3 Ways Your Business Can Support Seniors
Collaborative Post
As people get older, their abilities and needs will change, and as such, if you are running a business that supports seniors or seniors make up part of your customer base, then it makes sense to put accommodations in place to ensure you are meeting their needs at all times.
Staff Training
In the first instance, you need to have the full support of your team when dealing with members of the public, no matter their age. However, as seniors can require support in different ways, training your staff to deal with people with care and compassion and engaging appropriately with everyone is vital. Not only do you need to ensure they are thoroughly trained in all aspects of your business, whether this is how to provide the correct levels of care or they are knowledgeable about the products or services you sell, but you also need to ensure they have appropriate training.
On top of this, work with them to get their communication skills up to scratch and work with them to overcome any issues they might have when engaging with your clientele.
Accessibility
It is likely you will have customers or clients who need extra assistance, and being able to offer this in a dignified manner will go a long way in supporting what you do and those who need to access your business. This can include ensuring you have support rails in the palace, for example, and installing ramps or lifts for moving between floors.
It is a good idea to work with accessibility campaigners to ensure you are using the right equipment in all areas of your business. For example, if you sell mobility aids, ensure your premise has enough space for people to move around safely while testing them. Another idea is to install changing places bathrooms for those individuals to use comfortably.
As well as this, you need to ensure you are carrying out maintenance and repairs to avoid anything being inaccessible or dangerous to use, from lift servicing through fixing damaged lighting or broken flooring that could cause trip hazards, to annual boiler services to keep your heating on during the colder weather to keep those on-site warm and comfortable.
Accessibility extends to the web experience and it’s a good idea to use an accessibility checker to see how your website is performing.
Technology
As well as providing physical accessibility, you also need to use technology and aids to help you make life easier for the seniors you care for. Charities like Age UK can be instrumental in helping you to identify the right technology to support seniors you engage with as part of your business.
In particular, there are multiple ways you can use technology to support seniors living in a care facility you may run or community or volunteer business for example. This could be installing SOS alarms so your care team can help someone in the event of an accident. You might also install CCTV in common areas to keep a watch for any accidents or potential incidents of scamming.
Conclusion
Working with the older generations means you need to assemble to support their changing needs and treat them with respect and compassion to ensure you improve their quality of life at all times. Putting the right provisions in place and carrying out proper training can help you to meet these standards and measure your level of caste is top-notch at all times.
Photo by Yomex Owo on Unsplash
