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In a previous blog entry, we discussed enhancing your resident’s quality of life.  This can come in many areas; the dining experience, their living areas and surroundings, interaction with the staff and, most certainly, with social, recreational and cultural activities.

How are your activities contributing to your residents’ quality of life?  You can offer a number of activities to your residents, but if they don’t participate or don’t really enjoy them, are they truly beneficial or useful for enhancing overall quality of life?

Two initial ways to measure your activities program are 1) Do your residents look forward to and participate in this activity and/or 2) Is this activity “helping” your resident mentally, physically and emotionally?  Of course, not every resident will participate in or enjoy every activity which is why a variety of activities are offered on a daily basis.  Many communities will involve their residents in identifying and planning the activities of interest to them. The key is finding a balance of the types of  activities that will appeal to a majority of your residents, while not overextending your staff or resources.

One community of the Capital Senior Living family had a calendar of activities for one month that included Bingo, puzzles, walking groups, Bible study, Wii games, sewing, shopping, volunteering, cooking, movie night, pet visits and MORE!  This is a great example of offering a broad variety of daily and monthly activities that would appeal to a majority of their residents. (On a side note: bingo, cards and puzzles may get a bad rap as “outdated,” but don’t just give up those activities summarily.  Those activities still appeal to many and, done right, can be lots of fun.)

A couple of recent items clearly demonstrate some great activities that promote health as well as enjoyment and personal fulfillment.

The Sunrise Senior Living Blog talked about their music programming options and how these activities “help older adults stay mentally and physically healthy.”  This particular article indicated:

“A 2006 study conducted by researchers and musicians from George Washington University and funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Arts and other organizations, found that seniors who participated in choral singing for a year experienced less depression and loneliness, and used less medication than those who did not join a choir. They also had fewer doctor’s visits and experienced improvements in their breathing, singing and speaking, as well as in their overall stamina compared to their counterparts.”

[Read full article]

NBC5 in Dallas/Ft. Worth did a feature on a local hospital dance program for those with movement disorders that promoted balance and slowed down the progression of disease for some.

[read full article]

In both of the above scenarios, a key feature was that, in addition to the obvious health benefits, the residents were having fun!

Obviously, there are many considerations when implementing an activities program.  This is why, at most Senior housing communities, there is a dedicated staff member designated as a Certified Activity Director.  Activities should not be taken lightly or as an “extra” provided to the residents, but as one of the necessary services offered as part of the overall lifestyle offered at Senior housing communities.

 

Too often, marketing is seen as an expense rather than an investment. With the difficulty and complexity of senior living sales growing, now is the time to make the proper investment in marketing. Given the right tools and resources, marketing teams working in concert with business objectives can produce maximum impact, boost occupancy, and improve cash flow.

Senior Living Business Interactive Webcast Series

May 16, 2013, 1-2:30 pm ET (12-1:30 pm CT, 10-11:30 am PT)      

“Investing in Marketing and PR”

In this event Jim Moore will provide details on how to cost-effectively address significant “organic growth” within existing Senior living communities.  He will specifically address the following:

1.      For every additional occupied unit (occupancies in excess of 80%) one could assume approximately 30% of the additional monthly service fee would go for new, incremental operating expenses.

2.      That is because at relatively high occupancies most operating costs are already “sunk” – they are incurred and covered.  As an example, you may not have to buy more raw food or hire another employee for one additional resident.

3.      Approximately 70% of the additional monthly service fee represents a very high incremental profit margin; new cash that drops right to the bottom line.

Panelists will be addressing topics such as:

 

The Panel:

Moderator

Rebecca Neth Townsend, Senior Vice President, Ziegler

 

Panelists

Mary Jane Fitts, Vice President – Marketing Services, Greystone

Jim Glynn, Principal, GlynnDevins Advertising & Marketing

Jim Moore, President, Moore Diversified Services, Inc.

Michael Smith, Corporate Director, Public Relations, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities

More information about this webcast and purchasing options can be found through the following link: http://www.levinassociates.com/conferences/1305-online-conference. In the coupon box, use the word “SPEAKER” and receive $50 off.

If you have any questions about this webcast, please contact Irving Levin Associates at customerservice@levinassociates.com or 800-248-1668.

Are you really giving appropriate consideration to your residents’ quality of life or just providing them the services they are paying for?

Are your residents actively living or merely existing?  Here are some important issues that can have an effect on overall quality of life for the residents at your community.

Meals/Nutrition – No doubt you serve nutritious food, but do you serve delicious food? Do residents look forward to going to the dining room; the food, the atmosphere and the company? Are meals presented in an aesthetically appealing manner?

Activities – Are your residents merely participating or are they enjoying the activities?  Are you challenging your residents and helping them learn new skills?  Are they offered physical activity that can be modified based on physical ability?  Do these activities help them build strength and balance as well as feel energized and productive?

Dignity – Do your residents get to express who THEY are, not who society thinks they are? Society sometimes tends to put all “seniors” in a similar box; aged, dependent, limited usefulness.  But we need to remember they were once somebody – CEO’s, business owners and leaders in their community.  They made a difference in someone’s life, they have raised families and they have volunteered hundreds of hours helping others.  They spent years building and living lives we often forget to acknowledge. Do they get to continue to feel that sense of importance and usefulness in their current situation?

Encouraging Family/Outside Interaction – Do you make sure to notify and include family in activities and parties?  Do these events appeal to the families as well as the resident?  Sometimes, the residents enjoy things just because of the interaction with others regardless of the activity itself. Get outsiders and people of all ages (school aged children, church youth groups, family members, scout troops) involved with your residents.

Can your residents’ families talk about how well their family member has done since living in your community – testimonials can be one of your strongest marketing tools.  What do prospective residents and their families see when they tour your facility?   Will they observe a group of smiling, engaged residents who are truly enjoying themselves and their life in your community?

Remember, your business is just like that local restaurant or the movie at the theater: First impressions and word of mouth can contribute significantly to your struggles or to your success!

Do you think twice about your employee turnover rate?  Should you?  If you only knew how much employee turnover really cost your organization in cash flow, you would.  If you’re one of the fortunate few that have a low turnover rate, you probably won’t need to spend too much time or thought on it. But if you’re not so lucky, then you really should evaluate how turnover affects your productivity, residents, employees, net operating income, and cash flow.  Some level of turnover is acceptable and expected, but excessive turnover can be costly.  There will always be a need for employees to leave, voluntary or otherwise, and sometimes it is in the best interest of your operations.  So what is an optimal turnover rate? There are a few different categories of turnover that should be monitored and each company/community will be somewhat unique.  Your specific employee turnover rate will be dependent upon the type of services provided, wage rates, the average age of your employees, management styles, company culture, and the local economy to name a few.

Turnover not only has a financial cost, but when good employees leave, it affects your residents as well as other staff members.  When residents and their families have been served well they do not like to see a change.  They were used to working with someone who knew them and their needs and now they must start over again.  Good employee departures have the same basic negative effect on other staff members, both in the same department and others throughout the company.  There is the loss of a colleague/friend/acquaintance, someone has to do more work to cover the vacated position, and the hassles associated with training a new person for the job among other things.

Has the poor economy and high unemployment rate held your turnover to a minimum?  Do you have pent up turnover; those intending to make a move once the economy picks up and we begin to have a period of reduced unemployment?  Over the coming months I will explore turnover much more in depth.  Please follow our blog and signup for our newsletter so you don’t miss any future discussions on employee turnover.

What are some of your employee turnover success stories?  What have you implemented that is helping you hold your turnover rate down, we would like to highlight your successes in future articles.  On the other hand, what are some of your employee turnover horror stories?  We would like to try and address issues you may currently be having.  For those who would prefer anonymity, feel free to direct message me and I will hold your identity and company name in the strictest of confidence.

 [Infographic courtesy of Compliance and Safety]

If you followed our four part series on Senior Living and Housing in Social Media,

• Social Media – Have You Embraced or Missed This Current Marketing Strategy?
• Why the Senior Housing and Health Care Industry Needs to Be On Social Media
• How A Senior Care Business Can Use Social Media
• Family Caregivers Are Using Social Media – Why You Should Take Notice

you may be wondering what others in the industry are doing on Social Media.  My suggestion: go on over and take a look!

Here we have given some examples of companies and communities using the most common social media sites. And how did we choose them? Simply, we found them on social media. Here at MDS we use a few of the major social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest) and these are some of the companies we have come across in our daily activities.

Twitter – Who is on Twitter? Well, everyone!  Ok, maybe not everyone, but you will definitely find a large senior housing contingency on Twitter. From local communities (Trinity Terrace, Fort Worth, TX, Henry Ford Village, Dearborn, MI) to large Corporations (Emeritus, Capital Senior Living) to industry associations (Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA)) as well as associated senior housing vendors (Perkins Eastman – Architecture, Technomic – Foodservice Specialists ). What do these companies tweet? Current headlines, notifications of new communities, updates on products and services, personal development quotes, new additions to management and staff, upcoming events; the list is variable and endless.

Facebook –Given a bit more space and options, Facebook is being utilized effectively by many in the industry.  Since so many individuals are already on Facebook, it has proven a great way to keep in touch with resident families and reach out to potential residents.  Tradition Senior Living, LP out of Dallas does a great job of highlighting both resident activities and business development on their page.  Families (both current and prospective) can see what the community has to offer in the way of activities; Wii bowling tournament, men’s breakfast with guest speakers, iPad class for residents. On the business side they post articles from local media and photos of the ground breaking of their new community.

LinkedIn – While coined “social media”, LinkedIn tends towards the professional side of business.  Any top company, especially those technically up-to-date, is on LinkedIn. In fact, we once heard a company doing a webinar on social media say if they have a prospective employee NOT on LinkedIn, they would not even consider them for the job. Companies such as Holiday Retirement and Atria Senior Living have job listing on their LinkedIn profiles. If you are a company looking to recruit employees or an individual looking for a job, you need to be on LinkedIn.

YouTube – While YouTube may bring to mind those quirky viral videos we all laugh at, many companies and organizations are developing YouTube channels that are educating viewers.  Benchmark Senior Living has produced a recruiting video in conjunction with CareerBuilders Talent Network.  ALFA has its own YouTube channel which currently features a truly inspiring presentation by Bill Strickland at the 2012 conference.

Pinterest– While many use Pinterest simply for personal reasons (new recipes, craft ideas, home decorating) I have been convinced of its use in business. I have “pinned” many infographics on social media and articles about blogging, content and marketing. But one company has totally impressed me with its use of Pinterest.

Sunrise Senior Living does a fantastic job of connecting with not only their residents and potential residents, they connect to the caregivers, families and others associated with those residents.  They have an active presence on Pinterest.  (If you are not sure what Pinterest is, it is basically a “pinboard” of photos off the web that you can pin to various boards of your choosing that often link back to blogs, articles, etc.)  Sunrise has pinned how caregivers can reduce stress and care for themselves. They have posted great recipes targeted at the nutrition needs of seniors.  They have pinned fashion and style ideas for seniors, senior health tips and senior resources.

We have touched on only a small example of social media, a few of the more recognizable names.  There are numerous sites and strategies for your business. Call Roy for an initial evaluation of your social media strategy.  Then we can help you improve or develop your social media marketing plan. Contact Roy Barker at RoyBarker@m-d-s.com or call him at 817-925-8374.

For more social media resources: Social Media Resources From Westridge Publishing

 

 

When was the last time you pulled out your company policy and procedures manual? When was the last time you actually looked at or read your company policies?  We always hope that operations are carrying on smoothly enough that we don’t NEED to refer to them. But, it is a good idea to review company policies on a regular and frequent basis.

Your company policy and procedure manual should be considered a living document that grows, develops, and changes as dictated by the operating environment as well as relevant laws, evolving regulations and corporate missions.  Have you provided your employees a written copy of your policies with appropriate training and explanation?  Have you provided and explained your policies and procedures to your residents?

Along with periodic reviews and revisions by company executives and management, it is a good idea to also cover these policies with new as well as existing employees on a regular basis. While you can have the best collection of company policies written, if employees are unaware of their existence or not sure how to interpret them, the policies will be useless.  Policy clarification is essential as interpretation can vary from employee to employee. Consider doing this review, revision (if necessary) and training on a yearly basis.

It is also a good idea to solicit feedback to real world situations employees may encounter during normal and abnormal operating conditions. Role playing and “what if” scenarios can serve as effective, interactive training. The more your policies are discussed with employees, the greater understanding they will have or at least have the chance to ask clarifying questions.  Even the best written policies will be open to interpretation by employees both in normal operation and crises situations, and policies that are interpreted to liberally or too narrowly can be detrimental to the company, your employees, and your residents.

MDS can help with your policy and procedure development and review.  We can conduct an executive retreat to address outdated policies, help you develop employee training and provide you resources for use during training.

Your lips are moving but I can’t hear what you are saying, or maybe I am not listening.  After a couple of sloppy customer service incidents this week it made me ask the question, when people speak are we just hearing them or actually listening to them? Hearing, but not truly listening happens in our business life, as a boss, as an employee, as a co-worker and even as the client. But it also happens as a spouse, father, brother, son, as well as any other relationship that engages in conversation.

You might ask, “What is the difference?” In general, hearing is the acknowledgment of sound without regards to understanding, whereas listening is making an effort to process and understand what is being said.

I would imagine that we are guilty of not being a great listener at some time or another, myself included, but why? Are we so eager to speak that we can’t even finish listening to the other person before we are already forming our thoughts and ideas, that we miss the rest of what the other person is saying? Maybe even overlooking very important details? Are we so eager to show them what we know that we hear what we want to hear, not what they actually said or asked for? Sometimes even if we listen closely, we can even think we know what’s best for the other person despite what they might want or really need.

The implications of not proactively listening can range from hurt feelings to a missed sale to missed diagnosis. It can also result in repeating tasks over again because we did not listen to instructions, losing a customer because we did not give them what they truly asked for, putting ourselves in harm’s way, and many other undesirable situations depending upon the roles of the communicators. The cost associated with not listening is very hard to quantify but they are extremely high.

Listening is a learned skill and takes active participation. Here are some keys to really listening:

• Being a good listener is a deliberate action. It takes patience and practice. If we are already poor listeners, we may have some bad habits to break. But we can develop into good listeners.
• Look directly at the speaker to avoid environmental distraction.
• Look for non-verbal clues, body language, facial expressions, tone/pitch of voice
• Avoid “preparing” your rebuttal or response in your mind WHILE the speaker is still speaking.
• Do not interrupt the speaker! We can’t listen while talking and we can’t have an appropriate response if we don’t have the speaker’s full thoughts. That is why God gave us two ears and only one mouth, we should be listening twice as much as we talk!

So the next time you’re in a conversation, no matter who it’s with, make sure you take the time to really listen to what they have to say. It might change the entire outcome of the conversation.

MDS prides itself on listening to our clients’ wants and needs so we can serve them accurately and efficiently. Are you really listening to YOUR clients, your residents?  MDS can help you set up a survey to see if you are really hearing your residents/prospective resident’s needs with a satisfaction survey and/or a lost prospect survey.

 

 

 

Jim Moore, along with Joe Roche of The Roche Associates, Inc., is scheduled to speak at the California Assisted Living Association (CALA) Spring Conference in June. This conference is scheduled for June 3-5, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara, California.

The topic to be addressed in this 90 minute session is Maximizing Efficiencies and Revenues in Today’s Competitive Environment.  Important information you do not want to miss!

 

For more information or to register, please visit: www.caassitedliving.org.