Founder Courtney Malengo spoke at LeadingAge Maryland and DC’s Momentum Conference at Turf Valley Resort on May 3 about storytelling strategies for marketing and human resources. During her breakout session, she specifically discussed the importance of leveraging storytelling for recruitment and retention of employees, especially as senior living providers struggle with workforce retention. She also dismissed the notion that storytelling is only reserved for the marketing team. While it is often treated as a buzzword, storytelling has been around since the dawn of time, serving as a primary means of communication and conveying information. Spark + Buzz believes storytelling is core to your organizational strategy, and once you know what your story is, and how to tell it well, that can differentiate you from your competition in the marketplace.

In senior living, when marketing and human resources (or talent and culture) work together to weave a common narrative, it can attract prospective team members, as well as future residents. Consumers and employees are increasingly scrutinizing companies’ values and where money is spent. More and more, both consumers and employees want to align themselves with organizations that have similar values as they do. This is also where telling the right story, at the right time, can captivatingly convey your culture, help retain your best and brightest employees, while simultaneously attracting the right type of talent.

The power of marketing and human resources knows no bounds when they are united over a common narrative.