Nurture Growth for Strong Staff
“Census and staffing go hand-in-hand in many ways,” said Jonathan Woodrow, Co-Founder and CEO of LivingPath, a Chicago-based company that helps people discover great senior living communities. Painting a picture of a career and work life that attracts and engages staff, in turn, can result in a portrait of a community where seniors want to live.
Jonathan Woodrow, Co-Founder & CEO of LivingPath
“There needs to be a balance between a hospitality and a clinical focus. As a recruiting tool, you want to give workers the best of both worlds –showing how you keep people – residents and staff alike – safe while providing great hospitality. At the same time, this helps them see that when the facility is well kept, your workday will be as enjoyable as possible.”
Opportunities for advancement, upskilling, and gaining new competencies are key drivers for staff engagement and loyalty. “We want to invest in career growth and trajectory. And we need to make it clear that we want people to be successful and that we are willing to invest in them.”
Planting the Seeds of Growth
There are several ways to promote employee growth:
Take a personal interest in employees’ careers. Conduct one-on-ones with team members to discuss their career expectations, aspirations, and dreams. Work with them to identify specific milestones for advancement and provide them with supporting resources, as possible. Knowing that you believe in them and are committed to supporting their goals makes a difference.
Promote training and development. Enable and encourage people to pursue relevant workshops, courses, and programs. Even though it might not be financially feasible to send them to conferences or conventions or pay for school, consider scholarships or grants. At the same time, virtual programming makes it easier – and more inexpensive – than ever to pursue education, training, and skills development. There also are numerous online webinars and podcasts that are free and readily available.
Keep staff informed. Help your teams keep up with what’s happening in the industry at large and what it means to them. Lunch-and-learn programs (with free food) are great ways to do this. Invite speakers from different departments or offices to help them feel more connected to the organization.
Encourage mentoring and job shadowing. Take advantage of the expertise you have right on staff. Consider establishing a formal mentoring program. This also can be a useful tool for onboarding staff.
Enable work variety. While some people thrive on routine, many people are energized by variety. Offering opportunities for job rotation – enabling people to work in different but related positions or departments – can be enlightening and even fun. This also can encourage a connection between workers and give them a better sense of how their contributions impact the organization as a whole.
Encourage and enable a work-life balance. Burnout is rampant among workers in senior living, exacerbated by long hours and the inability to take time off to rest and recover. It is important to limit calls, emails, and texts to team members after hours and on weekends and make sure people take vacations, or at least long weekends. When time off isn’t possible, look for ways to enable them to interact with their families and take some time for rest and relaxation. Onsite yoga and meditation, as well as access to hydration and health meals, can help.
Woodrow suggests the value of creating a culture of respect and engagement. This involves building programs to support employees, such as an Executive Director In-Training program. “This basically says that we see your promise, and we will rotate you for six months so you can learn directly from the executive director, who has experience in the role,” he said, adding, “We’ve seen that the best people have a pipeline strategy and that this type of development investment correlates with that.”
The Big Picture
Help employees to see the big picture. Enable them to envision how their efforts contribute to the company’s mission and success. Seek their input on how tasks or processes could be improved or changed. Partner with community organizations for activities or events to recognize and honor employees. For instance, a store or restaurant might be willing to do ‘Staff Appreciation Tuesday’ with a discount or freebie for your workers who present their company ID.
Ultimately, an organization that supports employees’ goals and aspirations have a competitive edge over the competition. Emphasizing career growth to prospects, as well as existing employees, can create real and lasting benefits for them and your organization. They are more likely to stay and grow with you and promote your company to others.
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