Q: How have you increased employee engagement at Villa Healthcare?
A:I helped start a service excellence program called B.E.T.T.E.R. that holds both residents and employees as equals to help foster a better community at each facility. With this code of conduct, everyone can be on the same page for what our standards are at Villa. I also helped create “Why Villa,” an essay competition with cash prizes for patients and employees to express why they chose long-term care.
Q: What other changes have you made?
A:We make changes every day. But the engagement department has grown every year since I’ve become VP of engagement. We’ve taken over recruitment and believe that getting the right people in the door from the start will create a safe and fun place where people will want to stay for a long time.
Q: What advice do you have for other long-term care executives?
A: Always focus on the people. When you take care of those who work for you, they will take better care of the patients. For example, we celebrate every birthday and anniversary company-wide and we hold an annual awards ceremony to recognize all of our standout employees.
