ENGAGING FAMILY IN THE SENIOR LIVING TRANSITION
with. It may not be something major, but it will encourage them to ask more questions.” The community’s life enrichment director
updates the page weekly with highlights of community activity. The community pushes out more specific
digital content, too. Suppose a family member in another city just wants to get a better feel for the place. It’s not uncommon for the commu- nity relations director to record a few minutes of a happy hour on a smart phone: Nothing fancy, but enough to spark interest. “It shows them the environment. It captures the culture and the closeness of the community. It helps to answer a lot of questions, especially when you are so far away and you cannot physically visit the community,” Harvey said. Gosselin has taken to making the compa-
ny website more robust as his technology of choice, specifically in order to connect with families. “More and more of our attention is being put to online marketing because that is where the adult children are going. So we put dollars into website optimization, page search, conversion optimization,” he said. While lifestyle content on the site addresses
potential residents, there’s also information aimed more specifically at the adult children: “What is a senior living community? What is the value that it offers? What features and ben- efits will it offer? It’s about educating people,” he said. “Specifically for the families there are topics like: How do I afford it? How do I have this conversation with my parents?” Scardigno looks to technology as a way to
forge a common language with family mem- bers who come to visit the community. His visitor center is chock full of interactive expe- riences, virtual tours, and digital renderings.
“We have screens all over the place. It’s very experiential,” he said. The website offers simi- lar fare, with digital renderings and 3-D mod- els to help create a feel of the community for those who cannot get there in person. All this is done with the family in mind. “The technol- ogy really resonates with the adult kids.” While such technological tools can help a
sales team to meet adult children where they live, it’s equally important to put technology aside and return to face-to-face engagement during key moments in the sales cycle.
Face Time Having engaged family throughout the sales cycle, Harvey doesn’t want to cut them off once the papers are signed. Instead she convenes a “roundtable,” bringing together the resident, family members, and staff for a contract-signing and information session. “A sales and marketing professional will
have been the familiar face up to this point. Once the resident moves in there will be a new set of faces,” Harvey said. “Having this formal moment with those new faces gives the family member peace of mind. Now they can meet the folks who are going to be caring for mom and dad. Now when they need something done in mom’s room, they know who to ask.” The adult child’s financial, emotional,
and logistical investment in mom’s situation will endure beyond the signing. Likewise the relationship between community and family will continue to evolve, but it can do so only if a firm foundation has been set in place early on. By establishing a precedent of engagement from the start, the community sets itself up for success in the long run. As a parent’s needs change over time, it helps
THE PROMISE OF FUTURE CONNECTIVITY
When adult children see a tech-savvy community offering tools to help them stay informed and engaged, it puts their minds at ease.
MatrixCare, for instance, helps senior residences keep careful track of care that is scheduled and provided. “Families can access a care portal from home and see mom or dad's care plan, including the frequency of the care that is being provided, as well as information about the person who is providing that care,” said Patrick Hart, vice president, senior living solutions for MatrixCare.
“Now you have a name, and that is so basic, it's the first level of true engagement. If I say 'someone is providing care' or I say 'Samantha is taking care if your mom today,' which one carries more weight? It's about creating that personal connection,” he said.
12 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE / ISSUE 3 2017
“More and more of our attention is being put to online marketing because that is where the adult children are going.”
—Jamison Gosselin,
senior vice president of sales and marketing, Holiday Retirement
to have family members who feel like they are already part of the community. Certainly it takes a little extra effort to en-
gage family in the decision-making process. You have to reach out that hand, explore a little deeper, hear and address concerns from diverse fronts. “When you have multiple people involved
it is really rare for all of them to agree,” La- Forge said. “You may be negotiating with as many as six to 10 parties. That makes things more complicated.”
Earning Trust It’s also possible to flub family engagement, leaving adult children with a sour taste in their mouths. “These are busy professionals at the height of their careers and they are typically very successful. So you have to understand that their time is valuable,” Scardigno said. “You have to be quick, responsive, and thor- ough. One wrong statement and you have lost their trust. There is very little margin for error. Trust is everything for them.” Still, the benefits of early and frequent
engagement can more than outweigh the potential risks. “When the adult child is involved in the
decision proceedings, the time it takes for somebody to move into a senior living com- munity is less than when the senior is looking alone,” Gosselin said. “With the adult child involved, people are more eager to seek a so- lution faster. A senior might drag their feet, where an adult child will start marshaling resources to make stuff happen.” In an industry where prolonged sales cy-
cles are the norm, this promise alone – the possibility of an expedited process – should motivate those who have not done so al- ready to up their game when it comes to family engagement.
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