One thing every developer of seniors’ living developments will tell you is they create strong communities. But what makes a successful community, and how do providers establish one?
For older people moving to a new home in a retirement village or residential aged care, one of the most significant aspects of the move will be the community they find there. Who will be their new housemates or neighbours, how will they engage with each other, and how will they spend their days in their new home? The success of the move will largely come down to the strength of the community they find there.
So, what are the keys to building a successful community?
COMPANIONSHIP
Building connections between residents is at the heart of building a successful seniors’ community.
Companionship is the key to creating “a sense of community and togetherness”, says Simon Lockyer, co-founder and CEO of Brisbane-based home care provider Five Good Friends.
Five Good Friends’ helpers can visit residents and provide that special element of companionship, they can simply sit with a resident and talk, or share a cup of tea, or take them to an appointment.
“Simply being there” makes an enormous difference to the resident’s experience of living in a retirement community, Simon said.
Studies of ‘Blue Zones’, parts of the world where populations are healthier and have longer lifespans, show that having five to six good friends around you through the ups and downs of life has a “stress-shedding power” that adds years to life.
“Enabling and empowering that community and being able to supply that community with a helper network is core to who we are,” Simon said.
The secret is finding a “true match” between the carer or helper and the resident – so that spending time together comes naturally.
Five Good Friends spends a lot of time learning about the residents and working out what they need and what will improve their quality of life – and helping to match them with a helper.
“We ask, ‘Tell me about you? What are your goals? What are you interested in? What are you motivated by? What do you like to do?” Simon said.
“We find people who have common interests and common goals.”
COMMON VALUES
Having a clear set of resident-focused values can also be a foundation for building strong communities.
Private aged care operator LDK Seniors’ Living communities – Greenway Views in Canberra and The Landings in Sydney, with a third Canberra community on the way – have been described as ‘the happiest places on earth’.
Byron Cannon, LDK’s Chief Executive Officer, says their successful communities stem from their values: the Love Decency and Kindness that make up the organisation’s name.
In line with those values, LDK puts the consumer “dead set right in the middle” of everything they do, Byron told SATURDAY.
“You talk and you listen to the consumer about what their wants and needs are, and then you respond.”
LDK regularly surveys all residents – whether they are there for a short respite stay or they are a long-term resident – about what makes them happy.
“A lot of feedback is around connectedness within the community,” Byron said.
Once they understand the residents’ wishes, their interests, their care requirements, their life story, LDK “activates” programs and services to meet each resident’s needs, whether they are fully independent or requiring end-of-life care.
LDK also creates a ‘Key to Me’ document for every resident to tell their story. The Key to Me is circulated across the village so everyone has the opportunity to learn about the resident.
To build community, Byron’s key message is, “You’ve got to keep learning from the consumer. If they feel validated that you are listening to them and that you are changing too for their benefit, then you’ll get a lot more buy in from them.”
‘ACTIVATION’ OF COMMON SPACES
While some seniors’ communities have beautiful grounds and facilities, all too often they are underutilised. Providers have to ensure that residents have reason to come out of their apartments or rooms, that they have people to see, and activities to get involved in – in order to create a thriving community.
Concierge services, such as Five Good Friends’ Move Nourish Connect, help to build communities in retirement villages and aged care homes by bringing activities, conversations, and education to residents – whether it’s a lecture on nutrition, games for residents, or gardening groups.
Five Good Friends helps to create thriving communities by getting residents “out and about”, and engaging with activities, their environment, and each other.
For LDK, they allocate more area to communal spaces in their designs than other providers – but the key is “activation”, Byron said – so residents use the space, and mingle with each other.
Without “activation”, “there’s no soul or spirit within” communities, he said.
Activation can be:
- a knock on the door to see how the resident is going
- seated dancing classes
- exercise classes
- outings, and
- food and beverages, such as happy hour, high teas, and lunches.
Byron said it’s a “land-based cruise ship approach” – residents can do as much or as little as they wish.
This “hospitality mindset” extends right through LDK- and helps to improve the residents’ experience. “At every touchpoint in the customer journey, residents feel supported, they feel validated, and they feel we’re there from them, whether that’s from their first phone call or their tour, all the way through to actually exiting the village.”
The resident-focused culture improves the experience for residents, meaning they are happier and more likely to take part in activities and engage with their community.
GROUPS AND COMMITTEES
Resident Committees and special groups can be another good way to foster community and can help to establish a lively activities calendar.
Resident Committees, Gardening Groups, Book Clubs, and Walking Groups are examples of the types of groups that can encourage residents to find people with common interests, to share activities, and promote wellness – and happiness.
For example, “a small Resident Committee can greet new residents and invite them to activities, whether it be the next Five Good Friends’ Move Nourish Connect program or the sewing group,” Simon said.
Five Good Friends can work with residents to establish the groups and create a varied and engaging activities calendar – another key component of a strong seniors’ community. Once established, the members will often run the activities calendar themselves.
STRONG COMMUNITIES DURING COVID-19
Simon said strong retirement village communities helped residents during COVID-19.
"People that live in villages had a better perceived sense of community and well-being because they are with people in the same life stage, and they could still see their neighbours,” he said.
VISIBLE MANAGEMENT
Another element of bringing senior’s communities together is having visible management, who are always listening, always adapting, to the resident’s needs and wishes.
Village managers should adopt an open-door policy.
“Incidental” interactions between the village manager and residents create the sense the manager is part of the community, and is there for residents, responding to their needs, Simon said.
Although being available to residents throughout the day can take up precious time, it’s a valuable way to foster community.
BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER
The night before we spoke, Byron had been at the opening of a new clubhouse at The Landings. It’s a “live example” of a strong community, he said.
“The clubhouse extension has brought them together, and there is more space for them to hang out. But there are also more activities they can do in there, and you can feel the connectedness,” Byron said.
“That’s a community that was almost toxic four or five years ago... and we’ve been able to bring them together.”
Listening to residents, creating spaces they can enjoy, and facilitating activities they can take part in and find friends to enjoy life with – that’s a successful community.
