Category: Key things to help you everyday

The good news of the fortnight is Australia’s coronavirus restrictions are easing! 

While this will be welcome news for some residents and staff, there is no doubt there will be others that are nervous about the continued risk and potential impact on their health. 

With the help of our good friends at MinterEllison and with some of our own investigation, we provide below the latest references available for retirement living operators in each state as at today.  

Queenslandon 15 May 2020 the Queensland Government issued advice for retirement village visitors on the ‘Homes and Housing’ section of the Queensland Government website that provides some guidelines around visitors, activities and facility use.

South Australia on15 May 2020 updated the COVID-19 Fact Sheet for Retirement village operators  and seeks to reinforce the South Australian Roadmap.

New South Wales late last week provided some answers in a Frequently Asked Questions format around visitors, meetings, annual contract checks, privacy, open inspections and health emergencies.  

Victoria early this week announced that from 1 June 2020 cafes, restaurants and pubs will be re-opened to serve meals to up to 20 customers at a time (per enclosed space):

• Venues will be required to take the contact details of every customer to assist in rapid contact tracing.
   
• From 22 June 2020 the limit could increase to 50 patrons and in the second half of July, 100 patrons.
   
• The timelines are reliant on high testing numbers and medical advice from the Chief Health Officer

However they provide little direction as yet on the Consumer Affairs ‘Housing’’ section around meeting gatherings.

Western Australia commenced ‘Stage 2’ easing of restrictions on 18 May. 20 people are now allowed to gather indoors, including in cafes and restaurants with meal service.

Tasmania ‘Stage 1’ commenced 18 May. The number of visitors to a household is now 5, although gatherings of 10 are permitted at restaurants and cafes. Pools and outdoor exercise equipment may also be re-opened (provided there are less than 10 patrons).

There is a lot of concern and frustration about sales, understandably.

Limits on onsite inspections, the hit to residential home sales, the ongoing confusion (especially in the media) about aged care homes and retirement villages – and of course families asking when ‘mum’s home will be sold’. Plus operator’s are keen to receive their DMF income.

Here is a basic step we can all make, right now and at no cost. Check your processes for handling the first contact by a potential customer with your village.

In 2017 when sales were last hit (by the ABC Four Corners report), the leading advisory firm KPMG did a village Customer Experience Survey. It found that ”80% of Retirement Village operators did not answer a mystery shopper call and only 50% returned that call (from a message left on an answering machine)”.

We all know that first impression is vitally important.

To back this up, interesting results were provided by American Seniors Housing last year. Their research found:

“84% of the time the first village that has a meaningful (sales/marketing) conversation will be the prospect’s village of choice.” And further to that:

“By having a meaningful conversation within 5-minutes of a prospect’s enquiry increases the prospects likelihood to buy from you by over 400%.”

What happens at your village? What really happens to a prospect’s call when your village admin transfers them to sales – do they get a voicemail, is it picked up, are they left waiting, do they hang up without the opportunity to provide information?

Do they move on to the next village?

What about after hours if a prospective calls? What do your prospects experience then?

Do they get a message and set the expectation when their call will be answered? Are they directed to your website for further information, or do they get a voicemail beep?

And what happens if they land on your website after hours and they are seeking some basic information about your community?

Can they easily find your operating hours, inspection details, testimonials from other residents, virtual tour, guides/e-books about the many benefits of retirement living, and an opportunity to leave an enquiry?

Is there a chatbot that may be able to answer their basic questions and encourage them to fill out an enquiry form?

These are the basics, but powerful basics that we can all make sure work.

We all know that communication is paramount in operating Retirement Living communities.

With COVID-19 I am confident the communications from operators to residents have been many, but so too am I confident the communications from residents to operators have been plentiful as well.

Normally our preferred communication style is face to face, but that is not ‘socially isolating’.

We have less opportunity to walk around the village, and less likely to be able to be present to minimise rumours (which is no doubt heightened).

For complaints in the past we may have visited in person and resolved a complaint in person, or at the very least relied on visual cues and personal relationships to verify the differences between someone venting Vs a complaint/dispute to be managed.

So it is a time where written, emailed or text information prevails, but these can so often be taken the wrong way or misinterpreted; and the information to hand suggests this is the way we will be operating for some many months.

I suggest it may be beneficial to revisit how complaints and disputes can be managed. If you’re not sure where to start with a review, then perhaps using the Retirement Living Code of Conduct guidelines as a tool is a good place to start.

If you are a DCM Institute participant, we have put together some best practice guides for complaint and dispute management that will be shared during this month’s topic.

If you are not a current member and would like us to share with you some of these tools please contact Judy Martin at
judym@dcmmedia.com.au and we would be only too happy to share them with you too.

As a Village Manager you are likely to face daily challenges within your own community – death, illness, divorce, declining health, operational challenges, legislative changes, organisational pressures and resident demands, to name a few. 

Then add to this drought, flood, bushfires and now COVID-19 concerns. 

It is no wonder that this year I already have personally been approached by nearly half a dozen Village Managers feeling the challenges are just too much. 

This distressed me and I spoke to Samantha Young, Managing Director of Human Psychology.

She quickly highlighted the positives: these Village Managers are acknowledging how they are feeling and reaching out for support. 

Samantha was quick to provide me with a Top 10 list of actions that Village Managers can consider if they find themselves nearing leadership burnout.

Here they are:

1. Know your early warning signs. Common burnout symptoms include poor sleep, loss of motivation, exhaustion, feeling every day at work is a bad day, increased irritability and engaging in escapist behaviours like excessive drinking. This is a time to take action.
2. Empower your team and delegate more – share your vision and purpose and reduce micro-managing.
3. Become more deliberate with your time. Use your leisure time wisely. Seek out positive people and sources of relaxation and achievement outside of work.
4. Take a break, 20 minutes a day. No texting, no internet, just you and an introspective practice (like mindfulness). What you do during this time can vary. What matters most is that you’re away from your tasks. Unplug!
5. Rewind, reflect, remember – take time to remember why you’re doing what you do. What is your purpose? Why is this work so important to you? What do you hope to achieve?
6. Get the fundamentals right – diet, sleep and exercise.
7. Honestly assess your situationand work toward solutions. Ask yourself the following questions: “Why am I doing what I am doing? What’s one thing can I change today? What action can I take to alter my situation? Can I allow myself to take a break from my current situation? How long would I need?”
8. Mentally remove yourself from the job – step back and try to look at your job from an external objective point of view. Imagine how others might view your responsibilities and the expectations they would reasonably hold.
9. Manage your energy, not your time. Work out when you are most productive and do important tasks then. Chart your energy and rank activities in terms of whether they energise you or drain you. Then do what you’re best at when you’re at your best. 
10. Increase your self-efficacy – the belief in your own ability to accomplish and exercise control over personally meaningful goals and tasks. The most direct and effective way to enhance self-efficacy is through performance mastery experiences. Seek out coaching and professional development experiences to identify mastery experiences. 

The Village Manager’s role is crucial to the success of the village, including the happiness and wellbeing of village residents and staff. 

First and foremost, it is vital that you look after your own wellbeing to ensure you are able to continue to look after residents and staff.

If you find yourself getting close to the point where you feel like you need the oxygen mask, please consider a courageous conversation with a senior leader, contacting human resources, phoning your organisational Employee Assistance Program, visiting your GP or calling Lifeline 13 11 14.

 DCM Institute is excited to bring to its members an International study tour to New Zealand in July 2020.​

New Zealand retirement village operators are internationally-recognised as being world leaders in this sector. Delegates on the Inaugural DCM Institute study program will visit a mix of NZ’s retirement villages and co-located care facilities in Auckland and Tauranga. Hosted by DCMI’s Director Judy Martin and NZRVA CEO John Collyns the program is open to DCMI Village Manager Professional Development program members.

Information on the study tour program can be found HERE.

Register your expression of interest HERE.

For information pls contact Judy Martin
E: judym@dcmmedia.com.au or M: 0437 649 672

Capital expenditure budget planning.

There have been many many lessons I have learned in my retirement community management journey over the last couple of decades but of the most important has been, taking a very planned and careful approach to capital expenditure budget planning.

It’s the only way to avoid the headaches and the potential of future embarrassment.

If you are under QLD legislation and need to abide by the Quantity Surveyor requirements or in NSW where the new Asset Management Plan legislation this will dictate some of these steps for you.

Whether you are preparing per contractual requirements of Capital Replacement Funds or internally for operator funding – we need to start early, being consultative and thorough to head off what can easily induce great pain!

This list of tips looks long, but much of it is common sense – but easily missed. When planning to review your Capital Expenditure budget consider:

• Consulting internal stakeholders – finance, development, senior managers to understand if they have “projects” that you are unaware of that may impact the budget
• Consulting the resident community – this could be via resident committees, feedback process, survey results, focus group morning teas. I know a couple of great organisations that hold a strategic planning morning with their residents every second year to gain clarity on where the residents see the village needs in five to 10 years.
• Undertake a thorough inspection of the village – if you are not confident in undertaking this process, consider the services of a quantity surveyor or building inspector to assist
• Review Contractor arrangements and suggestions for future works
• Check for new legislative requirements – not just Retirement Village Acts requirements
• Consider market trends and consumer expectations to ensure the village remains attractive and in good repair
• Allow enough time to get multiple quotes for projects
• Review the number of repairs carefully, especially in NSW, whether there are items that should be replaced
• Consider staging plan options for major works
• Check resident agreements and internal policy requirements
• Check lifespan specifications for major pieces of infrastructure
• Consider timelines: the requirements next 12 months, three to five years and five to 10 years
• Review time – once you have a draft budget completed – consult again – allow time and be prepared to do this a number of times

Capital expenditure in our sector has often been one of those ad hoc, non-focus areas of the business as the accountants often view it as a non return on investment. 

However another great lesson is the better the village is maintained and the asset improved the happier the residents, the more referrals, the quicker the sales and the higher the price!  Win win…

I would like to share with you a few great tips from Janet Loli from the Forbes Coaches Council.  

Janet says: “Leadership development includes not necessarily learning new leadership skills but working consistently to practice the behaviours and skills that we know we should be practising but haven’t yet formed as habits.”

Some of us have great intentions and strive to be effective leaders but yet sometimes, due to pressure, not having enough time or resources or just being tired, impacts our performance. 

And sometimes our actions are not in alignment with the person we want to be or want to be known as.

Janet suggests perhaps in 2020 we focus on letting what we already know bloom, rather that leaving it to chance.

She says put pen to paper and write down a few areas you would like to shine as part of your 2020 goals and then reflect on it regularly.

Here is an example that looks so simple and obvious.

Leadership Capability:  I would like to be known as being a people-oriented leader

Actions required (tick these off in your mind on how you really rate): 

• Take time to pause and talk with residents, and really listen 
• Remember things that are important to individuals – birthdays, events, holidays etc (develop a system to help with this)
• Acknowledge the contributions of residents/staff/volunteers – great or small (could be verbally or a small note/card)
• Regularly seek out the thoughts opinions and ideas of residents/staff/volunteers
• Hold back on judgement; acknowledge we all have a history that shapes our views
• Act on your word, give your commitment and follow through (and develop a system to support this behaviour)

Try writing two or three of these and focus your 2020 actions and behaviours around them.

This will help move you from automatic reactions into a place of choosing your responses and your actions intentionally.

Come back every month and do a review; you will be amazed how much progress you will make and how good you will feel as a professional.

Remember: simple is good.

In February’s DCM Village Management Professional Development program we delve deeper into the Leadership skills, traits and capabilities that are required of a Village professional. 

The best investment you can make in 2020 is to take time out and recharge the motivational batteries at the VILLAGE SUMMIT, the annual meeting of village management professionals.

Join 300 of your colleagues in experiencing Australia’s best motivational speakers.

First up is Matt Church, returning to the VILLAGE SUMMIT by popular demand. Matt is listed in the Top 10 motivational speakers in the world for his ability to simplify the job of leadership and empower you to identify and implement simple changes with big results.

Sonia McDonald explores courageous leadership and how to dare to step into your own power as a leader. You will learn how to build your ‘A Team’, deliver trust and resilience and ultimately satisfied residents and a successful business.

Dr Paulo Maestro is an internationally renowned speaker, author, sports psychologist and neuro-scientist. As a former champion cyclist, he is revered as a legendary mentor in the field of human potential on and off the sporting arena, working with Valentino Rossi, Usain Bolt, US boxing phenomenon Floyd Mayweather, and potentially you too.

Plus, you will learn from 22 leading village sector leaders and CEOs who will share their knowledge and experience.

Book now for the VILLAGE SUMMIT and recharge in Sydney, Thursday 20 and Friday 21 February. Learn more HERE.

The DCM Institute is proud to present two days of inspiration, unique learnings in community leadership, focused technical and soft skill development, professional development and networking.

 The VILLAGE SUMMIT will deliver:

• A high intensity two-day forum focused on Village Managers and HO support
• Extension on existing learnings and skills
• Leadership skills and personal development 
• Leadership experts showcasing the soft skills of leading people and communities 
• A comprehensive review of ‘regulations’ – how they are changing the business of retirement villages and the skills required 
• Mastering the 8 Point Plan, the Code of Conduct and Accreditation
• Technology and retirement villages: efficiencies, care support, compliance
• Property and assets management
• Sales and marketing skills and the bottom line impact
• A deep briefing on the retirement village sector and its exciting growth future 
• Insight into the current and future expectations of residents
• A foundation for ongoing professional development and career advancement
• Networking opportunities with peers and leaders at every level of the sector

With 25 leading speakers to inspire and learn from, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Find out more HERE.Download ProgramRegister Here