3 Ways to Advocate for Higher Standards in Your Dining Room
April 9, 2012
This week, the health care industry celebrates National Patient Advocacy Week (April 9th – 13th), which started me thinking about how senior living communities can advocate on behalf of residents for higher standards in the dining room.
Here are three easy tips for fostering hospitality and service improvement in your community:
- Shift your service focus to put residents’ needs first—and encourage your dining service team to do so as well.
- Teach your staff the importance dining has for the overall health and well-being of the community.
- Share your copies of Kind Dining® Connection with your staff. The Be Kind tips are perfect for passing out to servers or posting in the break room. The Activities Director or Dining Manager will appreciate the Table Tip. News and best practices articles will be helpful to managers and team leads.
New eyes’ for nursing homes through QIS in Long-Term Living Magazine
March 8, 2012
Even when putting resident needs first is a clear intention, it may take new eyes to see where and how transforming change must occur.
My latest e-article for Long-Term Living Magazine, New Eyes’ for Nursing Homes Through QIS, talks about the new QIS expectations and how to take a fresh perspective in your senior living community.
How about you? What do you see when you look around your senior living community? Are better relationships being built? Are you defining and achieving higher standards of service quality? Are you educating staff about new skills and responsibilities?
I’d love to hear about your challenges and successes. Feel free to post your stories below in the comments section.
Looking for hospitality training? 100 people experienced Kind Dining® in January, here are 6 of the top comments:
January 29, 2012
1. I enjoyed being here….. I learned something I never thought of. Cindy made it interesting in a way that made me listen and learn.
2. Lots of good information for all levels of staff.
3. Cindy was really able to keep the groups attention by having us interact. I really liked that..it was informative and brought clarity on several unclear procedures.
4. I am impressed. Although I did dislike having to leave my office… Once I was here I appreciated the class. “I am a person who can be a little hard to convince” .{“change in dining is comin”}
5. The class was very informative. I walked away with a little more knowledge of dining and services and tools we need to make a better experience for residents and guests of my community.
6. This is a great program and everyone benefits from it. We take our residents for granted and the only thing they ever want is a smile, hello, and thank you.
I enjoy teaching Kind Dining (hospitality and customer service) workshops and helping community staff at all levels learn new skills to implement right away which improves their service at mealtimes. I will be sharing more about my recent experience in St. Louis, working with Bethesda Health Group Inc. A company which is bringing Higher Standards of service to their residents, through skill development and relationship building of their staff. Read more in my next Kind Dining® Connection newsletter…
Coaching the new chef
April 8, 2010
A Kind Dining trainer, working in an Assisted Living community shared this story today after coaching their new chef about authentic hospitality. Being from the “hospitality” industry he kept referring to the residents as “our” guests. Read more
