The following is an excerpt from an article that originally appeared on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. If you’d like to read the whole article, visit their website.

Colorado is a state with a 3.7% unemployment rate. That makes it challenging to retain qualified workers in hospitality and senior care.

So Christian Living Communities (CLC) and Cappella Living Solutions began to look at ways to be recognized for the values and rewards they give employees. Their efforts allowed the communities of Holly Creek, Someren Glen, Clermont Park and Dayspring Villa, Assisted Living Community each to be labeled as a Great Place To Work!

Over the past few years, CLC/Cappella began adding programs to entice employees to join and stay. “We had a series of strategic initiatives and one of them had to do with how to distinguish ourselves in the marketplace,” CLC’s Executive Director of Human Resources Jan Roth told me. “We asked, ‘How do we develop best practices and keep those people for a long time?’”

[One of the new initiatives relates to a benefit around college debt.] CLC had long had a scholarship program, where team members can receive up to $6,500 for critical need jobs. But after hearing how employees were struggling with college debt, CLC developed a new program, Roth explained. It’s funded by the company and allows people to pay down their debt by up to $1,200 a year. What the company asks for in return is that team members stay for a year and work at least 24 hours a week.