Job competency expectations for senior living foodservice employees: an analysis of online job postings

As foodservice is a significant aspect of the burgeoning senior living industry in the United States, career opportunities are projected to abound for hospitality students and professionals. However, it is still unclear whether senior living employers require different job competencies for their frontline foodservice employees compared to those required by restaurants due to the unique characteristics of the industry. The purpose of the study is to identify job competencies for both entry-level and managerial foodservice positions in the senior living industry. Online job postings of the 23 largest senior living companies in the United States were analyzed. The study results indicated that job competencies required in senior living foodservice were largely similar to those of food & beverage employees in the hospitality industry. Soft skills and generic competencies such as communication/interpersonal skills, adaptability and flexibility, customer service, and conceptual/critical skills were deemed essential for both entry-level and managerial positions. For career advancement, hard skills, technical knowledge of foodservice, and leadership were emphasized for managerial positions. Interestingly, aptitude for working with older people was mentioned but not referred to as the knowledge of aging and disease as expected. This study fills the gap in the hospitality literature on job competencies by focusing on senior living as a utilitarian aspect of the hospitality continuum and offers practical implications for hospitality management academic programs, senior living operators, and other relevant stakeholders.