To ensure that residents are receiving a high quality of care, which fits their needs, I will use the methods presented below. They will guarantee that the team of hotel services, administration and activities as well as care staff delivers results, which have a positive outcome. First, each resident will receive a unique treatment based on his or her needs, preferences and interests.
As head of care, my concern will dwell on improving the dialogue between the team and our residents. Secondly, I will maintain the training programs for staffs that are already in place. I will discuss with the team so that customized messages that embody the core values within the home become the first reference points for individual decision-making.
My first goal would be to build trust with residents and the care team. I will therefore conduct myself appropriately and offer a consistent approach to issues based on the home’s core values. Thus, I will be caring and compassionate to both residents and staffs. I will be accountable and attentive to feedback and work related details. I will remain reliable and responsive by availing myself for duties in time and attending to raised concerns within the shortest time possible.
Lastly, I will ensure that I empathize with residents and the care team by recognizing their individuality, their work environment and personal challenges that they may be facing. Therefore, all personal communication will remain private and will not be used to judge a person’s work output or care expectation. Rather, the confidential social relations will inform my choice of conduct for delivering a personalized care and administration in the home. I will keep my engagements with staffs and residents morally upright.
I will allow staffs to review job improvement suggestions, and continuously ask them how well they are relating to each other. This will show them that I care about their work. Moreover, when my decision has an impact on the team, I will discuss the underlying issues with them before the decision and after.
Lastly, to build trust, I will use a participative leadership approach and acquaint myself with the various work assignments that people are doing in different departments. This will give me a better understanding of their condition of work and any arising work related issue. It will also demonstrate that I highly regard their value in the organization.
To create an atmosphere of open communication, I will allocate a few hours per week for collecting staff ideas, feedback and any concern that they may harbour. This time would be separate from meetings and would allow for the discussion of matters that require more confidentiality that staff-meetings would not offer. During staff meetings, I will initiate a visualization exercise for the team to see what it would be like if it meets its goals.
The meetings will inform staffs of their importance in collectively fulfilling the home’s mission. I will continue reassigning the equivalent duties to the same person even when they make work-related mistakes as long as they take responsibility of their mistakes. This gesture would show them that I expect the best from them and believe they are capable of delivering.
I will relate staff meetings and work-related discussions to the values of Fernhill. Although I will sometimes deal with team members independently, my actions and decisions will be informed by the need to foster a team spirit. This will include the recognition of exemplary or mediocre performance. Most importantly, I will strive to give my attention to the little details of affection such as asking about a person’s day. This would create an informal and free relation within the formal structure of Fernhill, and promote team values.
Work efficiency and customer satisfaction requires constant improvement. My strategy would be to have daily activity benchmarks, especially at the point of contact with the residents. For example, I will lead the team in measuring how many accidents have been avoided in a day; how many residents with queries have been attended to and whether a routine on the condition of residents has highlighted negligence in care.
Routines will be completed by checklists, which would reduce significantly cases of forgetfulness of staff and prevent rushed procedures in case of emergencies. A checklist will also assist my management of team affairs such as attending to raised issues during staff meetings, or ensuring that I do not miss any part of my job description while doing my routine.
Colleagues will review team member appraisals, and the individuals will have the opportunity to give their remarks. This would provide a level playing field as reviewers would have the same job expectations and experience as the person receiving the appraisal. The exercise would prevent the placement of unmatchable demands on job performance and being a peer review. It would be more effective for identifying skill imbalances.
Furthermore, I will review all appraisals, and make recommendations for training or work balance adjustments. Finally, I will lead the team in organizing and participating at ceremonial events for residents or team members to infuse fun and improve work relations through the informal gatherings.