The Secret Sauce of Hospitality in Senior Living
We’re located in the vibrant Buckhead district of Atlanta, where arts, culture, and world class dining are practically in our backyard. It’s kind of tough to compete with all these services and venues. But we do. Here’s a look at what goes into our secret sauce hospitality – The Lenbrook Way.
Flexible Menu of Choices, Master Our Craft
Our residents have an allotment of “flex funds” to spend as they choose on Lenbrook dining, spa and salon services each month — to suit their individual preferences. They can choose between dining at Lenbrook or going to any of the fabulous restaurants nearby … between working out in our fitness center and saline pool or at a neighboring gym … and between frequenting our hair salon or an outside vendor.
Bottom line is: Lenbrook not only strives to benchmark as a top choice among senior living community options, but also to master our craft in each individual service line (food, fitness, salons, etc.) because of the expectations our residents have as consumers.
Fortunately, our dining services director began his career in restaurants and later made the shift to senior living. Our executive chef started his career in country club settings and made his way into senior living. Our enrichment director holds multiple certifications in exercise, has a seasoned team of instructors, and has a fine arts degree. She, and our resident Friends of the Arts Committee, has created partnerships with the High Museum, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and many others to secure plenty of onsite and offsite cultural choices.
To master our craft, we will continue to pay attention to and learn from the hospitality field to ensure we create experiences that satisfy and appeal to our current residents and our future generation of residents. We will also work to attract professionals from outside senior living who are a cultural fit for our field and can bring specialized hospitality expertise to us.
Lenbrook Way Service Standards 24/7
Our field is unique in so many ways. Unlike most other hospitality providers, our residents (our “customers”) don’t frequent us for a couple of nights, or weekly or monthly. They live with us. Daily, we see our residents in the hallways, at lunch, at happy hour.
We work where they live. I can’t think of another service line that has the same relationship. With every resident encounter we have an opportunity to show we are listening and can improve the way we serve. It’s challenging and rewarding.
Not only is the field of senior living unique, so is each senior living community itself. So we can’t just replicate the best service from a particular industry and deliver it at Lenbrook. It might not be the right fit for our residents.
We continually seek resident input and resident feedback. It’s largely how we developed our own set of service standards, which we now refer to as The Lenbrook Way. Through focus groups and surveys, our residents told us that they expect our associates to demonstrate they are caring, competent and responsive. And that we must have a beautiful and clean community with lots of appealing amenities.
Consistent Resident-Focused Experiences
I believe WHAT we do is important. Collaborating with residents, fine tuning and adjusting as we grown and learn. Tailoring programs and services to meet current and future needs. This keeps us relevant, and competitive with the services available around us.
I also strongly believe that HOW we deliver those services — delivering extraordinary experiences — is what creates a far more lasting impression and impact on the lives of our residents.
Services and programs can change. Staying true to The Lenbrook Way of service delivery doesn’t change. Consistent, resident-focused experiences occurring within our programs and services … now that’s the secret sauce to great hospitality.