The management hierarchy was flattened, directors and managers became coaches and coordinators, and the staff was reorganized into cross-functional teams. Today, residents are cared for by self-directed teams consisting not only of nursing staff, but also of workers from nearly every department. Housekeepers, activity workers and other non-nursing or therapy staff are trained as nursing assistants, allowing them to step out of the traditional boxes of their job titles to better serve the immediate needs of the residents. A multidisciplinary team facilitated by Resident Care Coordinators design the individual resident care plans with input from the residents, their families and representatives from all the various departments, as well as from physicians, pharmacist and mental health providers outside of the nursing home. Team Coaches and Coordinators are key to helping empower employees in making front-line decisions.
Affinity diagrams are one of the practical means used to gather employee input.
Employees are given stick pads and asked to write down the most important things they believe make Leelanau a good place to work and what is needed for improvement. The Coaches group and categorize the slips of paper, and the ideas that emerge become part of the human resources plan. Leelanau's mission and vision statements are instrumental in defining the way the home's culture is evolving, and both are the result of ideas gleaned from the workers, says Bull. Implementing The Eden Alternative was helpful in writing the vision statement, which is simply to create a place where everyone can grow and thrive. Concise and all-encompassing, the vision gives permission to do things with people we never could before, she says, like implementing English as a Second Language or a wellness program for workers.