This machine is all about being the best senior living organization to work for in the country. Actually to be the best company to work for in the country.

My bottom line was — and remains — that the industry should support staffing minimums done right and reasonably. This means a bunch of things.

It is worth talking to your teams about how to be a yes culture, one that figures out how to make things work for the person making the request.

There is a belief that there are not enough caregivers for the senior living sector today. I think this is a hasty response that is not well thought out.

The sandwich method, at its core, is about taking time to think about and appreciate your team member’s efforts.

Hire for skill, not for age — or you’re cutting yourself short, and you’re discounting some people who are at the top of their game.

Your team members will get better instantaneously if you begin to see them as amazing, exceptional employees who you are lucky to have.

It is time for the industry to step up to the table, demand change and propose a new way of doing things that is fair and reasonable to everyone. 

The industry should be concerned because it appears the number of comments supporting mandates is much higher than those opposing mandates. 

The industry has this opportunity to say, “Staffing mandates are good for residents, families, and team members. Here is what they should look like.”

It turns out that you are better off to not take on that project or that initiative if you do not have that person who is fully committed.

It would be better to budget nothing and look like it was an oversight than to say, “We thought about it, and that is all we think you are worth.”

I was recently talking to a senior living executive director who told me this depressing story about ice cream.

Nursing videos are the third most popular professional videos on TikTok. The best way to hire nurses is to be where nurses are.

These senior living organizations have higher occupancy and a much easier time recruiting staff. This all translates into a better bottom line. 

Not only did this grab the attention of workers, it also got the attention of a national news outlet.

There are two things you need to do that are simple, though not always easy, that will transform your organization.  

Everyone has good ideas about how to make the community and the company better. They need to be listened to and heard.

It turns out that there is one feedback technique that works better than all others. Here are the 19 words: