 Strategic planning led this faith-based organization to success.
No one understands strength in numbers better than social ministry organization Liberty Lutheran Services. In 2001, three organizations decided their missions to care for children, families, and older adults would be better served if they banded together. Today, Liberty Lutheran serves a five-county area in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
 Luanne Fisher, President and CEO
Building infrastructure
Liberty Lutheran comprises two aging-service organizations—a CCRC and a multi-disciplinary assisted living facility—as well as Lutheran Children and Family Service, which provides services pertaining to foster care, adoption, refugee, immigration, after-school programs, group homes, and senior centers. But when the 45 senior staff members sat down to discuss the direction of their newly formed organization, their first mission was to develop a strong infrastructure.
“After we defined our policies and procedures, developed the appropriate corporate compliance and HR departments, and got our finances in order, we developed five world-class objectives,” said Fisher. “They represent our business plan, the areas in which we want to excel, and the drivers that would take us into the future as a place our customers wanted to be and as an employer of choice.”
The first objective addresses excellence in internal customer service. Strategies and systems used to meet this objective include offering competitive pay, ensuring the staff feels engaged in the mission and values of the organization, and creating an environment in which employees feel personally affirmed.
The organization also uses a system called Talent Reservoir, which acts as the organization’s salary administration and talent development system. An intensive training course focuses on 10 core competencies used to evaluate potential and current staff members: caring, compassion, communication and listening, financial management, customer service, outcome orientation, leadership, job skills, integrity, and trust. Every job is delineated by skill level, and each skill level is broken down based on the ability to adhere to the competencies.
“There are career paths and opportunities for our employees that weren’t possible before we merged,” said Fisher. With nearly 30 locations organization-wide, employees have more opportunity for growth. “People continually cross the organization.”
To fulfill the second objective, excellence in external customer service, four specific customer service standards were identified: provide a warm and welcoming environment, demonstrate respectful treatment, engage in open and attentive communication, and meet and exceed expectations. Annual surveys measure successes and areas of services that could be expanded.
Another piece of the company’s external customer service is its brand, which Fisher describes as energized. The Liberty brand, for example, is aligned to promote world-class service, and the two aging-service organizations have identified their brands as compassionate care and great value. “The brand of the social service agency is the offer of a broad array of services to a diverse clientele. This is exemplified by the 28 languages spoken, highlighting the values of cultural competency and diversity,” Fisher said.
Meeting needs
To say the human element of the Liberty Lutheran business is important is an understatement, but that doesn’t mean the business aspects are neglected. In fact, the third world-class objective is program innovation, predicting market trends and providing programs to meet those needs. Roughly three years ago, the organization was approached by the Philadelphia Department of Human Services to start a group home for gay, lesbian, and transgendered kids. With only one other home in New York and one in the South, there was clearly a need.
“The department came to us because we have a history of innovation, and we place the needs of the kids first,” said Fisher. “These kids were out on the street, and they needed to become productive members of society.”
In addition, 10 years ago, Artman Lutheran Home, one of Liberty’s affiliates, developed an alternative health center on its campus, underscoring and embracing the importance of wellness. The center includes a therapeutic pool, massage, and acupuncture. Today, the center’s membership exceeds 800 individuals from the surrounding community.
Financial stability is the fourth objective, and excellence in leadership as a faith-based organization is Liberty Lutheran’s fifth world-class objective, which includes involvement in community planning, promotion of its faith-based mission, and the development of caring communities. “We need to be the single best source for people in our five-
county area,” Fisher said.
Dedicated guidance
The world-class objectives not only help steer the organization through the present, they also guide it through decisions for the future. As Liberty Lutheran prepares to bring in its fourth organization, Mary J. Drexel Home, Fisher can see the potential and the positives. “We will be developing an innovative approach to working with older adults, which will give some of our more senior staff members a new direction in which to grow,” she said.
The Lutheran organization’s endowment will also be an asset to the company as it moves forward. In looking to expand down the road, in much the same way that employees need to rise to the call of the 10 core competencies, each new merger will need to, in some way, touch on the five world-class objectives.
“Liberty’s world-class objectives create the focus, energy, and direction for our work and future,” said Fisher. “These objectives provide the structural framework for the broad array of services we deliver.”
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