The Power of Engagement
Engagement: It’s become a buzzword for the active-aging industry. We have engagement, life engagement and resident engagement positions all tasked with, well, engaging residents or members in programs, activities, services and environments. I wonder, though, are we “walking the talk” on engagement? To my mind, while some organizations are succeeding in promoting genuine engagement, others have yet to grasp it.
Do organizations truly have a supportive culture and strategy for engagement? Or are marketers driving engagement efforts to differentiate their organizations from those with activity, wellness and fitness directors? Those types of questions need answers if we are to fully understand the power of engagement, as well as what people engage in or with. We’ll discover that wellness is usually both the medium for and the outcome of engagement.
Let’s look more closely at engagement, starting with the word itself.
The International Council on Active Aging? convened a workgroup in 2010 to explore the importance of engagement, and how to define it. The group arrived at the following conclusion:
“Engagement must be uniquely defined for each individual and understood in the context of each person’s needs, interests, and sources of meaning. People who are privately and independently engaged can experience as many benefits as the person who participates in every activity offered. Therefore, it is important not to assume that there is one universal and correct definition of engagement that applies to all older people. It is equally important that we do not define people or their level of wellness by what and how much they do.”
As ICAA’s “State of the Wellness Industry 2022” survey report shows, however, a great many organizations, senior living communities and care residences (75%) and older-adult services (72%) determine programming success by regularly counting participants for an activity each time it is offered.
Providing a menu of diverse activities is an appropriate first step in encouraging an active lifestyle, according to the workgroup. But, truly engaging individuals requires knowing each person. So, the path to engagement begins with an exploratory process to uncover hopes, past successes and personal goals.
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This model for engagement needs to focus on outcomes rather than on attendance only. The ICAA survey report reveals that just 35% of senior living communities and 50% of those offering older-adult services regularly record activity/program outcomes—higher satisfaction and improved health, for example. Not only do organizations miss an opportunity to define resident/member engagement, but they also limit their ability to understand return on investment (ROI).
Given the rapid rise in the use of “always on” technology to monitor health and wellness 24/7, tools are available to assess and deliver outcomes needed, and in many instances expected.
Engagement represents a dramatic business shift from traditional programming, which is typically rooted in activity theory. Getting to know an individual’s life story, desires and dreams requires more time and an additional skill set for staff. For example, staff roles would shift from designing and delivering large group programs to becoming an “engagement coach” that helps clients to live life as they choose by engaging in (and thereby creating) wellness. Providing programs and professionals to facilitate engagement is a more complex business model than offering clients things to do.
Trends toward person-centered solutions show that the ROI in building a business culture of engagement strategies focused on the person and wellness could result in increased longevity, quality of life and subjective well-being for clients. Indications suggest that the ability to engage in wellness—versus simply to participate in high-quality programs—is now a customer requirement.
To shift to cultures and practices of engagement in life require us to invest in a new business approach. But our industry, our organizations and our customers have everything to gain when we do.
Colin Milner, CEO, International Council on Active Aging?
Gerontologist, Olympian Athlete, Intergenerational Community Development
2 年The pivot in business practice to actually evolve engagement, including more rigorous assessments of efficacy, is essential for operators who want to survive the generational tide that’s slowly encroaching. Right on, Colin - this is a timely piece. Well said.
Passionate about Senior Living Administrator
2 年Excellent post! Thank you. Yes engagement is the “word”. It is the word I use to describe the current state in which we are in with senior living. The pandemic triggered a lack of engagement promoting isolation and a lack of socialization. As a recreation/activity/wellness coordinator, a program outcome has never been based on attendance levels. It is derived from a place of knowing our clients. Being in the know creates programs that provide the physical, social, mental, emotional, and spiritual domains. When this happens - we all thrive and well-being is taking the lead!
Ethnocultural Diversity & Aging Educator | Older People Advocate | Community Outreach & Engagement | Ageism & Well-Being of Older Adults | International Arabic/English Speaker
2 年A very insightful read and timely post Colin! I’ve worked in an environment in which my task was to get to know residents on a deeper level and to explore their interests past and present. The more aligned those experiences are with their interest the more successful they were. However, I noticed that their health, climate and personalities also play a role in their desire to even participate.
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2 年Colin, nice post