Did you know that PPh has 37 employees that have worked here at the Home for 20+ years? The benefits of employee longetivity in older adult services are many, and our residents reap those benefits on a regular basis. Our long-tenured employees are experts in their respective areas, but more important are the cherished relationships that they have been able to cultivate with our residents over the years. To better understand the longetivity of our employees and the benefit of that longetivity to our residents, I sat down with Daphne Floyd, Vice President of Human Resources, to dig in to the topic. Daphne created The Twenty Year Club, a group composed of employees both current and retired that have worked at PPh for 20 years or more. Below is the transcript of our conversation.
Daniel: When was The Twenty Year Club formed?
Daphne: I formed The Twenty Year Club when I started here 21 years ago. At the time, there was a lot of turmoil within the organization and I saw this opportunity to recognize staff that “stayed the course” and weathered the storms and continued to pledge their dedication to the residents of The Philadelphia Protestant Home.
Daniel: How many people are in The Twenty Year Club?
Daphne: We currently have 48 members and plan to induct 14 more in 2016. A few of our members have retired, but we still have 37 that are actively employed here.
Daniel: Of those 48 members, did any work here for over 30 years? Did any of them worked here even longer?
Daphne: We have 7 employees that have worked here over 30 years, with the longest being here for 44 years.
Daniel: It seems impressive that so many employees have worked here for considerable lengths of time. What would you attribute that sort of employee longetivity to?
Daphne: I think you would hear a variety of responses… They would likely include the working environment, being of service to aging seniors, the “We’re Family” atmosphere, and benefits and wages – a distant last.
Daniel: Wow. It sounds like most employees really love working here. You are a great example of that since you have worked here for 21 years. What have you found to be the greatest benefit of working at PPh?
Daphne: We truly live our motto, “We’re Family.” We provide services and care for our residents as if they were our personal family members. Just like in many family relationships, there is a lot of unity and when times are tough, you can count on your family to see you through.
Daniel: How does employee longetivity benefit our residents?
Daphne: It is a benefit to residents through continuity of care and services. This translates to an improved quality of care. In my opinion, staff really gains an opportunity to get to know the residents and form long lasting relationships and vice versa.
Daniel: I recently read an article in the Houston Chronicle about the positive effects of low employee turnover on customer service. You touched on similar points in the previous question, but can you expand on the correlation of high-customer service and low turnover?
Daphne: Certainly. Customers (residents in our case) will naturally feel more comfortable talking to the same employees over time. A high level of employee turnover would make it difficult for our residents to really feel comfortable with an ever changing group of people around them. Our employees tend to love working here, so the longer they stay, the better it is for our residents. The bottom line is that the continuity of employment results in better care and services.
Members of The Twenty Year Club as of December, 2015.