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Gold Is So Yesterday ... Go Platinum!

Gold Is So Yesterday … Go Platinum!

Posted on by MDSadmin

A guest on an NPR show I was listening to the other day mentioned the “Platinum Rule” in the context of how we treat others. I had no idea what they were talking about. Now, after a little research, I can see that I’m very late to the party. This is a concept that has been around for some time. For those of you who may be living under a rock, like myself, the Platinum Rule now trumps the Golden Rule. 

The Golden Rule is, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Platinum Rule, however, is, “Do unto others as they would like done unto them!” What a novel concept. While the Golden Rule sounds good on the surface, it is really kind of self-centered. This would mean that we think we know what is best for everyone else because that’s what we like or we want. While this could be very true, it could also be the furthest thing from the truth.

With people we have just met or known for a short time, we may not know exactly what they want. This is the beauty of the Platinum Rule. It causes us to shift focus from us to them. It forces us to try and determine what the other person really want or likes. It forces us to be an active listener and maybe even ask some questions. This also meshes well with one of my favorite Covey teachings, “We must first seek to understand.”

Different Personality Types

Dr. Tony Alessandra has written a book entitled The Platinum Rule. I just discovered this book and have not had time to read it. But, some information that I gathered from the website is that the book goes into detail defining personality types. According to the author, there are four basic personality types followed by tendencies of how these particular types of people behave and react. This is the first part of satisfying someone else, understand what makes them tick and what they might respond to. Then we can set about how to better relate to others and the different personality types, in trying to give them what they want.

I will not get too in-depth here, but did want to make a few observations about the concept. This concept should apply to all aspects of our lives from personal to business. Imagine the changes in our current relationships when we let all of our assumptions go and give careful thought to what others want and need.

The Platinum Rule in Business

The Platinum Rule can easily address two major components of a successful senior living operation – company culture and resident-centered care/lifestyle. Company culture is so important that Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Companies in other industries, such as the Container Store live by the principals of satisfied workers and satisfied customers. They usually rank in the top one of two best places to work and their customer service is off the charts.

I recently made my first visit to one of their stores and was very impressed. The employees were all very happy and they worked together to help me with my needs. The other important aspect is all the employees were sales people. While they didn’t work on commission, they did ask if I had this or needed that and were quick to recommend other services and products. This was not done in a hard-sell manner, but more in a helpful, we want you to have the best experience possible sort of manner … which I did!

Paradigm Shift

Can you imagine for just a minute how the residents of your community will feel when you make that culture shift? Really seeking to understand what they want or need and not just giving them what you think is good because it’s what you want based on your own values and beliefs.

Think of the possibilities if each and every one of your staff members had this attitude. You will have the happiest residents in town. Now think about what putting the same effort into understanding what your staff members want. Again, really taking the time to seek to understand what it is that they want. What do they need? Not only will you see an increase in customer satisfaction, but you will also see marked decreased turnover. While both of these will also improve your bottom line, think of the referral pipeline you will create. Not only for those wanting to live at your community, but the best workers wanting to work at your community.

If you ever have any doubt about what your staff or residents want or need, just ask! Yes, it’s that simple and both groups, in the right environment, will be more than willing to share their thoughts. Just ask and really listen to what the response is. Seek first to understand and then implement programs that the staff and residents want … not what you think they might want!

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort-Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

Employee Training and Retention: The Debate between Expense and Investment – Part II

Employee Training and Retention: The Debate between Expense and Investment – Part II

Posted on by MDSadmin

Once an effective training and development program is established and utilized by the organization it can begin seeing increases and benefits in the following areas: productivity, motivation, quality, job satisfaction, commitment (employee retention), and reduced absenteeism.

In order to provide the training and development that reaps these many benefits, it costs money, time and other resources. Paid human resources are used to plan, organize and teach training sessions, mentors take time from their own duties to mentor newer employees, training materials must be printed and/or compiled in electronic format, and fees must be paid for seminars, classes or workshops. Organizations recognize there is a cost for training and development.

In today’s competitive business world, most organizations are looking at ways to reduce expenses in order to increase profits. Unfortunately, when training is only looked at as an expense, it can be the first category to go to the chopping block. It is suggested that businesses need to accurately analyze what these training programs are worth. While most organizations compile data and trends on advertising campaigns, sales department activities, and other activities that they can directly tie to increased revenue, it can be difficult to determine a Return on Investment (ROI) on employee training and development.

Training Makes Employees Feel Valued

Research has shown, however, that when employers invest time, money and resources in their employees with training and development the employees develop a commitment to the organization. The employee feels the organization/employer values them as a worker, values their skills and values their contribution. Research has also determined that with training and development the employee believes the employer cares about the employability of the employee. (Agrawal)

In contrast, some employees have been known to say they “saw it coming” before they were fired or let go. This can be the perception when an employee is struggling and/or not performing well and the employer distances themselves from the employee; does not offer help (training/development), keeps adding additional workload, tells the employee not to worry they will eventually “get it”, etc. In other words, with ongoing training and development the employee does not feel the employer is leaving them to “sink or swim” on their own or that the employer is not “creating” a reason to fire them.

Which Came First …?

Another comment that represents the crux of this argument: “Positions that have a high turnover rate (such as tech support) are often viewed by management as not worthy of proper training.” (Green) It is “the chicken and the egg” type question. Are these positions not worthy of training due to the high turnover or is a high turnover due to the lack of training? Another point of training is to evaluate if you have the right person for the right job. Sometimes you may have a talented and capable individual but they are just in the wrong position. Continued training and development, including evaluations, can determine strengths and weaknesses and what persons fit best with various positions.

Training and employee development is not just for the employee but is as beneficial to the employer as well. For those employers that view training as an expense, a trade-off for production or just plain wasted time, they may not have an effective training program in place. Also if an employer’s turnover is high, they may need to evaluate how they train new employees, evaluate existing employees and what programs are in place to develop employees to be productive members of their organization. Employers that are successful in reducing employee turnover embrace training and employee development as a necessary tool to further their organizational goals.

We featured this excerpt from a research paper that Kim Jimenez had written on employee training and how it relates to employee engagement/retention.  Employee turnover is a real cash expense that effects your business in many ways.  MDS can help in employee orientation and training in order to help create and retain the best staff possible.

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort-Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

References

Agrawal, Archana. “Employee Development and Its Affect on Their Performance.” International Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management Research (2013): 99-108. Web.
Green, Allison. www.askamanger.org. 19 05 2012. Article. 05 09 2014.

Employee Training and Retention: The Debate between Expense and Investment – Part I

Employee Training and Retention: The Debate between Expense and Investment – Part I

Posted on by MDSadmin

Most employers have some form of training implemented for their new employees and some even have programs designed for ongoing employee development. If asked, many employers, if not all, will say that training and employee development is important. But when truly evaluated, many employers do not provide adequate training or employee development to realize the advantages of proper training.

The disconnect lies in the fact that training and employee development comes at a price -financial resources, human resources and time. Employers view training as a cost or expense rather than an investment. They are hesitant, and some even resistant, to spend too many resources on an employee that may take that training elsewhere.

But, in fact, research has shown that proper training and employee development will increase employee productivity, job satisfaction and instill a higher commitment to the job among other things. This commitment to the job by the employee actually reduces employee turnover.

Investment – Not Expense

Therefore, employers need to view training and employee development as an investment in their employees which benefits both employee and employer rather than just an expense to reduce. Employers could also view this investment in training and employee development as an avenue to reduce employee turnover, in addition to, higher employee performance which benefits the organization as a whole.

Training and employee development takes many forms. There is no one training program that will fit every employee or organization. Each organization will need to determine its needs, the needs of its employees and how to address those needs in the most efficient and effective way. Some of the various components of employee training and development can include: new hire orientation, job specific training, mentoring/coaching, in-service training, continuing education, and seminars/conferences.

Orientation Alone is Not Enough

No one component itself will constitute a complete training and development program, but a combination of these components will address the various needs of both the employee and organization. For example, most organizations will have some sort of new hire orientation. And while this is a key component to any training and development program, it has its limitations as a stand-alone program.

A study published in 2008 states that while employee orientation is a necessary first step and that orientations “successfully conveyed the organization’s message on quality management initiatives and employees learned a great deal about quality management practices within the organization. The issue, however, is that transfer of learning did not take place at the desired levels after the employees returned back to their work stations.” (Akdere and Schmidt) The key to an effective program will be ongoing, continuous development using a combination of training and development components.

 

We featured this excerpt from a research paper that Kim Jimenez had written on employee training and how it relates to employee engagement/retention. The second part of this report will be in our next post.  Employee turnover is a real cash expense that effects your business in many ways.  MDS can help in employee orientation and training in order to help create and retain the best staff possible.

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort-Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

 

Reference:
Akdere, Mesut and Steven W. Schmidt. “Employee Perceptions of Quality Management: Effects of Employee Orientation Training.” 2008. The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Web. September 2014.

Conduct a S.W.O.T. Analysis Before You Need a S.W.A.T. Team!

Conduct a S.W.O.T. Analysis Before You Need a S.W.A.T. Team!

Posted on by MDSadmin

You have the ability to take your business wherever you can imagine. The first step in any journey is planning. The old mantra goes, plan your work and work your plan. Those are great keys to success. Develop a plan and then focus and stick to it. Not that it won’t need tweaking and adjusting along the way, but as long as you can stay focused and true to your mission and goals, you can accomplish anything in life and in business.

The first part of planning any journey is to decide where you’re at currently. I was raised back in the day of paper maps. Every summer my grandparents would take us on vacation and I would be the navigator. About a week before we left my grandfather would sit down with me and a map and we would not only map out our primary route but we would also have a secondary route as well. The very first step of this process every year would be pointing to the reference of Fort Worth, Texas on the map and he would say “this is where were starting from”.

Current Location                                                 

It’s the same way with business. You have to know where you’re at before you can develop a great plan leading to your desired goals. That is the beauty of the S.W.O.T. analysis or Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis. It’s a great process to perform in order to start the planning process and create your roadmap or strategic plan for success. This analysis works well for evaluation of products, departments, strategies, or an entire company.

The first part of the analysis, the S.W. (or strengths and weaknesses) portion, is an internal view of the product, department, or company. You are looking for and listing strengths and weaknesses of the target you’re evaluating. It can vary depending upon what you’re evaluating, but here are a few examples.

Strengths could include:

  • What does your organization do best?
  • What’s unique about you product, staff, company, or etc.
  • To what resources do you have access?

Weaknesses could include:

  • Employees not trained
  • Substandard customer service
  • Sales process too complicated

The second part of the analysis, or the O.T. are the opportunities and threats you see, which is a view of the external. These are the opportunities and threats created by or posed by outside forces to your product, department, company or whatever you are evaluating. Again, this will depend upon what you’re evaluating, but here are a few examples.

Opportunities could include:

  • New trends
  • New markets
  • Organic growth possibilities

Threats could include:

  • Existing competition
  • New competition
  • Competitors’ use of new technology

Planning Tool

While this was a very condensed overview of a S.W.O.T. analysis, you can see the value in performing one before beginning your strategic planning for 2015. It is also important to get buy-in for those who will be participating. It is advised to reach outside of your executive team and chose employees to participate from different departments and levels in the company. To ensure open and honest dialogue, employees will need to feel the environment is safe and they may speak freely.

Schedule a series of meetings over the course of a few weeks instead of one long session. This will help keep everyone focused on the task at hand and not worrying about day to day activities. Make sure there are no cell phones and only interruptions for true emergencies.

Keeping the sessions positive is a MUST. Even though you may uncover some things in which you were unaware or are troubling, look at this as an opportunity. Had you not conducted the S.W.O.T. analysis you might not have discovered challenges until it was too late. Draw on the message in my last blog about balance, when things seem out of control, there are still opportunities to be had.

I would enjoy working with you and your professional team to help you conduct both a S.W.O.T. analysis and a business wellness checkup, as well as moderating your strategic planning sessions. These two tools will be a great way to kick off and jump start your 2015 strategic planning process.

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort-Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

The Elusive Balance of Life and Business

The Elusive Balance of Life and Business

Posted on by MDSadmin

If you’re like me you’re constantly searching for the optimal balance in life. I do a lot of reading and try to find tips and pointers that work for me. I think one point to stress at the outset is there are many great ideas and theories available, but you have to study and incorporate the ones that are right for you and your situation. The key to balance will be somewhat different for everyone and will change from time to time over the years.

I just read an article by Terri Trespicio entitled “How to Find Balance” at WholeLiving.com. It’s a great article and worth the read. She talks about myths of a balanced life and the truth behind them. As I already stated, this may not be for everyone, but it struck a chord with me. As I studied and reflected on these more, I could see an instant parallel to running a community, a business, or a corporation.

Ms. Trespicio makes a couple of great observations. First is that she references scales and the parallel of “a balanced life is not symmetrical, still, or neutral, but always changing. Secondly, she points out that, as with anything we do repeatedly and put the effort into, it becomes easier over time and as you gain “momentum”.

So here is my take on how this can apply to you and your business. The myths and truths are directly from Ms. Trespicio article, the commentary is mine.

Myth: You Must Be Even-Tempered
Truth: Balance Encompasses the Full Range of Emotions

There are those days when we will be angry, frustrated, and at the end of our rope with someone or everyone. It’s not about suppressing these feelings, it’s about the way we respond to them and communicate with others. If you hold these emotions in they will eat you up from the inside out and the root cause will never be addressed. It’s more about how we deal with them. Take a deep breath and make sure your response is measured and appropriate. Most of the time in an emotional situation we will respond much differently after the passage of time and thinking the situation through.

Myth: Balance is Effortless
Truth: Balance is Efficient

When things are in balance, life seems so much easier and fluid, you can just feel it. When your team at work are accomplishing goals and making good progress, life is not only better for everyone, but seems effortless. This is where creativity resides and we are able to accomplish more seemingly effortlessly.

Myth: You Must Be In Control
Truth: Real Balance Means Being In Flux

Control is such an illusion. When you have clients and people working for you there is no way you are in control. We have to learn to manage many different moving parts. We have to be accepting of change and know it’s a part of life. We can try, but really we can’t stop it. What you can control to some extent are the processes and procedures, but even those need to be flexible to meet certain situations. Ms. Trespicio makes a great point in the example of a circus tightrope walker. Their “skill resides not in their ability to defy gravity, but in making the hundreds of subtle, incremental readjustments to account for imbalance”.

Myth: A Balanced Person Is Good At Everything
Truth: Balance Requires Prioritizing

While you or your organization might be good at a lot of things, should you really be spending the time and money to do them? The 80/20 rule has great application here, 80% of our results come from 20% of our effort. Concentrate on what makes you or your company successful. Go through you and your employee’s task and reevaluate what is truly important to the success of your business. Then you can either quit or reduce unnecessary tasks and outsource those you can. Also remember to DELEGATE when possible.

Myth: Imbalance Will Result in Disaster
Truth: Imbalance is Opportunity

This is probably my favorite myth. This ties in very nicely to strategic planning. When you feel your team, community, or business getting unbalanced, and if you’re in tune with what going on around you, you will notice, it’s time for strategic evaluation. Don’t try to ignore it or it will just get worse and probably take longer and be more costly to find a new balance.

Take this as an opportunity to learn and grow. This is a great opportunity to reevaluate processes and procedures, how you apply your labor force, people and positions they fill, products and services. An important part of this evaluation is to know where you are today. As our last blog suggested, an operational review coupled with a SWOT analysis are great places to start.

I hope Ms. Trespicio’s article can be of some help to you find personal balance in your life.  Hopefully you can also take some of these theories and apply them to your business and professional life and environment as well.  I would imagine we are all a lot closer to balanced than we originally thought and give ourselves credit for.

Remember balance is not a static place.  It is constantly moving and changing and like the tightrope walker, we have to learn to make a lot of slight adjustments to remain in balance.  We can’t control everything around us, but we can control our reaction and response.  Its perfectly alright to feel a wide range of emotion, but the higher the emotion, the more we should think our response through carefully.  Lastly, in those times of imbalance, look for opportunities, they do exist.

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort-Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

What Does Your Customer Service Say about Your Community’s Culture?

What Does Your Customer Service Say about Your Community’s Culture?

Posted on by MDSadmin

Does your senior living community, including your staff, express a can-do spirit? Do they have a mindset that is resident focused? Are they able to see the positive and not growl about everything? Do they work on fixing what’s wrong instead of griping about it? How much thought do you really put into personnel placement and training? These are a few questions to examine with regards to how you express your company’s culture to your residents, those who work within your company, and those outside of your walls.

I recently read a blog on LinkedIn  which garnered a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons, but it had a good message. The blog described the advice a venture capitalist had for the young twenty something in whose startup he was investing $150 million. To paraphrase the conversation, the venture capitalist advised, “Don’t mess up the company culture, that’s what I’m investing in.”

Unintended Culture Shift

Unfortunately, it tends to happen in most industries. As companies grow and hire more and more people, they tend to drift away from the core values and culture that made them a success. It takes a lot of effort to stay the course to retain your company culture. You have to hire the right people, develop a successful orientation process as well as an ongoing training program, monitor your employees’ actions and outcomes, and adjust as the need arises.

And as the old saying goes, the commitment to a positive company culture starts at the very top. I don’t mean just knowing about it, reading about it, preaching about it, I mean really LIVING IT 31! (For those of you out of the loop on the newest lingo, 31 is the old 24/7, just 24+7. And if you’re wondering, no I‘m not that cool, I was recently schooled by my younger, hipper nephews).

Personnel Assignments

Did you ever stop to think about how that particular person got into that particular job? Sometimes it’s the person that has been around the longest or has the lowest in seniority. Maybe the employee asked for the job, or maybe they were the first applicant that could pass a background check. There are many examples of employees that just ended up in a job and no thought was given to whether they were a good fit and exemplified your community culture to its fullest.

It would be easy to write a novel on employee placement and training, which covers all the different positions in a senior living community. However, I would like to focus on those employees you have put in a position of initial contact with your potential residents and their families. I’m specifically talking about those employees who answer your phones or greet your prospective residents and their families at the front door as well as those who tour campuses with them. There is no more appropriate expression in this situation as “you never get a second chance to make a great first impression.”

What’s The Goal?

It’s important to make sure we put the right employees in the jobs that best fit them. In addition, we must also train these employees and go over contingency plans for certain situations that are bound to present themselves. We need to go that extra mile to make sure they not only understand but are able to live and express that culture you in which you want your community to be known. From the local Mexican food restaurant that I frequent to Senior Living communities that I visit, it appears that some management isn’t doing a good enough job of choosing the right person for the position or communicating desired outcomes to employees.

It’s important to stress to these employees how much they’re being counted on to acquire new customers and keep current customers happy. It’s amazing how much damage one misplaced or ill-trained employee can do to an organization, and often no one even realizes it until it’s too late.

Give me a call and let’s get started analyzing your front line, first contact team, policies, and procedures and developing a suitable solutions for your community. Today it’s more important than ever to have a plan and a backup plan in place to facilitate prospect inquiries. This can range from information on a phone to those wanting to tour your community. Let’s make sure your team is asking the right questions and offering the appropriate information to each and every prospect. With the proper plan in place you will see your close rates increase and resident acquisition cost decrease.

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort-Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

What Really Happens During a Community Visit?

What Really Happens During a Community Visit?

Posted on by MDSadmin

Every now and again I get out of the office and visit senior living communities to mystery shop. Some of these are on behalf of clients interested in what the competition is doing, and some are for the client community’s management to see how well the front line is performing. I am still amazed at both the good and the bad, and on a recent trip I experienced some of the best and the worst senior living communities have to offer.

The Good

As I got out of the car at one community I could hear fire truck and ambulance sirens. When I walked in there was a definite buzz. I was greeted in the lobby and asked to have a seat for just a minute. There was a stand up team meeting in progress in the lobby. It turns out that a resident had over cooked some toast and filled the building with smoke. Instead of panicking, the staff huddled for a couple minutes and then jumped into action. When the meeting broke up, I was taken on a tour and was very impressed with the way this situation was handled. The administrator never broke a sweat, lost her cool, or made a big deal of it. She handled it like a pro.

By the way, this community was way off the beaten path. It was a modestly appointed, 100+ resident community. However, it was 100% occupied with a wait list.

The Bad

On the same trip I went to a competing community. This community, while comparably priced, was at the opposite end of the location and design spectrum. It had a great waterfront location on a point right off a main highway. In addition, the building design, amenities and fixtures were fabulous, exactly like you would expect to find in a resort lodge.

I walked in about 3:30 pm to find a lady – a paid employee, not a resident – sitting behind a desk in the lobby reading a book. I asked if I could tour the community, and while she had a nice big smile, she proceeded to tell me that the person who would typically show me around was busy with a resident mixer. However, I could come back tomorrow or the next day. No attempt was made to accommodate me at the time of my visit.

If I were an out-of-town prospect, with only a small window of opportunity to check out communities, they would have just lost my business. It was no surprise to find the community had been in operation for two to three years and still only had a 50% occupancy rate.

What’s Going On in Your Community?

How is your staff interacting with your prospects and current residents? Are they expressing the kind of attitudes and culture in which you want to be known? Do you have the right people in the right positions? Are you communicating your expectations as well as the responsibilities involved in each position? Are you providing enough training and mentoring to your employees? Do you stress enough that communities are built around residents and their families?

If you don’t currently monitor or mystery shop your own community to see how your potential residents are being treated, you should consider doing so! You might be extremely surprised at what you find. Give me a call and I will be happy to set up an audit of your community’s sales and marketing programs and processes. I can provide you with a candid and unbiased assessment of how your team is doing. I can also provide you with the training and resources needed to take your team to the next level.

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort-Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

Well-deserved Pat on the Back!

Well-deserved Pat on the Back!

Posted on by MDSadmin

I did a piece last week suggesting that employers should be quick to thank their employees to help build goodwill and employee engagement. Most of the time, all the employees are looking for is acknowledgment of their efforts. I think this also translates well to our clients, prospects, peers, competition, and our industry as a whole.

This week I was rolling out some “Thank You” offers to both our new and loyal readers and it reminded me of what a great industry in which I have the pleasure of serving! Over the last 15 years I have been involved and most of the last 40 that MDS has been in business, there have been a great many changes both good and not as good. The one thing that has remained constant is the quality of people that the industry has attracted and recruited.

Special Industry

This industry as a whole is very quick to take the heat for accidents or individual bad actors because it involves the lives of others and of course this is nothing to take lightly. On the converse, it seems that the industry as a whole is very slow to receive the praise for all the resident days that are logged not only without incident, but with successful outcomes for the seniors served.

I have had this experience from both sides of the table. Of course I work with both Senior Living operators and Senior Consumers on a daily basis, but I have also had family members in every form of Senior Living from Independent Living to Skilled Nursing. I know firsthand that overall, seniors’ lives are enriched because of the services provided. If that’s hard to wrap your head around, then just think of the lives that would be impacted if every Senior Living community closed their doors tonight.

Special People

I really enjoy the camaraderie of my friends and associates in the industry. There are several groups of professionals that serve the Senior Living industry that I meet with regularly. While we are capitalist and do need to make a living, we always consider the other group members when it comes to cross-marketing. We are very attune to opportunities where our group members can benefit.   I think because they all have a giving spirit and that seems to be a common thread throughout those who work in the Senior Living field. That is not just reserved for those who work on the front lines in the communities at the operations level, but to the vendors that serve the operators as well.

The support that people and companies in this industry give to each other is also incredible. Operators are always eager to lend a helping hand to other operators. We all share and collaborate on ways to better serve the senior population. Even vendors who compete in the same product line talk freely and share ideas with other vendors who compete directly with them.

Character Shines Through

Probably one of the most awesome features is that we don’t feel the need to “trash” our competitors in an open forum to make them look bad and us better. I write a lot and while I do get some constructive feedback from time to time, I have never had any harsh criticism. The same goes for me, if I see something I don’t agree with, running someone down in an open forum is not the right thing to do. I have been appalled as of late while reading the Pulse postings on LinkedIn at the amount of negative responses.   I don’t mean just one or two, I am talking about an entire thread of negative comments to some person’s feelings or position. I guess I follow the old adage that if you don’t have something nice to say, you don’t say anything.

Again, I am not talking about a difference of opinion that can be discussed like professional adults, but just rude and non-productive comments that add no value to the conversation and they sure don’t make the commenter look good. In fact, if the person providing the negative comment only knew how shallow and uneducated it makes them appear they would think twice about being negative or so literal to the point you put someone else down.

So, all that to say….Thanks to those who make up the Senior Living industry. From the financiers who take a chance with their money, to the operators and their awesome staff who make it happen day in and day out, and to vendors that serve them all, a BIG THANK YOU, for a job well done and for making this a great industry of which to be a part! If you’re not fortunate enough to work in the Senior Living industry, but work with equally as great people as we do, consider yourself blessed.

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

 

Was That Really The Question? Ways to Encourage Employee Engagement (part 3 of 3)

Was That Really The Question? Ways to Encourage Employee Engagement (part 3 of 3)

Posted on by MDSadmin

We’re at the end of our blog series focusing on ways to better engage your employees. Last week, we discussed the importance of communication and ways to provide employees with growth opportunities. Today we’ll look at the importance of having fun,as well as, remembering to say thank you.

Remember to Have Fun

While work has that name for a reason, it shouldn’t be drudgery. Inherently, there is usually enough stress involved in getting projects and products out the door to customers. Leaders should make sure they’re not adding extra pressure to this process.

Remember to celebrate more. Acknowledge the success of employees, projects, and any other milestones reached. Celebrations don’t have to be elaborate. It can be as simple as taking somebody a cookie and a Route 44 Coke from Sonic.

Take the time to plan activities for employees and their families outside the office walls. This idea is a little more challenging but very important. Plan lunch out at a favorite local restaurant or a picnic at the local park. This is a great way to get to know your employees and their families. While it’s not always feasible for larger companies to get everyone together at once, it can be done on a departmental level.

I’m not sure why this phenomenon happens, but the advent of computers, cell phones, and the other marvelous technology was supposed to provide us with more free time. Let’s face it. That just hasn’t happened. It seems that we’re all busier now than at any time in the past. That’s why I think it’s very important that we make the extra effort to make these get-togethers happen. Even if that means knocking off work a little bit early and giving employees a chance to participate while on the clock.

Say Thank You…..Often

Enough said really. Get in the habit of saying thank you. When you see employees walking down the hall, stop and thank them. Stick your head in an office or cubicle and say thank you for a job well done. There’s a great misconception that employees typically leave a company for money. Research and my personal experience has shown that not to be true for the majority. Typically, employees leave because they do not feel appreciated. Most of the time all they want is to be acknowledged for a job well done. A simple thank you goes a very long way to engaging employees and creating a nurturing atmosphere.

These are just a few of the many ways to encourage employee engagement. Do some research on your own or let us help you. Find out what’s going on in your company and what your employees desire. You can do electronic surveys. However, it’s always best to have that human involvement. So get out of your office and go talk to your employees. Really listen to how they feel about the company and its processes and procedures. It will go a long way to building trust with employees, and that’s a great first step.

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort Worth, Texas-based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.

Was That Really The Question? Ways to Encourage Employee Engagement (part 2 of 3)

Was That Really The Question? Ways to Encourage Employee Engagement (part 2 of 3)

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In this 3-part blog series , we’re exploring ways to better engage your employees within your company. Last time we discussed hiring individuals who fit within your current corporate culture. Today we’ll take a look at the importance of communication as well as providing growth opportunities for employees.

Communication

Once you have the right people in place communication is still imperative. Employees want to see that upper management is transparent and that they buy into this process. As I mentioned before, employees can spot a con job a mile away. Look at employees as valued team members. It’s much easier when management and employees are all pulling the wagon in the same direction. To ensure the success of your employees is to ensure the success of you and your business. They must be viewed as having something of value to contribute to the process of providing an excellent customer experience.

Take the time to really get to know your employees. Be visible. Be engaged yourself. And I’m not talking about just knowing their names and what departments they work in, but who they really are and what their lives are really about. Of course this task can be delegated. In a large company a CEO may not know the entire story about each employee, but there should be managers in between who do.

Growth Opportunities

It’s important to provide good employees with different methods of expanding their horizons. This can range from the necessary training needed for them to excel in their current position, as well as cross training for other jobs within their department or within the company in general.

Other growth opportunities may include expanding employee responsibilities, delegating specific tasks to them, and of course providing them with the opportunity for upward mobility within the company. Instead of handing down edicts from the top and letting them trickle down to the bottom, form teams where employees have a chance to collaborate and help set policies. We have to remember that frontline employees are the ones who know what the customer is looking for and what the roadblocks are to providing excellent customer service.

I look forward to seeing you next time as we continue to explore ways to engage your employees.

 

Roy Barker is Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, a Fort-Worth, Texas, based organization specializing in operations analysis, marketing development, and investment advisory services. Roy is an authority in the field of employee turnover analysis and retention strategies.