The modern era of senior living marketing and sales has a constantly changing landscape. As technologies are embraced and consumers are becoming savvier, senior living operators must look externally for experience and inspiration for moving the needle on occupancy. 

Our friends at KJB Sales Consulting are exactly that – experience and INSPIRATION! 

In season one, we sat down with the team at KJB Sales Consulting on The Collective to discuss ways senior living providers to boost occupancy, enhance resident experiences, and create trust with families during their most critical decisions. KJB Sales Consulting partners have decades of experience in the industry. Now they partner with senior living providers to deliver strategic guidance ensuring sales and operational efforts align with the care and environment you deliver.

Let’s take a look at the 5 trends and challenges facing senior living operators.

In this article, you will learn:

1. Two ways to battle the challenge of employee turnover
2. Specific tactics for creating a symbiotic relationship between in-house departments
3. How to identify your unique differentiator (…in a sea of sameness)
4. Leadership lessons to avoid burnout (including an emerging trend that is tremendous benefit for leaders at all levels)

The KJB team understands the trends, challenges, and opportunities for senior living leaders. Their voices and expertise are having an impact across the industry in so many ways.

Let’s dive into these trends and challenges…

Impact on Senior Living Operations: Turnover in senior living communities, especially at the care level, is highly detrimental to operations. Consistent teams are crucial to noticing small, day-to-day changes in residents that, if missed, can escalate into significant issues. Having stable teams, from care managers to dining services, ensures that residents receive better attention and care.

Retention Strategies: High turnover in sales teams, reaching up to 40-50% in some communities, creates a substantial obstacle. The key to reducing turnover is finding, training, and retaining employees who align with the organization’s mission and vision. Creating emotional connections and meeting individual goals leads to greater job satisfaction and reduces burnout, thereby decreasing turnover rates.

“Don’t let turnover be the enemy to advancement, building occupancy and revenue”- Kelly Myers

Collaboration Is Essential: Senior living operators must prioritize collaboration across departments, such as marketing, sales, recruitment, and learning and development (L&D). A collective approach strengthens the organization, sharing knowledge and fostering a culture of growth and sustainability.

Breaking Down Silos: Many challenges in senior living stem from poor communication between departments. By bringing together diverse departments under a unified vision and ensuring constant knowledge sharing, organizations can build stronger teams and improve both employee retention and customer satisfaction.

“I think it’s more critical now than ever for organizations operators to bring together marketing, sales, recruitment and L & D to be one team so that you can have that cross-cultural knowledge that’s shared. To drive careers, to drive sustainability, retain your talent and also build your revenue.” -Brigitte Specht

Differentiation is increasingly important as many senior living communities look and sound the same. While the appearance of a community may vary, the services offered often overlap, making it hard for prospective residents to distinguish between options.

Starting with Marketing: The differentiation process must begin in marketing and be carried through sales and operations. Prospective residents need to understand not just what services are provided, but what will feel different if they choose a particular community. Every interaction, from the website to the in-person tour, should convey this unique experience to help them make an informed decision.

Focus on What Matters to Families: Most families make the decision to move into senior living once in their lifetime. The key is to convey a sense of belonging and personalized care, which families can feel throughout their engagement with a community.

Leading with Empathy and Connection: Burnout is a common issue across senior living, affecting leaders, care teams, and corporate employees. To avoid burnout, it’s essential to focus on the “why” behind the work. Employees who feel connected to the organization’s vision and find personal fulfillment in their roles are less likely to experience burnout.

Research shows those employees who say that they live their purpose at work are six and a half times more likely to report higher resilience. They’re four times more likely to report better health, six times more likely to want to stay at the company, and one and a half times more likely to go above and beyond to make their company successful.

-Naina Dhingra, The Search for Purpose at Work

Operators need to foster environments where work-life balance is respected and employees feel supported in managing their emotional well-being.

“It all comes back to the ‘Why’. Why are you doing this? If the culture and the vision of the organization is not meeting those needs of that individual, then there’s going to be burnout because they’re not getting their needs emotionally met.” – Jessica Phaup

One emerging trend to combat burnout is hiring fractional consultants. Bringing in external expertise can relieve internal teams and provide fresh perspectives, helping organizations implement processes that ease the workload and improve operational efficiency. Check out our blog on The Benefits of Hiring a Fractional CMO.

We loved having the opportunity to learn from the brilliant team at KJB Sales Consulting. Make sure to listen to the full episode for even more insights into the trends and challenges the Senior Living industry is facing.

The Collective is a conversation series with senior living professionals who are challenging the status quo of the industry. We talk to those who have forged their own path in the industry and learn what drives them and how their passion for senior living started.

Connect w/ KJB Sales Consulting: https://kjbsalesconsulting.com