3 Things To Look For In A Technology Partner At Your Retirement Home
The adoption of technology in retirement homes in Canada has been quite rapid in this post-COVID world, as more & more operators realize the importance of how technology can help staff do their job more efficiently while ensuring that residents still have a great experience. However, there is still some hesitancy in terms of operators looking at technology to help themselves in key operational areas like Dining where there is room to improve costs (ie. food wastage), efficiency & resident safety. In our latest Continyou Care blog, we discuss 3 of the most important things you should be looking for when it comes to choosing your technology partners at your retirement home!
Great Customer Service
First impressions count. A technology partner should know this and therefore ensure their focus on providing excellent customer service is just as strong as the product(s) they are creating. If they are not able to communicate their vision/technology and solve problems in a helpful and timely manner, then the product will often fail, or they may be left with unhappy customers who are unlikely to recommend their product to others. If you’re looking for a technology partner and you receive bad customer service from day 1, it’s unlikely to ever improve – and it may be time to start looking elsewhere!
However, we will note that this is a partnership between the client & the technology partner, as the client should do their part to ensure that the technology provider can provide good customer service. Technology in a retirement home is often more important than just a “nice-to-have”. If you are relying on your technology to improve the safety and health of your residents, you need a responsive technology partner who can provide fast and effective solutions to any problems you encounter.
Is the product constantly evolving & improving?
What works perfectly for you now may not be so perfect in a year, or even a few months. Looking for technology partners who are constantly evolving the product is a must. Those with an eye on how technology is changing, considering outside factors (think COVID-19), who listen to customer feedback and are evolving the product are valuable partners to have. Being able to tweak the product for a bespoke client experience is important.
Easy to use product & good training program
A good introduction to your product with proper support from the technology partner is critical. There is always a learning period, and it is important to ensure that you are supported through that. There is a fine balance between ensuring key champions at a site are comfortable with the product but also feel confident enough that they can train new people independently to ensure continuity of knowledge transfer.
At Continyou Care we rolled out our solution in 7 homes in 7 weeks with one of our clients, Jarlette Health Services.
We had the trainer visit the day before the launch to double check all systems were configured properly and ready to go. One of the keys to successful induction is ensuring that the product is bespoke for each retirement home and does not feature tools that are not needed. This way, we can optimize learning time by focusing on the parts that will be used. Check out this video for an insight into our experience of rolling out 7 homes in 7 weeks, and how our simple, user-friendly solution made this roll-out smooth and efficient!