Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News:
4 ways to revamp work culture in the new year
Ahhh. A new year. It’s time for a fresh start, the chance to take life in a different direction.
Many of my friends have remarked to me that they want more focus on family and friends this year. They’d like to achieve a better balance between work and home.
On the job in long-term care, perhaps the goal is to tackle the staff turnover problem or increase profitability. Or maybe the hope is that resident, staff and family satisfaction ratings will be better in 2018 or that this might be the year to achieve a five-star rating.
The common thread between these goals is deepening the attention paid to the people in our personal and business lives.
When staff members don’t feel valued, or inspired by the mission of the company, turnover increases, making it virtually impossible to have high satisfaction scores and five-star ratings. Repeatedly recruiting and training new staff cuts into profit margins and damages worker morale.
To turn things around in one’s personal life, conscious decisions can be made around limiting time on electronics or choosing to fill the new calendar year with events that connect loved ones. At work, changes can occur by prioritizing the way staff members are treated and revamping the culture of the company, altering the way people interact.
Whatever our roles in LTC, there are steps each of us can take to enhance the way we treat each other and to have a positive impact on workplace culture.
• Reevaluate mission and culture. Readers in a position to revise the organizational customs as a whole might enlist experienced guides in the process. A consulting and coaching company such as Drive, with which I’m affiliated, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of a healthcare organization and provides ongoing support to meet goals throughout the culture change process. As a Drive team member notes in this article onCreating and Sustaining a Strong Culture, follow-through is essential. A consulting team can ensure that bumps in the road don’t become dead ends.
• Investigate known culture change programs. Thankfully, there are many people in our field who have undertaken the daunting task of creating a more gratifying long-term care environment while still following regulations. The new year is an excellent time to take a class with the Pioneer Network or the Eden Alternative, or to learn more about The Green House Model at their 1/9 webinar.
• Promote kindness. If your job in long-term care doesn’t allow you the opportunity to change the overall organizational framework, you can still be an important influence on others with whom you interact by focusing on kindness.
For the entire article, visit 4 ways to revamp work culture in the new year
Very interesting article. Great and applicable ways to improve the work environment everywhere. I definitely agree about increasing kindness. It makes everything easy and accessible. All other ways are so good and need a great teamwork.
Thanks, Mohamed. I advocate for residents to focus on kindness as well. It can be very empowering for them to realize that their behavior can impact their long-term care community.