Whether it’s mandatory or voluntary training, keeping your assisted living staff up-to-date with healthcare training will benefit both your employees and your residents.
Benefits to the Employee
Assisted living employees are often cross-trained to perform many different functions. Not only do they perform their day-to-day duties but they also take on a number of roles for your residents: care taker, confidant and friend. There is the danger that this “role overload” can begin to offset the positive elements of resident care. Initial job orientation and mentoring, ongoing healthcare training and career path development opportunities should be implemented to help your staff feel more confident and valued in their roles.
When employees are confident and valued in their positions, employee retention is strong. Your team won’t need to operate short-staffed, your residents will maintain a feeling of consistency, and you can avoid the time and cost of replacing employees.
Did you know? The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that replacing an employee can cost between 30–150% of his/her salary or hourly rate. For example, if you lose four employees who make $25,000 a year, it would cost you $30,000–$150,000 to replace them.
Benefits to the Resident
Throughout all levels of training, emphasize to your staff they can use their newly gained knowledge and expertise to follow the three key principals of assisted living to benefit their residents:
- Offer choices
- Maintain dignity
- Promote individuality
All assisted living staff orientation and development should be person-centered — focused on seeing each resident as the unique person he/she is rather than just a person who needs some help.
Structuring Healthcare Training
The benefits of healthcare training are more visible when training is treated as an on-going process, not a one-time occurrence. Provide the following training structure for your team members:
New Hire Orientation
Create a positive first impression for new employees with a solid orientation program. During new-hire training you should communicate your organization’s values and expectations.
Monthly In-Service Training
Make learning opportunities available to your staff on a regular basis. With monthly in-service training you can address specific resident-care topics such as resident’s rights, emergency procedures, personal care procedures, etc.
Career Development
Develop leadership in your staff by offering the educational tools needed for a management career in assisted living.
SeniorLivingU offers traditional & e-learning courses focused on all areas of assisted living training and development to equip your team with the knowledge and expertise they need. Find the assisted living training courses for your care-giving staff today!
