Families are back—let’s get cooking!
One of the best things about post-pandemic life? Families and friends are back at senior living communities! That means more fun, more laughter...and more mouths to feed. How can you ensure guests feel safe and taken care of while visiting loved ones? And how can you make the experience delightful along the way?
One key improvement senior living foodservice operators are homing in on is ordering. Digital ordering is the new standard in foodservice—and not just for the young. Research indicates that half of retired seniors purchased food digitally in the last 12 months, and that number seems only likely to grow.
But getting mobile ordering right is about more than buying a quick-fix point solution. No, developing an ordering program that both delights your guests and keeps your behind-the-scenes operator efforts running smoothly takes a strategic alignment of operator experience (OX) and customer experience (CX).
Simply put, great ordering must be built on a mature foundation. But how do you know where you are now—or where you need to go? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
One key update healthcare foodservice directors are leaning into is ordering. Digital ordering is the new standard in foodservice and has been embraced by customers across the age spectrum. But getting mobile ordering right is about more than simply updating your website or buying a quick-fix point solution. No, developing an ordering program that both delights your customers and keeps your behind-the-scenes operator efforts running smoothly takes a strategic alignment of operator experience (OX) and customer experience (CX).
Simply put, great ordering must be built on a mature foundation. But how do you know where you are now—or where you need to go? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
How mature is your ordering program?
Take the quiz.
The Four Levels of Senior Living Foodservice Ordering
While every senior living foodservice operation is different, each one falls into one of four maturity levels when it comes to the quality of their ordering program.
Level One - Call to Adventure
What it looks like: Level one operations are in the early stages. In some cases, level one programs don’t even have an ordering program in place, while in others, an existing program isn’t running as smoothly as it could be. Some indicators include:
- Confused residents and guests
- Excessive time managing point solutions
What’s next: Operators at this level are best served by going directly to the source. Or should we say, sources. Among other things, they should:
- Survey residents and visitors about their experiences
- Map out the full journey orders take—from the moment they’re placed until they’re fulfilled—to pinpoint problem spots
Level Two - You’ve Got Skills
What it looks like: At this level, operators have ordering programs up and running, but aren’t quite hitting the mark when it comes to their customer or operator experience. Often, one side of the equation (internal or external) is happy, while the other is struggling. That might look like:
- Problems that have been reasonably straightforward to identify but much trickier to solve
- Poor ROI on technology investments
What’s next: At this stage, it’s crucial to start thinking about the big picture of your ordering program by tackling tasks like:
- Finding the right tech partner
- Getting familiar with the food buyer’s journey to ensure you know how you’re engaging with customers at every step of the process
Level Three - Skills Become Superpowers
What it looks like: Operators at this level have a firm understanding of the way CX and OX work together to keep senior living foodservice humming and are well on their way to aligning them fully. Level three operators have:
- Identified specific problems and begun working toward solutions
- Committed to unifying the goals of an outstanding customer and operator experience
What’s next: Those at level three have the opportunity to bring their big-picture understanding to life, by taking steps including:
- Creating tactical plans that create ideal experiences at each step of your residents’ and guests’ Food Buyer’s Journeys
- Auditing the ordering program to ferret out any unforeseen problems or gaps
Level Four - The Star Player
What it looks like: If you’re at level four, there’s no other way to say it—you’re straight-up crushing it. These pillars of ordering success tend to have:
- CX and OX aligned across the entire ordering program
- Minimal maintenance required for their program beyond daily tasks
- Happy, engaged residents and guests
- Low-skilled labor managing orders and CX channels
- Menus organized from a single platform
What’s next: Innovation is the name of the game for those at level four. Continuing to be best-in-class might encompass:
- Amping up brand experience with immersive campaigns and more
- Testing ideas to get ahead of the next ordering innovations residents and guests will come to expect
What Level Is Your Ordering Program?
As you welcome loved ones back into your facilities, now is the perfect time to diagnose your ordering maturity score and develop a game plan to level up. Luckily, you don’t have to guess where your operation falls. We at Nutrislice have developed a quick yet comprehensive quiz. Answer nine questions to get your score, plus actionable insights and in-depth analysis of where you are and what you need to do to reach the next level.
