Developing and running functional senior living communities requires much effort and work. We should never settle for being operationally sound and offering care that’s “good enough.” Residents trust us with their care and quality of life.
While there is a lot you can do to ensure high standards, much of it comes down to culture. A culture of excellence means staff and leadership always work to ensure quality care and efficient operations. This post explores what senior living executives can do to instill this type of culture.
Ensuring a Culture of Excellence in Senior Living Communities
Define Your Vision of Excellence
The first step in creating a culture of excellence is defining what it means for your community. While quality care and operational success are obvious points, leaders should define a mission and core values for the community. Communicate these elements to staff and residents while using them to guide decisions and operations. Clear expectations around service, care, and professionalism eliminate confusion and promote accountability. These elements create the foundation for a culture of excellence.
A Focus on the Residents
You can’t achieve excellence in senior living without the resident experience being central to your efforts. Personalized care that involves treating residents as individuals is key to a good experience. Staff members should offer diverse programs and amenities. The community should empower residents to make choices and shape their daily routines as much as possible. Seeking resident and family feedback also improves the experience while showing people that their voices matter.
Staff Acquisition and Retention
Staff acquisition and retention are crucial for maintaining a consistent, high-quality resident experience and efficient operations. When communities retain skilled, compassionate team members, residents benefit from the consistency and continuity. Competitive compensation and growth opportunities will attract and retain the industry’s top talent. Empower staff by giving them ownership over their work, recognizing their contributions, and creating a supportive work environment. A better experience for staff results in higher quality care for residents and smoother operations for the community.
Embrace Continuous Improvement
Excellence is a journey, not a destination. A culture of excellence requires continuous effort and improvement. Communities must regularly assess their services, operations, and resident outcomes to ensure they meet or exceed standards. Reviews should also look for weaknesses and ways operations and care can improve. Communities should also work to stay current or ahead of industry trends and standards. Working with residents, staff, families, and the broader community offers ways to continue improving.
Leaders shape cultures. Your actions, attitudes, and behaviors will impact the community. Be a model for the values and practices you want the community to embody. When people see leadership buying in, they will be more likely to follow.
Is your community ready to strive for excellence? Canopy Senior Living offers management and consulting services to help you achieve that goal. Contact our team to learn how we can take your community to the next level.