Have you heard of a hack day (or a hackathon)? It’s where us software folk collaborate intensively to come up with and design ideas. We just held our first one at OnShift and it was a huge success! We ended up with tons of innovative, amazing ideas to help long-term care and senior living providers with their workforce issues. I thought this is such a cool thing to experience at work.
Here’s why:
- It's like being back in college. It was a 24-hour event. And what I realized is that I kinda miss all-nighters. It was cool to laugh with friends (coworkers), discuss issues and collaborate on ideas that might just solve all the world’s problems.
- It reminded me of why I love software. We have the ability to create something that didn’t exist that helps people – and it can be done today.
- The vibe. This is the culture we love – there were 15 teams that formed organically to work together. Some folks even pulled double duty and worked with multiple teams. And ideas weren't shot down and were always listened to. Some joked that “This is a safe room, no idea is a bad idea.”
- The supplies & food. Everyone was set up to do great things. If anyone needed or wanted something – it’s like it magically appeared. (Mmm – pizza)
Once the 24-hours were up, we all sat back and listened to each other present, completely engaged in their ideas. After each team presented there was a ROAR of applause coming from all OnShifters. It was awesome!
This does not have to be just a software thing – in fact it isn’t. Post-acute care and senior living providers are constantly doing this. They never stop caring and serving their residents and patients. They often need to come up with innovative ideas to help solve a multitude of issues.
So why are turnover rates so high (around 50%) within the industry? I think a lot has to do with company culture. Below are three lessons I learned from our Hack Day that long-term care and senior living organizations should consider to engage and boost morale.
- Give employees the tools they need to do their jobs: caregivers use many personal tools to do their jobs – their hands, minds and hearts. But they also need other tools to do their best work. Make sure that your employees are equipped with the right supplies and programs, and gather feedback regularly to make sure your organization is on top of their needs.
- Don’t let administrative tasks get in the way of letting caregivers do what they love: those who work in senior care have chosen this industry because they like working with people. It’s a rewarding experience to help others, so provide your employees with technology that eliminates the burden of paperwork and gives them more time to do what they do best, care for residents.
- Recognize staff for a job well done: reward employees when they do a good job, whether it’s going above and beyond to help a resident or doing a favor for a fellow employee. I recently spoke with one nurse manager who focuses on managing the good. She stated that often managers have a keen eye for what is wrong and most communicate with staff members when there is a problem. She continued that she found if you’re consistent in your praise and thanks when there is an issue noticed it can be positioned as “You usually do such a good job at this? What happened?” Her employees don’t feel reprimanded; they tend to strive to do better and are more positive in the work that they do – because this conversation was the exception, not the rule. Even a simple verbal compliment goes a long way!
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