THE NEW NORMAL HAS BECOME OUR NEW FUTURE
ZOOMing into WFC Virtual Training and Holiday Events
Every December, Westchester Family Care (WFC) organizes a terrific holiday party which brings together our current caregivers, new caregivers, our staff, and our community partners; it’s become a moment when we can all celebrate with each other in a relaxed setting, and it reminds us of how much we’ve all become family. The annual affair has had people coming and going to an open house held at a local restaurant from 10 AM to 8 PM and partaking in fun, good food, drawings, and prizes.
This year was a little different. Due to the restrictions of the pandemic, we had our event virtually. And, we’re happy to report, it had many festivities: virtual raffle drawings were held, prizes given out. We also announced incentives and recognition awards.
Wait. What?
That’s right. This year, added our WFC Holiday Event to a ZOOM training session organized by our Human Resources team who did an outstanding job in preparing for and participating in the event. To accommodate everyone’s schedules, the ZOOM sessions were offered in five different time slots over a weekend or on weekdays and at different times of days.
Glenn Lane participated in each of the five sessions and helped lead the staff in celebrating our successes and newly made connections. At the outset of these sessions, we covered our latest In-Service training on Depression and Anxiety, often felt by our senior clients and caregivers at this time of year. We also reviewed the WFC employee assistance program, a benefit all employees may utilize.
This was followed by a virtual ‘Town Hall’ where Glenn gave an update on news items like WFC’s 2021 Pay Program and the Employee Hardship Fund. To learn more on WFC Best Practices in Recruiting, Hiring and Retention, read our recent blog.
A Splendid Time Was Had by All
The five Holiday parties were a big success and everyone from caregivers to WFC office team to registered RNs turned out in numbers and were completely engaged. A splendid time was had by all.
Along the way, we learned a valuable lesson: the New Normal has become our New Future.
Paradigm Shift from In-Person Practices to Online Platforms
We reported last August that COVID accelerated our plans to shift all processes onto digital platforms.
“The pandemic has changed so much in the way we operate, how we are caring for our clients, the way we conduct business, and even the way we are networking. Not only have we made technological and process changes, but all of us have also had to take stock of our state of being.”
– Glenn Lane, Founder / President,
August 14, 2020 Blog
Since August, we’ve made massive strides in switching talent management modalities from in-person to online. These include:
- Recruitment
- Hiring
- Onboarding
- Training and Development
- Mandatory sessions for caregivers OSHA, Infection Control, and other topics
- Certification Testing
- Employee counseling sessions
Our Certified HHAs have fulfilled the NYS Department of Health mandatory training requirements. Before COVID, this was facilitated by having caregivers attend two in-person education sessions lasting 6 hours apiece. Now, the requirement is met through four 3-hour ZOOM sessions like the ones described above before our holiday event. We have found these to be more digestible in ‘bite-sized’ periods.
We’ve also instituted virtual Town Halls where topics like the new Pay Program and the Employee Hardship Fund can be shared and discussed with our teams.
Embracing the Change
People have demonstrated they are comfortable with digital learning and virtual Town Halls. Caregivers and staff and RN’s alike genuinely embrace these post-COVID changes. Not only has WFC achieved very positive results in recruiting new hires, but caregiver referrals and sign-on bonuses are up significantly. And, we are experiencing higher levels of employee engagement across the board.
By leading with education like the In-Service training and virtual Town Halls, we have managed to go forward to the New Future and have done so with enthusiasm, exciting content, grit, and professionalism. And, we managed to have ourselves a Holiday party to remember.
Happy Holidays to all from the WFC family!
Westchester Family Care Inc. assists people of all ages, by customizing home care plans to maintain healthy quality of life and safety at home.
Contact WFC for an immediate family need or when planning for future needs: info@westfamilycare.com, 914-764-7500, www.westchesterfamilycare.com.
Westchester Family Care Provides Peace of Mind and Confidence that the Elderly Are Safe and Living with Dignity in Their Own Home.