​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.

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.

A 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.

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.

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.
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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.
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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!

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.
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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.

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. ​

​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

EDUCATION

GUIDANCE

MENTORS

MEETING SPACES

GRIEF RESOURCES

GENEALOGY RESOURCES

RELIABLE WIFI

​BOOKS

A 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.

What is the true definition of culture and why is it important in business and our profession?
The dictionary defines culture as a collection of behaviors and beliefs associated with a particular group. It is also the quality of a person or group of people that comes from appreciating excellence.

As an owner since 1989, after reading Dr. Gustavo’s book, I began to realize that our company culture was not effective and that it was upside down. I had been raised and always thought that our customers were our most important asset and that we should do everything to make them our #1 priority.  I had a business coach and consultant come in and conduct a 360 on me and others in management. What we learned was that our staff was afraid of failing and afraid of failing me as the owner if they made a mistake in service to our customers. Wow, what an eye-opener that was! Our culture was one of getting everything right for the customer each time and doing our best to not have our staff fail. Thus, each day, team Baue functioned with a fear of failing.

This culture was not working. No staff can be motivated by fear of failure. They needed to be supported, trained to know it was ok to fail. We as owners and managers had to change our behaviors and share our failures with them too. We learned they needed more praise, encouragement, and enhanced training. They also needed to feel supported, understood, and know that they mattered to us as our first priority in every decision we made.

Today, during the worldwide pandemic, many staff and funeral service professionals around the country and the world continue to feel isolated, fearful, and alone. Some have experienced their own losses and are exhausted. We are seeing and reading about employees who are leaving our profession and companies in larger numbers more than ever before.  Our profession is part of the “Great Resignation” and at the same time, deaths are increasing, not just from the pandemic, but from an aging population.

The question we should be asking ourselves, is what are we going to do about this? We struggle to find new hires, new licensees, and those that continue on our team are tired and could be considering leaving in the future. The next generation of Millennials and Gen Z (those born after 1993) are not entering our profession, nor enrolling in mortuary schools in large enough numbers to fill the losses we are experiencing. Something must give, and somebody must do something. That somebody, I believe is us! That somebody is looking back at us in the mirror every morning.

Wake up funeral service! Admit we have made mistakes and go fix them!!!

As a profession, we must acknowledge that we are not managing our cultures correctly, nor do we have our licensing laws aligned with the desires and skills for future employee retention. The licensing law topic is a blog for another day. Suffice it to say that most of the licensing we require, along with the training we provide, is not aligning with what a future hire wants to attend, nor what our client family’s needs are. Is it occurring to any of us that we are misaligned in our efforts and the culture we have created? Does it concern us that our clients are arranging direct burials and direct cremations in increasing numbers, and not choosing us to help with the service or they are choosing no service at all?

I believe that we can and must do things differently going forward. My “wake up call” was in 2014. I chose to behave differently as a leader. I chose to do something about our culture to better care for our team members and show them how much they were appreciated. I chose to listen to their development and work environment needs. We changed our focus from our customers to our staff and began on a path to help them become the best leaders, caregivers, and the best event planners they could be. I do not think it was by accident that our company volume grew, nor that we became the “employer of choice” in our region for years to come. It convinced me back then as it does today, that a strong positive culture of caring more for our team members than we do for our customers was and is the right thing to do.

In June of 1912, our 26th President of the United States, Teddy Roosevelt, stated “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” This quote was shared while he was speaking in Chicago, IL.

For more ideas from Chicago, I interviewed Barbara Kemmis, Executive Director of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), headquartered in the greater Chicago area for my Elevating Women in Funeral Service Series on the Your Funeral Coach Talks podcast. Barbara shared her thoughts on mentorship, leadership and the growth CANA has experienced in membership, finances, and programs. She also consulted her crystal ball to discuss the future growth of cremation and trends in our profession. I hope you will listen in. 

Be well, spend some time this week showing others in your organization how much you care, want to hear their ideas, concerns, and fears.
And most of all, I hope you discover your “wake up call” as you look in the mirror tomorrow morning and think about what you want for your company’s future culture. Better yet, ask your team what they think!

Story is also a valuable way to process the effects of change. During my ten years with CANA, I have experienced the remarkable pace of change in attitudes toward cremation. In the broader profession, cremation was considered a threat to profitability. I heard extreme statements such as, “We burn our trash, not people.” I heard denials such as, “My funeral home doesn’t do direct cremation. That’s for the guy down the street.” It seemed that no one really liked cremation, but it was a necessity.

CANA’s cremation story has been remarkably consistent: Cremation is preparation for memorialization. Cremation can be profitable to a business and accessible to consumers. Every grieving family deserves a funeral director’s attention and expertise.

Today, a new issue too many CANA Members share is a dwindling pipeline of qualified and quality funeral professionals coming in to do this essential work. Whether they are retiring for a new experience or burning out of a challenging job made harder by a pandemic, the workforce feels like it’s shrinking.
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Fortunately, story can be useful here, too. When I read books about places I have never been, I can imagine myself in the story. Can we create stories about these problems to arrive at solutions and envision different outcomes? Below you’ll find some stories I have heard recently from CANA members during my travels. I challenge you to consider how you would react in each situation, and what solutions you can provide.

Kerry has been working at Baggum & Taggem Funeral Home for 9 years, starting just out of mortuary school as an apprentice. She likes her coworkers, gets along with her boss, and has earned the experience that comes with being a licensed funeral director in the same company and the same town for almost a decade. Martin was just hired on as a new funeral director, filling an opening when Jared left.

Martin graduated the same year as Kerry, but this is his third funeral home because he’s changed employers every few years. He’s catching on, and Kerry doesn’t mind training him, but he brings so many different perspectives to the work they do. She’s beginning to wonder if she’s missed something by staying in one place. But, then again, even if she has, how can she be sure that she’d like a new place as much as she likes where she is now?
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If you were Kerry, would you stay put or start applying?
If you were Kerry’s boss, what would you do – try to keep a loyal employee or support her finding new opportunities? How?

Emily is 35 and left a boring office job to follow her passion and become a funeral director. Ever since her father died when she was 14, Emily has been fascinated with funeral directing, but first she followed the career path her father wanted her to follow. She went to college and  found a steady job with benefits in a well-known corporation.

Now, she has student loan debt from two degrees and is happier than she could imagine as a new licensee. Her apprenticeship was hard work, but she had a great mentor and earned great experience in the prep room and the arrangement room while learning the inner workings of her funeral home.

Emily considers herself to be a hard worker and is willing to put in the hours necessary, but also wants to maintain her hobbies and friendships. That was hard during her apprenticeship, but she is wondering if it will even be possible as a full-time funeral director.
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What does Emily do next? Would you hire her?
How should she navigate her new career? If you were her mentor, how would you advise the next 5-10 years of her career?

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:

“John is starting a new position as Retired”

Shaking his head at the peculiar LinkedIn grammar, he contemplated what this meant. Robert hadn’t seen John since last year’s convention when everything seemed fine. They had talked about their kids and grandkids, HR headaches, whether or not to put in a crematory despite all the zoning hassles. Normal stuff. John hadn’t said anything about retiring. Did he sell the business? Is he healthy? What will he do now?

Robert sent John a text: “Congrats, I think?” and continued getting ready for the day. Soon, he heard his phone ping in response:
“Congratulations, definitely. Call me.”
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What’s next for John? It’s natural to celebrate a friend’s new job or business milestone while comparing yourself to them. Should John retire and/or sell?
Will Robert’s story have a happy ending?

Lori has the potential to be a fantastic funeral home manager. She has a natural charisma to build trust with consumers and coworkers, and she also keeps her eye on the details of the business. However, Lori also has a silver post in her left eyebrow and a blue streak in her dark hair. Mark doesn’t have any of those things – the charisma, eye for detail, or the piercing and dye job. He does have over 15 years of experience and knows the business inside and out.
...
For the third time this month, Lori is staring at an empty shelf. It’s where the Bernard keepsake was supposed to be, but it’s not there. Mrs. Bernard is coming in today – she’d confirmed with her on the phone just yesterday. Before she even knows why it’s empty, she’s already blaming Mark and gearing up to talk to their manager about his inability to follow the process. The paperwork doesn’t show that the family picked the necklace up, but Mark didn’t note it down the last few times either.
...
Lori is glaring at him through the arrangement room’s glass door. It must be the third time this month, and Mark cannot imagine why she’s giving him a hard time when he’s with a grieving family. He greeted Mrs. Bernard when she came to pick up the keepsake necklace and confirmed that all was well when Lori was on lunch earlier. Now, after farewelling Mrs. Bernard, he’s delayed his own break to assist this family who arrived more than an hour ago. He cannot deal with Lori’s attitude and this overdose arrangement on an empty stomach for much longer.
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How many assumptions can you identify in this story? How would you manage the conflicts?
What if you were Lori? What if you were Mark?

If you have read this far, you know there are infinite possibilities for the Kerry, Martin, Emily, Robert, John, Lori, and Mark in each of these stories. Your reaction to each of them may be a rich source of self-reflection and growth.

The funeral profession values stories. Obituaries and eulogies are stories, whether delivered in person or on social media. Funerals, memorial services and celebrations of life are places to gather and share memories and, yes, stories.

Your business has a story. Perhaps it started out with your great-grandfather building cabinets and coffins and has grown and evolved to his great-granddaughter running twelve locations and an online cremation business. Perhaps it began with you entering mortuary school, working hard in various funeral homes and now contemplating buying your own.
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Perhaps I haven’t heard your story yet, so I can’t relay it here. But your story matters. Your story helps you organize facts and make sense of life and death. Your story is changing and reacting to new challenges and opportunities. Sharing your story helps you make sense of it, and helps others grow from your experience. Seeing yourself in someone else’s story not only improves your emotional intelligence, but it means you’re that much better prepared to meet a similar challenge in the future.

There are so many compelling reasons to master the art of story and use it as the basis of all your communication. It can help you and your company attract and retain talent. It can help you and your staff to cope with change.
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Remember, your story matters to all of the many audiences who may hear it. Be sure to construct it carefully, test it and refine it, and shout it from the rooftops once it’s ready.

​Regardless of your role in the industry, it is important to understand the current laws and regulations that govern your work. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of many new laws and regulations which may impact your business. Put aside the necessary time to review the federal, state, and local laws and regulations which affect your daily operations.
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While right to control final disposition and cremation authorization issues continue to dominate legal complaints against people and businesses in this industry, there have been many new developments in the area of labor and employment, employee safety, and non-discrimination laws which may impact your business. If you have difficulty finding the statutes and regulations governing you and your business, try searching the web sites for your state association or licensing board – they often have links available. Federal OSHA and EEOC web sites, and their state counterparts, also provide significant information and updates.

Employment issues are a prevalent headache across all industries and business models. Address common concerns in your employee handbook, so that everyone is on notice of the standards to which they will be held accountable, including:

• Implement clear, unambiguous policies on work hours, time off, sick leave, and vacation time.
• Be mindful that there have been changes in the law and agency guidance on dress codes and make the necessary changes.
• Have appropriate sexual harassment policies in place.
• Communicate your expectations regarding social media use and restrictions on employee posts on business matters.
• Make sure employees are aware that social media is not for airing workplace grievances or complaints.

Make sure your insurance agent or broker understands your business. Make time for these critical discussions. Do not assume that your insurance agent or broker “just knows” because he or she has worked with you in the past. Too often there are gaps in coverage discovered when you need insurance assistance or defense to a legal claim, when it is too late to put the protections you need in place.

Many gaps in coverage result from your agent or broker not understanding your daily work and operations sufficiently to make sure that what you actually do is covered. Just because you have “professional liability” insurance, you have no guarantee that all of your professional services are covered. Proactive insurance strategies will serve you best.

Take some time to think about the education and assistance which will benefit you and your business most in the upcoming year. Then, search for continuing education opportunities that will assist in meeting your goals. There are in person and online resources available to address almost any concern as an industry professional or business owner. Some jurisdictions even allow you to get your crematory operator certification online.
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While this might be challenging as we all face the realities of a continuing pandemic, it is important to find those educational opportunities that will provide the insight and knowledge you need for success now and in the future.

Getting your new year off to a good start can jumpstart accomplishing your business’s New Year’s resolutions. Best wishes for your success in 2022!
CANA Members: Your association is here to help! If you ever need these resources or anything else offered by CANA, reach out.

Millennials currently make up the largest portion of the U.S. workforce. They are known for their familiarity with the internet, social media, and digital devices. As a generation that grew up on stickers and participation trophies, millennials have come to place high importance on collaboration, teamwork and helping the greater good.

So what are the things that you're putting in place for these workers? Because if you’re thinking, “well, I'll just wait.” What you're waiting for is not necessarily coming. Millennials make up about 75% of the workplace, there are more MBAs in the millennial generation than have no degrees at all, 30% of them are living with family, and 36% have tattoos. Planning for the future includes the millennial and gen z employee.

ENCOURAGE THEIR “CAN-DO” ATTITUDE
Millennials want to know that their work is valued, and they are somehow making a difference. The best way to connect with your millennial colleague is to explain the big picture to them and let them know how their work impacts the families or communities you are serving.

They are looking to see that the work that they do adds value to something. To me what this is: Are there things that matter to those employees? If there are, can they be in charge of it. For example, something as simple as doing a can drive. One funeral home did Wreaths Across America and they put their millennial employee in charge of that. They loved it, because they bridged that gap between work and something socially responsible and doing something different. What we find is that the values millennials, and even Gen Z, will go after are the ones that are actually trying to accomplish something versus something that just wants to make money. So, if we can have that kind of balance between those things, make it available to them. Plus, doing drives like this — can drives, clothing drives, things like that — it also boosts the funeral home as well.

CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS POSITIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE
Millennials are accustomed to using technology in their everyday lives, and they expect the same at work. As digital natives, they are comfortable learning and utilizing new technology. If different procedures can be digitized, these employees want the workplace to invest in the new technology and innovations. Mobile integration and modalities are expected, not only by employees, but also by the millennial family members you serve.

They've grown up surrounded by digital devices, but ‘digital natives’ does not mean that they are technologically savvy. If you want them to help you on Facebook and Instagram, that's your group. But if you expect that they are going to somehow run your website, that they're going to fix your printer, got another think coming. The millennials and the Gen Z at Worsham College, if the printer does not work, they will just look at it and go, “it's not working. It's not working.” I am probably more technologically savvy, because I remember dial-up and when I had to read descriptions and put things together.

ENCOURAGE THEM TO GIVE THEIR OPINIONS AND IDEAS
Millennials grew up with parents and teachers who facilitated open communication techniques. They are used to having their opinions heard and having a seat at the table. While millennials do favor encouraging feedback, they also want consistent communication. They want to be informed about the job and the employer’s expectations and have regular meetings to check in on their progress.

They want both instruction and independence, so teach them through conversations, not commands, allowing for feedback and repeating. Give them measurable goals and help them hold themselves accountable for achieving them. Do not threaten punishment if they make mistakes but give them the confidence to take responsibility for their actions, and the support they need to fix their mistakes.

What are the needs of our millennial generation? They need coaching and mentorship. They want to develop their skills and know how they're progressing. I'll say it like this, everyone that comes into mortuary science school — the ones that graduate and move on — they want to be you. They want to be funeral directors. That's why they go to school. So they are excited, they can't wait to start. The idea of you coaching and mentoring them matters a lot to them, because it's such a part of who they are. And it's what they want to see and be a part of.

ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR IMPACT
If a millennial is doing a good job, they want to know. Acknowledge hard work through recognition programs and performance-based incentives. However, this recognition should not be competitive. It is more about them staying motivated rather than outperforming their co-workers.
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Many of our students work at local funeral homes, and we had a student who worked a visitation. When he came to school the next day, he says, “I had a great day at work yesterday. A funeral director gave me this.” And he holds up above his head, as if he just had won the lottery, a $10 Subway gift card. All our students were so excited, so happy, because here's the two things that happened in that moment: he was recognized and he was appreciated. It doesn't have to be huge. It doesn't need to be these massive rewards. It just needs to be something and you're saying, “Yes, I see what you're doing.”

It’s easy to stereotype generations because it makes some intuitive sense that people born in similar eras would have similar skills, experiences and attitudes. But good management and a positive work environment matter more than how many generations are co-existing under one roof.

So, for example, if you have an expectation of how you want to receive communication, you need to tell them, If they don't follow your policy, they're a bad employee, get rid of them. But most of the time, the generations are actually be able to change and communicate with you the way that you want.

Many times the actions and behaviors of the millennial can seem like they are disengaged or disinterested in their job but that is not entirely accurate.  For example, many funeral directors say that once a millennial completes their task list they grab their phone and do not look around to find additional tasks.  My response and suggestion is that most of your younger employees have been taught that once you complete a task list you are done. So if you want them to find additional tasks ask your millennial what is missing from the task list.  Make them part of the discussion.

When funeral professionals learn the right approaches to working with the different generations it alleviates a great deal of stress and frustration in the workplace. Acknowledging the different styles of employees allows for them all, regardless of their generation, to contribute and be a meaningful part of the workplace.

Understanding generations particularly around communication, trust and decision-making can go a very long way in helping funeral professionals understand how to better connect with different generations of employees and families they serve. At a time when the profession continues to be more consumer-centric, the potential benefit of better communication is significant. Regardless of the generation most all people want the same thing: to work in a place that treats them fairly and values their work.

CEMETERIES ARE DYING: A BOLD RESPONSE
Posted By Dr. C. Lynn Gibson, Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Updated: Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Cemeteries are Dying: A Bold Response
 

There are several key trends that have contributed to the rise of cremation in North America. Along with my colleague and friend Dr. Jason Troyer, we presented a seminar at the 2019 CANA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, entitled “Cemeteries are Dying: A Bold Response.” In this educational seminar, we suggested that there are several emerging patterns evident in how we approach death today in the United States.

Today’s emerging ethos represents the broad changes in the way people think. To be sure, a growing number of people are

Our cemetery recently designed the Grandview Legacy Trail & Pavilion specifically to address the emerging trends in deathcare. Our hope is to meet the changing preferences of our community while at the same time, providing a quality of care that meets the universal needs of the bereaved. The big idea we want to communicate to our community is that cemeteries are not only sacred places where the deceased are remembered, but also where people can regularly engage in healing and meaningful experiences. Here are a few examples.

LESS RELIGIOUS & TRADITIONAL
As people are becoming less formally religious, we designed our Legacy Trail to include nonreligious yet meaningful features—such as our Reflection Booth, where a Christian, a Buddhist, or an agnostic can take a quiet moment for themselves and reflect on life—even write a letter to their loved one to express their grief, should they choose.

GEOGRAPHICALLY DISTANT
Because of the growing geographic mobility of families, we are creating opportunities for meaningful connections at our cemetery through virtual experiences, too. Since people no longer live in the same town where their relatives are buried, we have recognized the need to foster meaningful connections by bringing the cemetery to them virtually, such as providing online visibility of grave memorials and driving directions to the exact GPS location of a gravesite. In the future, we want to add the ability to share one’s history and story online through pictures and videos and even provide remote flower orders and delivery straight to a loved one’s grave. Through our Cremation By Grandview funeral home, families can arrange and even prearrange online, including completing all of their required forms, identification, and payment.

ECONOMIC PRIORITIES & NEW IDEAS
Given the economic constraints many families face, we want our cemetery’s new Legacy Trail to provide affordable options for disposition, such as our Cremation Ossuary and Legacy Wall and our semi-private niche options. Other appealing features of our Legacy Trail include in-ground niches that provide room for five (5) full-size urns, making efficient and cost-effective use of space for families not wanting traditional burial.

We intentionally placed our Legacy Trail next to our Grandview Pavilion—a modern, yet comfortable event facility design with picturesque views of the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. This outdoor facility is perfect for all types of celebrations of life, including traditional committals as well as private cremation memorials and community events, such as death cafes, yoga, and concerts featuring local artists.

What is important is that there are many creative options affordable for families today, and plenty of excellent designers out there to assist cemeterians who desire an upgrade or new initiative idea for their cemetery. For example, Gerardo Garcia and his amazing team from Columbium By Design worked with us at Grandview every step of the way, from initial concept design to turn-key completion, helping us bring our Legacy Trail development to full fruition. When launching a new creative project, professional collaboration is a must.

ONGOING GRIEF SUPPORT
My professional focus in recent years has been adopting and implementing a Nurturing Care paradigm across all of our deathcare divisions, including Cremation By Grandview. We retooled our emphasis in recent years to promote a more flexible framework for service offerings to client-families, meeting them where they are in their deathcare needs. By applying universal principles of bereavement caregiving, our Nurturing Care approach emphasizes a funeral director’s comforting presence and professional guidance that solidifies support and healing.

Cremation By Grandview provides opportunities for families who choose a cremation without ceremonies to utilize our cemetery for a final place of rest. Even without formal funeral services, families still benefit from having a place to go to remember and reframe their lives without their loved ones. Though we have been told repeatedly by grief researchers that human beings are surprisingly resilient when it comes to death and grief, we also understand that there remains a qualitative value of having a place to go and return again and again to not only honor the deceased’s life, but also to honor how our own stories have been forever changed. Cemeteries are indeed still vital to a healthy community. Providing a “cremation without ceremonies” through Cremation By Grandview also means educating families about the importance of a permanent place where they can find comfort and search for meaning.

Our Grandview Legacy Trail & Pavilion was also designed to create meaningful connections with our community by offering ongoing grief support. Partnering with the Center for Hope & Wellbeing, we are thrilled to offer our community the Healing Path®—a first of its kind. The Healing Path® is a self-guided and interactive series of stations situated along the Legacy Trail that is designed to help people who still need more support through their grief journey. After people enter our beautiful threshold entrance to the Legacy Trail, they can pick up a copy of our Healing Path® Field Guide to make use of the numerous grief resources and activities we have provided that will help them explore their thoughts and feelings and find the support and healing they may need while walking along the trail’s pathway.

My professional focus in recent years has been adopting and implementing a Nurturing Care paradigm across all of our deathcare divisions, including Cremation By Grandview. We retooled our emphasis in recent years to promote a more flexible framework for service offerings to client-families, meeting them where they are in their deathcare needs. By applying universal principles of bereavement caregiving, our Nurturing Care approach emphasizes a funeral director’s comforting presence and professional guidance that solidifies support and healing.

Cremation By Grandview provides opportunities for families who choose a cremation without ceremonies to utilize our cemetery for a final place of rest. Even without formal funeral services, families still benefit from having a place to go to remember and reframe their lives without their loved ones. Though we have been told repeatedly by grief researchers that human beings are surprisingly resilient when it comes to death and grief, we also understand that there remains a qualitative value of having a place to go and return again and again to not only honor the deceased’s life, but also to honor how our own stories have been forever changed. Cemeteries are indeed still vital to a healthy community. Providing a “cremation without ceremonies” through Cremation By Grandview also means educating families about the importance of a permanent place where they can find comfort and search for meaning.

Our Grandview Legacy Trail & Pavilion was also designed to create meaningful connections with our community by offering ongoing grief support. Partnering with the Center for Hope & Wellbeing, we are thrilled to offer our community the Healing Path®—a first of its kind. The Healing Path® is a self-guided and interactive series of stations situated along the Legacy Trail that is designed to help people who still need more support through their grief journey. After people enter our beautiful threshold entrance to the Legacy Trail, they can pick up a copy of our Healing Path® Field Guide to make use of the numerous grief resources and activities we have provided that will help them explore their thoughts and feelings and find the support and healing they may need while walking along the trail’s pathway.

I am one part concerned and one part encouraged about the future in deathcare. As cremation rates continue to steadily rise, so is the growing awareness that cemeteries are not necessary. The reason for this, I truly believe, is that we are now in an unprecedented era of deritualization – the growing trend in the United States of a public openness to revise, replace, minimize the significance of, and even eliminate or avoid long-held traditional funerary rituals to assist in the adaptation of loss. I have written extensively about deritualization in my research with Stellenbosch University. In short, deritualization is a significant interdisciplinary concern for all types of deathcare practitioners.

There has never been a time in human history where we have not disposed of our dead without pausing for some form of ritualization to help us find meaning, comfort, and healing. We actually do not know the collective effect on our society (and on us as individuals) if we gradually continue the course of choosing cremation (or burial) without any memorialization or rituals of support. Cremation is, of course, not the problem. Instead, my concern is providing quality support and care for families who experience a loss. This is why we at Cremation By Grandview work hard to educate families that cremation is not a final mode of disposition, but a means to prepare a deceased loved one’s body for final disposition. In short, cemeteries still matter.

Though it is doubtful we will ever return to the traditional rituals of old in how we care for our dead and each other, we can, however, create new ritual forms of support, hope, and healing. The good news is that now may be the best time ever to be involved in deathcare—it has never been more challenging or more fulfilling to assist one another in finding meaning and hope in the realm of human loss. The future for funeral service and end-of-life caregivers is indeed wonderfully promising.

The great irony we’ve discovered is that the key to our shared future lies buried, like some ancient treasure, in what is being too often ignored, if not forgotten altogether . . . the intrinsic value of cemeteries. As funeral professionals searching everywhere for any insights that may help us in our important work with bereaved families, we have found that true timeless wisdom abounds in perhaps one of the most surprising places of all—the old cemetery.
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These dedicated spaces and sacred grounds are available in all our communities and are ripe with possibilities for new ritual forms that can be packed with new meaning. The response to pervasive deritualization is creative reritualization, embedded right in our community cemeteries from long ago. It seems that the key to our future has been with us all along. And thankfully, with the help of CANA and its international reach, deathcare practitioners continue getting better at making the connection between cremation and meaningful memorialization.

On April 28th I had the pleasure of joining CANA, my Foundation Partners colleagues and two of our partners in an incredibly informative webinar entitled, Meeting Families Where They Are: How to Leverage Cremation Trends to Your Advantage. I was very impressed with the practical and actionable advice and solid tips shared by our presenters.

What I also found interesting was the wide range of cremation experience among the more than 220 CANA members who registered for the event. Nearly 20 percent of registrants are relatively new to the cremation space, with cremation representing less than 25 percent of their current business, while another 18 percent are fully invested in cremation services, which make up more than 85 percent of their business.
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Wherever they fall on the cremation business spectrum, they received valuable takeaways that will help them fine-tune and advance their businesses. And the good news is you can too by viewing a recording of the webinar here. First, however, I wanted to share a few highlights of the session and my take on the lessons learned.

I wholeheartedly agree with Tom’s assessment, which is supported by research showing that ancillary product and service offerings for cremation families represent a massive opportunity for funeral home owners.

The findings he shared about environmental concerns also resonated with me. As managers and owners of funeral service businesses, we need to be keenly aware of this environmental trend and look for ways to weave environmental responsibility into the fabric of our operations. Funeral home owners who recognize and stay ahead of the growing environmental movement will be well-positioned for success.

That’s why we were proud to announce that all cremations across Foundation Partners locations will be carbon neutral this year, thanks to a new carbon offset program we implemented through Terrapass to support projects across North America that reduce carbon in the atmosphere.

We all know that the pandemic has accelerated the flight to online shopping but educating families and selling funeral services online requires a new mindset and a new approach. Angelique Simpson, professional development director for Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions, offered tips to prepare your teams for the changing demands and expectations of today’s families, and illustrated how your average revenue per contract has the potential to increase when you have an effective online portal. Her advice ranged from why it’s imperative that your staff be knowledgeable in every aspect of your online offering, to making sure that your online platform enlists large clear photo images of all of the best products and services you have to offer.

According to Angelique, the key to successfully advancing your business is investing in your team with professional development. Making the shift from face-to-face family meetings to online chat and telephone communications requires training.

Our own, Foundation Partners experience bears this out. Like most of you, pandemic lock-downs required our teams to make pre-need and at-need arrangements over the phone or online. And state and local restrictions that limited gatherings prompted us to reassess our tools for remote attendance. Updating our e-commerce capabilities and bringing on new remote attendance systems required an efficient operational plan and a huge training effort that reached each of our 160 locations across the country.

At Foundation Partners, we take a three-step approach to rolling out new tools and procedures in our funeral homes: Pilot, Listen and Adapt.

Pilot – We identify offerings that are resonating in the market and test them in select locations. We partner with vendors and have them educate our teams to test new items. And then we incentivize our teams to offer these new products and services to families.

Listen – We ask our funeral home team members for feedback as they present different options to families. What’s working? And what’s not working?

Adapt – As we learn what is and is not resonating with our families, we adapt to meet their needs.

This is something you can do within your locations, regardless of the size of your business.

If you’re thinking about succession planning, now is the perfect time to arrange a complementary, confidential financial analysis with Foundation Partners Group. Click here to request a call or call Jason Widing, our vice president of business development at (503) 200-0605