Report Outlines Drivers of Resident & Employee Satisfaction

More than 90 percent of assisted living residents and their families rate their experience with assisted living as good or excellent, according to a new report. However, certain factors lead some communities to receive better satisfaction scores than others.

Resulting from satisfaction surveys administered in over 1,500 assisted living communities, the 2011-2012 National Survey of Customer and Employee Satisfaction in Assisted Living Communities measures overall satisfaction rates in addition to specific drivers of customer and employee satisfaction. According to the results, 91 percent of residents and 92 percent of residents’ families rated their overall satisfaction as good or excellent. The same rates were seen when asked if they would recommend their community as a good or excellent place to live. The factors that were most likely to correlate to high satisfaction scores were competency of staff, responsiveness of management, and choices/preferences. These drivers, however, were not the areas that consumers were most satisfied with. The factors that had the highest reported levels of satisfaction for both residents and their family members were respectfulness of staff, safety of community, and courteousness of dining staff. Residents and families were least satisfied with the adequacy of storage space, comparison of charges, and “grow as a person” opportunities.

Employees reported less satisfaction than the end consumers, which, as the report points out, is common regardless of industry. Nearly 72 percent of assisted living employees reported that their community was a good or excellent place to work, while 80 percent would recommend the community as a good or excellent place to live. Employees were most satisfied with the concern of supervisor, sense of accomplishment, and respectfulness of staff and least satisfied with the comparison of benefits, assistance with job stress, and comparison of pay. The top drivers of employee satisfaction indicate the importance of effective managers. The top drivers were concern of management, attentiveness of management, assistance with job stress, and clear expectations by management.

The report also creates benchmarks for assisted living communities to help interpret their specific satisfaction scores. For example, the top quartile of assisted living communities received a 100 percent positive response from residents and family members and 86 percent positive response from employees.

Read the full report, created by the National Research Corporation and My Innerview.

Report Outlines Drivers of Resident & Employee Satisfaction

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