Question

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 as to 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 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.

Required Evidence

Q1 What percentage of staff have the ability to speak a language other than English, and how does Isabelle know this? 2 what are two methods of qualitative data collection Isabelle used to determine the areas where the business could be improved ? 3 Isabelle hires some bilingual staff and puts a sign at reception ,so when potential new residents arrive,they can see what language staff are fluent in. How might this improve the business ? 4 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?

Answer 1

1. 0% of the staff is bi-lingual as Isabelle found out using her survey method in which she asked the staff to fill in their talents and background, and interactions with customers. Isabelle conducted primary research by creating and deploying a specially crafted survey to get data about who on her staff can speak other languages. However, it is not clear if the survey specifically asked if any of the staff spoke another language. This non-information is assumed to have been included.  

2. Isabelle used a) visual observation as a method of collecting qualitative data about the business and its areas of improvement. She observed the staff and key areas such as the kitchen to review the current standards of operations. She also used b) informal discussions as a way to gather keen insights and feedback from customers and staff on various aspects such as their experiences, satisfaction levels, dissatisfaction points, possible changes in service options.

3. As the staff being mono-lingual is a key factor negatively affecting their current customers' satisfaction, highlighting the availability of bilingual staff in the reception can help raise the perceived value of the service at the facility in the eyes of potential customers. As customers are noted as coming from diverse backgrounds, the bilingual aspect will likely make them more interested in considering the facility especially against competition that might not offer this option (offering this business a competitive edge in the market). Potential customers might rank the facility higher in their decision-making due to the availability of their spoken non-english language thereby leading to more customers choosing the facility.

4. For customers from various language backgrounds, having a bilingual staff member who can speak their language can offer

- greater comfort in being able to converse in their natural tongue

- more effective communication to convey what they want/need

- more ability or opportunities to provide feedback about their stay

- less friction with the staff from the reduction in communication breakdowns that currently exist

These factors can greatly and positively influence the day to day lifestyle of the aged care customers.