A Fresh Start
By Kim Calahan, RN & Regional Director of Colorado
The beginning of a new year is always a suitable time for reflection, setting new goals, and planning for a successful year. Spending a half day or full day with your leadership team to discuss these things is instrumental to your success. It ensures everyone is aligned with the company and with each other, they understand the plan, and they know their role in helping to make the community you serve be the best it can be. To get things started and to keep things moving forward, make assignments, have completion dates, and track your progress.
With your team, ask yourselves the following questions:
Reflection
What went well last year?
What could we have done better?
What were our biggest obstacles?
How did we overcome them?
What did the staff need from us?
Goals
What are our financial goals this year?
What are our goals for the staff?
What are our goals for the residents?
What are our goals as a leadership team?
What do we need to stop doing?
Planning/Considerations
What new programs/services do we need to offer?
What needs to happen to get ready for our annual survey?
How do we stand out from our competition?
Are all our manuals up-to-date?
How could we communicate better?
Have we done a wage survey recently to ensure we have competitive wages?
How are we attracting potential candidates?
What changes need to be made to attract more candidates?
Are we proactive with informing residents, staff, and families of changes?
Are we using our current EHR software to its fullest?
Are there other outside resources we should be using?
Meet frequently, make the most of your time together, and know that evaluating and changing the way you do things is necessary. As Picasso once said, “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”