Staffing is such a vital part of any community operation! In addition, staffing is so much more than just hiring people to fill various positions. Successful staffing involves:
- Screening potential employees
- Hiring the right person for the right job (a “good/experienced” employee in the wrong job can be just as detrimental as having a “bad/inexperienced” employee)
- Proper orientation and training
- Supervision and leadership that motivates and empowers employees
- Ongoing training and developing of employees
- Employee satisfaction / retention / reducing employee turnover
And to emphasize the importance of proper staffing “based on a nationwide survey of roughly 1,500 assisted living communities spanning customers and employees in 2012, the National Research Report finds that staffing is still paramount among all other resident satisfaction factors.” Bottom line, your staff satisfaction directly correlates to your resident satisfaction. In fact, Senior Living University Customer Service in Assisted Living Training addresses that you MUST treat not only residents but employees (as well as many other people groups outside of residents) as customers and strive to achieve high satisfaction among all these groups.
Staffing is Key Driver for Assisted Living Satisfaction Study Shows (SeniorHousingNews.com)
While you may think you have it covered since all your positions are filled, you must ask yourself a few questions:
- Do I have the best people in the right jobs?
- What motivates my employees? (If you think a paycheck is enough motivation, you are missing out on major contributions by your staff!)
- Are employees trained properly for their jobs?
- Are my employees satisfied? Am I treating them as a “customer”? (A satisfied employee is what gets efficiency, productivity and resident satisfaction.)
- Are my employees trained/empowered to problem solve and contribute new ideas?
- Are my employees growing and developoing in their job functions, leadership, and knowledge?
- Are my employees looking for opportunities outside my community? Why?