Colleen was explaining to a relative newcomer to the Senior Living community Kelly, how she came to work here several years ago. “Gram moved in about a year after Grandpa passed away. She no longer wanted to maintain the big, old country house anymore or to wander around all the rooms empty of Grandpa. Mom wasn’t sure she would adapt … Continue reading
Tom paused the old footfall game on the TV. “It’s good to be getting back to normal after this last year and a half of Pandemic–caused changes. It feels like little by little we are opening up to life again.” “I agree with you on that,” said Mike. They both worked in food service, but for different Senior Living communities. … Continue reading
Helene talked on the phone with her friend Roseanne bringing her up to date on a particular position she applied for in a retirement community in her nearby town. Roseanne had alerted her to the opening. “I went for my second interview, which was held over lunch in the restaurant in town,” Helene told her. “I’m sure the lunch wasn’t … Continue reading
Rumor has it that Henry Ford would read a candidate over lunch to determine if they were suitable for the job. If the person salted their food before tasting it, he would discount them immediately. He believed the habit divulged the individual to be a weak decision maker and would not gauge a situation before taking action. When interviewing a … Continue reading
April was having a conversation via a computer Messenger with a friend who called her for advice about how to choose a senior living community. She now lived in a different state so she couldn’t move to April’s community. “Do you remember when I was in the hospital before you moved to your daughter’s?” “Sure do. You were complaining about … Continue reading
Recent polls reveal that most senior living communities spend less than two weeks training new employees. A food serving team gains its confidence when they know what their responsibilities are and that they are doing their job with peak performance. To expect good performance it is imperative to provide the best tools-good training and enough of it. Two weeks … Continue reading
Martha sat on a bench in the park sharing an impromptu picnic lunch on Sunday afternoon with her friend Kathryn. She was bubbling over with excitement stumbling to find the right words after she told Kathryn that she had important news to share when she just let them tumble out. “I’ve been chosen as Employee of the Month!” she said. … Continue reading
Meal and snack times are still the most important hours of the day for Senior Living communities. That fact makes it most important to have the cream of food servers. They are the window of customer service on the job multiple times per day. The food servers are the community’s ambassadors working on your behalf. You want them to have … Continue reading
A table of six artists gathered together at their local cafe after having their COVID 19 vaccinations. They had stayed virtually in touch for more than a year and now rejoiced at finally seeing each other in person. At first, everyone spoke at once wanting to relieve themselves of all the pent-up information they wanted to share. When the over-excitement … Continue reading
Read, read, reading everything that comes into view that demands my attention, and that was how I discovered the term emotional nutrition in the New York Times column of David Brooks. Ah, I am overly delighted that someone else knows what I have been teaching and persuading others to refine in senior retirement, assisted living, and other long-term care communities. … Continue reading
