Problem
Case Study- Lincoln works at an aged care facility that has residents from a wide range of different backgrounds, with many speaking English as their second language. A new manager, Isabelle, arrives and lets staff know she is keen to improve all aspects of the resident's care and lifestyle during their time at the facility. She is met with resistance from staff as they feel they are already performing at the best of their ability.
Isabelle observes the staff and finds they are all hard working and enthusiastic about their jobs. She has a number of informal discussions with the residents about what would make their stay more pleasant and enjoyable. The most common responses were dissatisfaction with the food and a difficulty in communicating exactly what they want in English.
When Isabelle inspects the kitchen, she finds the food to be of high standard, but due to cost-cutting and an attempt to improve efficiencies, they only make five different types of meals and serve them on rotation. She asks the kitchen staff if it would be possible to triple the variety of meals and still maintain the same level of quality, without an increase in costs.
Isabelle wants to find out more about her staff, so she gets them to fill in a survey of their talents and backgrounds, and how this effects their interactions with residents. She discovers no one is bilingual and that there are occasional communication breakdowns, causing friction between staff and residents.
i. What percentage of staff have the ability to speak a language other than English, and how does Isabelle know this?
ii. What are two methods of qualitative data collection Isabelle used to determine the areas where the business could be improved?
iii. Isabelle hires some bilingual staff and puts a sign at reception, so when potential new residents arrive, they can see what languages staff are fluent in. How might this improve the business?
iv. If the residents at the aged care facility were able to communicate with a member of staff in their natural language, rather than English, how might that improve their lifestyle?