Happiness Counts When Considering Communities
07/08/2010
You want to be happy wherever you live. So when considering retirement communities, find out how many current residents are satisfied with their surroundings. If they are, chances are you will be, too. That's the point made by Harold Urman, Ph.D., in an article posted at RetirementHomes.com.
Glenmeadow surveys residents, clients, and staff on an annual basis about their satisfaction levels. Residents and clients are asked about support services, amenities, activities, and administration, among other areas. Response data indicate that 94 percent of residents agree with the statement "Glenmeadow is a good place to live" and 91 percent agree with the statement "I feel comfortable recommending Glenmeadow to my friends."
Staff are asked fourteen questions that touch upon treatment by supervisors, whether training is effective, and if interdepartmental communication is good. Responses to nine questions reflected at least 95 percent approval. The other five questions had an 89 percent approval rating or better. Staff report consistently that "The residents are the best part of working at Glenmeadow."
Urman says organizations committed to quality improvement and consumer satisfaction will measure satisfaction on a regular basis. Organizations that do not have the same commitment do not measure satisfaction, because they don't want to know how they are doing.
Urman suggests asking these questions of any retirement community you are considering:
Do you measure resident, family, and employee satisfaction?
How often do you measure satisfaction?
Do you measure satisfaction using your own survey or do you use an independent company?
If they use an independent company, ask:
- Do your results include benchmark data?
- What percentile is used for benchmark comparisons?
- How many retirement communities make up the benchmark group?
Ask to see all the scores, not just the overall satisfaction score or the retirement community's best scores.
Urman says that, although there is no standard measure of satisfaction, understanding benchmarks is one way to help level the playing field. Click here to view the full article.
