Customer loyalty is precious no matter what economic situation a business finds itself in. Most smart business owners, understanding this to be the case, go out of their way to ensure each customer is happy. At some point, however, an owner must ask herself, “Where does customer loyalty start? How can I reach more customers in a more meaningful way?”
Ann Bannes, vice president of St. Andrew’s Senior Solutions, would answer, “It starts with your employees.”
Bannes has made a career of making the workplace a more enjoyable and warm environment for employees. For 25 years, she has made sure employees are free from distractions that take away from productivity and harm customer service quality.
“We always hear about customer service, but without employees being number one, you wouldn’t have good customer service,” says Bannes. “Twenty-five years ago, I developed Project Baby when I was with Consolidated Neighborhood Services. It encouraged employers to offer support to parents. We had people comment that the program made the workplace warm and inviting. Through the years, I have been working with family caregivers and finding creative ways to help clients and employees.”
Bannes’ latest program effort, the Caring Workplace, was developed with St. Andrew’s Senior Solutions, a company that provides for the needs of older adults and their families by offering lifestyle options that enhance health and independence and help seniors remain at home as they age. The Caring Workplace program supports employees that are also caregivers for their senior parents who are dealing with health concerns and other issues related to aging.
Bannes and St. Andrews started the Caring Workplace to address the growing issues surrounding caregivers in the workplace. With more and more baby boomers remaining on the job longer than ever before, many are now caring for aging loved ones while maintaining full or part-time jobs. The Caring Workplace responds to the needs of caregivers by offering a host of geriatric care management and supportive services designed to help them remain on the job as productive and committed employees.
“There is a rapidly increasing number of baby boomers that are getting close to retirement age, but they are still in the workplace,” says Bannes. “Many of them also have to make arrangements for their parents. They are using company time to solve very complex problems. Many of these caregivers suffer from bouts of depression since their loved one’s condition is deteriorating.”
Bannes has been able to work with many local businesses on establishing an array of services through The Caring Workplace program. It offers employees on-site caregiver assessments, face-to-face consultations, counseling and support and links to a wide range of community resources.
Since this is not Bannes’ first journey in starting a new program for caregivers, she understands the road is a long one.
“When you start something new, seeds get planted,” says Bannes. “With Project Baby, it took 10 years before employers understood that they should be involved with employees and their daycare responsibilities. For a strong community, we need to all work together to support each other. By helping our local businesses to take care of their employee caregivers, we hope we can contribute to the whole community.”