Top Workplaces: Pinnacle Living wins second place for large company

“One of the things that makes senior living wonderful is that it’s about connections,” Cedarfield Executive Director Amy Chapman said. “Residents are part of team members’ lives, and vice versa. Sometimes, when team members come to work unhappy, residents can help them feel better.”

Originally known as Virginia United Methodist Homes, Pinnacle Living adopted its new name in 2017 and operates two additional communities, WindsorMeade of Williamsburg and the Hermitage Roanoke, and is a partner in a Medicaid-certified home health agency. Founded in 1948, the company has more than 1,000 employees, with roughly half working in Richmond.

Chapman and Bill Wright, executive director of the Hermitage Richmond, say employees feel heard, in part, thanks to an independent survey system — We Care — that seeks input within two weeks of the start date, and again at 30 days, 90 days and the one-year mark. The technology is also available any time an employee has a question or concern.

“Our team members who participate see how we listen and respond,” Wright said. “It provides insight that helps us adapt and act quickly.”

Hiring and retaining staff for senior living communities has been especially challenging since the COVID-19 pandemic, and Pinnacle Living has responded to employee feedback in a variety of ways. Pinnacle has improved pay and benefits and provided additional paid holidays, including a floating holiday that employees can elect to take when they wish. A new employee assistance program offers emotional support services as well as financial counseling and will-writing instruction. The EAP is also available to anyone in a team member’s household, so a spouse or child experiencing stress can seek help.

“We get input from the people served,” Chapman said. “As opposed to saying ‘This is what we give,’ we ask what employees want.”

Pinnacle also offers pay in lieu of benefits, which increases the take-home funds of a team member whose spouse has benefits provided by another employer. Long-term employees have also seen their pay adjusted, so they don’t feel as though they have to take a job elsewhere for an increase.

“It’s about assessing the market and placing our wages a little above where the market is,” Wright said.

Plus, programs and activities available to residents are also offered to team members. Chapman said that during the eclipse on April 8, more than 250 residents and staff shared the experience together in a central Cedarfield greenspace.

“It’s not just being part of a resident’s care, but being part of a resident’s life,” she added. “We invest in team members not only at work who they are outside of work. We know them as fathers, wives, softball players, artists. I think that’s what makes us different.”

“When (employees) feel that community, it helps them to dig in,” Wright added. “They’re buying into the mission.”

That buy-in has been reflected recently in a tangible way: Unlike many other long-term care communities, Pinnacle hasn’t had to call on agency staffing, which is used to fill gaps in coverage, in more than a year. Chapman said the overall atmosphere Pinnacle offers makes a difference.

“Every day is a new adventure,” she said. “We have job descriptions, but it’s what you experience when you come to your job that makes this a great place to be.”