In the Assisted Living industry there is nothing more insulating and aggravating to a family member, resident and or anyone in your facility for that matter, to have a question or problem and being told “that’s not my job”
Those 4 words come off as rude and unhelpful and should be avoided. It might be true that it is not the staff members’ job and they most likely do not have the knowledge to be able to answer or help the individual out.
However, as a facility operator, it is extremely important that you include in your staff training that everyone is responsible to provide an amazing experience to whoever enters your facility.
The positive experience your facility staff provides benefits your facility by receiving positive reviews as well as possible future referrals.
A negative experience will have the exact opposite implications. You can expect negative reviews and definitely no future referrals. Another result of being told “it’s not my job” is it creates an insulating and aggravating emotion in individuals, which often leads to one trying to get even and filing a complaint against the facility.
So what can you do?
Training staff members about the general overall goal of the positive facility experience. The train that it is every staff person’s job to ensure that the positive experience is accomplished with all visitors. This could include things such as
1. Greeting anyone they come in contact with with a big smile and asking them if they need any assistance. If they do not need any assistance tell them your name and inform them if they need anything to let them know and have a great day.
2. If someone does approach them with a question or issue and they can not help them, offer to take the individual better fit to help resolve the situation. Telling them I don’t know, you can go to the office to ask is not good enough. Teach them to escort the individual to the right person.
This culture will not happen overnight if it is not currently in place but with repetition training, it will happen.