Established as the parent company of Morrison Living, Coreworks, Unidine and The Hub, CCL Hospitality Group has solidified its position as a premier provider of hospitality-forward dining and support services management, specifically for healthcare, senior living, and recovery care.
Since its inception, the company has set the industry standard by offering economies of scale in all aspects of business, including service culture, workforce stability, purchasing power, investment capital, programming solutions, financial accountability, and marketing data and insights.
With a strong vision of offering customers the very best services, CCL Hospitality Group is committed to driving results by boasting a breadth of experience and expertise that is unparalleled in the industry.
The CEO Views is pleased to recognize CCL Hospitality Group on the cover of this issue, leading the list of “Most Influential Companies of the Year 2024.” Dan Natterman, CEO of CCL Hospitality Group, was with the CEO Views team to share detailed insights into their business journey.
Story of CCL Hospitality Group
CCL – an acronym that has become increasingly important to the organization. Internally, these three letters represent three key stakeholders: Consumers, Clients and Leaders, and what it means to serve them. For CCL Hospitality Group, delighting the consumers is principle number one. These are the residents, patients, family members and guests – solidifying that what matters most is delivering positive experiences that reinforce the client’s brand. Secondly, CCL aligns these experiences and services offered to the client’s goals, intentions and expectations to enhance their place in a competitive market, building and strengthening their reputation by meeting critical business objectives. Success is achieved with the knowledge and know-how of the leaders of CCL – those actively engaged with the client, executing the vision with the resources and scale that CCL provides.
CCL was established as the parent company to Morrison Living, Unidine, Coreworks and The Hub, bringing together industry-leading operating companies with distinct value in their respective markets. Appointed CEO, Dan Natterman is diligently building a culture of service and customer-centricity throughout CCL’s operating companies with unwavering conviction and enthusiasm to offer a better alternative to conventional outsourcing.
To address the gaps within the industry and benefit current and future clients, CCL conducted extensive market research, including customer conversations, which illustrated that evolving the corporate brand to CCL Hospitality Group would add to greater recognition and focus on delivering unparalleled hospitality to clients and customers every day. The HUB, a retail and design company, has since been added to the portfolio.
“CCL Hospitality Group was established as we identified new opportunities to better support our team members and the communities we serve,” states CEO Dan Natterman. As the parent organization, CCL Hospitality Group brings together collective expertise, resources, and scale, empowering the operating companies to provide an even higher level of service and innovation. Under the broader parent organization, Morrison Living, Unidine, Coreworks and The HUB have unique traits and a value proposition, allowing CCL to offer more tailored solutions for their communities.
As an organization, we are committed to driving our diversity and inclusion strategy forward and implementing meaningful change across our industry.
Comprehensive Range of Services
CCL Hospitality Group offers a comprehensive range of services to enhance various aspects of client communities, including culinary, operations optimization, procurement, talent management, nutrition and wellness, venue concept and design, data analytics, housekeeping and environmental services.
Resident satisfaction is a top priority, and providing exceptional dining experiences is a contributing factor. Led by the expertise of executive chefs, Morrison Living’s and Unidine’s culinary teams curate diverse menus based on the unique concepts of the venues, providing residents with choice in their dining experience. The hospitality experience is rooted in aligning the best-fit talent for each role, fostering a culture of dedication and service excellence. At the same time, data-driven insights from industry trends, consumer spending, and operational efficiencies empower effective strategy development that enhances the client’s brand. We tailor solutions to address unique client community preferences.
Effective management of hospitality services is crucial for the success of CCL Hospitality Group’s clients. A well-developed client activation process ensures a seamless transition, marked by well-defined milestones and supported by a dedicated team of training ambassadors. Through partnership, CCL Hospitality Group’s clients can accelerate their priorities while retaining control of their operations.
Leader’s Perspective on Success
Successful strategic partners can understand and champion the business objectives of the communities and guests they serve, both now and in the future. The visionary leadership of CCL Hospitality Group has positioned the organization at the pinnacle of success.
A well-optimized operation encompassing trust, goal alignment, effective communication, and mutual accountability ensures proactive approaches are implemented to address concerns. CCL’s dedicated management team meticulously implements processes by prioritizing an engaging, collaborative, consultative approach that strongly emphasizes culture. By harnessing industry best practices, effective tools and resources and cutting-edge technology, CCL provides tailored solutions that drive efficiency and excellence.
Speaking about how the company’s approach evolved over the last few years, CCL elaborates, “We have made significant investments in people, technology, and programs that empower our onsite management teams, giving them the tools and resources for more optimized processes and imparting a culture of service that engages our onsite teams.”
Company Culture
Building a great team is at the heart of any company’s success, which has been one of the most significant priorities for CCL. Recognizing its team members are at the heart of the business, CCL Hospitality Group strives to create a positive culture. It continues to provide them with opportunities and support, making CCL Hospitality Group a place where people want to work.
Talent recruitment and management have been a significant focus for CCL Hospitality Group. They have implemented proactive outbound marketing strategies to attract prospective employees, utilizing geo-specific messaging, email nurture strategies, video social ads, and Al chat functionality. Once on board, they provide specialized training, professional development opportunities, competitive benefits, and fair wages to support the team members.
Supporting a positive workplace culture, CCL focuses on engagement initiatives to connect with team members and understand how leadership and the organization can best help them in their daily responsibilities and long-term goals and aspirations.
CCL goes beyond the traditional training regimen of handing a team member a manual and offering a few hours spent with a peer. They provide teams with ongoing support through coaching and mentorship, skills development, and consistency in reinforcing proper measures or procedures. Team members are encouraged to get to know others outside their direct teams, within the organization and beyond their traditional network, as there is great value in learning from others’ experiences and finding support in a coach or mentor.
One program that has proved to have significant benefits is the “Culinary Innovation Ambassador” program (CIA), which rewards three high-performing chefs within the organization annually, allowing them to advance their training. Selected by senior leadership, the recipients choose an international trip to anywhere in the world for inspiration and innovation. Upon return, the chefs share their experiences and learnings, highlighting this when developing new menu offerings and teaching techniques based on their travels.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives are vital to establishing a company culture and making CCL Hospitality Group a great workplace. “As an organization, we are committed to driving our diversity and inclusion strategy forward and implementing meaningful change across our industry. Every individual brings unique skills, strengths, and insights into how we can continue improving. Enforcing a culture prioritizing DEI fosters creativity, fresh perspectives, and higher engagement,” shares Dan.
One example of creating equity in the hospitality industry is the company’s “Women in Culinary” program, which pairs rising female culinarians with executive and corporate-level chefs, giving them opportunities for mentorship and development. The program seeks to empower female culinarians through dedicated training and learning opportunities through leadership development programs and encouraging attendance at industry–related seminars and conferences.
Supporting a culture of inclusivity, CCL Hospitality Group is creating a workplace where people can thrive. The group is committed to guiding team members on their career paths while seeking to identify emerging leaders in the organization.
Proactive Approach to Emerging Technologies & Innovation
In today’s world, where technology and consumer trends constantly evolve, innovation is integral to staying ahead of the curve. CCL Hospitality Group prides itself on its innovation and progressive strategies. CCL Hospitality Group can enhance the resident experience, empower teams to do their job more effectively and efficiently, and allow for greater agility by continually seeking, evaluating, and adopting the latest technologies to integrate into the operations.
Although technology might be the first thing people think of when referring to innovation, at CCL Hospitality Group, the leaders recognize innovation as more than physical technologies. The progressive, forward–thinking abilities of CCL’s teams allow them to understand how its services impact the industry now but recognize that it is evolving rapidly. CCL stays abreast of trends and is ready to meet them head–on to keep client communities moving forward.
A culinary technique currently trending within the organization is the sous vide cooking method. Sous vide, a French term for “under vacuum,” refers to cooking food in a vacuum-sealed bag at a precise and constant temperature. This technique locks in the flavors, retains nutrients and delivers consistent results, leading to higher guest satisfaction. Other benefits of sous vide are that it helps to save time and has significant cost savings.
CCL Hospitality Group also prioritizes its corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts by significantly emphasizing programs to reduce waste. Their digital kitchen program removes the antiquated paper system throughout operations, eliminating excess waste and creating operations efficiencies. Recipes, production sheets and temperature logs are completely digital, and the touch screens in the prep areas ensure accuracy and ease of visibility to these. An innovative approach to waste reduction, the digital system also supports forecasting for product ordering, menu development and food safety compliance.
CCL Hospitality Group was created to identify new opportunities to better support our team members and the communities we serve.
Stacking Up Against Competitors
“Our greatest competitive advantage is our team” and is championed throughout the organization. CCL is constantly striving to strengthen its culture of service and ensure that every team member has a stake in its success. With more than 15,000 CCL team members in over 850 communities nationwide, the unique backgrounds make for a stronger and more diverse team, bringing fresh viewpoints to the organization and helping solve challenges for maximum results.
CCL remains committed to transparency and its intention of driving results for its clients. Dan shares, “We’re not a vendor. We are a partner and form relationships built on dedication, loyalty, hard work, and honesty. And even though we form a large organization, we are flexible and agile in our approach, so we can act fast where scale and customization intersect providing the best of both worlds.”
With many senior living communities still being self–operated, there is a vast opportunity to actively educate owners and operators about the benefits of outsourcing, emphasizing the value of consultative and strategic partnerships. Through transparent communication and collaboration, CCL Hospitality Group is making a lasting impact on the dining and support services industries. Outsourcing can provide operational infrastructure, market intelligence, brand expertise, and access to a broad supply chain and distribution channel network, empowering organizations and alleviating the burden of single–handedly operating these specialty services. A collaborative partnership offers access to resources and support for making informed decisions, giving owners and operators of these care communities more time to focus on other important business areas.
Future Vision
CCL Hospitality Group’s robust, differentiated portfolio meets a wide range of client and customer needs. Now and in the future, CCL Hospitality Group aims to continue to align strategies and co-ordinate operations to capture the available synergies across its operating companies. Moreover, they allow each operating company to have its strategic role in its portfolio. With a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, the company will continue to identify and cultivate a clear, differentiated positioning for its clients, ensuring each has the right strategy to be competitive in their respective market.
