by Cindy Heilman | Build Communities of Belonging, Resident Centered Dining Service
One of the huge negatives left behind after the pandemic faded is isolation.
So many residents who enjoyed the camaraderie of living in an independent living community still have that sense of being left out.
Many elders didn’t have a chance to bond with other residents to build friendships when the pandemic hit.
Now is the time to move back into routines of meeting friends for lunch or dinner or even to begin the day with conversation over coffee and bagels.
Again, this is a place where a food server can perform a vital service. Be on the lookout for a resident who needs a bit of assistance in meeting others. If you notice diners still taking meals in their rooms, suggest going down to the dining room.
Reassure them that you will introduce them to others you think will enjoy sharing a meal and some news of the day. It is a small kindness on the part of a food server that makes a huge difference to a resident. You will also be helping someone already in the dining room waiting to meet a person new to them. That small kindness will touch more than the one person you are helping.
When you perform this small kindness, watch the results with great satisfaction and the enjoyment of knowing you have created happiness that overflows and spreads to affect more than the one person you started with.
You also have a hand in keeping the people you serve healthier. Research has shown that loneliness may increase failing health where social connections to others can create overall immunity to illness.
Feeling left out and alone drags on your immunity which fights against disease. There is enormous power in fulfilling a small kindness.
Training employees to give their best behavior and to like the results of new skills they use, such as kindness shared is a major key to success.
Kind Dining♥ training turns your employees into the company’s most valuable assets.
Residents rely on your food servers in many ways which include being content to invite friends and family to join them at meals. It is noticeable when your food serving team cares enough about a diner in your community to extend intentional kindness.
We invite every employee within senior living communities to be cross-trained in our fun, focused, practical skills, and competencies, which makes each meal an enjoyable experience.
Be♥ Kind: Do you know loneliness lessens the immunity of an older person?
by Cindy Heilman | Leadership, Resident Centered Dining Service, Retain Staff
Because many retirement and assisted living communities are shy of the number of employees needed to keep their community running smoothly, many are resorting to hiring gig workers.
After your company has responded to excellent training for its food servers and ancillary employees it is imperative to be certain gig workers are involved in the training program. To hire these part-time or short-term workers without providing the same, educated training the rest of your staff participates in, would upset the care invested to make your community stand above the others.
Staff retention is part of the goal to turn your well-trained staff into permanent, committed employees who accept the responsibilities of their work, and build relationships with the rest of the food serving team and with the residents.
Of course, this can be attained with the new workers who choose to attend fewer hours than a full week for their reasons. They can still be added to your list of permanent employees.
We are stepping into an era where applicants coming into the retirement and assisted living Marketplace are members of the Generation Z group of independent thinkers. They are often only accepting fewer working hours than what has been the norm. This may help fill the empty gaps made in your staff by the pandemic.
Remember the importance of their training. Instill your core company values ensuring empathy, respect, and kindness with coworkers and residents. The old guard can be a great help in working with gig employees by offering to mentor them. The practice of what gig workers learn in the training session is part of this mentoring.
Integrating a hybrid workplace in your community may be the answer to the short-staffed problem. The idea of Gen Z is focusing on the balance and flexibility of work and other life. It has been suggested that for some, this will be their primary income. For others, it will be a second income position. Combine this generation with the ‘baby boomers beginning to settle into retirement or assisted living communities.
Is your community ready for these major changes?
Training is helpful to include education about person-directed regulations required by government policies. If gig staffing is the way for your company to correct or supplement your strained staffing issues, at least they can depend on the company to provide training for proper service to introduce and meet your person-centered goals and residents’ service expectations.
Kind Dining♥ is ready to assist you in this goal. Our training series is experiential, meaning that we engage trainees by using action, reflection, application, and performance. Servers build empathy to respect the aging process and connect with the residents on a one-on-one basis.
We teach personal and professional skills that improve the lives of your residents while improving the lives of those who serve them. These skills will benefit the performance of your gig employees as well as refresh your permanent employees who will be there to help them through the process of becoming an employee that makes the company proud.
Be♥ Kind Tip: A hybrid workplace may be the answer to the company’s short-staffed problem.
by Cindy Heilman | Leadership, Resident Centered Dining Service, Retain Staff
“Our last training session took an unexpected turn this time. I was quite surprised at first. When I gave it some thought, it all made sense.” Kelly spoke with her usual enthusiasm. She and her mentor Coleen were enjoying lunch at their favorite bistro in town. They agreed that the service was as good as the food. They always took note of both.
Colleen replied, “It must be important if it impressed you so.”
“Well, you know how much stress is placed on our assistance in helping our residents in every way we can when we serve their meals or snacks. But in this session, we were shown how learning new skills give us value and aid us in building our self-confidence. In turn, we learn to manage our behavior! I never thought of it that way! Remember Midge and her behavior problems? We were all sorry she couldn’t change her bullying ways which resulted in her leaving. We food servers certainly show accountability.” Kelly took a deep breath.
“I’m so happy we work as a team and no longer have to worry about facing a bully.”
Colleen smiled and added, “Remember that it improves our mental health, too. Those additional skills you continue to learn to reduce experiencing burnout. Hopefully, the pandemic is behind us, though we still need to be conscious of residents who may face loneliness. Generally, isolation is gone but individuals suffer from it. We food servers are the first to notice, I think.”
“It’s from our daily and personal contact with each resident. Building trust with them one conversation at a time helps. A few have opened up to me when they had a mild case of the blues. Our communication by sharing thoughts keeps the feelings of isolation away. ”
Too often, retirement and assisted living communities are staffed with under-trained employees including those serving meals. The well-trained employees will start their day being aware and recognizing different moods older adults may be carrying. C
ommunication and asking open-ended questions to keep a person engaged can turn a blue day into a happy-I’m-so-glad-I-chose-to-live-here-day. It’s a small moment that can bring about a big change in an attitude, all while serving a meal. Setting an intention to make that difference by showing empathy and compassion will lift the spirits of the server, too.
New skills learned during Kind Dining♥ training sessions build confidence in your employees by their becoming aware of the value of what they do. They learn to manage their behavior, and accountability and will avoid the tendency to burn out. This improves mental health by keeping spirits high.
Be♥ Kind Tip: New skills learned in training sessions keep spirits high and build confidence.
