Day: October 26, 2020

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Key things to help you everyday

Managing relationships with your residents the right way – a simple guide

As village professionals we’re privileged to actively participate in the daily lives of our residents.

Building these relationships is one of the best parts of the job.

But, it’s important to remember that we are in a trusted position with our residents. In the end of the day our role in their lives is a professional one.

There must be clear professional and personal boundaries with our residents, and these need to be recognised by all staff members.

Given the nature of our work and the fact that we get to know our residents over many years, it can be challenging to manage relationships in the ‘right’ way.

So, we’ve provided a few tips as a best-practice guideline for your village.

Friendly, but not familiar

A good technique to help staff understand these relationship boundaries is defining exactly what ‘A Right Relationship’ is in your village.

Keep it simple, as a statement about behaviour that can be reinforced in meetings and training.

Here’s an example you might use:

‘We will be friendly and fair, professional and personable, always maintaining respect for everyone in our community.’

A few things you should consider:

  • Be clear with residents about our role and its limits
  • Avoid disclosing personal information
  • Understand our professional obligations and comply with relevant legislation
  • Maintain privacy, confidentiality and abide by the resident’s rules

Acknowledge each resident as an individual

It’s no secret that some residents are easier to like than others.

But we can’t let this influence our behaviour.

We must demonstrate that we treat all residents equally, and acknowledge each resident as an individual.

And residents have responsibilities too

Like anything in life, these relationships are a two-way street!

Our residents should be willing to treat staff and their fellow residents with respect. If they’re not, it’s our role to make sure these expectations and responsibilities are clear. 

The key thing is to have a plan in place.

The DCM Institute covers this topic in greater detail in our Professional Development Program.

You can find out more here.

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Latest industry developments

LASA announces its Retirement Village Manager of the Year for 2020 – and three of the five finalists were members of the DCM Institute!

We love acknowledging the good work that’s going on in villages around Australia.

So we were absolutely thrilled when we learned that Lauren Jackson-Brown (pictured right) from Linton Village RSL Lifecare in Yass, New South Wales, had been named Leading Aged Service Australia’s (LASA) Retirement Village Manager of the Year 2020.

Lauren does some great work at her village, and was praised for her strong leadership skills and ability to maintain a vibrant village environment.

The five finalists were:

  1. Lauren Jackson-Brown – RSL Lifecare NSW
  2. Lean Patterson – SCC TAS
  3. Janine Thompson – Brightwater WA
  4. Sarah Mosconi – Bethanie, WA
  5. Catherine Montgomery – Cranbrook Residences, NSW

And it’s worth noting that Lauren, Janine and Sarah are part of the DCM Institute family, taking part in our professional development program in village management.

That’s three out of five finalists!

The awards are designed to recognise how diverse and dynamic our village professional roles are, and people like Lauren provide a great example for the rest of the industry.

Congratulations Lauren!

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Covid-19 Key things to help you everyday

Living with the pandemic – Are you prepared for the second (or third) wave?

As some of you may already know, DCM Institute’s Judy Martin also happens to be the Chair of the Global Ageing Network (GAN).

This organisation seeks to enhance the quality of life for the ageing, connecting and supporting care and service providers around the world.

Recently, Judy was part of a worldwide discussions on lessons learned from the Global COVID pandemic so far, and how these might help us prepare for future waves.

While there were many lessons identified in the discussion, Judy believes five of these are key for the retirement living sector.

  1. The important role technology played as a communication medium
  2. The benefit of mobilising the sector together to work on solutions
  3. The interaction and division between health, aged care and social care
  4. A new spotlight on improving services for older persons
  5. How ageism impacted response strategies

The DCM Institute team has also reflected on the sort of broader pandemic measures we as village professionals should think about including in our long-term business continuity plans.

Here are a few thoughts:

  1. Embrace technology both in your workplace and in your ongoing village communications
     
    1. Establish a preferred app or software program that will be your go to communication aid. Use this in day to day communications.
    2. Tap into local technology grants and programs that can help support residents to develop their technology skills.
       
  2. Mobilise together and develop relationships and networks that will be valuable in the future
     
    1. Establish a local village professional working group.
    2. Establish a village working group with residents and head office.
    3. Reach out to past/retired team members to assess their ability to assist in emergency situations.
    4. Consider joining the DCMI Village network meetings.
       
  3. Ensure that your plan includes support to assist to deal with health crisis
     
    1. Reach out and establish a working relationships with your local Public Health Network and hospital.
    2. Enlist the services of an emergency healthcare specialist. 
    3. Set clear boundaries of where the village’s role starts and stops in regards to healthcare, and make sure all staff are across these.
       
  4. Heighten your focus on services that can be provided to residents
     
    1. Keep an eye out for further grants and programs that can benefit residents and sign up to community grants scheme notifications.
    2. Consider which resident services will be maintained as business as usual, and which ones will need to be ramped up as needed.

Further to this, in the Village Network meeting this week held by DCM Institute there was healthy discussion about the importance of building business practices in villages that consider and reflect the ongoing pandemic and natural disaster risks as business as usual.

Learning from the lessons of the first wave is the best way to inform our future actions, and drive the best outcomes for our residents.

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Latest industry developments Things to watch

Have your village insurance premiums gone up? Fill out this survey and let us know! ​

Here’s an initiative we invite you to take part in, based on anecdotal evidence that retirement village insurance premiums are on the rise.

The Property Council Retirement Living Council (PC RLC) is seeking to collect data on reports of premiums increasing from 50-120%, driven by fires, floods, storm damage and the impact of COVID.

Insurance can be one of the larger line items in a village budget, and increases in premiums can have an impact on a village’s bottom line.

To address the problem, the PC RLC needs to understand the lay of the land.

That way they will be able to determine whether actions like recommending certain insurance providers or pursuing bespoke insurance arrangements are worthwhile.

To participate in the survey, click here.

The PC RLC is also encouraging village operators who’ve experienced serious hikes, to email direct here.

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Key things to help you everyday Things to watch

Finding new residents for your village – it’s not just a matter of being seen

Filling vacancies at your village can be a tricky task.

At the start of the village sales process you’re trying to achieve two goals – create awareness and generate interest.

The easiest way to do this is listing your village online.

I’m a firm believer in the idea that it’s not just a matter of being seen, but a matter of putting your best foot forward.

1. Understand your key messages

It’s going to be difficult to achieve a result if you don’t understand what you’re trying to say. 

A good way to get started when developing your key messages is thinking about the points of difference your village offers. This could be anything from the village’s location to its unique facilities.

Strong key messages help your village stand out.

And while it takes a bit of thought, it’s worth the effort.

2. Advertise your vacancies, establish your presence

Now that you’ve got your messages, it’s time to reach potential residents.

Typically, you’ll do this by listing your vacancies on a web portal.

But as Villages.com.au Head of Industry Sales Solutions Carmella Rowsthorne says, some web portals are more suitable than other.

“Finding the right balance between lead quantity and lead quality is a key challenge in village sales. That’s why it’s so important to list on a portal that people trust,” she said.

Once you’ve chosen your web portal, the messages you’ve developed will inform the choices you make in regards to copy and the images.

3. Put your best foot forward

So, you’ve developed your messages and found a web portal to list your vacancy.

But how do you make your village more appealing than the one down the road that’s done exactly the same thing?

Carmella says uplift options like purchasing a MREC banner or a promoted listing can be a good way to separate your village from the rest of the pack.

“On Villages.com.au promoted listings tend to deliver 30% more sales for our clients,” she said.

“With so many villages out there, it can be a great way to make your village stand out.”

Finding new residents for your village is more than just being seen.

It’s about putting your best foot forward.

With a little bit of thought and planning you can be confident you’re starting the starting the sales process on the right foot.

For more information about finding new residents for your village, you can contact Carmella here.

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Key things to help you everyday Latest industry developments

Are you preparing for Accreditation?

It’s the time of year where many village professionals are starting to think about compliance with the Code of Conduct and/or Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme.

One of the key activities of the Code of Conduct and Accreditation compliance is the conducting of an annual Resident Survey as one of the means of consultation. 

The DCM Group can assist you with this!

Working with the DCM Institute team, the DCM Group has designed a Resident Survey that will tick many of the compliance requirements for both the Code of Conduct and Accreditation scheme.

It will not only help you meet compliance obligations, but also provide great insight and information that can be used in future operational planning for the coming year. 

If you are interested in this great new service reach out to DCM Group’s Anna Archibald here.