residents expect, what roles communities need to fill, and what kind of leaders will define the highest-performing operators over the next decade.”
The US senior living sector is at a turning point. The silver tsunami is coming, and the ageing population means the need for senior living will only continue to grow. The real question is whether the industry has the workforce to meet that demand, and whether today’s operating models are ready for a new generation of residents with very different expectations from those who came before them.
Having spent the past quarter in close conversation with clients, operators, and sector peers – including at BOLD, one of the most important gatherings for senior living professionals – I want to share my honest assessment of where the market stands, what has shifted, and what providers need to be thinking about now.
Andrea Hunt, Director of Business Development at Compass Associates US, draws on Q2 market intelligence and observations from the BOLD conference to examine the structural forces shaping senior living recruitment in 2026.
The senior living market has shifted, and not in the way most people expected
When I compare the senior living hiring market today with where it was two or three years ago, the biggest change isn’t what many people expected.
Salaries have settled down. In 2022 and 2023, pay expectations were at record highs. Today, candidates are generally more realistic, with expectations better aligned to inflation and the cost of living.
That doesn’t mean salary isn’t important. In high-cost markets like California and New York, I still see a gap between what employers budget and what the market demands. For example, a client may budget $160,000 for an Executive Director role, but the market rate is closer to $185,000. In the end, the market usually wins, and employers who stick too closely to their original budget often lose great candidates.
What’s changed even more is what candidates want from their next role. Since COVID, stability has become a much bigger priority. People aren’t just looking for a higher salary. They want somewhere they can stay, grow, and make a real impact.
For years, it wasn’t unusual for leaders in senior living to move on after 18 to 24 months. Now, many candidates tell me they’re tired of that cycle. They want the chance to build something for the long term, not just keep things running until the next move.
“The anticipated wave of demand from the silver tsunami hasn’t materialized as fast as the industry expected. But it is coming. Providers who use this window to build infrastructure, develop internal talent, and strengthen their employer proposition will be the ones positioned to scale when demand accelerates. Those treating this as a quiet period will find themselves under-resourced at exactly the wrong moment.”
One trend I’m watching closely is the number of experienced senior living leaders becoming available after private equity-backed portfolio sales and restructures.
Many of these operators have outstanding track records and are exploring their next opportunity, often at short notice and before they’re actively on the market.
For employers who are ready to move quickly, this creates a real opportunity to hire exceptional talent that simply wasn’t available a year ago.
The workforce shortage is structural, not cyclical
The senior living sector is expected to need around 660,000 more workers by 2033. That’s a huge challenge, especially as the talent pool continues to shrink.
I believe that there are two main reasons for this. First, many experienced nurses and caregivers are reaching retirement and leaving the workforce. Second, changes to immigration policies have reduced the number of international workers entering healthcare, even though they’ve traditionally filled many frontline care roles.
There’s also a longer-term issue. For years, schools have encouraged students towards university rather than vocational careers. As a result, there are more graduates competing for office-based jobs, while healthcare roles remain unfilled.
Careers as nurses and certified nursing assistants offer stable, rewarding work with strong long-term demand. The challenge isn’t the careers themselves. It’s making more people aware of the opportunities and helping them see healthcare as an attractive career path.
“When a community cannot fill caregiver positions internally, it resorts to agency staffing. I’ve seen communities spending $40,000 to $50,000 a month on agency cover for a 100-bed community – and then telling me they can’t afford to hire an Executive Director. One strong ED hire could eliminate the need for most of that agency spend. The business case is clear, but it is not always being made effectively to the people who hold the budget.”
The growth of internal talent acquisition teams has changed the role of external recruiters
Since around 2022, many larger senior living providers have built in-house recruitment teams that handle most frontline and community-level hiring. That means external recruiters are now adding the most value to senior and specialist appointments.
This includes roles like Regional Vice Presidents, Executive Directors, Sales Directors, and C-suite leaders, where confidentiality, market knowledge, and strong industry networks really matter.
That’s where I focus my work, helping clients make some of the most important hiring decisions in their business.
The first hundred days of a new hire are the sector’s most preventable cost
Half of hourly workers in senior living leave before they reach 100 days. That’s not just about pay. It’s about onboarding, leadership, and whether people feel supported from the moment they join.
One message came through clearly at BOLD, and it’s something I see with the strongest operators I work with too: reducing early turnover isn’t complicated.
It starts during the hiring process. Stay in touch, answer questions, follow up, and make candidates feel valued before they even start. Then invest in onboarding. If someone’s first week is just paperwork, a handbook, and being expected to figure everything out on their own, they’re much more likely to leave.
The organizations that keep their people are the ones that build relationships from day one, explain the bigger picture, and make sure leaders are visible, approachable, and involved.
One of the best examples I’ve seen was a leader I placed three years ago at a nationwide home care franchise. When she took over, there were 140 open roles across her portfolio. She reduced that number to just 10.
She didn’t do it with a complicated strategy. She did it by being present. She worked overnight shifts, spent time alongside her teams, and even helped with laundry when needed. She showed people she understood their day-to-day challenges because she was right there with them.
That kind of authentic, hands-on leadership is one of the most effective retention strategies I’ve seen, and it doesn’t cost any more than not showing up.
“Retention is a leadership problem before it is a compensation problem. The communities with the lowest turnover are not necessarily the highest-paying ones. They are the ones where leadership shows up, where people feel seen, and where the first hundred days sets a tone of genuine investment in the employee rather than a rapid ramp to productivity.”
Another trend I’m seeing is that local market experience has become much more important when hiring senior leaders.
More and more, clients want candidates who know their specific region inside and out. For example, someone with an excellent track record in California may not be the right fit for a leadership role in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area if they don’t understand that local market.
Clients are looking for leaders who already know the competition, understand local demand, and have established relationships in the area. What used to be a nice-to-have has become a must-have for many senior roles.
That changes how recruitment needs to be approached. Success now depends on having strong networks in the markets where clients are hiring, rather than trying to build those connections once a search begins.
Lifespan to health span is the shift that is reshaping everything
The biggest change I see coming to senior living, and one that’s already happening in some communities, is the move from focusing on lifespan to focusing on health span.
Previous generations came into senior living looking for comfort, safety, and support with everyday tasks. Today’s baby boomers expect much more. They want to stay active, healthy, and engaged. They’re looking for great food, fitness programmes, wellness services, social activities, and experiences that help them maintain the lifestyle they’ve enjoyed for years.
The communities that understand this are already raising the bar. Many now offer restaurant-quality dining, cinemas, wellness centers, Pilates classes, acupuncture, and activity programmes designed around their residents’ interests. These features are becoming less of a luxury and more of an expectation.
This shift is also changing the type of talent the sector needs as senior living is increasingly looking for people from hospitality, wellness, customer experience, and commercial leadership backgrounds. The skills needed to create an exceptional resident experience have a lot in common with those needed to run a great hotel.
Many experienced hospitality professionals are now looking for a new challenge, and senior living offers a real opportunity to use those skills in a sector where they can make a meaningful difference.
“Health span is not fully baked out as a business model yet. The industry is still working out what it means operationally and financially. But the direction of travel is clear. The communities that are building for the resident of 2030 – not the resident of 2010 – are the ones that will be in the strongest competitive position when the full weight of demographic demand arrives.”
AI is important, but not the most urgent conversation
AI was one of the biggest talking points at BOLD this year. Sessions on automation, digital tools, and AI were packed, which isn’t surprising given how quickly the technology is evolving.
What stood out to me, though, was that many of those sessions focused on the basics because a lot of people are only just starting their AI journey. At the same time, sessions on hiring and frontline retention, topics that have an immediate impact on day-to-day operations, attracted much smaller audiences.
The senior living sector has been slower than most industries to adopt AI. That creates both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is keeping up with technology that will soon become part of everyday operations. The opportunity is that organizations that embrace it early can gain a real competitive advantage.
That said, I don’t believe AI is the answer to the sector’s biggest workforce challenges.
The biggest challenge is still people. As new generations enter the workforce, communication, empathy, relationship building, and strong leadership are becoming even more valuable. Those are the skills that create great resident experiences and keep teams engaged.
AI can make work more efficient by helping with administration, scheduling, reporting, and data analysis. But it can’t replace human judgement, build trust with residents and families, or create the kind of leadership that inspires people to stay.
Looking ahead, I think we’ll see more organizations appoint people to lead their AI strategy. Their role won’t just be introducing new tools, but making sure AI is used consistently across the business, supports employees, and becomes part of everyday operations rather than another disconnected system.
What this means for your hiring strategy within senior living
Invest in the first 100 days
Most providers spend a lot of time and money finding the right people. But far less goes into helping them succeed once they start. That’s one of the biggest reasons people leave early.
Good onboarding doesn’t have to be complicated. Stay in touch, check in regularly, and make sure leaders are visible and available. Those first few weeks often determine whether someone stays or starts looking elsewhere.
Build local talent networks before you need them
More employers are looking for people with experience in their specific market. That means waiting until a role opens to start building connections is often too late.
If you’re growing in a new region, work with recruitment partners who already know that market and have strong local networks. It makes the hiring process faster and gives you access to better talent.
Let the market guide your salary
One of the biggest reasons searches fall apart is when the salary doesn’t match the market. Have honest conversations about pay at the start, using current market data. Knowing what competitive candidates expect saves time, avoids losing great people at offer stage, and leads to better hiring decisions.
Hire for where your community is going
Senior living is changing, and the people you hire should reflect where the sector is heading, not where it’s been.
Look beyond traditional backgrounds.
Hospitality professionals can bring valuable experience to operations and resident experience. Wellness leaders should be seen as a key part of the business, not an extra. Commercial leaders need to understand how to create communities that stand out for both lifestyle and quality of care.
The talent is out there. Sometimes you just have to look in different places.
Looking for a specialist recruitment partner in US senior living?
My team at Compass Associates US works with senior living operators across the country on leadership-level and specialist appointments. We bring market intelligence, sector-specific networks, and an intelligence-led approach that goes well beyond CV forwarding. If you are planning growth, navigating succession, or looking for a recruitment partner who understands your market, I would welcome the conversation.