The COVID pandemic has been devastating for senior care and senior living; and it has a tremendous impact on staff. However, there are some steps you can take to help improve morale, increase team confidence, and get everyone on a positive trajectory moving forward:
- Acknowledge what you know and don’t know. Find a way (such as a task force or committee) to share ideas and information, discuss challenges, and brainstorm solutions. Communicate regularly with staff and give them a clear pipeline for asking questions and expressing fears and concerns.
- Prepare to change course. Be agile and flexible as you learn more and things change.
- Over-inform. Provide updates, news, and information on a regular basis, such as daily departmental meetings or emails, weekly video messages from the CEO, and web pages specifically for staff to answer questions and find information.