Staff and Resident Social

As CCRCs work towards a more social model instead of the medical model, we see the need for changing the mindset of employees and residents. The concept of a universal worker or a what ever your community might call the position, leaves those just entering this new world wondering how it will work out.

The community where I work is taking big steps towards creating neighborhoods and staff being crossed trained, especially in the medical/health center and assisted living section of our community. I work in the independent living section of the CCRC and these concepts are slowly coming to my part of town. 

One of the best things that I have done so far towards this initiative is to have a Getting to Know You Reception for staff and residents. The hardest part of the event was to encourage the staff to stay for the party. Once the executive director told the department heads that they should schedule their staff to be there and to keep them on the clock for it, it seemed to help a lot. 

I set the event for Friday at 4:30 p.m. because I thought that during the week, staff might have family obligations to attend to with their children and because 4:30 p.m. is like our "happy hour" before the residents go into the dining room. Next time, I will ask the managers what their staff would prefer instead of making that assumption.

I promoted it strongly as a chance to get to know the staff when they were not rushing off to work. Even during the event, I found myself encouraging the residents to go to the staff members because I knew that due to language barriers and the nature of our particular set of staff members, they were not going to take the lead to mix.

The hour event went like this: I had 2 tables with 2 staff members at each. They provided name tags for those who came to the event and provided each person with their own question for the party. They were told to ask their question to as many people as they could by saying, "Hello, Jim, my name is Martha, and my question is...." We explained that after they asked their question and heard the answer that they should ask the person for their question if it is not offered right away. There were about 30 different questions, copied multiple times, available to be used as conversation starters.

I found the questions in a book called Getting to Know You. It did take time to read through them and select questions that would 1) inspire conversation 2) be something that both staff and residents could relate to and 3) feel comfortable answering. There are other books for mixers that would be helpful for this kind of event also that can be found in my Resources for Activities Directors section of my blog.

If you rather not take the time to read and select appropriate questions, feel free to take a look at the ones that I typed up. They can be found on-line.

This was so fun and interesting. It did require a lot of repetition as the directions were retold over and over, but that was alright. It also did require our staff to come out of their comfort zones a little bit, but that too was alright. Giving them permission to be the guests at the party was hard for some and at times they were reminded to mingle with the residents, not just stand with each other. 

This event, I believe, lays a good foundation for the success of our home-like, community, neighborhood community that we are striving to be. In order for this social model to work, we must know the residents who we serve, and they must know us, the employee - as people! Not as workers or as residents, but as humans, with strengths, weaknesses, talents, interests, etc.  It was not a hard event to do, but I believe it

will have big rewards in the future. Get your management on board, and then go for it.

Burn-out or New Beginning?

After 25 years working with seniors in CCRCs in activities, there are days when I think, "what else can I do for a job?" and then there are days where I know I am in the right place. I think, no matter what the job is, after while everyone feels a bit burned out, but it is what you do next that matters the most.

To be perfectly honest, for me there are a few things that I do when I am feeling burned out as the activities director in my independent living retirement community. Some of these ideas may work for you, and some may not. Here is what I do, in no particular order, and not necessarily each time that I feel I want to quit.

• Admit that I am have a feeling of burn-out. It's the way I feel. I own it and move on. I don't push it under the carpet or to the back of my mind. I try to address it and grow from it.
• Should I stay or should I go? If I am not sure, I start looking for another job. Somehow I feel that if the next job opportunity was out there for me, then I would have to get serious about taking the next step. Also, I believe that if I don't find my next job that it was a sign that I should stay where I am. There is a good feeling knowing that I have taken a step, by looking for another job, to determine if quiting is the right decision for me or not.  I always have a choice.
• I talk with other professionals in my field. I am lucky enough to have two co-workers in "sister-communities" who go through similar issues in their community. We remind each other of the positives of the job, offer each other solutions to problems, and encourage each other to step up our game, so we don't get bored. Find someone who you can relate with on a professional level. Look at on-line community groups such as Yahoo's AD Community, Activity Chat, or on FaceBook the Recharging Retirees Page. Of course there are actual groups who meet on a regular basis in your area too.
• A new challenge, a new twist on an old activity or theme event, a totally new addition to the calendar, etc. means that you are learning and growing. Don't let yourself get bored or stuck in your comfort zone. You are the leader, and though the residents may not think they want to try something different, if you are confident in presenting something new, and they have developed a good foundation of trust with you, they will give it a try too. How cool is that! When you grow, they benefit. How can you feel burn-out when you are growing and providing new experiences to those you serve? You can't!
• I think to myself that if I am not happy in my work, that the residents that I served probably are, or will become, unhappy with me and my work too. If I can not give the community something to get excited about at least once a month, then it is not fair to them. Holding onto my job as activities director just to have a paycheck affects the residents negatively and that is shameful. When I think like that, I press myself to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.
• Don't be afraid to try something new. I've arranged outings and programs in the community that I feel will be popular with the residents, and they are not. I say to myself, and to the residents, "you don't know until you try," and with that attitude, the residents appreciate the effort, creativity, and the bravery that it takes to present it to them. It is a learning opportunity and from some residents and/or staff, I get "props" for trying. Not a failure really.

"To fight fear, act. To increase fear - wait, put off postpone." Motivational Writer and Coach, David Joseph Schwartz

• Take a day off. Make a long weekend by taking Friday, Monday or both off if you can. Take a real vacation and find inspiration, or just get away from the office to recharge yourself.
• Get new ideas by opening yourself up to what is around you. What is your city doing? What is the local school doing? Is there a special event at the mall or the casino in your area? Did you hear about a unique entertainer while reading the newspaper? What have you seen on the Internet or TV? When you go through all of these (and many more) ask your self these questions: Would this be of interest my community's residents? And, how can I make this work in my community? Where there is a will, there is a way. It may not fit in right away, but somewhere down the line, it might. (For me, I love the ideas of having food trucks come to us, but so far, it has not been of interest to the food trucks because we don't have a large enough population to make it worth their while financially.... and at this point, we have not opened our property up to the outside community...... but sooner or later, I'll come up with something good and it will be worth the wait for everyone involved.)
• I have learned to say NO when I need to to protect myself from taking on to much. I usually feel it necessary to  provide a good explanation with my no..... (IE doing things right, well, timely, successfully, etc)
• I have started to ask for help from residents and staff. As a one person department, (which is a positive for me), this is difficult for me, but an area that I am working on..... personal growth. It helps reduce burn out for me and gives others join in providing something fun and positive to the community (which, I think is the main positive of the job of activities director!)
• I evaluate my home-life. Are there stressors that I'm bringing into work with me? Am I getting enough sleep?
• I recall all the positive reasons why I selected my job, my profession, in the first place.
• I spend time with a resident who I really enjoy. It is personal and valuable to me.

I hope these thoughts help you when you need them. It takes a special person to work in this field. Some say it is a calling. All I know is today, in this minute, I can not think of another job, at another place, that I'd rather be. I am thankful...... not burned-out.

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally." Journalist, David Frost