PARTNERSHIP REDEFINED: EXPLORING AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL OUTSOURCING

Compass Community Living (CCL), for instance, unites a family of companies—Morrison Living, Coreworks and Unidine—to deliver culinary and support services to organizations in the senior living and healthcare industries.

“The common thread among our family of companies is the power to deliver exceptional dining and hospitality experiences that make a positive impression on our partners and the greater community,” said Dan Natterman, CEO of CCL. “We’re building a purpose-driven culture designed to provide industry-leading service, enable eff icient operations and drive a competitive advantage.”

Workforce Benefits

For every business operating in long-term care, addressing current workforce issues head-on is more important than ever. An outsourcing partner can offer workers specialized training, professional development resources, an opportunity for growth within the organization, and fair wages and meaningful benefits.

“You can have all of the systems, tools and, quite frankly, the best supply chain in the universe, but if you don’t have great people on the ground who are executing on all cylinders every day, you’re not going to have the consistent outcomes you want and need,” Natterman said.

Talent acquisition remains an opportunity for many industries, including senior living, where operators are challenged to attract candidates whose skills match organizational needs.

In CCL’s outbound marketing approach to talent acquisition, the company shares job and career opportunities on the platforms used the most by prospective employees, similar to the way products and services are marketed. The approach includes geo-targeted campaigns that reach potential candidates with messaging appropriate for their particular area, making the effort more person-centric. Tactics include email nurture strategies, text messaging, social ads incorporating video, and artificial intelligence chat functionality that helps guide conversations throughout the applicant journey.

Evolve With The Times

Another benefit of an outsourcing partnership is that it offers the opportunity for organizations to embrace the evolving industry and increase eff iciencies that drive revenue and build long-term occupancy. That’s important in senior living because as older Americans have retired at significantly higher rates in recent years, operators have had to adjust and adapt to meet the changing needs of a very discerning clientele.

“Parties considering such an engagement should have equal representation at the introductory phase of the process, and there should be ample research allotted to discovery of critical business needs,” said Steve Servant, senior vice president of strategic business partnerships and national accounts for CCL. “Working with a food and hospitality service provider like CCL allows senior living owner-operators an opportunity to select from a ‘menu of solutions’ that fit their particular needs at a given point in time. Strategic partners are able to then deploy the necessary resources to deliver a customized solution to their partners.”

The keys to successful strategic partnerships in outsourcing include technologic integration, financial plan-