Tag: senior living

“It Just Feels Right” Magical words from residents and family members

Knowing a resident/family members reason for choosing your senior living community for their loved one can be key to impacting move in’s.

At times when asked, a resident/family member may say these magical words, “It just feels right!” These words are not tied to one specific thing, but to an overall sense and observation this is the right choice. Family members express they can feel the life, or lack of, the moment they walk through the doors.

The relationship starts the moment they walk through your doors.

Can you remember what it felt like to walk into a community that felt ‘lifeless’? Staff disengaged, no eye contact, and residents either bored or tucked away in their apartments. If so, then you also know the difference you felt when you walked into a community that filled you with life. Residents, staff and guests smiling and engaging, drawing you into the energy. It is not easy to explain what exactly brings this positive energy in, but it is definitely a notable feeling.

Residents and family members experience these same feelings. And when asked, ‘why did you chose our community’, they sometimes simply state ‘it just feels right’. This statement is their way of saying the community is firing on all cylinders and connecting at the core level.

How does this happen? How can a community demonstrate life for all who walk through the doors?

How do you create life for guests? Begin by assessing your core culture in action. Are staff engaged? Are residents out and about? Are your community programs happening where others can witness the life? And most importantly, ask current residents/family members why they chose your community. Work off those positives to move your team forward.

Reminder that the people within a community’s’ walls make the magic happen every day! Staff lead the way through their smiles and engagement with residents and guest who alongside are participating in programs, happy and simply hanging out with friends. By creating this harmony, you set guests at ease and help relieve fears replacing them with confidence.

At the end of the day, we are not simply selling real estate, even though the building design and interior finishes are beautiful, we are selling TRUST: Trust we will do our best to provide love and care for loved ones. Trust we are skilled in what we do and trust their loved one will thrive within the community.

Wishing you great success demonstrating life in your communities! Connect with us at RevealSol for more ideas.

Disclaimer: The content found here in Industry Insights is created by RevealSol, LLC and in the opinion of the writer and not all inclusive of senior living operational considerations

Invest in people and experience greater ROI for your Senior Living Community

It’s no secret senior living communities across the US struggle with staff recruitment and staff retention. Rural and urban markets alike invest large amounts of dollars and resources to attract people to come work in communities. Once recruits apply, interview and get hired, the dollars continue to rise with next big investment, training.

Training is key to a team members success in any organization. The investment of community resources to train newly hired staff adds up quickly impacting the bottom line. Leadership places great effort to recruit, hire and train new team members. Disappointment is understandable when turnover occurs.

Turnover effects are costly! A community can struggle to maintain consistency in programing, cause added strain on existing staff, and pull valuable time and energy from Leadership away from core job functions. All which can impact care and services provided to residents.

Many who work in a senior living community describe the job as a ‘calling’. Staff share stories of the love and compassion they have for the residents they serve. When team members ‘WHY’ (reason for serving) is in alignment with the community mission and culture, great things can happen. But it takes effort to connect with a team members ‘WHY’. It takes an investment in people.

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

John C. Maxwell

Below are a few tips for community Leaders on investing in people!

  • Be a Coach – After new hire training, new team members can be nervous and afraid to ask for help. As a leader you may notice things that others don’t. Take action in those coachable moments and lead new team member to success.
  • Time – Invest time NOW in the people you have. The time you put in now to mentor and demonstrate is generously returned when valuable trained team members stay.
  • Connect – New and current staff are people first. They have hopes and dreams, they have goals and they connect with a common goal within the community culture. Take a moment to get to know staff as individuals, understand the ‘WHY’ and connect.

Operating a senior living community is an incredibly complex business with many emotional variables. Because of the many complexities that arise in the day to day operations, Leaders can get caught up in the issue at hand and not see the big picture when it comes to investing in staff. Time to coach, time to mentor and time to connect bond staff at a deeper level to the mission and culture of the community. When staff are engaged and connected, retention rates can improve and communities can regain valuable resources.

For more tips to invest in people, connect with us at RevealSol.com

Disclaimer: The content found here in Industry Insights is created by RevealSol, LLC and in the opinion of the writer and not all inclusive of senior living operational considerations.