Culture: Community Happens Here

People make the difference at Westminster Village. That’s why, in nurturing our unique community culture, retaining our valued employees is always a top priority. The loss of team members takes a personal toll on our residents, disrupts services, and affects the wellbeing of everyone working and living in our community.

Sustaining a strong culture also requires listening to our residents, engaging with them in community projects, and responding with a sense of urgency to their needs. We have made progress in both employee and resident satisfaction through a number of initiatives.

Job Satisfaction is Job One

While fair and competitive compensation is critical, keeping employees happy requires more than just a paycheck. In 2022, our Human Resources department continued to focus on the importance of new employee orientation, ongoing training, coaching, and regular meetings to keep our staff connected, informed, and engaged. Company culture is a top priority for potential job seekers, which means a positive workplace culture is crucial to recruitment and retention.

We are proud of a staff retention rate that indicates high job satisfaction among our staff. Over 50% of our team members have worked at Westminster Village for over 5 years with four employed with us for over 30 years.

Taking Care of Those Who Take Care of Us

With the assistance and enthusiasm of our residents, we made concentrated efforts to demonstrate our appreciation for our employees in ways both large and small. Whether it’s our monthly Hall of Fame celebrations, daily accolades written on comment cards, or groceries to take home and share with their families, we show our employees how much they mean to us every way we can.

In 2022, to assist in offsetting the inflationary costs to our staff we provided $160,000 of meals and groceries. We were also pleased 17 of our employees took advantage of our scholarship and personal development program(s) this year. Additionally, a larger number of employees participated in our benefits program in 2022, meaning a greater number of needs are being met.

The Employee Holiday party is another special event that continues to mean so much to our staff and their families each year. The 2022 party was a record year for resident contributions to the employee gift fund — thanks to the generosity of our compassionate residents! The thoughtful contributions of our residents to this cause make the difference for employees buying gifts for their children and families.

Another record year for contributions to the employee gift fund thanks to the generosity, kindness, and compassion of our residents.

Caring to Comment

Sustaining a strong culture requires listening to and acting on feedback from employees and residents. Implementing the new comment cards program in 2022 allowed us to receive direct feedback from our residents, identify opportunities for improvement, and acknowledge outstanding employee performance and random acts of kindness.

Contributing to the Culture

Our residents remain extremely active in initiating and supporting new campus activities and programs that make Westminster Village a fun and unique place to live. The creation and success of the Heart to Heart program, the formation of the Jazz Series, maintenance of the beautiful Butterfly Garden, and construction of the Observatory were resident-created programs that will benefit our community for years to come.

Playing Together

Between resident activities and fitness classes, we bring residents together in over 300 social events every month.

Opportunities to Serve

As a stand-alone, non-profit community, no single person or group owns us, which means it is incumbent on each of us to make this a great place to live and work. We recognize the invaluable contributions of those who volunteer to serve our community in countless ways.

The slate of talented individuals who ran for Resident Council this year was simply outstanding. We appreciate the dedication, leadership, and ongoing contributions of each committee member.

We are forever grateful for the “Card Ladies” who were recognized by the Board of Directors this year for their dedication and the joy they bring to residents and employees each week. And our Fabulous Finds store continues to prosper by displaying and selling select donations from residents which are always handled with care from our shop volunteers.

Several residents have requested to take part in the publication of the Villager each month, and we are happy we can expand opportunities to serve through this initiative in the coming year.

Our Culture is Catching On

Referrals we receive from residents and employees continue to make a huge impact on our community. In total, 45 new residents called Westminster Village home in 2022. We are overjoyed many of our new residents have friends living at Westminster Village who love it here, naturally. Additionally, a large portion of our employees hired this year were referrals from current employees.

85% of new neighbors are referred from friends who call Westminster Village home.