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.