ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), has awarded Chicago-based Brookdale Senior Living its 2008 Best of the Best award, a national recognition reserved for the nation’s most innovative and effective business practices in the senior living industry. The company is one of only 14 companies to receive a Best of the Best Award this year. All the 2008 winners are profiled in the June issue of Assisted Living Executive, ALFA’s flagship magazine.
“These innovations recognize companies that have put their imaginations to work to continually improve and streamline operations, enhance resident care and services, retain and train quality employees, and much more,” says ALFA President and CEO Richard P. Grimes. “Plus, the industry-wide benefit of the Best of the Best Awards is the program’s ability to multiply excellence as other companies adopt similar best practices or parts of outstanding programs as a result of this important recognition program.”
Brookdale Senior Living was recognized for its Good People Program. When the company acquired American Retirement Corp. in 2006, it decided to keep the Good People Program and expand it to Brookdale’s other 461 communities. The program rewards associates who refer friends and family members with much more than the standard one-time bonus. With the exception of certain management and all human resources staff positions, associates are paid for each regular hour their recruit works for as long as both are employed at the community or in the company network. Bonuses are issued monthly, with no limit on the number of referrals an associate can make.
Now approximately 10 to 15 percent of new hires come through Good People. Overall, the company has achieved an 8 to 10 percent increase in retention among Good People referral sources, as well as a 3 to 5 percent increase in retention among people referred through the program. Good People also yields the lowest cost-per-hire of any recruitment initiative in place at the company, and has reduced newspaper and other media advertising by more than 10 percent.
But the biggest benefit has been in the quality of new hires, which translates to the best possible care for residents, Dwight Tew, Brookdale’s vice president, talent solutions, told Assisted Living Executive magazine. “Associates will not likely refer someone they don’t know or trust, while the pool of associates referred comes to us with a known work ethic and they enjoy working with our senior population.
This year’s ALFA Best of the Best Awards competition received the most submissions since the program’s debut two years ago. Companies submitted answers to a brief questionnaire available on the ALFA Web site along with narratives about their innovative business practices.
For details about each winning strategy, see the cover story of Assisted Living Executive’s June 2008 issue, or contact Marlene Hendrickson (mhendrickson[at]alfa.org). Winners also were honored at a special ceremony during the ALFA 2008 Conference & Expo, May 29-31, at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida.