Community Chats Create Deeper Connections
It’s funny what you can learn about someone when you invite them to chat with you. At least that’s been my experience with the “community chats” we host here at Lenbrook – an intimate weekly meeting in which residents of a particular floor are invited to come chat with me, members of our management team and officers of our Residents Association over coffee.
Listen, Share and Learn
These informal gatherings give us more opportunities to get to know our residents even better, and hear what they need and expect from Lenbrook.
Now that I’ve hosted well over 25 community chats, I’ve developed a certain format that seems to flow naturally. First, I invite residents to share a story about why they chose Lenbrook, what they are most proud of, or an interesting story they may have about a Lenbrook friend. This has been a great reminder about the importance of people and community.
Next, I use this opportunity to share the goals of the Lenbrook management team with the residents. Then, I ask three questions:
1) What do you want Lenbrook to keep doing?
2) What do you want Lenbrook to start doing, and
3) What do you want Lenbrook to stop doing?
Multigenerational Conversations
Each community chat spurs its own variety of stories, answers and input. Some of the diversity in conversation comes from the fact that, right now, Lenbrook is home to 500 residents spanning three distinct generations: the Greatests, the Silents, and the Boomers. We serve residents ranging from their early 60s all the way to several residents in their 100s.
Yet, we hear virtually every resident express the desire to live an “engaged” life. It’s just that some may define “engaged” a bit differently.
Here’s an example. Recently, two residents stopped by my office independently to chat. One was in her 60s and a Boomer, very in tune with technology and wanting to sign up for Lenbrook programs and events (we have over 175 a month) on an “Intranet” from her smart phone or iPad. The other resident was of the “Greatest” generation, and in his mid 90s. He wanted to talk about how much he enjoys and wants the Lenbrook traditions of Saturday Tea Dances and the practice of bundling all services together as one package to continue unchanged. Their input represents the distinct perspectives of two different generations:
- Boomers – who want to make changes today, have more consumer choice, more technology, “wow” me, and be self-directed.
- Greatests – who don’t want to rock the boat or make many changes, who prefer elegant simplicity, the comfort of a mom-and-pop atmosphere, and philosophy of one for all, all for one.
Lenbrook is also home to the generation between the Greatests and the Boomers, called the Silents, whose values were shaped by the Great Depression, World War II and the postwar boom years.
Evolving Definitions of Engagement
Weekly community chats and drop-in office meetings are milestone moments for me. Each one reinforces how deeply important it is that we seek feedback from our residents on a regular basis — well beyond our annual resident satisfaction survey — to ensure Lenbrook continues to evolve to meet residents’ changing needs and desires.
When we opened in 1983, Lenbrook had one dining room that served one meal a day. Today, we have four dining venues — from our Fine Dining which requires a sport coat to our casual Bistro which offers a la carte food choices and extended hours.
Back in the day, we had a solarium lined with rockers and wicker furniture. Today, we have a natatorium with an Olympic-sized pool and a Fitness Center lined with exercise equipment. Although the decor and amenities might be different, the open feel with natural light above is the same.
We respect the wishes of our longest-residing “Greatest” generation residents and those of our newly incoming Boomers. By listening to what our residents’ define as an “engaged” life, we can preserve the fundamentals that make Lenbrook a community of caring people while evolving over time to meet the needs of a new retiree demographic.
By the way, feel free to stop by and chat over coffee any time.
For more on Lenbrook from Chris, please see the The Lenbrook Difference video.
Chris Keysor is President and Chief Executive Officer of Lenbrook. His passion for the senior living industry began early in his career as a CPA with KPMG Peat Marwick. Chris progressed in executive responsibilities over the years, working for a senior health-care provider, health-care financing organizations and senior living consulting groups. Chris is also a nationally ranked Ironman triathlete, which he says comes in handy raising his two young children with his wife here in Atlanta.