Aprill Uskoski and Stacey Greenshields join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about building a senior living community culture, and how Chateau Retirement Communities stands out for their employee culture, hiring, creating supportive leadership, being valued, and creating a path for people to grow within the organization. Aprill Uskoski is Senior Human Resources Director for Chateau Retirement. Stacey Greenshields is Senior Recruiter and Employee Wellness Director.
Stacey says, “Chateau does an excellent job of really caring for our employees and going above and beyond. I first started here back in 2012, almost 13 years ago… And what Chateau does for their employees, from their orientation to the Bloom program that we have, our wellness program to our benefits, we have the Employee Appreciation Fund. I mean, I could just go on and on, we just do a lot of different things for our employees. I think if you have happy employees, it turns into happier residents. And so then you get those residents laughing in the dining room because our employees are so happy to be here, because Chateau invest a lot of time and money into making sure that they’re happy.”
Aprill says, “It starts with the culture of just what we bring. We have to show it. So if we don’t show it, then what’s the point? So what we practice every day, it’s what you see. From the top to the bottom, everyone’s equal. We treat everybody kind. I’ve been here for 25 years and there’s a reason for that. I help create a lot of things at the Chateau. So, when you see the birthdays for the residents, we do that for the employees. There’s a reason that a lot of them stay here for as long as we do. Like Stacey said, from our onboarding to our hiring process to… we just have a good time here.
“You can you can train anyone to do a job. You can’t train how people treat others. So you have to look for those people that really care for people. And that’s what you try to find in everyone. You can’t be perfect every time, but you really look for people that want to take care of others. We have a thorough process when it comes to hiring for a reason. Sometimes people just say it takes a little while, but that’s okay. We’ve got to find the right people to take care of.”
Stacey adds, “I think that our leadership is like no another, I love every single one of them. But I think what they do really well is, they’re not just that sitting at a corporate office making up these policies and procedures that everyone follows. They work in the buildings every single day, every single week, every single month. You see them on the floor. You see them really immersing themselves into what is going on. The decisions that they make, and the policies that they provide, really support what’s actually happening in the building. And… our VP of Culinary will cover the Culinary Services Director role when they’re out, Aprill will cover one of the HR Managers when they’re out. You don’t see a lot of VPs [at other companies] coming and actually doing the roles in the buildings. And I think that shows the employees that, wow, they care. And they have an open door policy. They’re open, they’re transparent, and they’re there if you want to talk to them. The answer is never a straight-out no. It’s like, let’s talk about it, how we make something better? How can a process be more efficient to help not only the employees at their roles, but also make our residents happy? That’s where I think leadership really plays to a vital role.”
Aprill adds, “I started here 25 years ago… I grew from part-time dishwasher, to business office, to where I’m at now. So we really take employees that want to grow in our community and give them opportunity if it’s there. We’ve done it for a lot of roles well, so it’s there if it’s the right fit.”
How does that help residents at Chateau? Aprill says, “Residents like to build relationships with employees, and it becomes a family. You want you want them to have that feeling. They have to give up a lot: their homes, driving, daily routines. And if they have that connection when they come to a place — when you have a lot of turnover, that’s hard for residents. It’s hard for everybody involved — if we can have a culture where we could keep employees… that’s a good start… You want the residents to come and be secure where they’re at, and it plays both sides. So if you have a good culture, it will just feel right when you walk in the door.”
Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington’s Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.
Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau’s specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.
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