Together With

Good morning. First and foremost, a shout-out and Thank You to all of the Veterans out there. Thank you for your service and sacrifice to keep us safe. Thank you to your families for their sacrifice. Thank you for the freedom you've helped to provide.

Elevate your operation

A couple of weeks ago, my Grandfather suffered a stroke and ended up in a SNF to get back on his feet. It had been a long time since I walked into a facility for the first time and as a visitor.  Driving onto the campus with fresh eyes, I was determined to find all of the "misses" that I could while visiting. To my surprise, I couldn't find any.

The first employee I came in contact with was in the parking lot. An environmental services team member was rounding the parking lot, picking up trash. He smiled, said hello, and waved. I noticed what he was doing, so I began looking around for waste, masks, and gloves in the parking lot but couldn't find any. The grounds were clean and well kept.

As I entered the lobby, I was immediately greeted by a warm voice coming from the receptionist. I didn't need to see her face behind the mask to tell she was smiling. She said, "Good Morning, Welcome to ______. How can I help you today?" As I was signing in, someone else entered behind me. I paid close attention to what she said to the next visitor.  "Good Morning, Welcome to ______. How can I help you today?" I was officially impressed. An excellent first impression, especially in our industry, often weighs heavily on the first interaction someone has after walking through the door. All too often, I see this first interaction left up to chance, or worse, an employee's mood.

Are you leaving your community's first impression in the hands of the wrong person? If you haven't scripted out how your receptionist greets everyone who comes through the door or calls, the answer is probably "yes." 

From my experience, a script that covers three scenarios is all you need.

1.) Answering the phone.
"Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, thank you for calling _______. This is _______ speaking. How may I assist you?" 

2.) Greeting a visitor or individual you don't know.
"Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, welcome to ________. How can I help you today?"

3.) Greeting a visitor or individual you recognize.
"Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, welcome back. How're you today?"

Communicate the expectation and inspect what you expect. It's the little things that make a difference. Speaking of which, we don't need eight different signs taped to your front doors and reception desk telling visitors they need to wear a mask. Seriously, go take them down. You only need one.

Technology We Love

Together With Accushield

If you're still using paper sign-in logs at your community, you're kinda like the kid at school who's eating a PB&J while everyone else is crafting their own Lunchables pizzas. Please do yourself a favor, and reach out to the team at Accushield to order one of their sign-in and screening kiosks. My communities switched over to their kiosks at the beginning of the pandemic and couldn't be happier.  You can reach them at sales@accushield.com and learn more about their product here.

Make It Fun

By far, the best $50 I have spent this year was on a mobile karaoke machine we use to have impromptu karaoke sessions. Seriously. If you want to see nurses and nursing assistants get pumped, all you have to do is show up with this microphone in hand. It's an absolute blast and a great way to mix some fun into the day. If you pull the trigger, be sure to send us some photos to share.  For whatever reason, "Don't stop believing" seems to get the party going.

How to Learn Anything

I recently learned about The Feynman Technique, and it has proven to be an effective tool I have used quite a bit over the past few weeks. Not only is it the best way to teach yourself something, but it's also the best way to learn how to communicate effectively.
It is advantageous when preparing to communicate change to your employees. Our teams are comprised of some of the most diverse backgrounds imaginable. We have medical doctors, PhDs, and team members without a high school diploma. We must communicate effectively a simplistically.  The Feynman technique helps you learn and understand something so deeply, you can explain it to anyone.

Free CEU- Last Chance!

We continue our partnership with CEUSrEZ providing readers with a free NAB-approved continuing education course worth one credit hour.  To cash in on your free course here is all you have to do.  

1.) Hit "reply" to this email.  If you were forwarded this email, reply to newsletter@nhastandup.com.  

2.) Add the email addresses of a few other NHA's in your network so they can also get the free course.  Hit send.

3.) That's it.  We will reply to the email thread with the course link and free registration code for yourself and your friends!

CEUSrEZ offers an additional CEU credit for free on their site, giving you two total NAB credit hours.  Check out their offerings for all of your CEU needs!

Grab your coffee and make it a great day.  We appreciate you and your dedication to your team and residents. -Thank you!