It is the nature of websites to carry content about things that go wrong or could be done better. But we would also like to tell you about what is already being done well and the people who are already doing it.
By Steve Moran
It is the nature of websites to carry content about things that go wrong or could be done better. There are two reasons for this; one is just practical and the other is really good.
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The Just Okay Reason — There is an old news saying that goes like this, “If it bleeds it leads”. The idea is that blood, guts, crises and unjust acts get huge reads. I know for instance that writing about Brookdale’s challenges will always boost traffic. So Senior Housing Forum and the other publications love featuring these kinds of articles.
- The Really Good Reason — The really good reason is that we actually learn more about getting better when things go wrong. They provide the opportunity to say, “What went wrong?” or “How could we have done it better?” or even “I guess that didn’t work, we better try something different.”
It is always good when we can learn from our own mistakes and, even better, when we can learn from the mistakes of others.
The Other Kind of Learning
The other kind of learning that is a win for everyone is to learn from the success of others. A couple of weeks ago we published an article titled “The Patriots, Tom Brady, and Senior Living” and it, along with a couple of other articles, have triggered some comments and emails with a common theme: “We are doing some crazy cool stuff” . . . and I assume it means, “If you want to write about it, that would be even cooler.”
Occupancy and Human Capital
No matter where you turn, today’s big issues in senior living are occupancy and human capital. This is likely to persist for some time. We know occupancy levels are creeping down and that it is harder and harder to find and keep good team members. And that the cost of labor is going up faster than rents.
Looking at those two areas, there are some amazing individuals and organizations that are beating the odds in all kinds of crazy ways. They have occupancies that are in the high 90s and others that have turnover rates under 25% and team members who are loyal, love coming to work every day and are actively recruiting friends to join the organization.
Telling These Stories
We have told some of these stories but likely not with as much deliberateness as we should.
These are stories that need to be told. They are great positive teachable moments. These are the stories you see Steve Hartman do on Sunday mornings. They are the stories that inspire and teach and ultimately move us to be better at our craft.
As a regular and deliberate series we will be sharing these stories, your stories. We have several that are ready to go and we need more. If you have one, we would love to hear about it.
