Do you lose good employees for lack of good supervisors?

Do you lose good employees for lack of good supervisors?

by | Resident Centered Dining Service, Retain Staff

“Does this new management team take care of us employees as we take care of our residents? No, I’ll answer for you.

As you know, I’m unhappy and have been for the last six months since the new, upper regime moved in.

I’ve brought my concerns to the bosses hoping to discuss some problems with them. I was sincere and wanted to get answers to my questions. They have canceled our discussion and training meetings and I haven’t heard a word from anyone at the top.”

A friend was eavesdropping at the park listening to two women sitting on the next bench feeding the pigeons.

One of them was obviously upset.

“What can you do? Her companion asked.

“I know exactly what I can, and will do.

I’m taking my eight years of skill and experience and going to our competitor on the other side of town.

I’ve already spoken to a woman I know who works there. She’s quite happy and content with their work schedules, responsibilities, training/discussion sessions, and management, and she’s even content with her paycheck.

That says a lot!” she laughingly replied.

Any employee who has concerns about work and takes those concerns to a supervisor shows evidence of being a responsible worker.  A knowledgeable supervisor with good leadership qualities would appreciate it.

Employees have private lives too, with their own families to look after.

When occupational issues arise for them, they need to be addressed. It’s important to keep stress from building up or burn-out forcing a good employee to feel they need to quit their job.

Health problems can result. That should not happen to any employee. Issues can be avoided with discussions and compassion.

The Kind Dining® Experience in Senior Living Communities is vital to improve the health and well-being of employees. That includes residents and staff.

We believe our training sessions help build relationships in ways that improve our communities.  Again, that improvement is for residents and all employees.

Our passion is to improve the work experience for staff serving meals, and residents receiving them.

We do this with education that involves kindness, civility, and empathy because we also believe that hospitality is healthcare. 

Actually, training never ends. It continues to educate employees about changes, adjustments, new ideas, and ways to improve their work performance. It builds communication skills necessary for a community that feels like family.

Be ♥ Kind Tip: The employee who brings a problem to a supervisor is a responsible employee.

Do you continue your education every day?

Do you continue your education every day?

by | Build Communities of Belonging, Leadership

It seems multicultural and multiracial items are in headline news every day. Retirement living and long term care residents are more multiracial and multicultural than in the recent past. Today’s retiring seniors are widely traveled and exposed to other cultures by the choices they made in how they lived their lives. Travel, communication, and TV have opened the doors for Americans to learn about people from faraway places and in return, many immigrants have become American citizens. In order to accommodate and welcome seniors with different traditions that retirement communities have seen in our parents’ generation, it is time to continue the education of your food serving teams in your community. They hold the keys to the hospitality your community provides. They are the key to the success of your community.

Each Kind Dining® class is unique depending on the mix of age, gender, culture, and work experience of the participants. The curriculum is consistent with expanded avenues but responds in strength where your group needs it most. With the new generation of residents, even previously trained food servers will benefit from retraining and coaching. Educated and trained individuals are about community and community means belonging to a group. It is vital that food servers are aware they are part of that group. Further, teamwork is a goal for food servers to achieve with their coworkers. The food serving team is important to your company’s reputation; how they serve meals matters! 

Food servers can encourage residents to talk about their traditions and uniqueness in order to begin conversations and to gain knowledge. The friendlier food servers appear while performing their service, the more at home residents will feel. It’s significant for residents of cultures new to the community, to attain that homey feeling. Empathy from your food serving team tends to boost hospitality and kindness. It is easy to misunderstand culture staff are not familiar with but if they are alert and aware, potential misunderstandings can be avoided. Body language plays a major role in avoiding social disasters. A resident is less likely to react negatively when the food server is obviously appearing in a kind and considerate manner. Remember to smile, make eye contact with the resident you are serving, share a kind word, and call them by name.

Our B♥ Kind® Tip:  Food servers help residents overcome feeling isolated, yet still have a sense of belonging.