CONTENT FROM BRIGHTVIEW
For Brightview Senior Living, the formula for running
a successful business is simple.Happy Associates,
Happy Residents
BEING NAMED TO THE FORTUNE BEST
Workplaces for Aging Services list for the first
time is a tremendous honor for the associates
of Brightview Senior Living. For those who work
there, it just validates what they’ve known for
years.
“We put so much time and energy into being
a great place to work,” says president Doug
Dollenberg. “It’s really rewarding to have those
efforts recognized by Fortune.”
For this Baltimore-based company, which has
4,200 associates across 38 communities in eight
states along the East Coast, there is a direct
correlation between associate happiness and
resident satisfaction.
“I cannot say enough wonderful things about
the staff,” says Lauren Mullins, whose father lives
at Brightview Westminster Ridge in Maryland.
“The people who work here are beyond kind,
they truly care and love the residents.”
In an industry with a high turnover rate,
Brightview recognized early on that the recipe
for success starts with hiring people who have
the right skills, attitude, and values to match the
service-minded Brightview culture.
“A lot of competencies we can teach, but
we can’t teach compassion,” says senior vice
president Andrea Griesmar. “Our hiring process
is designed to learn about those softer things
first. It is difficult to pass over a candidate who
has great job experience, but if they lack qualities
such as a service mindset, we know that those
people won’t do well in our environment and
won’t stay long.”
Once hired, an extensive onboarding process
ensures associates are successful in their new
jobs. Associates are partnered with a peer
mentor to make sure they feel connected and
comfortable from the start—while the mentorearns extra pay.
A yearly associate survey helps Brightview
identify opportunities to improve job satisfaction.
To encourage career growth, the Individual De-
velopment Plan helps associates develop skills
needed for promotion—with an impressive 41%
of open director-level jobs filled by Brightview as-
sociates who have risen through the ranks.
“A lot of companies talk about care and
concern for their team, but it all comes down to
execution: Are you able to walk the walk?” says
Dollenberg. “If we can continue to make our as-
sociates feel engaged, happy, and passionate,
then we can continue to be a great place to work
and a great place to live.” n