I recently came across this great Community Communication and Listening tool developed by the District Council of Yankalilla, authored by Community engagement specialist Becky Hirst.
It is a great roadmap on all the things we could do.
I have often said running a Retirement Community is like running a District Council and in an age where consultation is a given, we too as Village operators are looking for more innovative ways to engage with our Village communities.
I am not suggesting we need to strive to do all of these things but I thought by providing you the list you could think about whether there are some strategies in this menu that you could add to your own menu as such.
No surprise, I particularly like the “Back of the Ute” chats, the informal and impromptu chats that help Village professionals keep their ear to the ground.
The Working Group – involving residents in decision making, planning for the future, engaging their expertise and interest and Pop Ups – ensuring that not all your interaction with the community looks the same but adding diversity to the types of activities to encourage a range of residents to engage – could be moving the location, having a BBQ instead of morning tea, invite a guest speaker and just being present, mixing it up!!!
Over the summer holidays I am going to have a go at making a menu for myself – if you do make one yourself, I would love you to share it with us!