By Susan Saldibar

Imagine how you would feel if you were thrown into a new community, with no tools, no information about residents, no resources . . . and you were in charge of making that community perform?

It would suck, right? If you were already in management, you would probably get some answers pretty fast.

But what if you were a new hire, trying to decide if working in senior living was up your alley?

Baptism by Fire Is a Crappy Introduction

Maybe that’s why we lose so many new hires. (Even McDonald’s does it better.) 

It’s worse for new life enrichment employees, Lisa Taylor, CEO of iN2L (a Foresight partner) tells me. They can’t “enrich” anybody or anything if all they are given is a stack of calendars, information sheets, phone numbers, and (if they’re lucky) access to a few internet activities programs.

Here’s Why You’re Losing That Bright, Fresh New Employee in Less Than a Week:

  1. Day 1: Deer-in-headlights – A scramble to learn names and memorize information, phone numbers, and activities.
  2. Day 2: Frustration – As they pull out their own cell phones to connect a resident to a family member and scour YouTube for videos and activities to engage residents.
  3. Day 3: Demoralized – With the realization that this isn’t gonna get any better.
  4. Day 4: Sad – As they start to feel really sorry for the residents.
  5. Day 5: Detached – They are already job hunting in their mind.
  6. Day 6: Gone – And ready to tell everyone how awful it is to work in senior living.
  7. Day 7: Another expensive mistake – You have to pay big bucks to do this all over again with another new hire.

It Could Have Been So Different

I asked Lisa how communities were using their iN2L platform to flip the 7-day cycle and turn employees from frustrated and demoralized to loving their jobs.

The first big give is knowledge.

When communities have iN2L engagement technology in place, new hires can easily find a lot about residents that can help them quickly provide person-centered care: 

  • Who they are: name, age, etc.
  • Their background: where they’re from, family members.
  • Their careers/hobbies/talents.
  • What they like and dislike.
  • The best way to engage with them.

Walking over to an iN2L touch screen system or picking up an iN2L tablet, a new hire can quickly press intuitive buttons to instantly connect to a ton of programs that get updated regularly. No more stale stuff that you have to use over and over again.

How iN2L Helps You Keep That Bright, Fresh New Employee

  1. Day 1: Informed – They press a button on iN2L and up comes everything they need to start engaging with residents immediately. (“Hi Grace. I understand you are a gardening enthusiast. Did you plant the roses I just saw outside?”)
  2. Day 2: Competent – This tool has connected them to residents, calendars, and activities. It’s easy to use. They can see how these tools will help them excel.
  3. Day 3: Involved – By now they are already using the iN2L digital activities to engage a small group of residents who they discovered (through iN2L) love word games. (And it’s so easy!)
  4. Day 4: Empowered – They have the “You’ve got this!” moment. They’re already using iN2L tablets to connect residents to family for visits using the one-touch video calling.
  5. Day 5: Effective – They’re able to cover more ground, engage more residents, and get more kudos because they’re not scrambling for what they need.
  6. Day 6: Energized – They now know the residents and feel part of their world. Everything’s getting easier and better.
  7. Day 7: Congratulations – You still have your new employee. Now you have to keep them.

Which 7 Days Would You Choose?

These kinds of connections are a slam dunk for iN2L large screen systems and tablets. They come pre-loaded with more information, entertainment, and activities than they’ll probably ever need. And it’s neatly categorized and accessible by pressing a button.

And it’s not expensive.

What if you took a fraction of what you pay to recruit and onboard a new employee and spent it on technology that could plug them right into the lives of the residents and the day-to-day rhythm of the community?

The folks at iN2L know the value of a move like that. So do thousands of operators.

Maybe it’s time for you to find out too, and iN2L is making it easier than ever.

From now until September 30th, 2021, enjoy the lowest prices ever on all large iN2L group engagement systems and tablets. Take advantage of significant discounts to get this efficiency-building engagement tool in the hands of your staff ASAP. Find out more today.