On Leap Day 2024, CANA joined Wake Forest Law Review for an opportunity that comes around even more rarely than February 29: this gathering of thought leaders from across the death care spectrum — practitioners, reformers, lawyers, advocates, and more--to talk about the biggest legal and regulatory topics in the profession. While the Law Review hosts similar events annually, the topic varies and this happened to be a banner year to talk about changes to death care. The goal was to develop scholarly content and discussion on legal and regulatory topics in death care. This was a law symposium after all, and there are myriad legal questions related to disposition, licensure and the Funeral Rule that are in the news--and sometimes in dispute--right now. If you were unable to attend in person or via livestream, recordings are available. Additionally, the Symposium will be covered in an issue of the Wake Forest School of Law Review to be published in fall 2024. This post will be updated with a link at that time. The result of our day together was discussion that covered familiar, progressive ideas from the profession and new takeaways from reformers. Panelists were passionate about their topics and outright disagreements surfaced around licensure and the Funeral Rule, but arguments were thoughtfully presented and everyone walked away with new ideas to consider. When I reflect on my involvement in planning, implementing and presenting during the Symposium, I have identified a number of takeaways and questions that remain. Let this post capture some of those thoughts and questions and serve as fodder for future conversation. New Ideas with Roots in Funeral HistoryCaitlin Doughty served as keynote for the day and delivered a thoughtful, researched and provocative assessment the historical influences on the modern funeral profession and death-curious community. I won’t attempt to summarize her talk in this post, but invite you to listen to the recording. Funeral service as a profession has been stubbornly gendered since its inception in the mid-19th century. It was a gentleman’s profession that embraced embalming and developed many of the customs and traditions that endure today. There are parallels to this trend within cremation and in cemeteries. Women have always been involved in caring for the dead but, until the last decade, were not well represented among licensed funeral directors and embalmers or cemeterians. Professional funeral service is now proving attractive to women, and 80% of new mortuary school and funeral service graduates are female in 2024. When other professions, such as teaching, nursing, librarianship, have shifted from largely male to female, it has resulted in lower pay or a diminished reputation for its workers. There is such a shortage of licensed funeral directors currently that this seems unlikely, but the danger remains. While many women enter traditional mortuary science and funeral service programs as students, many others are carving out their own studies and career paths to become death doulas, death educators and consumer advocates. Both groups cite leaders like Caitlin as inspiration to embrace caring for the dead. Can we, the death care profession, provide a career path for new workers to satisfy their impulse to serve? Irreconcilable Differences?It may seem counterintuitive that funeral reformers and practitioners could find common ground, but we managed to agree on some of the elements of the most controversial topics in death care today. LicensureIf the more than 700 registered attendees at Wake Forest, in the overflow room, and on the livestream are any indication, interest in death care is high. But for those uninterested or unwilling to pursue licensure as a funeral director, a career path is unclear. The profession is experiencing a workforce crisis. The number of new licensed funeral directors has held steady in recent years, but that is not sufficient to offset the higher rate of baby boomer retirees and, eventually, baby boomer deaths. Discussions during the Symposium continued to come back to this topic and raised questions without easy answers: Do licensure requirements accommodate and support new dispositions and prevent scandals? The assertion from reformers and some practitioners is that the current licensure system is somehow insufficient. That is true in the sense that criminals will ignore laws and regulations and will be stopped by enforcement. Licensure and regulations are designed to create barriers to entry and establish minimum levels of competency to promote public safety. This is a good thing, but also up for interpretation as to the nature of those barriers and definitions of competency. The path to legalization of new forms of disposition is not without barriers, but our elected officials and the funeral profession are responding positively to consumer interest in greener technologies. End-of-life care is evolving, are current laws and regulations keeping up? Why is it important for a funeral director to also be an embalmer? Roughly half the states allow one license for a funeral director and another for embalmers, while the other half require a funeral director to do both to be licensed. There was much discussion about “ready to embalm” requirements, including licensure and specific equipment at establishments, that raise costs for businesses and barriers for entry into the profession for new professionals and companies. For businesses that offer embalming, it is logical to have trained professionals, equipment and facilities to offer embalming. But for an increasing number of establishments that offer direct cremation, arrangements only, or new forms of disposition, a requirement to be “ready to embalm” runs counter to their business practice. Is discussing funeral arrangements a matter of free speech or consumer protection? A recent lawsuit in California and an ongoing lawsuit in Indiana raise this question in relation to the work of death doulas. The answer will impact the future of licensure for funeral professionals as well as career paths for death doulas and educators. Can we find a way to meet in the middle and identify a path to employment for death curious people, as well as future funeral directors, embalmers and cemeterians? MoneyThe Funeral Consumers Alliance is dedicated to lowering costs for consumers and is promoting revision of the Funeral Rule to require online price posting to accomplish this goal. Funeral professionals remember that the original Funeral Rule implementation did not result in lower prices overall and any new Rule provisions or revisions are unlikely to do so. More regulation increases costs for businesses that are passed on to consumers. Funeral poverty is a real concern and any funeral home owner knows it as they scan through their accounts receivable. What the public does not see is the common practice of discounting services for veterans, children or victims of crimes. There is a larger societal pattern of lower savings and insufficient financial planning for retirement or common emergencies. If the average American does not have enough savings or credit to pay for a flat tire, will they be able to afford an unexpected death? This reality was on full display during the pandemic and resulted in discussions about potential solutions. Dr. Victoria Haneman shared the strongest argument for preplanning and preneed that I have ever heard from industry insurance and trust professionals. Dr. Haneman then laid out her proposed solutions, centered around income tax and savings incentives. These ideas are fascinating and likely to proceed as expansions of HSA or 529 plans. The NFDA has sponsored a bill that has attracted bipartisan support and would represent progress toward addressing saving for end of life expenses. Public TrustThe Funeral Consumers Alliance asserts that the funeral profession is routinely harming consumers via high prices and confusing practices; however, there is little evidence of harm as measured by complaint volume at federal or state level or via consumer ratings and feedback. Funeral practitioners have high online ratings and positive customer feedback survey results. The FTC identified funeral related complaints to be #29 in their rankings. This disparity in experiences is hard to reconcile, but we must continue to communicate the value of funeral service. Posting pricing online is a current practice for many practitioners, and may soon be required by the Federal Trade Commission. No one likes to be told what to do or how to run their businesses, hence the opposition to this requirement. Practitioners also know that price posting alone will not increase consumer knowledge about end-of-life planning or make it easier. Price is only part of the equation. When choosing an end-of-life provider (death doula or funeral director), trust is more important than price for most people. Scandals also undermine public trust. Caitlin Doughty asserted that additional regulation and licensure may not be the solution to avoid scandals as we have seen in recent headlines. She suggested instead that inspections and enforcement of existing laws could have a major impact. This dynamic is playing out in Colorado right now with a bill to require individual licensure under consideration as well as debate around funding enforcement of existing laws. What did we leave out?Whether intentionally or not, we lacked the time to cover every death care topic of interest to participants. We didn’t convene a panel about green burial or burial conservation trusts. These are established dispositions with fewer outstanding legal questions. But are they viable dispositions in the future of death care? Absolutely! We hoped that the Symposium would bring together passionate people who don’t often interact and we succeeded. The following is a quote one participant shared in the post-event evaluation: I appreciate that the symposium included views from the legal community and what I would consider funeral-adjacent professions and organizations. We don't often get outside of ourselves at funeral association classes/meetings/conventions, and at times risk becoming echo chambers. But there is so much to learn from other professional communities. I would love to hear more from professionals in the hospitality industry (which I consider funeral-adjacent, as we're all just creating experiences) that have been transformative in their businesses and industries. Thank you, for creating the opportunity to hear new--and sometimes uncomfortable--perspectives through this symposium. I share this hope that these conversations continue and we satisfy our mutual interests to advance death and end of life care. The Wake Forest Law Review is a student-run organization that publishes five issues annually. The Law Review also sponsors symposia. In 2024, the Symposium arranged their Spring Symposium on The Future of Death Care in America. Through the publication of articles, notes, comments, and empirical legal studies, the Law Review provides the profession with timely evaluations of current problems in the law and serves students as a valuable educational tool. The Spring Symposium was livestreamed and recordings can be watched here with students' publications on the topics to be published soon. When planning the Symposium, we knew that Professor Terry Brock’s research and work on abandoned cemeteries did not fit neatly in the theme, however we recognized that if we don’t study our history, we are destined to repeat it. Look for a future post to CANA's Cremation Logs blog on this interesting and important research.
This is the sympathy business. On a regular basis, we’re expected to offer up our condolences, well wishes, and sympathy. But empathy, a word which often gets confused for the same thing, is even more important to our success. Sympathy is defined as “feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.” Empathy, on the other hand, is “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” In short, you can be sympathetic without being empathetic. But empathy will make you not only more effective at caring for the bereaved, but at managing your business. The classic “burial-or-cremation” dichotomy is illustrative of this point. Even those who know better often let our language betray the misunderstanding that there are essentially only two kinds of people in the world: the conservative, religious, pro-burial traditionalists; and the liberal, postmodern, pro-cremation rebels. While it’s perhaps a step in the right direction to understand that not everybody wants the same thing, it’s not nearly a step far enough. IDEALS® ResearchThe reality of how the modern American — your customer — sees the world and your business is far, far more nuanced. McKee Wallwork’s proprietary research methodology, IDEALS®, asks thousands of people across the US hundreds of questions on their Interests, Desires, Emotions, Attitudes, and Lifestyles to discover market Segmentation. This psychographic segmentation research conducted by my firm has shown seven segments that people statistically sort themselves into, and each is much more complicated than a simple preference on burial or religion. For example, if I were to tell you that a heavily tattooed atheist was about to walk through your door to make arrangements, you might have some assumptions about that individual. But the 14% of the population who my firm has nicknamed “Free Spirits” (the most likely segment to have tattoos, and the most likely to identify as atheist) is also the most likely segment to have posted condolences on your firm’s website, the most willing to talk about their own funeral plans, and the least likely to express opposition to a viewing (that’s not a typo). In many ways, the individual you’re liable to write off as a direct-cremation loss is actually highly interested in what you offer. Or, while 40% of the market (a rapidly shrinking number, by the way) is what you might call a traditional funeral consumer, roughly a third of that group is motivated primarily by the quality, and even status symbol, projected by the funeral; another third is motivated by local ownership; and another third is motivated primarily by religion. These three sub-categories look very similar (in life and on paper), but confuse them at your own risk, because the reality is they will prioritize very different needs. At the other end of the spectrum is who we call the “Distanced and Decided.” These are the classic cremationists, but our research revealed an interesting nuance: community size (household size, proximity to family, frequency of communicating with family) seemed to be a driver in these folks’ decisions just as much as politics or religion. In other words, they’re prone to cremate primarily because they don’t believe anyone would come to their graves. This kind of insight reveals how our profession is impacted by societal and cultural shifts, and how new products and services will always be needed, tailored to evolving subcultures. Or, consider the youngest segments planning funerals. They split statistically into two camps: one, the “Resolute Rookies,” are more removed from death than perhaps any group of people in human history: they don’t know anybody who has ever died, and they think they can avoid the whole business as a result. But another cohort their same age is a funeral director’s dream: they understand that funerals are for the living, represent a post-Boomer pendulum swing back toward tradition, religion, ceremony, and viewings, and represent perhaps the most affluent category in recent memory who is ready to spend on funerals (long driveways and long bills). Empathy Applies to All SegmentsThe point is this: there’s no silver bullet, and while there is value in letting go of the “all-things-to-all-people” concept that is a burden and a distraction to your business, there’s even more value in thinking really intentionally about empathy. When we look closer than the simple choices and assumptions, we’ll be able to venture a guess at not only what people are asking for, but why. And when we do that, we can lead them toward the considerations and options that not only make for good business, but good grief. We don’t have to be a profession or a business. Our success will only come insofar as we do both. And the better we become at listening, looking deeply, understanding motivations, and seeking to provide people with what they really need (as opposed to what we think they should ask for), the more successful we will become — both as business owners and as servants to hurting families. This post looks at just a piece of the IDEALS® research, presented in Eric Layer's session Targeting With Data at CANA's 105th Cremation Innovation Convention in Washington, DC in August 2023.
I think it's important we talk about disaster planning and emergency management coordination. It is important to know how a disaster is defined, because that is how we react and how we are deployed. A disaster, by definition, is a serious disruption of your community, and it's when you exceed all the capacity and resources that your community has, or is allowed to have, in coping with the situation. That’s how we define it, and it's how we are deployed, and it's how we react whenever the time comes. We've all seen or been through disasters and you know it is chaos at the time. how are we deployed?When something happens, there's a lot of adrenaline. There's a lot of people in charge, or that’s the way it may look, but truly it's what we plan for. To be able to rehearse and go through different situations. There are several different levels of jurisdiction for a disaster event, depending on the severity and the resources available. Disasters can range from extreme weather events, commercial transportation wreckage, and mass shootings to—as we’ve seen recently—pandemic devastation. When a disaster strikes, how are we deployed? Who decides where we go and what resources are available? Most of that information is compiled with what is called an Emergency Management Coordinator. An Emergency Management Coordinator is someone in your community – on a state and local level – who is the first get a complete analysis of the disaster or the event, and who is then responsible for appropriating different resources to that event that are necessary. Each type of event has a different need. With a mass shooting, you're in a rescue and triage situation. There's a lot of different things that we train for, depending on what the event is. We were recently in hurricane season, so we in Texas and other coastal areas can understand and know the devastation of a hurricane, and we have trained and gone through several different hurricanes in our area. Big, catastrophic events, such as the Oklahoma City bombing or 9/11, are handled at the federal level. Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORT) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) work together to take charge of those situations. I'm chairperson of the Texas Disaster Team, which is affiliated very strongly with our Texas Funeral Directors Association. That is a very strong bond that we have together. It's where all of our volunteers’ training is done, together through that organization. Other states have very similar organizations that are part of their state funeral director association. So, if you’re not a part of your state association, I would encourage you to get involved, because they play an important role in coordinating resources. Our association is affiliated with the state of Texas, and we are contracted by the state for all of its mortuary assets. So, all mortuary assets go through our association that we manage for them, so when any type of deployment comes in our area in the state of Texas, our funeral directors are the frontline resources available that go out. how we helpLet me give you a few of the incidents in our area that we have been a part of. Our team was the lead agency in for the West Fertilizer explosion back in 2013. We were the lead agency that took care of 13 of the 15 bodies that were killed. It was a small town, so we came in not only as search and rescue and transportation, but we also have a funeral director element of our team that came in and assisted the funeral home. Recently, we faced the pandemic. Our team was deployed to the Texas Valley in 2020. We spent three months there. We took over full mortuary operations for the Texas Valley, including the intake and transportation of bodies. We handled over 1,300 deaths there in two months. It was a 24-hour operation there. Our team, some of whom are here in the room today, were also very active in the Uvalde school shooting. We went into Uvalde and we assisted taking care of that situation. So, we have been a part of a lot of different disasters. As a funeral director, cemeterian, cremationist, you are on the front lines, and your resources are valuable to emergency management coordinators. So, if you are not currently part of emergency planning in your area, I encourage you to do so. You're the expert. You know, on the front line almost all disasters, you're dealing with death, you're dealing with transportation of bodies, you're dealing with temporary morgue holding facilities, so I encourage you to get involved with that. be preparedThree things I want to leave you with, because when disaster strikes, it's too late to plan, so be prepared.
Before I got involved in this, and then after seeing on the other side, I know our importance, our value to the county and state officials when a disaster hits. Because it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. We all know that, and we see it daily on the news. So, be part of the response and get involved to be able to help when the time comes. This post excerpted from the panel presentation Regulate, Recruit, and React: A Quick Take on Current Issues at CANA's 105th Cremation Innovation Convention in Washington, DC in August 2023.
4 REASONS HR AND MARKETING SHOULD WORK TOGETHEROver the Christmas holiday, I joined a few million other Americans by watching the second season of Netflix’s The Crown. We in the USA have an odd fascination with the British monarchy, reliably gobbling up anything related to the UK’s Royal Family. The differences between our two governments can be simplified as form and function. The UK has a Prime Minister to govern (function) and a sovereign to serve as a living symbol of the country (form). The American Presidency rolls these two jobs into one. But Americans, ironically, divide the two components when it comes to business. Hiring is one of a company’s most impactful decisions for its brand, but is made by one of its most insulated and quantitative departments. Like every election, every hiring decision impacts the corporate brand. So, it’s high time marketing and HR got together. After all, Americans talk a lot about qualifications and experience, but we tend to vote for the candidate we’d rather have a beer with. Below are a few arguments for “the special relationship” between Marketing and HR, inspired by both sides of the Atlantic. Your audience sees your employees as brand ambassadors, even if you don’t. Americans are less comfortable with pomp and spectacle than our British cousins. That’s why we can’t quite get our heads around the monarchy. We can understand hiring for experience, but hiring for image seems downright undemocratic. But image—even spectacle—are sometimes exactly what a brand needs. From Branson to Bezos, some of the world’s most successful executives are masters of show business. At every level, your brand will be judged by the people you send into the room to represent it, both internally and externally. Even if you keep him away from clients, that hire with savant-like expertise but abysmal interpersonal skills will take his toll on your company’s culture and morale. On the other hand, the individual with an innate ability to inspire might just be able to learn the technical details. It isn’t lonely at the top. Like the monarch, CEOs and celebrity spokespeople are the faces most carefully selected and cultivated for their ability to inspire. But commoners change history too. Executives and paid actors don’t have the only—or even the greatest—impact on a brand’s value. I can’t name the CEO of Home Depot, but I can tell you all about the terrible customer service I received last week. Ritz Carlton understands this. Their “ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen” mantra has helped the brand become synonymous with the very best in hospitality and dining. Compare that to the night shift at Holiday Inn: instilling form versus function at every level makes all the difference. People failures are brand failures. The Crown’s sophomore season dove into the scandals that have plagued the royal family, providing another important lesson for marketers and HR pros: The best spokesperson arrangement in history can’t protect you from the spokesperson. Tiger Woods went from brand gold to brand anathema literally overnight. The Most Interesting Man in the World, one of the most successful campaigns in advertising history, was ultimately toppled simply because an actor wanted to retire. It’s never wise to put all your eggs in one basket. If every hire is an investment in your company’s brand (and it is), then it’s wise to diversify that investment. A brand embodied by lots of faces means less disaster when one of them screws up or calls it quits. Good form can enable good function. Repeatedly in The Crown, the precocious queen broke with tradition to influence world events, armed with nothing but her signature grace and eloquence. While her classically-trained advisors wanted to stick to traditional diplomatic channels, they were always left in admiration when she achieved what they were unable to. Don’t underestimate the hard results of soft skills. Does that sales role really require industry expertise, or do you actually need a masterful relationship-builder? Which would you rather have at your front desk: the consummate hostess or an MBA? When you’re desperate to hire someone who can do the job, remember that “the job” almost always includes representing your company—whether externally or internally. That goes beyond a résumé, a degree, or a certification. Too many front desks and front doors are manned by the most disengaged, disinterested person in the company. It can be helpful to think of those positions in terms of how much charisma they require, not how little technical ability. You likely won’t have the luxury of hiring purely for ceremony, but putting Marketing in HR’s seat for a moment might yield some fruitful discussions—and might help you build a brand worthy of kings. This post originally appeared in the McKee Wallwork Insights blog in January 2018, reprinted with permission. If you're hoping to find your next great hire, check out the CANA Career Center!
Deathcare has experienced a transformation in the last three years. It’s been intense – and grueling at times – but the future is bright and full of opportunity. Over the past decade I’ve been in deathcare, I’ve seen trends solidify right before my eyes. Obviously, the pandemic moved the needle quite a bit. I can’t honestly say I was quite sure of what was going on while it was happening, but with hindsight, as with most things, it all made sense. After such a chaotic time, what trends did I most want to learn about? I wanted to dive deep into the changes in customer expectations around online arrangements and see how firms are implementing technology to help serve all of their families better. When Tyler Yamasaki (CEO of PartingPro, an online arrangement tool and case management system) and I delved into the data from his company on, we learned a lot by analyzing customer behavior during the pandemic. We saw what shifts cemented as a trend and presented these changes at length at CANA’s 2023 Cremation Symposium and The Secrets Behind The Most Successful Online Cremation Businesses episode of The Direct Cremation Podcast we co-host. Now, while it’s cool to learn that “Bob” is the most common first name entered into PartingPro’s decedent database, it didn’t really give us any insight into the industry changes we were hoping to track. Nope, for that we had to look at other data – mainly data centered around consumers’ willingness to work with providers online. What we found was…interesting. the tipping pointThe biggest changes we found were in customer willingness to complete online arrangements and do forms online. Here’s a look at the increase in arrangements during that period. You see a huge spike right in March of 2020. Well, there’s no surprise there! But the surprise is that the levels never went back down to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, it’s holding a new line of support at about double the levels we saw pre-pandemic – and clearly look to be trending upward from there. I think this step-function change is here to stay and reflects the huge increase in all e-commerce trends in the economy at-large. Companies were forced to adapt to online management systems and this shows that the implementation of those systems is here to stay. Now, I’ll admit that this spike doesn’t tell the whole story. At that time we’re looking at, there was a large increase in overall deaths, given the presence of COVID-19, so we had to dig a little deeper. ONLINE VS. IN-PERSON ARRANGEMENTSWe needed to break down the cases into two cohorts: those who completed arrangements online and those who completed arrangements in person. What Tyler found was that prior to March 2020, about 33% of arrangements were completed online – a very respectable number in my opinion. After March of 2020, that jumped to 66%. The proportions completely flipped! It’s hard to say how much of this change is attributable to funeral home staff pushing online arrangements versus a family’s proactive choice to start and complete online arrangements. I think it’s a combination of both, but I was curious to see if there was any data that would give more insight into customer behavior itself regarding online arrangements. Luckily, Tyler had an answer for me. Tyler shared that prior to March 2020, about 11% of imminent and at-need cases were completed through online arrangements. He asked me to guess what that percentage jumped to after March 2020. I guessed that it haddoubled, at least. I was wrong! It rose to 16.3%. Admittedly, I was a little upset I was so wrong. I had been doing so well on Tyler’s data quiz at that point I had a lot of confidence. However, after some reflection, I had two takeaways:
This post excerpted from Efficiency or Die: A Gentle Fireside Chat with Will and Tyler at CANA's Cremation Symposium on February 8-9, 2023. If you missed it, you can still catch some of the insights they shared on The Direct Cremation Podcast, particularly their episodes exploring The Secrets Behind The Most Successful Online Cremation Businesses. Be sure to save the date for the next CANA Cremation Symposium coming February 14-16, 2024 to The LINQ Hotel + Experience on the Las Vegas Strip!
Ever wonder what it was like to be a buggy whip maker during the rise of the automobile? Look in the mirror. Numerous trends are converging to create the dramatic change we’re experiencing today, including the generational shift away from Boomers, the splintering of cultural norms, and the unnerving impact of late-stage digital industrialization literally changing how everything is made, sold, and delivered. We may not be buggy whip makers anymore, but we’re experiencing a similarly historic change in the fundamentals of our economy. And just as businesspeople in the 19thcentury bespoke economy had to learn the new rules of industrialization, we must learn a new way of conducting modern business. Below are five new rules for our new economy. Together, they are a foundation for generating momentum for businesses and value for customers in our transforming world. 1. SYSTEMS BEAT SWITCHESWestern civilization champions individualism and the use of the scientific method to parse out discrete problems, identify “control” variables, and pursue solutions by manipulating one variable at a time. This perspective views problems as if they are light switches in a home that can be isolated and manipulated room by room. Silicon Valley, on the other hand, champions a worldview more prevalent in the East that sees reality as a series of interconnected networks in constant flux. Think Butterfly Effect minus Ashton Kutcher’s 2004 film of the same name. Winners in our digital economy (not coincidentally, built by those Silicon Valley engineers) embrace a view of business rooted in Systems Thinking. It’s not just a light switch, but a house filled with wires, a city-wide infrastructure, a regional power source, and a national electrical grid. The truth is that business and life are dynamic. Reality is a complicated web of interconnected systems. It’s unrealistic to isolate variables and turn them on and off like a light switch in the real world. So don’t pretend to. 20th century companies think in switches. 21st century companies think in systems. 2. FLEXIBILITY BEATS SYNCHRONICITYBusiness models that thrived under mid-stage industrialization were built on synchronicity. Break the product into its component parts, get everyone and everything set up perfectly on an assembly line, then keep everything running as smoothly as possible. Like a symphony, when this model worked, it was beautiful. But late-stage digital industrialization has changed the game. The internet fragments everyone and everything, creating many little pockets of change occurring simultaneously at incredible speed. This new world requires an entirely new approach to business that emphasizes flexibility over efficiency. Ditch the assembly line and burn the conductor’s baton. As I’ve written before, the future belongs to jazz. 3. VELOCITY BEATS SPEEDFast. Faster. Fastest. Speed is on everyone’s mind because technology is enabling such rapid change. According to our latest research among business leaders across the country, nearly 30% of companies today are suffering from stalled growth or commoditization. Companies (and even industries) are moving through the Disruption Cycle so quickly it’s making everyone feel dizzy. But trying to stay competitive by just running faster isn’t enough. Speed is simply a measure of how fast something is moving. But speed alone can just as easily hasten decline as keep one competitive. Velocity, on the other hand, is the measure of speed with direction. You can move quickly in circles, but it gets you nowhere. Add direction to your efforts. Speed is only part of the solution. Growth requires velocity. 4. CONFIDENCE BEATS CERTAINTYThe comparably slow rates of change enjoyed in the past enabled a powerful illusion. Because one could count on culture and technology gradually changing over years or even decades, looking back at historical data had some value in predicting the near future. This illusion provided confidence by removing uncertainty. And now it’s going away. Because the modern economy moves exponentially faster, looking at historical data has limited predictive power. To avoid losing their nerve, organizations need to find ways to get their swagger back. Agile methodology, customer-centeredness, and prototyping are all techniques to stay in the now and make confident bets. As an executive of a Fortune 100 corporation recently stated to a colleague of mine, “It used to be test, test, test, test, then rollout,” he said. “[Now it’s] test, rollout, learn, modify…” Certainty was yesterday’s illusion. Confidence is today’s way of doing business. 5. MOMENTUM BEATS PERFECTIONDuring Facebook’s rise it famously painted “Done is better than perfect” across its walls. As digital technology transforms the economy and increased speed-to-market becomes a price of entry for business, it’s imperative for leaders to throw off the fading luxury of perfection and embrace a new ethos. Today’s leadership must foster a shared feeling of growth and improvement in their organizations best referred to as momentum. Businesses that pursue momentum instead of perfection are more concerned with customer problems than internal navel-gazing, appreciate the power of organizational health, and understand that if a group of people feel like they will win, they often do. Perfection was last century’s lie. Momentum is this century’s imperative. The incredible change we’re living through doesn’t have to lead to doom and gloom. If you research a little more about the horse and buggy industry, you’ll learn that many companies actually successfully transitioned to the automotive industry. But it wasn’t easy. Just as our forebears navigated the Industrial Revolution a century ago, it is our turn to navigate change. With the proper focus on systems, flexibility, velocity, confidence, and momentum, you can ditch the horse and buggy too. Few organizations understand the internal dynamics that can keep them from maintaining momentum. Take the 60-second self-diagnosis survey (based on research conducted among thousands of companies) to diagnose your company’s trajectory and give you a sense of what factors are helping, or hindering, your momentum. How do company culture and employee relations effect earnings and financial success? Jonathan Lewis leads a compelling discussion on understanding the holistic picture of your company's health during his Culture Compass workshop session at CANA’s Cremation Symposium this February 8-10 2023! The 2023 Symposium is here to energize passion and purpose in the new year with a focus on staffing retention and efficiencies. Plus, Jonathan serves as event emcee, offering insights and activities that keep ideas and conversation flowing. See what else we have planned and register to attend: goCANA.org/ignite This post originally appeared in the McKee Wallwork Insights blog in November 2018, reprinted with permission.
With the 2022 Green Funeral Conference coming up soon, we wanted to entice you with five fantastic reasons you should attend. 1. MEET LIKE-MINDED PROFESSIONALS IN THE INDUSTRY Our industry is evolving, and it’s important to meet and speak with other professionals (like yourself) who want to position themselves to best serve today’s funeral family. This event brings together business owners, decision-makers, and other key people that understand the future of the changing funeral landscape. These people understand that ignoring the evolution of our industry is short-term thinking and leaves a funeral business vulnerable in the long term. The Green Funeral Conference brings together a tight group of individuals, and networking opportunities are built into the program. In addition to a full day and a half of educational sessions, there will be a welcome reception at the Sandia Resort, a cocktail reception at Passages International’s headquarters in Albuquerque, and more opportunities to meet and get to know your colleagues in other areas. 2. LEARN ABOUT THE LATEST IN GREEN FUNERAL ALTERNATIVES AND OPTIONS The speakers and panels that have been assembled cover a wide array of topics, including cutting-edge new processes like Natural Organic Reduction, the basics and specifics of actually conducting a green burial, a case study of a funeral home boosting their business by offering greener cremation options, and discussions on how to market to today’s environmentally aware audience successfully. Traditional burial has remained relatively the same for decades, but the non-traditional sector is constantly evolving. It’s important to understand the spectrum of green options available for burial, cremation, and scattering, as well as the “shades of green” in funeral options, and how to incorporate them into your presentation to families. 3. VISIT BEAUTIFUL ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO The desert Southwest is a striking place to visit. Our venue, the Sandia Resort & Casino, is a tribal venue on native reservation land nestled against the Sandia Mountains (named for their dramatic watermelon-pink color during sunset). Early mornings in Fall you can see hot air balloons accenting the sky and the Sandia Mountain foothills offer amazing views and hiking trails not far from the venue. New Mexico’s capital, Santa Fe, is one of the oldest cities in the country (founded in 1607), and the blend of Native American, Spanish, and Mexican influences is clearly evident in New Mexican architecture, food, and culture. Attendees will have access to the venue’s world-class spa, golf course, music amphitheater, and more! Don’t forget to ask for green or red chile with your meals, you won’t be sorry. 4. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS, PANELS, AND HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATIONS The size of this conference caters itself perfectly to a discussion-based, hands-on experience. There will be roundtable discussions where attendees will sit with an expert or presenter to discuss different topics in a face-to-face environment. We will also have hands-on demonstrations on practical topics, like how to wrap a body with a biodegradable burial shroud. Panels of speakers open up discussion-focused sessions, where participants can ask questions or bring up topics directly with the speaking experts. There is also value in seeing experts discuss the topics with each other, to better understand the different opinions, principles, or ideas within the industry, and how they can be applied to your business. 5. JOIN PASSAGES INTERNATIONAL FOR A COCKTAIL PARTY AND TOUR OF THEIR FACILITY Passages International is the largest supplier of green and non-traditional funeral options, from caskets for green burial to greener cremation options, such as bamboo cremation containers and biodegradable urns for earth or water scattering. Passages will be hosting a cocktail reception at their headquarters, not far from our venue. You will have an opportunity to tour the facility, enjoy drinks and hors d'oeuvres with other attendees, and to get your hands on biodegradable funeral products. We hope you’ll join us for the Green Funeral Conference 2022! Kilian Rempen takes the Green Funeral Conference stage to discuss strategies to speak to your community through social media, marketing and advertising, and public relations. Using social media, your web presence, and marketing is key to success in today's world, and we will cover how to use those tools to let your community know that you offer the funeral options that they increasingly are seeking. He's joined on stage with Elizabeth Davis, Vice President of Marketing for Passages International, Inc. and Katey Houston, Service Manager of Return Home. Enjoy the full spectrum of experiences at the Green Funeral Conference 2022. See what else we have planned and register to attend September 13-15, 2022: goCANA.org/GFC2022.
Disasters happen, often without warning, and businesses must be prepared to deal with them. A natural or manmade catastrophe could threaten your employees or customers and shut down or interrupt your operations for an indeterminate period of time. While no one wants to think about a catastrophic event impacting their workplace, planning for various disasters is the best way to be prepared to respond if they do happen. EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN REQUIREMENTSThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates that virtually all employers have an emergency action plan, which details the actions that employers and employees will take during a variety of emergency situations. Employers with multiple sites must have a dedicated plan for each location. For companies with more than 10 employees, the plan must be in writing and, at a minimum, it must include several elements, including a means for reporting fires and other emergencies, evacuation procedures and emergency escape route assignments, a system to account for all employees after an evacuation, and a plan for securing rescue and medical assistance. DEVELOPING A PLANInvolve managers and staff members in developing a plan, which should begin with brainstorming what disasters could potentially impact your workplace. What if a fire tears through your offices, or an active shooter is threatening your employees? Besides fire and violence, potential disasters include hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, toxic gas releases, chemical spills, explosions, and civil disturbances. Once you have identified potential emergencies, consider how they would affect your workers and your workplace and how you would respond. ALERTING EMPLOYEES AND OTHERS OF AN EMERGENCYA fire is the most common type of emergency for which employers must prepare. The emergency action plan must detail how employees will be alerted to a fire or other emergency so that they can evacuate or take other actions. In addition to alarms, which should have both a sound and visual element, companies could use an emergency communications system such as a public address system or portable radio unit to provide additional information. Employees must also be trained in how to report emergencies, both to other employees and to fire, medical, and rescue services. EVACUATING OR TAKING OTHER ACTIONDetail the conditions under which evacuating, sheltering in place, or another action would be necessary. Include in the plan a clear chain of command listing who is authorized to order the action and who is responsible for leading and coordinating the process. Evacuation procedures include routes and exits, and they should be posted where they are easily accessible to all employees. The plan should detail which employees, if any, will remain in the building to shut down critical operations, and when they should abandon the operation and evacuate themselves. Designate a meeting spot or other systems in place to account for everyone after the evacuation. Back-up copies of essential company documents, such as accounting and legal documents, as well as employees’ emergency contact lists, should be stored in a secure location. WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING DO EMPLOYEES NEED?Employees should be educated about the threats and hazards that could occur in your workplace, and they need to be trained in their individual roles and responsibilities in an emergency. Training should be repeated at least annually, and new employees should be brought up to speed in the procedures soon after hire. If there are changes to the workplace that impact your plan – for instance, a redesign of the layout or the introduction of new hazardous materials – the plan should be altered, and employees retrained accordingly. Most people find it difficult to think clearly and logically in a crisis. A well-considered plan to guide their actions can go a long way in keeping them safe. Sometimes it feels like we can’t go a day without hearing about a wildfire, flood, or shooting. The tumult of the last few years has reinforced the need to prepare for the unexpected. CANA Members can rely on the expertise found in their member benefits to ensure they’re up-to-date with OSHA requirements, have standardized procedures in the business, and are covered when something happens. Then, if tragedy strikes, you have a plan in place to respond. Not a member yet? Consider joining for just $495 so your business has access to these valuable resources and everything CANA has to offer. CANA Members also receive 30-minute complimentary consultation each month with CANA Legal Counsel Lara Price. Want to learn more? Lara will be on site of CANA's 104th Cremation Innovation Convention in Atlanta next week. Register to join us: goCANA.org/CANA22.
We all go into business with aspirations for success—but organizing and addressing the details to make success a reality can be daunting. How do we continuously improve our client family experience? Are there internal operating procedures that inhibit service delivery? Is employee morale positive? How do we clearly differentiate ourselves from our competition? Is our pricing consumer friendly? Are we as profitable as we could be? Are we moving the company forward? Whether you’re looking to improve customer service, the workplace, the marketplace, or financial management, you want to start with a strategic plan to accomplish your goals. Strategic planning, in its simplest terms, is determining where your business needs to go and how you are going to get there. The process involves owners and senior management assessing current performance, analyzing the market, setting goals, defining actions, identifying resources, and reviewing the level of accomplishment once the plan has been enacted. Simply put, to be successful with your plan, you must first define what is important, then create the measurements for success, then manage it to success! Our consultants are seasoned professional experts who have led numerous clients through strategic planning sessions, all to an impactful resolution. Based on that store of experience, here are eleven key points that will ensure your company’s Interactive Strategic Planning Session is a success: 1. SET THE OBJECTIVE Setting the Objective is the same as defining a North Star – the end to which all key company initiatives should lead. In other words, begin with the end in mind. Bring together the owners and key leaders of your company and motivate the group to envision the full potential of the funeral business! Together during this session, you will create compelling business objectives along with specific tactical actions and resources needed to achieve them. 2. TAKE IT OFFSITE! Meet offsite somewhere where there are no distractions. Make it a day-long meeting with breakfast and lunch. Only in this environment will you be able to effectively address the most critical issues confronting the company. 3. WHERE TO BEGIN? Begin the session with a review of the company’s current year successes and failures. 4. SWOT YOURSELF! Assess the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses. After that, focus on recognizing both the external opportunities that exist as well as what external threats are looming. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats… SWOT) 5. DEFINING WHAT’S NEXT Now it’s time for the leadership team to articulate the business objectives or goals needed to reach optimum performance based on the prior observations. These goals are to be crystal clear, indisputable and should be the core priorities of the leadership team. 6. ACTION! With objectives and goals created, it’s time to put strategies and actions together that are needed to achieve the goals. 7. WHOSE JOB IS IT? You’ve created the actions needed, now who’s going to do it!? Now is the time for the appropriate leadership team member to be responsible for the action. 8. WHEN DOES IT NEED TO BE COMPLETED? It is said that a goal without a due date is just a dream. This is a VERY important phase of the process. It is time to decide upon a timeline for completion by each responsible team member. During this segment, additional resources – such as increased marketing, more training, or employee development – needed to successfully execute the strategies and actions are identified. 9. MEASURE IT! If your goals of the company are to grow and be more profitable, you must be sure that every action you identify and every timetable you set is put in place to accomplish one or both of those goals. Better yet, you need to identify just what the expected return or outcome of achieving each goal is. Once that is accomplished, you can now quantify actions, and performance metrics can be established. 10. GET OUT OF MY WAY! Before you are finished, it is wise to discuss any potential barriers to achieving the goals in the strategic plan. Discuss these potential roadblocks and discuss whether contingency plans should be made. 11. THE RESULT? You are now ready to draft and prepare your written Strategic Plan. The plan consists of the current business assessment, the new business objectives and goals, the Tactical Action Plan (the steps needed to complete a key company initiative, including timelines, selection of responsible parties, and the identification of any resources needed to complete the steps) and the Key Performance Metrics to be achieved (Key Performance Metrics are the same as Key Performance Initiatives. These are the ways businesses can define and measure the success of a key company initiative sometimes referred to as KPI – Key Performance Initiatives). By doing this, you will see an interesting outcome… The leadership team immediately begins implementation of the strategic plan! The key points above will help put your strategic plan in place, but the role of regular accountability is just as important. You should now meet every 30 days (no more than 60) to measure the progress and timelines and adjust when necessary. During this time, progress is measured with the Key Performance Metrics report. If done effectively, leadership team members are held accountable for accomplishing tasks within the established timelines assigned to them in the Tactical Action Plan and any additional actions needed are taken to ensure targeted objectives are achieved and the Strategic Plan is successfully implemented. To conclude, I can guarantee that successful Strategic Planning will change the direction, performance, and your funeral business value. Remember that those companies that plan, no matter how large or small the business is, will do better than those that do not! That being said, it is only logical that you should develop a strategic plan, yet so many businesses do not. My father calls this logic the Scarlett O’Hara Syndrome. That is, “I’ll worry about that tomorrow.” In case you needed to know, tomorrow is here as the service and financial landscapes of our profession continue to change. Get your strategic plan created, your future depends on it! Where has your company been, where is it now, where is it going, and how will you get there? Join Jake Johnson as he dives into how to effectively develop your ongoing strategic planning process at CANA’s 104th Cremation Innovation Convention this August in Atlanta. Building on these 11 Keys, Jake's session, sponsored by American Crematory Equipment, will demonstrate how your strategic plan can take your business to the next level and think about long term goals. See what else we have planned and register to attend: goCANA.org/CANA2
I haven’t worked in a library since 2005, but I still call myself a librarian—even after serving as CANA’s Executive Director for ten years. That’s because librarians do much more than fine you for that overdue book and shush noisy patrons. As the American Library Association puts it, “In their work, librarians research, instruct, and connect people to technology... Librarians work with people of all ages, connecting them to information, learning and the community.” As CANA’s Executive Director (and behind-the-scenes librarian), I conduct research and library tasks nearly every workday, because cremation professionals are curious people who are eager to learn and make data-driven decisions. In fact, CANA’s commitment to research – which then helps businesses and our profession advance – is one of my favorites among the CANA projects and benefits we provide. I know CANA members rely on our association to publish timely and practical content, and we will continue to do so, but I also encourage you discover the many ways your local public library can help you, too. When was the last time you visited your public library? Story time for your child or grandchild? To visit a book sale? Use the restroom? Maybe never? I admit that it’s been a while since I’ve been to a library (pandemic notwithstanding), but I use my library online to borrow e-books and magazines and to access databases for personal and CANA use. Public libraries offer a wide range of services to the business community, from meeting space to direct mailing lists, free technology and training classes. The Urban Libraries Council estimates that in 2021, a pandemic year during which many libraries offered limited or virtual services, the actual value of library services to entrepreneurs and small business owners ranged from $815,000 for Greensboro Public Library in North Carolina to $1.38 million in Spokane, Washington. That cost includes what the library provides for free that people would have to pay to own or use, like the makerspace (e.g., 3D printers and digital design equipment) and training programs—or even just a computer with internet access. Libraries can be a treasure trove of business resources for you and your employees. So, here’s this librarian’s quick look at making the most of these free resources for your business. how do i access my library?This is an important first step to take advantage of a library’s many resources, even though several drop-in programs (and the restroom) can be accessed just by walking in the door. You can always get a library card by visiting your library, and often you can start the process online. Sometimes libraries offer library cards to businesses, so if you live in a different community than your business, you can expand the resources you can access. what will i find there?When you think public library, you likely imagine books on shelves, but the resources most helpful to your professional needs are likely online. If you visit your library’s website you can see what they have to offer your business and employees. Here are some examples of resources you may find: ACCESS Saw a link to an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal or Harvard Business Review on LinkedIn but ran into a pay wall? Your library might have a subscription. Log in to the library website and access thousands of magazine and journal databases. You can find a whole range of other publications, too. Go to the library’s website and locate Research Databases, then explore the Business category and see what’s trending for businesses today. INFORMATION Need local lists of residents, local census data or other data to conduct your market research, create mailing lists, or produce competitor reports? Look at the library’s resources online, but also call the reference librarian. This kind of custom research may require some effort, but the time invested will pay off with information that cuts straight to your business and your community. EDUCATION Seeking education on new technologies or business topics? Libraries often provide free access to online learning through different providers like LinkedIn Learning. This can be great for general skills like management, marketing, and data analysis. GUIDANCE Starting a new business or planning an expansion? You need a business plan and will find handbooks and guides at the library. Your librarian can be a great help here, too, to help you identify and focus on the type of growth you want to achieve and the challenges you can face. MENTORS Libraries are a frequent physical home to the numerous Small Business Development Centers across the US. These centers also collaborate with other organizations such as the US Small Business Administration (SBA), SCORE, and the local economic development office to provide mentoring or trainings in the library meetings rooms or auditoriums. And these resources can be valuable even if you can’t find them at your local library! BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE… Robert sipped his first cup of coffee of the day and scrolled through his LinkedIn feed. No death calls had come in during the night so he slept a solid six hours and was feeling great. A few moments later, he saw a notification from his mortuary school buddy, John: MEETING SPACES Libraries offer community meeting space. This could be an ideal location to host grief support groups or educational programs on cremation or other topics. Libraries typically prohibit use of their space for sales, so preneed programs may not be supported, but these spaces are wired for technology and available at low or no cost. GRIEF RESOURCES Refer families to the library to access grief resources. Consider donating quality grief materials in coordination with the library staff. Libraries have limited resources and expertise in house, so this could be a mutually beneficial community partnership. Ensure access to quality materials, while securing a tax deduction and recognition in library newsletters. GENEALOGY RESOURCES Libraries attract genealogy buffs almost as much as cemeteries do. Offer information about your cemetery and local history to the genealogy collection. If a genealogy group meets at the library, offer your services as a speaker. RELIABLE WIFI On the road and need wifi? Starbucks may have your cold brew along with wifi, but your public library is a great option as well (and some actually offer coffee, too). BOOKS Want to read the latest management book or bestseller? Sure, you can purchase it at the airport bookstore, but you can also download it through the library app before stepping on the plane to enjoy that well-deserved vacation. your tax dollars at workA few dollars of your tax payments go to fund public libraries, so why not make the most of it? Also, did you know that federal funding of public libraries is distributed based on library card holders? Simply getting your library card supports funding for your library and your community. Barbara takes the CANA Convention stage this August to show just how much she loves research by facilitating not one but two sessions on new research from CANA. In Cremation Trends Part 1: Statistics and Business Diversification, sponsored by The Wilbert Group, we’ll look at the profession’s response to cremation trends, excess deaths and how businesses are diversifying through the addition of pet cremation—all with expert insights from leaders across the profession. Then, in Cremation Trends Part 2: Cremation Memorialization, sponsored by Columbarium by Design, Barbara introduces the results of brand-new cremation memorialization research. Delving into the motivations for people keeping their human and pet cremated remains in homes throughout the US and Canada, she’ll facilitate a discussion with leaders on the results of this study and what it means for cremation memorialization today and in the future. Register to see this can’t-miss research: goCANA.org/CANA22 CANA Members can access the full Annual Statistics Report in the latest issue of The Cremationist. The next issue will cover key takeaways from the brand-new memorialization research, so stay tuned! Not a member? Consider joining your business to access tools, techniques, statistics, and advice to help you understand how to grow the range of services and products you can offer – only $495
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