By Steve Moran
Have you ever gone into a business of any kind where after the experience you walked out and said to yourself or those you were with …
“That was so much fun.”
“What a great day.”
“Unbelievable”
“I had no idea ….”
“I want to do that again.”
Here are a few examples for me: going to Cirque du Soleil, hearing Paul McCartney in concert, visiting the Grand Canyon, going to the 9/11 and Vietnam memorials — and there are three senior living community visits that qualify.
What If …?
What if you and your leadership team, or maybe you, open this question up to anyone in your community — frontline staff, residents, family members, vendors: What you would need to do in order to make encountering your community, your organization, one of those fun, wonderful, wow moments?
What if you created an environment where it was an experience — where a potential resident would go, “This is cool; I could see myself living my best life here.” A family member would say, “Wow, I would be so happy here.” A job prospect would say, “This is the place I want to work.”
Instead …
What happens is the exact opposite. Residents, family members, visitors, vendors, and employee candidates walk away feeling neutral or negative. While neutral is a lot better than negative, that is only because you are not likely to get bad-mouthed for being ordinary.
There are some senior living communities that are doing this. It is embarrassing to say that I can count on one hand the ones I have experienced — and still have a couple fingers left over.
This is NOT stuff that takes money. It takes thinking differently, being willing to be different.
