A consistent and engaged staff is a fundamental component of a Senior Living community's ability to deliver an attractive environment for its residents. Creating a place that seniors and their families trust and feel comfortable calling home is what drives occupancy, and your staff drives that. As such, occupancy is directly connected to the happiness and satisfaction of staff. In this blog, we address the importance of integrating technology into your community, especially to encourage staff performance and retention as a major driver of higher occupancy. 

Technology Impact on Staff 

Harnessing technology is a necessity to ensure your community's success. Providing staff with tools that are ubiquitous across society is critical for them to deliver the quality of care expected. Whether it is an effective EHR or deploying robots to your dining experience, applying technology can lessen the pain of staff turnover, training, and morale. It also has the added benefit of creating more time for staff to do more rewarding work and connect more with residents. These types of technologies help staff deliver more efficient, individualized, and timely care, ultimately enhancing the overall resident experience and making your community more attractive to potential residents.

Technology can also help with efficiency. Voice-driven data entry can streamline data collection and happen during the flow of regular daily tasks. Previously uncollected or unknown information that previously required tedious, time-consuming typing is now being collected in real-time, which gives management more information and lowering staff time in impactful ways. 

More Communication

All of this means more effective communication among staff members, better internal messaging, more efficient task management, and enhanced collaboration. Technology is more than just a nice-to-have for the standard “resident engagement” concept. When teams feel valued, well-equipped, and modern, they are more content in their roles, more likely to stay, and more likely to provide residents with a fulfilling and joyful experience. The interactions between staff and residents play a crucial role in shaping the overall atmosphere of the community, making it a more attractive place to potentially live.

The Impact on Occupancy

According to a paper by the American Seniors Housing Association, the quality of staff is perhaps the leading indicator of a provider’s growth and sustainability. Why? Your potential residents and their families are shopping for senior living the same way they shop for everything else. Word of mouth, online reviews, recruiting sites - these are all being viewed, along with the “feeling” they get when visiting your community. As an example, if it is obvious that there is high staff turnover, it is unsettling for both residents and their families. It creates an atmosphere of uncertainty or a “why don’t people want to work here?” narrative that can deter prospective residents from choosing your community.

Staff fosters consistency in care, creates a positive resident experience, and provides stability and reliability that attracts and retains residents. By prioritizing staff, you create a nurturing and appealing environment that thrives, ensuring the long-term success of your senior living community.

Staff Engagement and Empowerment 

Staff engagement is critical to your business's success. By empowering your staff with the tools and resources they need, you enable them to provide better care, streamline their tasks, and enhance their skills. Moreover, empowering staff with technology creates efficiencies and lowers costs. Prospects see a more efficient business and a more engaged staff using the kinds of technology they expect to see. By providing a well-trained and efficient workforce, your community is more appealing to all of the decision-makers.