I work and intern with a company that is a senior living referral service. The work we do can be tedious and yet rewarding, as we assist families in finding a community to fit their care needs. In this assignment, I conducted an interview of my supervisor at Caring.com and she was very informative and gave me a lot of insight into her duties and how she got into the position. After questioning her for good amount of time this is what she shared with me:
Main Job Responsibilities: Daily I manage our speed to lead for customer contact, one on one coaching sessions with FA's, small group training sessions, team meetings, manager's meetings, interviewing, marketing planning, manage and plan based on metrics, evaluate QA scores for Qualification and Not Qualified ranges, take care of provider complaints and lead concerns, performance improvement plans for low productivity areas, manage performance goals for monthly move ins (research, crediting, reporting).
How did I choose this?: I have been in many industries in management type positions (classroom teacher, principal, state test writer, international sales team leader and trainer, Top 100 Direct Sales trainers 3 years running) and quickly after becoming an FA I was asked to join the management staff. I have had the opportunity to infuse my style and content into this system and see positive change. I really made this choice to be a short term bandaid with the benefits as I had been an entrepreneur and business owner the previous 10 years. This company allowed me to have the benefits, still work from home and offer advancement opportunities.
Education: I personally have a Masters Degree + 75 hours as well as my Dr. of Divinity and Dr. of Metaphysics. I am certified in NLP through Tony Robbins as well as many advanced sales method training, positive thought impacts. I have extensive formal and experiential training as well as 15 years in the personal coaching and counseling space. All of that is not required for this position. We don't have any formal education requirements. It is more the experience in the field/company and the skill set that you have or have developed. They are most interested in proven track records of success with quantifiable results- improvement of sales, closing, customer engagement, etc.
Advice: Be prepared for massive change every single day. The only thing consistent in my position is that it is never consistent. The industry changes, provider wants change, script engagement, reporting processes, etc. are under constant change. It is also important to also remember that I am a salaried position so expect at least 60 hrs p week and more likely to be 80+ weekly. It is also important to realize that the workload is ever increasing, duties that weren't yours now are, etc.
Trends: Within Senior Living I do see certain trends- they follow moon cycles, when medicaid and SSI payout in the month, holidays and weather. All of these things create drastic and measurable changes in lead flow and lead quality. We also know that the 2 largest months across this industry are January and July- again they follow the seasons and weather. We have also seen a dramatic increase in the need. The baby boomers are hitting retirement age and many of their parents are still alive as well. We see in many areas that communities, even those who are private pay, are maxed to capacity. We also know the #1 form of building in America right now are Assisted Living and Memory Care facilities. Alzhiemers and dementia are also probably the biggest changes we see, more and more people need that higher level of care now.
