SKILLS FOR THE NEW ENVIRONMENT
COMMUNICATION: IT’S MORE COMPLEX—AND MORE IMPORTANT—THAN EVER
healthy residents, move-ins picking up, and improved retention. These crisis communication standards aren’t going away. Ex-
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perts looking at workforce skills needed most going into the next era, as well as data drawn from multiple surveys, send a message that communication skills will be more in demand than ever.
Key to engagement Even before the pandemic, employees hungered for transparent, honest, empathetic communication on the part of leaders. Communication plays a major role in engagement; Gallup’s
“State of the Global Workplace: 2021 Report” points to an inter- esting paradox: “Nearly half of employees in the United States and Canada reported experiencing a lot of stress before the pandemic, in 2019, and they were even more stressed in 2020, with 57 percent reporting high stress — far above the global average. But employee engagement in the U.S. and Canada also increased.” Gallup puts the U.S. engagement rate at 36 percent for 2020,
with global at 20 percent, and “best-practice organizations” en- gagement at 73 percent—up two percentage points in the pan- demic year. This raises the question of whether the increased communi-
cation necessitated by the crisis had a side effect of increasing engagement. Whether that’s the case or not, there’s much to gain by continuing any best practices in communication established during the pandemic, as well as by examining some important touchpoints where improved communication can net great results. Interviews: If you think of an interview as a conversation rath-
er than as an interrogation, says the Qualtrics Employee Experi- ence guide, you set the tone for the future from the beginning. Con- versational elements such as empathy and showing and respecting vulnerability will be important for the employee not only for the caregiving environment, but also when it comes to feedback, just- in-time communication, peer-to-peer communication, and lead- ership advancement, so you can find out at the interview if your prospect has these skills or will need training. “Let the conversation breathe by listening carefully to every answer,” Qualtrics says. Feedback: Gallup research shows 26 percent of employees agree that their manager’s feedback helps them do better work—
24 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE JULY/AUGUST 2021
ou can’t communicate too much became a maxim during the pandemic. Communication had to be frequent. It had to be transparent. Also accessible—and efficient. And clear. Many in senior living managed to hit all these standards, and the result is becoming apparent:
meaning many managers could sharpen up feedback skills. Anoth- er tough statistic: “four out of five start looking for a new job when they get negative feedback from a manager.” Learning to coach in order to improve performance without stepping on this trip-wire of negativity could net great retention results. “If your organization is changing, your feedback program should, too,” points out Qualtrics employee experience guidance, which recommends asking employees at least quarterly for their feedback. Sixty-three percent in a Qualtrics study said it’s “very im- portant” for employers to listen, but only 35 percent said their com- pany was good at turning feedback into action. “It can be tempting to shy away from gathering feedback during times of change for fear of seeing ‘lower scores,’” the Qualtrics guide says. “However, our study shows this is the time to gather more feedback.” Expectations: Communicating expectations comes up over
and over, pandemic or not, as the most vital kind of workforce communication—and it’s not going too well. For instance, Gallup research shows “only about half of all workers strongly agree that they know what is expected of them.” This persistent and corrosive problem will show up in increased turnover and all the costs that go with it. Steps to solve this include: Have regular conversations; lead with the positives; invite honesty from employees first to establish a safe environment for it; and collaborate on workloads—don’t just dump duties on their desks. Channels: While the remote/on-site disruption isn’t quite as
significant in senior living as it is in other industries, the matter of communications channels and platforms is still sparking a lot of uncertainty. After looking at a dozen or so studies and surveys, there’s consensus: Using a variety of channels increases accessibili- ty and improves communication; asking employees which channels they prefer and honoring this reaps good results; and the channel and the platform matter less than “soft skills” aspects of commu- nication—that is, good communication is good on any channel. Surveys: All kinds of surveys flew thick and fast over the pan-
demic crisis—it was critical to find out what employees and lead- ers were doing and thinking. Many worried about inducing or experiencing “survey fatigue.” Qualtrics offers this rule of thumb: “The more frequent the pulse survey is administered, the shorter it should be.” The experience measurement company says that the problem is
not too many surveys, but lack of follow-up: If respondents don’t hear about results, plans for action, or a deeper dive into an issue, trust and confidence is lost—and failure to respond to your next survey will be the least of your concerns.
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