St. Paul Elder Services, along with its Green Bay campus McCormick Assisted Living, has been utilizing Blink, a communication platform that looks very similar to the social media platforms that many of us know and love. Blink allows associates from the different service areas and locations that form St. Paul to communicate with one another, helping to create a work environment where everyone’s voice is heard and colleagues celebrate one another.
Shining Stars
In larger organizations, the above-and-beyond work that people do can sometimes go unseen. One of the many ways that St. Paul uses Blink is by sharing the amazing ways colleagues pitch in for one another and for the residents they serve, helping to build a culture of recognition and positivity. When a maintenance services associate stepped up to support nutrition services when they needed an extra pair of hands, it didn’t go unnoticed. His colleagues had the opportunity to recognize and cheer for their colleague on Blink. This small act can create a ripple effect, inspiring associates to lift each other up for the good of one another and those they serve.
By engaging with the Blink platform, colleagues get to stay up to date with one another as they move into different roles and locations. They can plan events like spring plant swaps, share life events like weddings and baby announcements and spread joy with photos of the activities residents are up to across the different neighborhoods and campuses.
#MulliganTryAgain
Beyond spreading positivity, Blink has proven to be a useful platform for honing and refreshing the skills and knowledge needed to provide the best care possible at St. Paul. The #MulliganTryAgain series, for example, shows video clips of associates using words and phrases that they hope to avoid in the name of treating residents and tenants as the dignified adults they are.
After viewing a #MulliganTryAgain video, such as an associate saying “We’ll just grab the resident quick and take her to her appointment” before another starts pushing her wheelchair from behind, colleagues can comment ideas on how the interaction could have been handled in a more dignified way. One commented that the associate could have said, “Let’s remind the resident of her appointment and ask her how we can help to get her to her appointment” while another pointed out that it would have been a good idea to approach her from the front.
The bottom line is that human connection is key to happiness. Blink is just one way that St. Paul Elder Services associates can maintain a sense of connection with one another to help build the kind of workplace culture everyone wants to be a part of.