Setting Expectations with Your Assisted Living Administrator: A Guide
Sep 30, 2024
As the successful owner and operator of two assisted facility facilities, I've realized the importance of setting clear expectations with your facility administrator. Establishing these expectations entails establishing work tasks and cultivating a collaborative and trustworthy environment. This blog will walk you through the critical processes of setting these expectations, resulting in a smooth and efficient operation.
Setting expectations requires more than just one discussion, from the first in-person meeting to regular and persistent communication. It's a continual process that helps you link your vision with the administrator's actions. By clearly outlining roles, duties, and performance criteria, you can foster an environment in which you and your administrator are on the same page, working toward the same objective of providing great care to your residents.
Let's look at the major tactics for developing a strong connection with your administrator. Whether through comprehensive job descriptions, scheduled check-ins, or open lines of communication, these procedures are critical for a successful assisted care facility. By devoting time and effort to this critical area of your business, you will be better able to lead your team and ensure the best levels of care for your residents.
Check out the video too:
The Power of In-Person Meetings
In-person meetings are extremely useful for establishing and maintaining expectations with your facility management. While virtual meetings are convenient, they cannot replace the effectiveness of in-person interactions. We attempt to visit each of our facilities two to four times each year for a retreat-style meeting that lasts around half a day. These meetings go beyond the typical agenda, providing for an in-depth look at the facility's daily operations.
During these sessions, we talk about individual staff members and residents, developing a stronger understanding and relationship. This approach not only fosters trust, but it also indicates our willingness to be actively involved. By discussing specific examples, such as "How is Johnny doing?"" or "What's up with Sally's family?"We establish a more personalized and engaging dialogue.
Consistent Communication: The Backbone of Effective Management
A well-run facility relies on consistent communication. We keep a regular schedule of virtual meetings, so our administrators know when to expect our calls. This eliminates any unexpected distractions and allows them to properly prepare for discussions. The themes discussed at these sessions are consistent, with an emphasis on residents, staff, and the physical facility. This consistency not only gives structure, but also communicates to the administrator that certain areas are important.
While we maintain a regular agenda, we are also adaptable enough to address pressing situations, such as facility-specific challenges or updates on existing initiatives. For example, if we're dealing with contract negotiations or COVID-related protocols, these issues take precedence and are thoroughly reviewed at each meeting until they're handled.
Setting Expectations for Responsiveness
Another crucial factor is to establish clear expectations for responding. In the fast-paced world of assisted living, prompt communication is critical. We develop criteria for how quickly administrators should respond to phone calls, text messages, and emails, particularly when critical situations emerge. For example, if we're renewing insurance and require certain information from the facility, we must have a speedy turnaround to avoid delays.
Administrators should also feel comfortable reaching out as needed. This mutual understanding allows both parties to address important concerns without the frustration of delayed communication. A simple acknowledgment, such as a brief text acknowledging a communication receipt, can help maintain an efficient workflow.
Overcommunication: A Key to Avoiding Misunderstandings
One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is over-communicating your needs. Don't just assume that your administrator understands what you want or need. Be clear about your expectations and the significance of particular issues. This clarity minimizes misunderstandings and keeps everyone on the same page. If something is critical to you as the owner, make it clear.
For example, if maintaining a specific occupancy level is critical, communicate it publicly. If a resident's situation requires regular updates, make sure that it's clearly stated. Transparency and open communication are critical for a smooth operation.
Final Thoughts
Setting expectations with your facility administrator is a continuous process. Regular in-person meetings, consistent virtual check-ins, defined responsiveness criteria, and a willingness to over-communicate can all help you develop a strong, effective team. This foundation is critical to the successful operation of an assisted living facility.
For more insights and resources on investing in assisted living, visit Assisted Living Investing. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your operations, our resources, including a business plan checklist, can provide valuable guidance.
Need help figuring out where to start? Join the next Roadmap Challenge and build your launch plan with me.
Show full transcript 👇
Transcript
00:00:00
hi everybody it's brandon gustafson i own and operate two assisted living facilities and i created this channel to help people like you learn the ins and outs of investing in assisted living welcome to assisted living investing [Music] in our last video we talked about how to be an effective assisted living operator uh what that process is like so go ahead and watch that video i'd love to get your feedback on that comment on the video and let me know some of the things that you're learning or things that
00:00:41
you're concerned about and being an assisted living operator today we're going to be getting into how do i set expectations with my assisted living facility administrator it's one of the big things that i hit on in that last video is setting expectations so we're going to dive into the process of doing that today so number one is uh in-person meetings so having a retreat style meeting to set expectations goes a long way towards setting and maintaining uh those relationships with your administrator we
00:01:10
try to have a physical presence at each of our facilities two to four times a year i mean a big part of that visit of us being there on site is doing like a half day retreat style meeting to just review things our in-person meetings they follow a lot of the same structure that we do in our regular virtual meetings and i'll link below the resource for for our free template and visit me on assistedlivinginvesting.net to also get that free resource but we kind of followed that same structure but we go a lot more in depth we really
00:01:43
dive down into that and it serves the purpose of of us being a little bit more aware and involved with the daily happenings of the facility and also to help build trust with our facility administrator and we kind of go into individual staff members and individual residents and kind of what's going on and tell me a little bit more about them so we are aware of them so in those regular virtual meetings uh we're able to say oh hey how's johnny how's sally what's going on with them
00:02:11
we talked about it three months ago um has that issue been resolved or uh what's their family life doing those types of things also getting facetime is is just key to further developing the relationships with your facility administrator and setting and again reiterating your expectations for how things are going to be run at the facility what you expect from them as far as communication and meetings and cadence and occupancy and all those different things these are big conversations that are
00:02:44
better suited for an in-person conversation rather than a virtual conversation if you need to do it virtually that's fine but having a more in-depth conversation make sure that you're setting that is is just going to go a lot further it's going to be more effective so i would encourage that you have those types of conversations in person in person meetings they take more time they can take more money but they are so much more effective and for us doing that two to four times a year at each of
00:03:14
our facilities uh seemed like a good cadence for getting that facetime and having those types of in-person important conversations with our administrators the next thing would be you know regular meetings those those virtual meetings that i do because i'm out of state but you could do those in person as well but just be consistent with those meetings you know set a cadence and make sure you're consistent in getting those done and have that consistency both in the frequency that you're doing and the
00:03:40
things you're talking about so consistent meetings let your administrator know when you're going to be talking to them so they're not blindsided by a call from you at odd or irregular hours it will also you know help them better prepare for those conversations so they can just be a little bit more productive with with their time you can be more productive with your time in the meeting you know what to expect and then the other thing with consistency is just meeting topics you'll see that in the
00:04:08
down below in that free resource and again on assistedlivinginvesting.net in our template but we talk about a lot of the exact same things every time the big ones are our residents our staff and the physical facility we talk about other things as well in those meetings there are things that come up and that's okay but we talk about those three things every single meeting because it's important for us it's important for us to know kind of where those things are and it also sets the expectation with the administrator that
00:04:40
these things are important i better have an update on how these things are going because we're going to have a conversation about those things in our meeting you know it just it just helps out lets them know what is coming and lets you have that conversation prepare for that that meeting um as well you know and i mentioned discussing other topics it's appropriate um we do like to keep those three consistent items but things come up all the time we're working through some ex i would say extra facility issues in our
00:05:14
colorado facility right now that require some extra attention and so we have those at the top of the agenda and we're hitting on those we have covert related things we have contracting related things that just come up and they're not always on the agenda but when they come up we're hitting on them you know for three four five meetings consistently making sure it's getting done and when we do that it doesn't take very long you know it's hey do you have any updates on this or what's the contracting status on
00:05:43
this um nope we don't have much of an update here still working on it and we move on but keeping things on that agenda keeping things there top of mind in your conversations and just having that be consistent is just going to be key for you the other thing i would point out is is just other discussions right so you want to set expectations on responsiveness to things like phone calls and text messages emails as well there are going to be things that come up that you have to get done quickly
00:06:15
we're trying to renew our insurance for example right now and i have questions about certain things that are happening at the facility that i don't know because i'm not there on a daily basis and so i needed to have a conversation with our administrator so set up a time to meet off cadence to have a quick 15 minute conversation and review those items same thing on her end if she has something that she needs to talk to me i'm going to answer the phone we're going to have a conversation so we
00:06:39
don't have to play phone tag and we're more efficient with our time and and nobody gets caught up in trying to get things done so you know just set that expectation on responsiveness for those types of things for when issues come up now having the expectation that you get back as quickly as you can or say something you know within a couple of hours that that you get back to them or just a quick text text message you know i'm working on it or i'll get back to you soon i'm in a meeting or something like that just
00:07:07
like a confirmed receipt just goes a long way set expectations for those types of things it's just going to help you out in your conversations so that's that's another thing that i would just suggest um in addition to those regular meetings in person um and those kind of weekly bi-weekly meetings would just be other discussions you need to have have expectations for what that looks like something else to note is the things that you talk about equate to things that are important so if something is
00:07:36
important to you as the operator if you as the owner and operator it's important to you then talk about it set an expectation for what you need and why it's important over communicate again i can't stress this enough just over communicate say something be transparent make sure that you're having those conversations say what you need don't beat around the bush just get to it and and just just be forthcoming be transparent be just communicate it you expect your administrator or anybody
00:08:09
else for that matter to be a mind reader and to know exactly what you need without you communicating that information to them you need to have a conversation you need to say what's in your mind get it out to other people so they know what you're thinking so that you don't get frustrated by them not doing things that really you thought they should be done because you didn't communicate it to them talk about it just have a conversation make sure it's clear and go from there and if there are
00:08:35
issues beyond that then have a conversation or make a change or whatever you need to do but don't expect people to to read what's in your mind and get everything exactly how you want it the first time without even talking to them about it in our next video uh next time we're going to be getting into organizational charts we're going to be talking a little about how i have my organization set up more from a perspective of operating the facility and what it looks like there from that perspective and what you could
00:09:02
maybe expect to see in your facility as well and then to learn more about investing in assisted living make sure you visit me on assistedlivinginvesting.net we'd love to see you over there on the on the website i've got other content up there free resources you can set up a consulting call with me as well we can talk about your specific situation and make sure you follow me on my other social media platforms and just remember it doesn't take a lot it's just a little bit keep going keep making that
00:09:27
incremental process step by step by step uh you're gonna be successful you can do this thanks for watching and have a great day [Music]
Download Your FREE Calculator
Stay connected with news and updates!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.