Wanted: Employees with a Heart for Service

The Christian Village at Mason is a faith-based retirement living community with a huge heart not only for its residents but also for its employees. In fact, the former Mason Christian Village was named one of Enquirer Media’s Top Workplaces for 2016. That is an honor for this caring community. 

Becoming an employer of choice does not happen by chance, says Christian Village Communities President and CEO Larry Monroe. It takes a focused, strategic plan. At the core of its strategic plan developed a year ago is the vision of being a leader among

peer organizations.

"Talk to any business leader about their business priorities and chances are that being a leader in their industry might rank near the top of their list," says Monroe. "A part of our strategic plan development process was to figure out what it would look like to be a leader among our peers. In other words, when we achieve leadership status in our industry, how would we know it?"

The benchmark would have to stretch beyond hitting the bottom line, the leadership team decided. They determined that industry leadership status would be apparent after completing five key initiatives. Among them was recognition as an employer of choice among senior living providers.

A top objective, according to Monroe, was to develop a branded customer service program with a goal of achieving excellence in customer service, fostering a culture of serving and creating assessment tools to monitor and evaluate effectiveness. Of course, most every company says they are committed to customer service, but many fall short of that mark. It takes a demonstrated commitment to and pursuit of excellence in customer service within an organization’s culture.

A customer satisfaction survey, conducted by Holleran Consulting, a national research company, showed that although The Christian Village at Mason rated exceedingly well in all areas – they scored highest among organizations surveyed – there was room for customer service improvement. Hence, their Service From the Heart program was launched.

"We want people who want to work here because they have a heart for service," says Vice President of Business Development Lizz Stephens. "There are core Christian heritage values we adhere to – certain intangibles – that are evident when you walk through our front door."

Intangibles like friendliness, integrity, teamwork, exuding excellence through quality in service, expertise and innovation.

 "We are all respectful of each other," Stephens says. "We all have important jobs to do. When you walk down the hall, you get a smile."

The Service From the Heart initiative, she adds, focuses on every aspect of a resident’s well-being, from personal wellness to celebrating a lifetime of memories. No matter which living option a resident chooses – Garden Homes, Garden Apartments, Assisted Living, Memory Care, the Grace Center for Restorative Living or Long-Term Nursing Care – this underlying belief runs constant through this faith-filled, locally-owned, not-for profit retirement community for senior adults: Smiling employees lead to smiling residents lead to happy employees lead to well-cared-for-residents lead to smiling employees. 

That’s the Christ-centered circle of care, life and work at The Christian Village at Mason.

The Christian Village at Mason is located at 411 Western Row Road, Mason, OH 45040. For more information, call 513.398.1486 or visit www.christianvillages.org.