IDEAS YOU CAN COUNT ON
8. Give cleaning staff visibility and recognition.
“Let residents, staff and visitors see that you are making cleaning and disinfection a priority, and remember to
focus on high-touch points,” recommends Caleb Schmidt, market- ing manager of long-term care segment at Ecolab. Schmidt points out that a recent survey of potential residents by American Seniors Housing Association and research firm ProMa- tura showed that an identifiable cleaning and disinfecting program at a community was a top priority to prospective residents: “This not only serves to attract residents, but will also help to create healthy environments and peace of mind for existing residents and staff, building trust throughout your organization.”
MEETINGS 9. Calculate the value of meetings.
12. Practice good communications hygiene.
Costly and even dangerous miscommunications can hap- pen when people are using multiple platforms to cross-
purposes, or different terms for the same thing, or not getting mes- sages to the right people (or to too many people). Set up and practice a standard for which types of communica-
tions happen on which platforms (for instance, discuss sales in the weekly GoToMeeting forums; post resources on the chat board; alert regional staff to emergencies through text messages). Use con- sistent acronyms or names to identify programs, departments, and recurring meetings throughout the organization to keep everyone on the same page. Check your messaging or email chains to see if newcomers to
“The next time you’re in a meeting, do some rough nap- kin calculations based on the number of people in the
room, and their average hourly salary,” recommends an article on the BPlans business plan software site. “Sometimes the results can be staggering.” What kinds of meetings can be cut? Some ideas: Replace infor-
mation-sharing or check-in meetings with a document or update with links to more information. Get quick opinions or do schedul- ing with pulse surveys and Doodle polls. Make “tickets” with plan- ning platforms to let people know what paperwork or decisions you need from them and when. Save face-to-face (or online) meetings for brainstorming, sensi- tive issues, teambuilding, or recognition.
10. Huddle.
Several providers say they’re more often doing standups and huddles than formal meetings since the start of the
pandemic. The rapid changes in protocols and updates on prac- tices and news and other crisis circumstances made huddles the best way to handle information. If you can relay the information in a huddle, then reinforce it with an easy-to-understand post, poster, message, or even a 30-second video, it helps solidify the information.
COMMUNICATION 11. Overcommunicate.
the loop have the background they need. At a certain point, you may be able to stop repeating the background or create a link to a “just the facts” sheet so newcomers to a program or situation can catch up quickly. Set up clear internal and external communication markers for messages and emails to avoid “reply all” accidents.
13. Stay on brand.
Send easy-to-understand and implement guidelines for specialized company terms and give reminders once in a
while. Guard logo, color palette, and branding use (if the provider name is The Greatest Senior Living Provider, make sure everyone uses that upper-case T). Give staff a few choices of branded email signatures to use. Using consistent branding turns every commu- nication into a memorable promotion.
14. Always be promoting.
Check with your provider company first, always. But get- ting out with the good news helps your community as
well as residents and families—they’re a part of something posi- tive that gets local media attention. Sometimes, a national story can even shape up. You may ask your provider company about consulting with a public relations consultant or ask about media training. See about writing content for a local website. Take photos and videos of events and celebrations when permissible. Read and watch local media so you’ll get to know the types of articles and segments reporters cover; never pitch blindly.
15. Maximize the effect of content.
Leadership experts have stressed one thing most often during COVID-19—and it’s a point they made before
this, too: Leaders can’t communicate too often. Increased transparency and constant updates and bulletins may
feel overwhelming to some. But caregivers in particular are people who want to be helpful and connected. When employees lack in- formation and touchpoints, anxiety grows, and assumptions take over. And the cliché but true aphorism about “assume” has been the same for decades: It makes a [fool] out of “u” and “me.”
For your community blog or newsletter, obtain or write a few “evergreen” pieces with advice or observations so
you’ll never be stuck for a blog post. A “cobwebby” blog can proj- ect a neglected feel, so if you start one, keep it going or remove the page. Slice blog posts into social media posts. Repurpose photos, vid-
eos, and content for social media and newsletters as much as per- missible. Professional content marketers may be worth the invest- ment, and so might having them create a content calendar (and it’s correct to pay extra for this service). Have content producers work in advance, too. You want to be in the position of never having to come up with an instant post, and that’s worth paying for.
18 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
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