Building a Purpose-Driven Workplace – As Featured in FALA Newsletter From Harvard Business Review

All too often employers of assisted living facilities are having to focus on their revolving door of employees. The population of adults over the age of 65 is drastically increasing, leaving the hiring pool shrinking and the unemployment rate at roughly 3.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The question is, What can be done to reduce turnover rate in your community, improve recruitment, and how to sustain your employees over time?

Take a look at a few suggestions:

Create a Purpose-Driven Organization – According to Harvard Business Review, “A higher purpose is not about economic exchanges. It reflects something more aspirational. It explains how the people involved with an organization are making a difference, gives them a sense of meaning, and draws their support.” This concept of inclusion amongst your employees gives the sense they are providing meaningful work, which will lead to increased loyalty and a better overall performance.

Recruiting – How is your community marketing itself to the public? The community’s recruitment process should also include the ‘purpose-driven’ concept with emphasis on how valuable this type of work is for the residents in your community and how they will impact the lives of the residents and family members alike. Ensuring new employees understand the significance of their role in providing end-of-life care or helping a resident develop a nurturing social life when transitioning to an assisted living facility or adult family care home are all vital for new hires have the skills set and training to facilitate those services.

Retention – We know poor staff service and retention all negatively affect the ecosystem of the community’s operation and could potentially decrease the occupancy of residents. Experts agree that employees are more likely to stay if everyone, from top down, knows what the community’s purpose and its core values are actually practiced within. Again, employees want to have a sense of being part of a team not a hierarchy. Employers can get creative to demonstrate how they value their staff when wages can’t compete with the larger retail and convenient stores, such as supporting staff with training, evaluations, and encouraging career paths within the community.

Naturally, maturing a great organizational culture is hard work and takes time and patience to see what really works for your community. However, it is imperative to notice and adjust leadership styles when outdated approaches begin to fail. Take time to consider your community’s values and its mission statement and ask if your team if there room for improvement?

This piece was featured in the FALA News on November 6, 2019

Check out MedBest’s Purpose-Driven Workplace Interview with LeadingAge Magazine.