When regulations introduced meal options for residents in senior living communities, it brought changes many thought were going to be costly and difficult to adapt. It has actually proved quite the opposite. Handwritten food orders that were often misread and produced mistakes, waste, and dissatisfaction from the diners were now clearly printed menu selection options. Efficiency increased while waste, cost, and mistakes were decreased. It became much easier to track allergies and special diets keeping the safety of the resident foremost in mind. Food servers found they could spend that extra minute or two conversing with the resident.
Chefs have faced the test of keeping the menu interesting while facing the change in dining services. It has been vital for the food serving team that begins in the kitchen to keep their team skills mastered in their training sessions. Kind Dining® emphasizes the importance of always carrying the team spirit. In these days of COVID-19, it is the food serving teamwork that is the lifeline of any senior community. When food service protocols are in place and followed your food servers will be providing a pleasant dining experience even though the communal dining room is closed. While stress may be in other parts of the community, mealtimes need to show none of it. Team spirit reigns from the kitchen through the halls to the individual rooms being serviced during this pandemic period.
Kind Dining® advises to set standards above those required by regulations and you will always be moving forward, improving your community. Training for new food servers and freshening up training for all food servers keeps your community with a forward-thinking mindset. Consistent training communicates expectations and reminds staff of the community’s values. It is also for the benefit of the food servers to be reminded that their skills and attitudes are to increase their cultural service, confidence, and personal value. When your leaders become coaches through Kind Dining® your staff will be able to adapt easier to build that determination that works for them.
When the permanence of change is sought, it comes from within. That is where the strength is located. Intentional focus on education, trust, and respect for residents, other staff, administration, and other food-serving teammates comes from proper training that changes the way your food serving staff think.
That is the heart of the matter.
Our B♥ Kind® Tip: Do you tell your food servers that you admire their style and efficiency?