Caring for Those Who Care: Retaining Your Team Through Revolutionizing the Workplace

Jayne Keller
Vice-President of Operations, Cappella Living Solutions

Full employment—it’s the term economists use to describe a market where virtually everyone who can and wants to work does. For places like Denver where the current unemployment rate is an incredibly low 2.8 percent, “full employment” means both a booming economy and a particularly difficult market for retaining team members who care for older adults. Across our state and nation, the large baby boomer population is continuing to age. Many of these older adults are already seeking senior living services and may eventually need skilled nursing care. Our industry must train and retain its workers to meet this increasing need and to provide quality services to these adults.

To keep those valuable workers involves more than just a couple of add-on programs. It often requires an intentional workplace revolution. If you want team members to be supported and valued, you have to listen to their needs and make real changes. Our revolution at Denver-based Christian Living Communities (CLC) and Cappella Living Solutions (the management and consulting group of CLC) has included numerous unique initiatives with the goal of becoming best of the best for both our residents and staff. Because we are a not-for-profit that owns, operates and manages numerous communities with a continuum of care options, these new strategies were put into place for all our different levels of living. They made a particular difference, though, in retaining certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and other skilled caregivers hard to find in our current job market.

Offering financial and life guidance

One immediate way we worked to tangibly value team members from CNAs to concierges was through $820,000 in additional pay raises this past January. We considered ways to cut other aspects of our budget and were able to offer significant raises for 66 percent of our 640 employees so they could stay and thrive in their current roles. In addition, we increased our cost of living raises from 2.5 to 3 percent for all employees and lowered health insurance costs and deductibles for team members across the board, even offering a zero cost plan. These financial changes have made a big difference for many team members, enabling them to remain where they are, serving the people they love. I can think of one team member in particular who thought she would have to quit and move to a more affordable state. As a single mom with two daughters, she shared that the “pay increase may not look like much to others but, for me and my family, it means life.” The raise is allowing her to move out of the motel where her family has been living and once again into a home of her own.

Christian Living Communities also recently implemented a Critical Needs Fund and “navigator” services to help our staff overcome work barriers such as needed car repairs or housing. Just in the last six months, 10 team members have accessed the Critical Needs Fund, mostly for transportation needs. Our employees also now have access to a “navigator”—someone who can help them access funding, create a financial action plan and get help with rent, car, legal, childcare needs and more. The services are free and employee participants remain anonymous. More than 20 employees were served by this service in the first quarter of 2018 alone.

Providing and supporting classes, scholarships and partnerships

Our Student Debt Reduction fund aids team members with student debt from college or nursing school. Big companies often get the spotlight when it comes to educational funding, but that doesn’t mean that our team members can’t grow and achieve. In addition to covering schooling costs, CLC awarded over $23,000 in scholarships to 16 staff members just this past year. CLC has also begun to meet our central need for CNAs by “growing our own” rather than waiting for applicants. Just recently, CLC partnered with the Community College of Aurora to offer grant-funded tuition to enable entry level employees to obtain a CNA license. With strong mentoring and support, seven individuals have already graduated from this nursing program and three are now employed by CLC, with a forth coming on this July. A fourth class is scheduled for October of this year.

Increasing flexible hours and PTO donation program

Time off is another particularly important aspect of every employee’s work environment, and it is a vital component of caregivers and nurses maintaining a healthy work-life balance. In response to feedback from staff surveys, CLC recently began offering alternative schedule options to all team members in all areas. These offerings include flexible start and stop times, compressed work weeks, job sharing, and remote work options. To get more money in team member pockets, CLC increased the maximum number of earned PTO hours each team member can cash out and expanded the number of payroll advances a team member can have. Through the established Paid Time Off Donation program, staff members can also donate part of their paid time off to coworkers in need.

Communication and technology – Keeping staff in connection via the CLC Loop

Good communication is one particularly difficult aspect in senior care, but vital to quality care and a sense of team connection. Over 60 percent of CLC employees do not have an office or a computer and may not receive important communication in a timely manner. We wanted our employees to feel connected and know how to best support residents, so CLC became the first senior living provider in the country to offer its staff an innovative, internal communications tool. “The Loop,” as we call it, is a social media application that provides on-the-go information on everything from current community needs to events and chat groups. According to our Holly Creek Retirement Community concierge Jude Wherley, “It’s like a Twitter page for employees.”

Fostering team spirit through Keepers Committees

Equally important as ongoing and effective communication is the chance to share physical community and relationship. Several of our communities have formed, or are in the process of developing, committees of residents and employees who plan department-specific events and address staff needs. The goal of these groups is to cultivate positive team spirit, strengthen relationships and give staff and senior residents a chance to solve issues together. In many ways, the Keeper’s Committee not only helps residents connect with and appreciate staff, but also gives them a greater purpose—to support those who help care for them.

All these changes responded directly to employee requests and have helped us better value our team members. The result is that we have seen real results and fairly quickly. For instance, the Keeper’s Committee cut employee turnover after its first six months at Holly Creek. Over all, Christian Living Communities has already seen a 5 percent increase in its retention of valuable staff, including CNAs and other skilled team members who are hard to replace in our current economy. We hope and believe that ongoing work in these areas will not only continue to forge a company culture that values and supports the many special people on our team but will also inspire others in skilled nursing and senior care to do the same.

Since 1972, Christian Living Communities (CLC) and Cappella Living Solutions have been providing quality senior care and services in the south Denver metropolitan area and beyond. CLC and Cappella are Denver-based organizations that own and manage senior living communities and services in the Denver metro area as well as state-wide and are expanding into Missouri and Illinois. CLC and Cappella touch the lives of more than 2,000 seniors daily through their communities and services. For more information on CLC visit ChristianLivingCommunities.org or call 720.974.3555 and Cappella Living Solutions at CappellaLiving.com and 720.684.4600.

Jayne Keller brings more than 30 years of experience in senior services, with expertise ranging from administrating in skilled nursing to operating a full continuum community with both assisted and independent living. She currently serves as the Vice-President of Operations for Cappella Living Solutions, a subsidiary of Christian Living Communities.

This article originally appeared on the Christian Living Communities website and is used by permission.