Business Spotlight - Westminster Communities of Florida

In this month’s Business Spotlight, we spoke with Ginny Chase, Human Resources Director at Westminster Communities of Florida. Westminster’s mission is to serve older adults by providing beautiful and quality environments to enhance lifestyles at every level of independence. They are a leader in senior living, serving more than 7,000 residents in 22 communities throughout Florida. That makes them the largest senior living company in the state and the 10th largest in the nation.

Continue reading to learn more about Westminster Communities of Florida, and what it’s like to work there.

iHire: What makes Westminster Communities of Florida a great place to work?

GC: Westminster Communities of Florida is a long-term senior living organization. Westminster has 10 Life Plan Communities and 12 Affordable Housing communities all within Florida. When Westminster team members are asked why they love to work here, the top reason is the ability to work alongside the residents of their community. Building relationships with the seniors living at the Westminster communities is one of the most fulfilling parts of the job. It’s like family!

iHire: How would you describe your company culture?

GC: With our CEO Terry Rogers’ arrival a few years ago, we made “Workplace Culture” a strategic focus for our organization – with team members at the forefront. Our journey began with a team member survey aimed at determining our current culture, as well as our desired culture. In other words, “What values did our team members, at the time, want us to aspire to?” Ultimately, what you see is a culmination of those characteristics that proved most valuable to our team members.

We strongly feel that by creating warm and inviting welcomes to new team members, nurturing team members through education and training, supporting their professional and personal growth and development, coaching them to be successful, creating opportunities to have fun, and listening and responding to feedback all support an environment where team members thrive and reach their full potential.

iHire: What sets Westminster Communities of Florida apart from others in your industry?

GC: Our mission, at Westminster Communities, speaks to “What We Do.” As an organization dedicated to our residents and team members, “We serve from the heart and inspire older adults to enjoy happy, healthy and purposeful lives.” We demonstrate this in various ways. Stemming from the relationships we cultivate, we provide enriching, fulfilling experiences for all we serve. We include our team members in that effort, ensuring that they experience a sense of purpose and meaning in their daily interactions with each other and our residents.

iHire: How do you recognize and reward employees?

GC: Westminster Communities of Florida has a long-standing recognition program called the Creating Legends Program. Anyone can nominate a team member for the great work that they do. Residents and families, management, and even your co-workers submit nominations. Each location has a committee that reviews the nominations and then the award is presented to the nominee. The best part about this program is that the Employee of the Year from each location is also nominated and an annual celebration is held to honor this team member and their contributions.

iHire: What benefits and perks do you offer?

GC: For full-time team members, we have a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance plans; short- and long-term disability; life insurance; and supplemental insurance like critical illness and accidental insurance. Full- and part-time team members are offered paid time off (PTO) plans and can participate in the 403(b) retirement plan. For eligible team members, the company provides 4% match to the retirement plan. All team members can access the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for themselves and those in their household. One of the biggest perks at our Life Plan Community locations is the on-site café that provides sandwiches, soups, salads, or a hot meal for $4.00.

From a compensation perspective, we feel we offer excellent wages. Annually, and sometimes more frequently, we review the wage market and make adjustments to remain competitive.

iHire: What types of positions are you looking to fill?

GC: We are looking to fill positions in the Assisted Living and Health Center including Certified Nursing Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse, and Registered Nurse. Other departments that we hire for include Dining Services, Housekeeping, and Maintenance. Some of the more common positions we hire are Cook, Server, Dishwasher, Dietary Aide, Housekeeper, Maintenance Mechanic, and Receptionist.

iHire: What advice would you give candidates who are applying to Westminster Communities of Florida?

GC: Our advice to candidates would be to stay engaged throughout the recruiting process. Our hiring process ensures that team members are well-qualified, and their values are in line with our organizational values which promotes harmony. Starting with completion of the online application, our applicants are then screened by telephone to determine level of interested and fit. If the telephone screening yields a match, we then schedule an in-person interview with the hiring manager. If all goes well during the interview, an offer is made.

Once accepted, our Human Resources department, along with the hiring manager, begin the onboarding process, which consists of completion of paperwork, a background screen, and a drug test. Some of the onboarding paperwork is done online in our Human Resources Information System team member portal. We continue onboarding through day one and day two of employment as well as through the necessary time it takes acclimating to the department itself. During this time, the new team member is meeting seasoned employees while we further cultivate our relationship by articulating expectations and learning more about our new hire. Frequent check-ins and opportunities for feedback are essential as we work to onboard our new team members. Our orientation program follows by reiterating much of what was learned while providing new content to further support the onboarding journey.

iHire: Can you share a fun fact or anecdote about Westminster Communities of Florida?

GC: One of our locations in St. Petersburg, Westminster Shores, was the location for a famous movie called Cocoon in 1985!

Looking for a rewarding career in senior care? Check out current opportunities at Westminster Communities of Florida.