The Saint-Guillaume Residence Improve their Work Environement

The Saint-Guillaume, a certified senior residence with 250 residents and 60 employees, offers several types of rental apartments in addition to numerous healthcare services which are carefully provided by nurses and caregivers.

The company suffers from a shortage of employees in the region as well as from high staff turnover. An expansion project is currently on hold due to lack of additional staff.

To contribute to the loyalty of existing staff, the company has chosen to implement daily recognition practices in order to improve the work environment and to have a positive impact on the residents.

Management therefore focused on the development of their recognition skills by participating in Altrum “Orange Program, Daily Recognition”. This unique course makes it possible to effectively integrate recognition with management practices already in place. Meetings between participants in addition to the weekly challenges included in the 12-week course led to great discussions among team members.

The effects of the Orange Course were quickly felt.

Managers’ behavioral changes had a direct impact on the company’s overall environment, even inspiring employees who didn’t participate in the Orange Program by encouraging them to be more proactive and innovative. One of the participants noted, for example, that one of the employees had delivered her weekend report by singing it!

The Orange Program also led to the setting up of weekly management meetings which had a major impact on team spirit while allowing the exchange of good practices. At the end of the course, participants noticed a 50% increase in the frequency of recognitions offered and a 63% improvement in the quality of recognition gestures.