Dining Culture Change: Communication

Change is not easy for anyone! That is one of the reasons that communication is so important. Good communication can help ease many fears.

Before implementing a change, it is important to discuss it with everyone that will be affected. This includes the residents, families, and employees. It also includes others that may be affected. For example, changing meal times may affect therapy and even the beautician.

Before discussing it with everyone, have a detailed plan in place. The more thoroughly the new system is thought out, the better. It will need to be changed as you go, of course, but the better the planning, the smoother it will go.

Before creating a plan, communicate with everyone the goal—increasing resident directed care and increasing choice for the resident. And then get people’s ideas and suggestions on how to make it work. The more people are involved in planning a change, the more they will support it and the more successful the plan will be.

Continue to communicate during implementation. Ask everyone for their recommendations on how to improve the situation. (If you just ask how things are going, you may get mostly complaints. If you ask for their suggestions, you are making them part of the solution.) If a change is made, communicate it to everyone. (Be hesitant about making changes too quickly, however. It takes time for a change to occur and a new system to operate smoothly.)

Continue to communicate the successes throughout the process. And once the new system is in place, communicate regularly on the status.