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Cole Marvin, the executive director of Friendship Village Tempe, sits casually in his Hawaiian shirt waiting for our interview to start. He tells me he’s excited because we are going to be talking about one of his favorite things…customer service. They call him The Mayor of FVT, a moniker he wears with pride. Among other things, it acknowledges Cole as the driving force behind what many describe as a fanatical culture of top-shelf customer service and hospitality.
In today’s senior living landscape, where communities struggle with occupancy challenges and workforce retention, FVT stands as a remarkable case study in how exceptional service culture drives measurable business results. Our conversation with Cole reveals actionable insights that any senior living leader can apply.
Click here or scroll to the end of the post to watch the full interview. Sorry I look like a pixelated Minecraft character, but Cole looks great!
The Proof Is in the Numbers
Despite his casual demeanor, Cole isn’t kidding around when it comes to customer service and hospitality. On their last resident survey, FVT achieved a 94% resident satisfaction score on Extraordinary Impressions™, the name of a hospitality program designed by operating company LCS and brought to life by FVT’s almost 600 employees. Ninety-four percent is an incredibly high hospitality score, not only at face value but when compared to established senior living industry benchmarks. Comments residents wrote on their survey serve as a testament:
“The attitude of everyone working here is excellent at all times.”
“I get quick responses to questions, and I feel we are in good hands with the great people who work here.”
“Staff friendliness. They know my name even without a name tag.”
“The staff is terrific. Each one goes the extra mile or more and usually adding “Is there anything else?”
The Four Pillars of Extraordinary Service
Throughout our interview, Cole described the activities that go into creating his highly engaged customer-centric culture and the amazing stories that have come out of it. I was able to distill at least four core principles that drive this culture:
- Universal Customer Mindset: Everyone is a customer, including residents, coworkers, employees and bosses.
- Service-Embedded Training: Customer service and hospitality must be an integral part of employee orientation and training.
- Multi-Source Feedback: Employee feedback should come from multiple sources and be delivered in a timely manner.
- Generous Recognition: Recognition and reward should be generously given to those who earn it.
Business Impact: The ROI of Exceptional Service
Cole knows that the culture at FVT provides big benefits to employees, residents, and the community at large. Here are some hard metrics to back his beliefs:
- Resident occupancy is 96% (industry average is 87%)
- Employee turnover is 40% (industry average is 85%)
- Net Operating Income target is consistently surpassed
- FVT has an average of 70 resident referrals in one year
- FVT is home to 40 second-generation residents (yes, this means their parents lived there!)
- Resident contributions to the community’s employee gift fund have reached $500,000, which translates into an annual bonus of $1,400 per full time employee.
As Cole puts it, “Our departments with the highest employee engagement…their safety numbers are the best, their resident satisfaction scores are the best, their turnover is the lowest, their sick calls are the lowest. It’s so obvious.”
The Architecture of Recognition
I asked Cole if they have a formal recognition program or if he is more of an informal recognition guy. He said they have a healthy balance of both.
FVT’s employee recognition program includes:
- Employee of the month: Announced at Village Meeting where 300 residents are present. It’s a surprise for the employee. At the ceremony, Cole talks about the person’s good work and reads specific comments about them from coworkers, supervisors, and residents.
- Leader of the Quarter: Presented at the leadership huddle meeting. This is for department leaders. It’s a big honor to win.
- Annual Employee Awards Banquet: A big party that is unbelievably attended. They celebrate people who are superstars and announce Employee of the Year.
- Informals: Informal recognition happens all the time as a form of immediate feedback. Cole will approach an employee and tell them the positive thing he heard from their coworker, their boss, or the resident. He wants them to know that he knows. “It’s very gratifying.”
- Evaluations provide additional opportunities to recognize employees, reinforce hospitality promises, and increase engagement.
Hiring for Culture: The FVT Approach
I asked Cole if there are any special questions he asks or signs he looks out for during employment interviews to help him determine if a candidate is the right fit.
Cole’s top 3 tips for interviewing a potential hire:
- Look for smiles and vibes. “We look for smiles. If you can’t get a single smile out of somebody, their cup is probably not half full.”
- Trust your gut. “People have vibes. I think you can pick up on vibes. And trust your gut. Generally, more often than not we’re hiring solid folks.”
- Have them tell a story about when someone made them feel special. This reveals their understanding of exceptional service from the receiving end.
The Ultimate Wisdom: No Shortcuts to Excellence
As the interview was wrapping up, I asked Cole if he had any final thoughts he wanted to share. Good thing I did because out came two pearls of wisdom that are perhaps the most important ingredients to creating a strong culture.
#1 You have to commit and make it a way of life.
“The thing we often hear is how do you guys consistently do this? People want the Cliffs Notes and the easy way to do it. The reality is there is no easy way. You have to commit yourself. It has to be a way of life. It’s a ton of hard work from top to bottom. You put systems in place, but there is no easy way to do it. You have to make it important.”
#2 Employee engagement has to come first.
“Everybody wants to make the resident happy. If you don’t make your employees happy first, it ain’t gonna happen.”
Putting These Principles into Action
For senior living leaders looking to implement FVT’s approach, start by evaluating your current employee engagement initiatives. Consider implementing a multi-tiered recognition program and embedding service standards into every aspect of training. Remember Cole’s ultimate advice: there are no shortcuts, and your employees must come first.
Watch the full interview here to see Cole share his insights on building a culture of extraordinary service.