Assisted Living Executive - November December 2010

forAiming
Engagement

perhaps like no other business in the nation, senior living
needs loyal and satisfied employees to succeed. Here’s a look
at targeted HR strategies at work right now.

By Bryan ochalla

FAST FORWARD

› experts agree: the nature of senior living demands employee retention. Residents don’t want different people coming into their homes all the time—they want people they know and trust.

AsK most business LeAders Why it’s importAnt to engAge And retAin empLoyees And they’LL teLL you something ALong the Lines of: “it’s too expensive to repLAce them.”

› Human resources research has found that increasing employee engagement by even 3 percent can have a significant impact on the customer experience.

› even if it puts temporary stress on other employees to be short-staffed, don’t make the potentially morale-crushing mistake of rushing the hiring process.

Senior living executives, however, are much more likely to say something like
this: “We work in our residents’ homes everyday, and they don’t want different
people coming into their homes all the time—they want people they know and
trust.” That’s according to carrie todd, director of human resources for senior
resource group, based in Solana Beach, California. “The only way that’s going
to happen is if we engage and retain our employees,” she adds
According to Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting and out-
sourcing company, nearly half of organizations have seen a decline in engage-
ment levels in the last year, while just under a third have seen an improvement.

That’s a significant finding for senior living providers because, as Hewitt Associates’ Ted Marusarz explains, “employees who are highly engaged are more likely to stay with an organization than employees who are not engaged.”

retention reality check

Hewitt has found a direct connection between how employees behave and interact with customers and how well they’re engaged. For example, in a recent study of a major restaurant chain, the organization determined that customer satisfaction was at its highest in locations where employees were highly engaged.