Is Best Practice in Retirement Village Management a Realistic Goal?
Among many changes to the NSW Retirement Villages Act 1999 passed in December 2008 was the addition of one simple, yet fundamentally important objective:
“to encourage the retirement village industry to adopt best practice management standards.”
Vision believes that, while this falls short of introducing a licensing system or some other way of determining who is or is not suitable to operate a retirement village it a step in the right direction.
The Retirement Villages Association of Australia has an accreditation scheme that has been operating for many years. This scheme measures the performance of participating villages under a set of minimum standards. There is progress towards this accreditation a scheme operating independently of the association which is a further step in the right direction.
Following are some definitions of best practice:
“Best Practice is a superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the improved performance of an organisation, usually recognised as "best" by other peer organisations. It implies accumulating and applying knowledge about what is working and not working in different situations and contexts, including lessons learned and the continuing process of learning, feedback, reflection and analysis (what works, how and why).” www.visitask.com/best-practice-g.asp
A best practice is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a desired result. A commitment to using the best practices in any field is a commitment to using all the knowledge and technology at one's disposal to ensure success. The term is used frequently in the fields of health care, government administration, the education system, project management, www.bitpipe.com/tlist/Best-Practices.html
There is an argument that ‘best practice’ is an unachievable goal as it keeps moving as new innovations become available. As a result continual improvement is an essential component of best practice.
Our definition of ‘best practice’ in a retirement village business is:
“To deliver residents with the facilities and services they require as their needs and wants change over time while ensuring the continuing financial viability of the village.“
It is important that residents and operators understand they rely intrinsically upon each other for a village to succeed. The needs of residents and operators (and other stakeholders such as investors, financiers and government) need to be kept in balance.
It is our belief that ‘best practice’ comes from a cultural basis which is supported by continually improving processes and innovation. Without the right culture in a village all the processes and innovation in the world are worthless.
Through accreditation the RVA is promoting good practice but is not delivering solutions in the form of processes and tools that assist in achieving desired outcomes.
Vision has worked diligently at developing the Community Living Network as a web based best practice platform for the industry.
Best Practices have the following key characteristics:
- Documented
- Easily Accessible to All Parties
- Tied to Standards set by Accepted Professional or Government Bodies
- A Continual Process of Improvement
- Repeatable
- Efficient - benefits outweigh costs
- Scalable
- Effective - lead to desired outcomes
- Adaptable and Address Contingencies
- Provide Benchmarks and Frameworks,
- In compliance with existing laws and regulations
To find out more about the Community Living Network visit www.communityliving.net.au, or contact Vision Lifestyle Projects on (61 2) 8539 7710, or office@visionlp.com.au .