Why do we deliver such amazing results for our clients? We understand the everyday challenges confronting our clients.
Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The day is aimed at focusing attention on the physical, emotional and financial abuse of Elders. FMC Mediation and Counselling have just released an Elder Abuse Discussion Paper.
The paper is based upon FMC’s experience of providing front line response to older people affected by Elder abuse. You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/gaHvFhR
What is the best career decision you have ever made?
I can hands down say that my choice to become a Registered Nurse was the best choice I have ever made!
I have worked all over Australia, never been out of paid work and my experiences have been vast and very varied!
I have worked in so many different areas and I have worked as an RN on the floor all the way through to management level.
If I knew at the tender of age 18 what I know now, I would still make the same decision.
If you would like to have a confidential chat about your career, I would love to hear from you.
Why is that 36 homes have been flagged as “serious risk” to residents during 2017/18 (39 serious risk findings from 1 July 2017 to 30 April 2018).
165 facilities have failed at least one accreditation standard.
The previous financial year had 22 and only 2 in the year before.
Why is the industry seeing such an increase in serious risk?
Is it because of:
A very hot topic that everyone is talking about at the moment is about mandating staff ratios in aged care facilities.
Do you think this is the answer to reducing risk? Is it achievable or unsustainable?
I have worked in aged and community sectors for over 15 years.
One thing that is very evident is that everyone who has worked in the industry has a ‘war story’.
If it hasn’t happened to them, they know someone that has been effected by poor leadership.
Leading a team is not just about providing direction and delegating work.
Truly effective leaders need to recognize the unique strengths of each team member and really optimize all those natural talents.
It’s all about listening, paying attention, identifying each person’s strength and then managing around those essential skills.
Grow your own!
You may just see increased productivity, improved performance and higher employee engagement and retention.
The transition to the new Aged Care Quality Standards are expected to commence from 1 July 2018, with assessment against the new standards commencing from 1 July 2019 (12 month transition period).
The new Aged Care Quality Standards (draft) consist of 8 standards with a total of 42 requirements.
The new standards focus on quality outcomes for care recipients rather than provider processes.
The transition period will require providers to align their system, policies & practices with the new standards & a great deal of support for staff will be required to ensure that they understand the requirements of the new standards.
There will be a strong focus on the way the information about the care recipients needs & preferences are documented & communicated within the organisation.
Effective clinical governance & information management are going to be the key to a successful transition!
The Question is…..How will your service support care recipients to exercise choice & independence & make decisions about their own care & the way that care services are delivered?
Do you have a clinical governance framework that is simple to use & easily maintained?
Is a Centralised Admission Process (Call Centre) the best way to attract potential care recipients into your Aged Care Organisation?
To make an enquiry about full time residential aged care is a tough thing to do…it means that someone you love is no longer able to care for themselves or you are no longer able to care for them at home.
When potential customers are starting the search for a residential aged care facility, they are emotional and possibly very fragile and vulnerable. They are looking for the best nursing home with all facilities and infrastructure that can meet their loved one’s physical care requirements, support their emotional needs and of course deliver genuine consumer directed care. They quite simply want to know, “what is on offer?”.
An aged care client (“a large Not-for-Profit”) recently approached The HDR Group to understand if the centralised process they set up for ‘Cost Efficiency’, was meeting their potential customer expectations.
The results were not great. In fact, we are not going to sugar coat it…. they were terrible.
We contacted the centralised number provided on the company website and we advised the call centre consultant that we were enquiring about a particular facility. We provided a detailed overview of the situation (e.g. an elderly female requiring residential aged care placement following a fall and all of their current care requirements). The consultant at the contact call centre asked for a myriad of contact details and finally the last thing they asked was, the name of the ‘potential care recipient’.
What came next really did shock us. We were told to ‘be as honest as possible’ and a full care assessment over the phone was conducted. We were asked questions that we had already provided in the overview of the situation. The call centre consultant asked if we thought the potential care recipient was a falls risk (we had already advised the potential care recipient was in hospital following a fall), if could she ‘wipe herself’ after she went to the toilet and if she ever became physically or verbally aggressive if staff tried to help her? We could go on and it did as an unpleasant experience for another 15 minutes…
During this 15 minutes of what felt like was an interrogation and not an assessment, did the call centre consultant call us by our name that we had provided or refer to the potential care recipient by their name. They were simply ticking off all the boxes on their “phone pre-assessment”.
At this stage, we advised again, that we had just rung to find out about more about the facility and what was on offer. The Call centre consultant said she was unable to answer any information about what the facility had to offer and she would put me through to the facility.
We were put through to the facility and the lady that answered the phone said she was unable to provide any information about the facility and that she would provide me the admissions officer phone number. Now if only she could find it? A painstaking 3 minutes later, the number was provided. We again advised that we were really just after some information about the facility and what was on offer. She advised all meals were provided, there was a dementia wing, 2 bus trips a week and one respite bed that would be becoming a full-time bed in July. That was it. We were not offered a tour, an application or any advice on the waiting list.
So we called the Admissions Coordinator and guess what, it was the wrong number……
Would you admit your loved to this facility or this organisation based on this experience?
Do you know what your potential customers think of you? Well, this client now does.
If you would like to learn more about the tailored Customer Experience Auditing programs that The HDR Group has on offer, please call Rhonda Withers on 0438 748 846 or email rhonda@thehdrgroup.com.au
How do you fix a problem, if you don’t know why there is a problem?
Sexual harassment can take many different forms including (but not limited too) suggestive comments or jokes, sending sexually explicit emails (obscene communications), displaying screen savers of sexually implicit nature to unwelcome touching, taunts of a sexual nature, intrusive questions or about your private life and physical and/or sexual assault.
I am currently working on some policies and procedures for an organisation that want to make a clear statement about their zero tolerance stance sexual harassment. They want to ensure that they portray a tough stance based on the law, but also with a contemporary vision that represents the values of society and moral compass.
I would love to hear your thoughts of when you feel that a conversation and/or actions cross the line and someone’s actions becomes unacceptable behaviour to you and/or your organisation. I look forward to hearing your feedback below.
Image Credit: www.quickanddirtytips.com
According to the My Aged Care Website, there are currently 33 homes with current notices of non-compliance and 7 homes with current sanctions across Australia. The majority of these are in QLD, NSW and SA.
The reports are damning, and they consistently show that Management and staff do not have access to accurate and appropriate information to help them perform their roles. It also highlights that care plans are not reflective of the care recipients care requirements and changes to care recipients’ clinical needs are not being communicated. There are significant failures in the way that important information is distributed to all members of the team so there is a shared understanding of care recipients’ current needs.
How do we make communication simple, transparent and effective?
Communication systems such as Importal distribute all the important information such as clinical guidelines, updated procedures and changes in care recipients care requirements. It provides managers with complete visibility into who has received, opened, downloaded the message and also acknowledged they have read and understood the information.
If your information system is fragmented, inconsistent and insufficiently monitored, please Contact Rhonda on 0438 748 846 or via email rhonda@thehdrgroup.com.au
Working in Aged Care is Tough. It is hard work. It is shift work. It is often thankless work. The wages are abysmal, and staff are often on call 24 hours without being remunerated….
I find it very disappointing when an Aged Care targeted media story (this week it is food cost/per resident/per day) hits our TV screens that it always inevitability turns into an industry bashing news story about the Aged Sector as a whole.
Yes, sadly, there are facilities that do not reach the standard of care that we expect for older Australian’s. This is, of course, is simply unacceptable. However, there are also thousands of hard-working and dedicated staff working in the industry to provide the best possible care to all residents in their facility.
It is also easy to sometimes forget that in Australia we have an aged care system, where every older Australian will receive aged care services if they require it despite their ability or inability to pay for their care. We also have an Aged Care Complaints Commissioner – a free service that residents, their families and friends can use if they have a concern or complaint about any of the care their loved one is receiving in a government-funded facility.
I don’t think our Aged Care System is broken. Is there room for improvement…always!
Today, I say thank you to all those that dedicate their working life to taking care of older Australians. Without you, we do not have an Aged Care System….
What is a Social Media Influencer?
The Business Dictionary defines it as:
“Individuals who have the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of their (real or perceived) authority, knowledge, position, or relationship. In consumer spending, members of a peer group or reference group act as influencers. In business to business (organizational) buying, internal employees (engineers, managers, purchasers) or external consultants act as influencers.”
In short, A Social Media Influencer that is social media user that has established credibility in a specific industry. A social media influencer generally has access to a very large audience and they can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach.
Why do organisations engage Social Media Influencers?
Companies engage with social media influencers as apart of their marketing strategy primarily to assist with relationship building. Influencer’s audiences can be small or large and they can reach consumers via social media networks that your brand may not have been able to. This strategy is becoming the focus of many brands and organisations looking to optimize the social space. If executed correctly, influencer marketing really does has the ability to reach niche audiences and create a greater impact than traditional advertising methods.
Mistakes:
Engaging with the Wrong Influencers:
Brands must remember that the influencers that are hired will be representing your brand. It’s not just about the number of followers the influencer has. You need to consider interests, demographics, market segments, and more abstract variables such as attitudes, self-image and expertise in a particular field. Like anything, it is really important to your research!
How to Choose the Right Influencers:
You have to have clearly defined boundaries about the types of influencers that you want to represent your brand. The first step is identifying the “who” For example, you are B2B brand focussed on technology in the Aged Care Sector. The next step is all about finding those in that space that have the most influence. Consider the influencers community, followers and engagement just to name a few.
Be careful of social media accounts that are lacking in authenticity. I recently came across a social media account that has a very large social media following and their Bio simply indicated that they were an ‘Ambassador and Influencer’. Not a mum. Not a Celebrity. Just an influencer. An influencer of what I wondered? The account promoted every product known to man and in fact, the products promoted opposed each other (e.g. some healthy gut products and some hangover cures?) When you examine the post engagement, you could see it was poor and the number of comments was notable across the account. This type of account does not have any real influence in any specific or targeted area. Relationships happen when the brand thinks about building real connections with real people that are influential in their defined space.
Biggest Mistakes Influencers Make:
As an influencer, you’re your biggest asset is your audience. It is really important to safeguard your channel carefully. Nobody knows your audience better than you do.
Don’t be afraid to say no to brand deals. This can actually help your success in the long run. Think about this: if I say yes to this, what I am saying no to. If you don’t believe in the product and you feel like you could jeopardize the trust built with your audience, just say “no.” You do not want to build any level of untrustworthiness with the audience that potentially enables your influencer income. You also don’t want to end up on a Biggest Social Media Fails list!
There are some great examples of the good and the bad of influencer marketing here: https://relate.zendesk.com/articles/good-bad-influencer-marketing/
References:
Brendan Gahan
The HDR Group 