When you have a strong employee lineup, it is often tempting to leave them to do their jobs autonomously, freeing management to focus on other things. However, your leadership team must have a regular and visible presence within your facility – not only actively engaging with employees at all levels but also amongst the seniors in your care.

Reminds the team that someone is watching

The chances are that you have heard the saying, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play.” This essentially means that employees will cut corners and not perform as well as they would otherwise when the authorities are gone. Having leadership visible greatly reduces any slacking off and has a direct correlation to higher efficiency and productivity.

Beyond that, it is also encouraging for employees to know that their leadership team is actively involved in day-to-day activities. This indirectly tells the team that they have support if and when they need it, encouraging and positively affecting retention rates. Not having an engaged manager is a big reason why many employees start to look for new job opportunities.

Reinforce the team structure and organization

Of course, employees feeling seen and supported is hugely important. But leadership visibility is also incredibly reassuring to seniors staying at the facility and their family members and loved ones. Moving into assisted living can be incredibly stressful, giving individuals the confidence that everything will be well taken care of. This suggests that the caregivers and administrative team are seen as incapable, but it is good for your clients to see a strong team structure in place.

Represent the values and vision of the facility

Leadership is much more than a bunch of suits that sit down once a quarter to make decisions about the future of the senior care facility. These individuals are symbolic for the organization and serve as a reminder of what the organization stands for. You probably have a mission statement and value proposition prepared – and maybe the caregivers on your team can recite a couple of words – but this really only comes to life through leadership, and that can only happen through regular appearances. Otherwise, it really is “out of sight, out of mind.”

It is also important to note that this only works when the executives actively embody these values themselves. Saying things like “residents first’ or “care above all” are just words unless employees see them in action. And that has to first come from leadership.

 

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