Our People Make the Difference

I recognize that we have many customers at Seniorsfirst. Of course there are our residents and clients for whom we provide services for. In many cases, there are also family and friends that come to visit. I would even argue that the third-party payers, like Medicare, Medicaid and others are also our customers.

Everyone that we come in contact with as we go about our work and life at Seniorsfirst, represent our customers. As CEO, it is important to me that I recognize and foster excellent customer service and relations in every aspect of our organization.

In my role, I don't really provide direct care to residents and clients. Oh sure, I have periodic contact with them and practice good public relations in all my interactions, but when it comes to actually providing quality care and service, that responsibility lies with our direct care and service staff.

I'm talking about the "front-line" staff like the Certified Nursing Assistants, Home Health care Aides, Nurses, Technicians, Therapists, Chaplain, Food Service Workers, Housekeepers, Maintenance Workers, Social Workers.

I'm also talking about the "support staff" that provide the necessary infrastructure and assistance to enable the direct care staff and organization to function, like the Finance Office, Human Resources Office, Receptionists & Front Desk Staff, Security Staff, Secretaries & Clerical Office Staff, Marketing Staff, Resident Services Staff, Development Staff and Administration Staff.

My philosophy is that if I can keep our family of staff happy and joyful in their work, than Seniorsfirst will always be a happy and joyful place for our residents and clients. Sounds simple enough, but it is a challenge and something we must work at every day.

To monitor our success in this endeavor, Seniorsfirst routinely hires an outside, independent consultant to confidentially coordinate, compile and report on an employee satisfaction survey process and its results. We want to know how our employees are doing and how they rate their employment experience at Seniorsfirst.

We just recently completed the 2008 Employee Opinion Survey and the results are very impressive. We will be sharing summaries of the results with staff, residents, families and the board of directors in the weeks to come, but I'll give my Blog visitors an early peek.

At Valley Manor, with slightly more than half of the staff responding..............

• 89% are satisfied overall with the organization's leadership
• 96% are satisfied overall with the direct supervision they receive
• 64% are satisfied that they receive a fair wage for the work they do
• 88% are satisfied overall with their benefits package
• 94% are satisfied overall with the work environment and safety conditions
• 77% are satisfied overall with communication within the organization
• 85% would recommend Valley Manor as a good place to work
• 96% believe we provide true quality of care and services to our residents
• 81% would recommend Valley Manor to family and friends for service.

These scores far exceed industry standards (our consultant tells us) and have been attained and sustained for the past several years.

At Kirkhaven, with just under 50% of the staff responding......................

• 69% are satisfied overall with the organization's leadership
• 76% are satisfied overall with the direct supervision they receive
• 49% are satisfied that they receive a fair wage for the work they do
• 78% are satisfied overall with their benefits package
• 81% are satisfied overall with the work environment and safety conditions
• 61% are satisfied overall with communication within the organization
• 83% would recommend Kirkhaven as a good place to work
• 83% believe we provide true concern and quality of care to our residents
• 75% would recommend Kirkhaven to family and friends for service

These results represent great improvement from the previous year and in most cases are higher than what the national averages are within the nursing home industry. A similar survey conducted with over 200,000 nursing home employees of more than 400 facilities across the country revealed the following:

1. Job fulfillment satisfaction scored 72% versus 80% at Kirkhaven
2. Job security satisfaction scored 71% versus 77% at Kirkhaven
3. Supervision satisfaction scored 70% versus 76% at Kirkhaven
4. Work environment satisfaction scored 64% versus 81% at Kirkhaven
5. Pay satisfaction scored 50% versus 49% at kirkhaven
6. Benefits satisfaction scored 63% versus 78% at Kirkhaven
7. Leadership satisfaction scored 60% versus 69% at kirkhaven
8. Staffing satisfaction scored 57% versus 88% at Kirkhaven
9. Satisfaction in participatory management opportunities scored 52% versus 67% at kirkhaven
10. Overall satisfaction scored 65% versus 76% at Kirkhaven

The health care field is very demanding and challenging. The senior services and retirement community field is very competitive and challenging as well. But they can also be very rewarding and enjoyable for those who are called to serve their elders.

I am both humbled and proud of these results. I have great respect for the staff at our Seniorsfirst Communities & Services and pledge to continue to support them in as many ways as we possibly can to ensure their continued and improved customer satisfaction.

For we all know that......at Seniorsfirst- Our Staff make the Difference!

Thanks for visiting my Blog..................................Jim.