Almost two years into a five-year initiative to increase the minimum wage across its organization to $14.50, National Church Residences is seeing reduced turnover and improved morale among employees.
That’s according to an account of the initiative by LeadingAge.
The not-for-profit affordable housing, senior living and long-term care operator, which is based in suburban Columbus, OH, has more than 3,000 workers in more than 300 communities across 28 states and Puerto Rico, according to its website. It launched the initiative Jan. 1, 2016, with a $10 minimum wage across all service lines, and a year later, increased the minimum to $10.80, LeadingAge said in an article posted on its website.
“We were focused largely on the satisfaction of our residents and their families,” Mark Ricketts, president and CEO of National Church Residences, told employees in a video posted to YouTube. Referring to Danielle Willis, senior vice president of human resources, he added: “But we both realized that if our working staff, the 3,000 or 4,000 people that work at National Church Residences, aren’t satisfied, then they are not going to be able to treat all of our customers satisfactorily.”
Since the launch, turnover rates and vacancy times have decreased, employees are more willing to work extra shifts, and the number of employees who believe they are “fairly paid” rose by nine basis points in a recent survey, according to LeadingAge.
Read the LeadingAge article here.
