Senior Housing Leaders Say Culture Drives Performance
At a time when workforce challenges dominate the senior housing sector, two operators say their success stems from setting exceptionally high expectations—and backing them up with trust, ownership, and transparency. Speaking at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) spring conference in Nashville, leadership from Marquis Health Consulting Services and Larry H. Miller Senior Health described how demanding excellence has created company cultures employees are eager to join—and stay with.
"We consider ourselves to be a leadership company in the business of healthcare," said Barry Munk, CEO of Marquis Health Consulting Services. "We look to hire CEO- and COO-caliber leaders. We incentivize our employees to take ownership of the organization by giving equity in it to its 5,000 employees." Munk said long-term investment in the company's mission begins with belief in it—a mindset reflected at the executive level, where Marquis has never sold one of its properties. That commitment, along with what Munk called "fanatical attention" to the balance sheet, has fueled continued growth.
Transparency, he said, is what empowers innovation across Marquis' communities. "Every clinician who works for us has access to all the data across the portfolio," Munk said. All expenses and clinical and statistical measurements are shared openly among communities, allowing managers to compete constructively. "This way, managers become more competitive, through incentives, comparing themselves to others, and therefore more innovation occurs as they try to achieve greater things or a better way to do something."
That accountability, Munk added, ultimately defines the company's culture: "Culture is what you do when no one's looking. Everyone knows our mission statement and our eight core values."
At Larry H. Miller Senior Health, culture has taken root in a different but equally disciplined way. "We have a waiting list for employees who want to work here," said President Joe Walker, citing the company's unusually strong 4.8 out of 5 average community rating. "You really have to guard your culture, and that's hard to do in an industry that works the way ours does. And once you have 'it,' you have to fight like hell to keep it."
Walker ties those results directly to performance standards and resident satisfaction. "Half of our employees' bonuses are tied to achieving a five-star facility rating, and that comes from friendly, attentive resident care," he said. "We set a standard of friendliness, and it's measured through our patient surveys. If you take care of your patients and your workforce, that equals financial performance."
Source: GlobeSt/ALM