Use Technology to Differentiate Dining at Your Community

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Technology governs more and more aspects of senior care, from managing databases of personal information to keeping older adults safe through wearables and motion detection software. While much of this technology has been the status quo for years, areas such as dining operations are ripe for revolutionary change. 

For decades, senior care providers of all types have operated their dining services through paper-based systems that are often cumbersome and inefficient. The time is right to consider implementing cloud-based and point of sale systems to improve your dining services. These types of systems save time and money by streamlining dining operations, reducing inaccurate orders, and simplifying billing and reporting processes. 

Mealtime is one of the most important times of the day for residents and embracing trends in dining technology will help your senior living community meet their expectations while protecting the bottom line.      

Expand your comfort zone

It might be easy to write off the idea of integrating new technology into your dining system by assuming the residents you serve don’t expect it. In fact, Pew Research Center surveys find older adults aren’t shying away from technology. About 40 percent of people ages 65 and older surveyed in 2016 reported owning or using a smartphone and 32 percent said they have or use a tablet -- and those percentages are expected to continue growing as the producers create products geared toward seniors. 

Shedding the mindset that your residents are averse to technology is key to elevating services—such as dining—to a new level. After all, you don’t want their adoption of technology to outpace your own.   

Embolden choice

New technology opens up a world of choice to the residents you serve. Digital meal ordering tools can include pictures, text and voice descriptions, and allergy information at the swipe of a fingertip. Circling words and filling in blanks on a paper ordering ticket is no longer necessary. Residents, staff, and family members can interact more freely with a digital ordering system—transforming the act of ordering a meal into an experience rather than a transaction. 

And, these systems automatically log information you can use to make informed decisions regarding dining choices for your community. Curious if you should switch up the menu? Digital dining solutions allow you to scroll through reports and identify unpopular items that could be replaced. Did this month feel busier in your senior living community’s onsite cafe compared to last month? With digitized records, you can easily run comparisons to answer those kinds of questions.

Cloud-based and point of sale systems empower communities with information that can help them bring the best service possible to the residents and families they serve. 

Make dining the differentiator

More and more, senior living communities are casting themselves as modern, vibrant places where people are encouraged to age actively and with purpose. Dining services can be overlooked in favor of lifting up other amenities and offerings.  But meal time is often a social event that residents look forward to. The meals and services you provide are sources of comfort and connection. Don’t let dining get lost in the shuffle.

It’s also important to recognize that expectations of dining in senior living settings are changing. People want hospitality when they order and receive their food—including in your communities. Each meal you serve is an opportunity to wow residents and assure them they made the right choice in coming to live in your community.  

Adopting new mindsets toward dining and the necessary technology to support it may mean changes for your community, but they’re changes that could put you a step ahead of competitors and a step closer to providing the best dining services possible for your residents.

Ready to Differentiate Your Dining Experience?

Learn more about these trends and see the innovative technology solution, eMenuCHOICE®, in action at next week’s Institute & Expo. Visit the LeadingAge Minnesota Savings & Solution Center in the Rotunda near the Expo Hall.

Matt Stenerson is Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of eMenuCHOICE®, an award-winning cloud-based point-of-sale application developed exclusively for senior living communities by Lyngblomsten.  Learn more about eMenuCHOICE at www.emenuchoice.com. or contact Matt at info@emenuchoice.com or (952) 607-6170.