With more changes occurring in the last decade than in the last 60 year within the Retirement Living Industry, the relationship between industry players and suppliers will need to also evolve.
Rather than customer-vendor type transactions, long-term partnerships with extended horizons and a genuine interest in mutual success hold the keys to success, perhaps even survival. These underpin reasons why Programmed Property Services is now a corporate partner of the Retirement Living Council.
Programmed Executive General Manager Terri Hosking says: “We know the industry is facing changes of enormous magnitude over the next five years and beyond. Impending reorganisation within the industry is highly likely along with consolidation and new ownership in some cases. We want to ensure we work alongside the industry to find solutions to not only address the challenges these changes pose, but to pre-empt any challenges that might arise in the future. These may range from managing assets and maintenance, meeting the changing demands and expectations of residents and their families, to procurement and budgeting.”
“A long term horizon and robust partnership shapes our approach,” Terri said, explaining that Programmed has and continues to invest in helping industry participants stay ahead of, plan for and most crucially, grasp with confidence the opportunities that will surface in tandem with the industry’s changes.
As the likelihood of retirement living facilities looking vastly different by the end of the next decade is becoming increasingly evident, these changes could include transformation in the composition of property assets, site layouts and facilities as well as the way asset management and maintenance is planned and implemented.
Influencing these are the continuing upward trend for ageing-in-place and the influx of new operators, new construction and new concepts. There is a need to differentiate through the offer of quality and sophistication as well as facilities able to meet changes in demands for lifestyle-based environments, like Wi-Fi connectivity, golf courses, gymnasiums and homecare.
Meanwhile, funding and revenue models continue to be increasingly challenged and disrupted.
At a time when government funding of the sector is declining, the industry must plan how to do more with less.
Programmed has more than 60 years’ experience maintaining properties across Australia and New Zealand, including some of its most prestigious and iconic sites. We’ve partnered with many of our Retirement Living customers to recalibrate their current property and asset maintenance practices for better efficiency within a restricted budgetary environment.
“Protecting, maintaining, refurbishing, and even repurposing facilities and assets today for tomorrow can hold the key to not just survival, but long term success.” This, said Terri, referred to both the actual operational work as well as its management and implementation.
There is a renewed drive for operational efficiency; generating new predictable income streams will become more important. Owners and operators will need to leverage economies of scale and position themselves for a future of mixed-use retirement living properties, chiefly by transforming their existing asset portfolios and developing improved planning for ongoing asset maintenance. Those who don’t respond now to the increases and changes in market competition will be left behind.
Programmed has supported the retirement living industry for decades. We’ve provided complete property and asset maintenance services, and in the past couple of years, have extended this to include homecare services.
“We have worked closely with the Retirement Living Council since its inception because we know how integral the retirement living industry is in facilitating positive aging and accommodation services for older people. For 20 years, we’ve sponsored the Programmed Village Manager of the Year Award,” said Terri.
“Programmed is a genuine long-term partner in the industry. We’re not just a contractor or a supplier, we’re here for the long haul. That’s why we are now also a corporate partner of the Retirement Living Council. We recognise the important role the Council plays as the industry’s peak national leadership group, and are as committed as the Retirement Living Council and its members to providing the optimal facilities and assets vital to enabling residents live longer, healthier, and fuller lives,” Terri added.
Knowing this, the industry can have confidence that Programmed can be trusted and relied upon to support them, and as partners, prepare facilities and communities for the myriad changes poised to occur in the next five to 10 years, and beyond.
