I often ask folks working at senior living communities to share their exceptional customer service and employee engagement stories with me. Their stories are not only a source of inspiration, they also help the team at Sensight Surveys build a collection of process improvement ideas for our survey clients. The response has been so overwhelming that I’ve decided to start a new post series called Best Practices From The Field in which we showcase the stories we receive and the communities behind them.
This is our feature debut.
I recently posed the following question on our LinkedIn and Facebook pages:
Me: “Are one or two of your residents having a particularly tough day? What are some simple things you can do to make them feel better? Let our community know what you do to make your residents feel extra cared for and protected when they need some TLC.”
One of the responses I received was from Tracy Haefele, the Enrichment and Community Relations Director at Legacy Retirement Communities.
Tracy: “We rely on every member of our staff to be in tune to our residents’ needs, especially our front-line employees. For instance, a housekeeper can recognize a change in behavior or attitude possibly sooner due to their scheduled visits to a resident’s apartment. Fortunately, we have an Enrichment Team that was created to make sure our residents find joy in their lives. Their role includes one on one time with residents with tasks or just conversation and helping our newest residents form friendships with other residents. We are also especially in tune with those residents who have lost a spouse or close friend, encouraging their participation in life and finding their “new normal.” The holidays can be especially difficult for some residents. Oh – and I personally think hugs are priceless therapy.”
Me: “Thanks for sharing, Tracy. I love your Radar Up approach. Is that something that is taught in new employee training?”
Tracy: “That is a great question. I don’t believe we actually say it straightforwardly, but during orientation we show videos of our mission statement and values and also a compassion video of “If you knew their story….”. That video encourages our staff to understand that people have a lot going on in their lives that we don’t know about that may cause them to react in a certain way and that we should always be aware of that. I would say it’s a company culture that we just inform about and those that don’t embrace it don’t usually become long-term employees. We are a small company, so that may be easier for us than others.”
I asked Tracy if she had any performance data to complement her story. Legacy Retirement Communities of Lincoln, Nebraska has over 600 Independent and Assisted Living apartments and a 99% occupancy rate. In 2013, they were voted Best of Lincoln for the 16th consecutive year by an independent polling firm.
Thank you, Legacy Retirement Communities, for modeling best practices in customer service and employee engagement!
Do you have an amazing customer service or employee engagement story you would like to share? We would love to hear it! Please comment below or send it to me at lynn@sensightsurveys.com.
