We’ll readily admit it—FoodService Director is in the business of stealing ideas. So when our friends at the Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals asked us to present at their annual conference in Las Vegas, we knew just what we’d focus on. Here are some ideas that came out of the June session for senior living and hospital operators. (Some of them are anonymous, as the ideas were flying rapid-fire and we didn’t catch everyone’s names.)
While we’ve heard of operators combing local fast-food restaurants for possible talent, one operator readily admitted to handing her business card to cashiers whom she thinks might be a good fit at her facility, including successful hires from Arby’s and Subway. “I think I [have something to offer] compared to a fast-food restaurant because we have good benefits, we have vacation, we have retirement,” she said. “My husband laughs at me because he’s like, ‘You’re going to give them the business card, aren’t you?’”
At Querencia at Barton Creek in Austin, Texas, employees take the idea one step further. Instead of handing out personal business cards, dining services created a special referral card, called the You Caught My Eye card, with a designated hotline. The senior living facility’s referral bonus program awards $150, spread over the course of 60 days to ensure the new employee is a good fit.
Recruiting, hiring and onboarding comes at a big cost, in part because of turnover, says Traci Mercer, dietitian at Ciena Facilities in Michigan. Because the skilled nursing and rehabilitation group has 39 locations throughout the state, employees are offered a transfer if they’re planning a move. “Since they’re in that corporation already, there’s rehiring but there’s no training,” Mercer says. “That is really rich because you already get someone in day one instead of day 30 [after training].”
For employees looking to become a certified nursing assistant, senior living or hospital facilities that offer free classes may be an ideal employer. But even job candidates who aren’t ready to take on coursework can find value at such operations. “We start them in the kitchen, and their contract states that they have to work in [the foodservice] department for six months, then they’re eligible to enroll in the course,” one operator from North Dakota shared. At least four or five people have found success and graduated to CNA coursework from her foodservice department because of this policy.
A corporate Christmas card is de rigueur these days, but a personalized, handwritten note can go a long way. Allison Adrian, team leader of food services at Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Nebraska, keeps a large folder in her desk stuffed with cards for birthdays, condolences and other occasions. “If there’s a nurse, if there is a co-worker, if there’s anybody you see that needs a pick-me-up or birthday card or something, grab it,” she tells her staff. “In the first month, I think I went through 75 cards. It really helps to build that bond.”
It’s a problem that might not seem obvious from the get-go: the hoarding of silverware, plates, napkins and other dining room items by residents. One operator said her residents will even remove flowers from vases and steal those. Another former senior living operator said her facility combatted the problem by hosting a monthly dessert and tea event. The quality of each diner’s dessert—from a pack of M&Ms to a piece of cheesecake—depended on the number of items they returned, with a minimum of three. “The only problem with this was we had one lady that would collect things, so at the end of the month she would have a lot,” the operator said. “But usually it worked pretty good.”
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