CALA News & Views | Issue 49 | Top 5

It all starts with having a mission and a culture that is focused on the resident. For our culture to be one of ensuring our residents love where they live, our associates must love where they work. Culture starts with helping our associates feel valued by the organization. If our associates show up every day excited to be at our community, that will be reflected on the service they provide to our residents and families. Focus on resident satisfaction starts with focus on the associates. Our associates need to understand why the work they do is so important. Our associates need to believe that what they do and how they interact with residents and families has a tremendous impact on the life of the resident. Our associates need to know that the company they work for truly believes in its mission statement, that it is not simply something written on a piece of paper collecting dust somewhere. 5 ways to 1

By Sheila Garner, Oakmont Management Group and Brookdale Senior Living (retired); Jen Johnson, Atria Management Company; and Roselynn Muzzy, Integral Senior Living Achieve Resident a

So, every day, take the time at a stand-up meeting to recite the mission statement or talk about why what every associate does is so important. It should not take more than a few minutes of time, but that few minutes can make a tremendous positive difference in how staff interact with residents and families. And where possible, involve associates in stand up. Provide an opportunity for them to share their input/feedback on resident well-being, family feedback and concerns. Associates need to know that what they do matters and that their insights, feedback and input matter.

Each of us knows that effective communication builds trust, and trust builds satisfaction. It is almost impossible to overcommunicate with residents and families. Communication is easy when the subject is positive. The tougher part is being willing to communicate when the subject is not positive. Not everything that we must communicate to our customers and staff is easy, but giving the why and how helps. For example, a long-term executive director is retiring. So how do we go about reassuring residents and families during the transition as well as helping our associates and leaders of the departments transition to new leadership? Typically, residents and family members form bonds with the leaders of the community, from the first time they meet at move in, and through conversations throughout their stay. The staff also form bonds with the leader of the community from all staff meetings and daily interactions in the community. Having a welcome event for the new leader where residents and families can learn about the new leader and meet them helps in the transition and opens the lines of communication, which are so important. It’s the same for associates and directors of the community, having a welcome meeting and learning fun facts about the new executive director helps to create that open path to communication.

2 Sheila Garner is former Senior Vice President of Operations for Oakmont Management Group and Division Vice President at Brookdale Senior Living (retired); Jen Johnson is National Care Director at Atria Management Company ; and Roselynn Muzzy is Regional Vice President of Operations for Integral Senior Living . All three presented on growing resident and family satisfaction at a previous CALA Elevate Conference & Trade Show.