RVA NEWS MONITOR No.27 - April 7, 2009
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Manager of the Year Award 2009 nominations openNominations are now being accepted for the RVA Manager of the Year Award. The award is the only national reward designed to recognise excellence in retirement village management, now in its sixth year. Regional awards will be held across Australia presented by major sponsor Programmed Property Services and media sponsor the Australian Senior. The overall winner will be announced at the RVA National Conference which will be held in Sydney from 10-12 November. RVA President Simon Owen said he hoped this year would see an increase in the number of applications for the award. “This award has been very successful in past years and I think that’s because we have so many high quality managers that do a fantastic job. “I would like to see an increase in applications to make the competition even greater and thus elevate the prestige of the award even higher than it already is,” Mr Owen said. Awards organiser Shae Baxter said regional finalists received complementary registration, transportation and accommodation at the RVA National Conference. “There’s also a $250 cash prize, certificate and trophy. The national winner receives a weekend away to the value of $2000 and $1000 cash. “The prizes are just the icing on the cake because the real award is the recognition that this award brings and for village owners it’s a great opportunity to differentiate their village in a challenging market,” Ms Baxter said. Manager of the Year for 2008 Kaye Dix, of Parkland Villas Mandurah in WA, said the award helped her further value her position and the work she was doing along with her relationship with residents. “Winning the award has increased my confidence and the motivation to create harmony and happiness in the village and the acknowledgement from residents and staff in our village and colleagues in the industry has shown a great amount of pride and satisfaction for myself,” Ms Dix said. Residents, staff and owner operators are eligible to nominate their manager applications closing on 12 June for all regions except Western Australia which closes on 3 July. “The way the process works is that we receive nominations and it would be good to get those on or before 31 May, then we contact the nominated village managers and encourage them to make an application,” Ms Baxter said. Nomination and application forms can be downloaded here.
RVA people in profileThis space is designed to give RVA members and staff the chance to get to know a little bit more about each other. In our first profile we meet RVA Standards Manager Gary Medcalf.
Q: How did you get involved in the retirement village industry? On leaving the Royal New Zealand Navy after 25 years service my wife and I came to Australia where we responded to a newspaper, advertising for a Management couple to run a retirement village in East Doncaster. We spent nearly seven years managing two villages, one well established and one from start-up. Q: What does your role involve on a day to day basis? I manage the whole accreditation process which is systematic. From the initial discussion with a village manager who is enquiring about how to start the process, to coordinating the on-site survey team, to receiving and subsequent forwarding of survey reports, to being the secretary for the National Accreditation Committee, and to advising village managers of their successful accreditation. I also manage and deliver village manager and surveyor accreditation training, compile accreditation statistics, and track accreditation related expenditure and income. A large proportion of the day is taken up in corresponding with stakeholders to progress and streamline the accreditation process. The most rewarding facet of the role is when I can call a village manager and congratulate them on being granted accreditation. Q: How long does accreditation take and how much does it cost? From receiving the initial application to being granted accreditation generally takes between 5½ and 6 months. There is a member application fee of $968.00 payable with the application and an assessment fee which depends on the size of the village. For member villages with less than 75 units this fee is currently $1815.00 and villages with greater than 75 units the fee is currently $2,420.00. The assessment fee is payable at least two weeks prior to the on-site survey occurring. For non-member villages the accreditation fees are nearly double that of a member village. Q: What challenges lie ahead for the accreditation system? One key challenge is for the Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme (ARVA) to become internationally certified through the Joint Accreditation System of New Zealand and Australia (JAS-ANZ). Another major challenge is for the system (Scheme) to remain relevant and members (users) maintaining a confidence and belief in what it delivers. Q: How can accreditation enhance the marketing efforts of a village? I believe that once a village becomes accredited a benchmark is established whereby the village operators can be confident that the policies and procedures they have in force are sound and proven. Accreditation therefore becomes the tool that identifies a village as being a cut above the rest and a village can promote this aspect accordingly. Q: How can we make accreditation more relevant to members? We need to be able to convince village operators that accreditation is something that is essential to their day-to-day operating and it is something that they want to do. The historical approach is that “accreditation” is a dirty word and the process involved is not understood, and doesn’t want to be. This approach needs to be turned on its head by convincing managers that by going through the process the task of managing a village will become easier and engender a pride in the professionalism of the village. Q: How can the industry raise the profile of accreditation? More prominence and recognition needs to be given to villages that have been granted accreditation. Articles in local newspapers should be raised for every village that gains accreditation. The coordination of a local member, counsellor, or notable personality could be arranged to present the certificate to the village manager. This approach would possibly help encourage non-accredited villages to undergo the process. Q: What do you enjoy doing that people may not expect of you? I am a second-dan black belt in judo and currently teach and train at the Victorian Judo Academy in Lalor, Victoria. I am also a keen genealogist (that's a) family historian. Q: And finally, when Australia and New Zealand play each other in cricket or rugby who do you support? I support the real football code and I barrack for Middlesbrough.
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Welcome our newest membersThe RVA is proud to welcome our newest members, however, that doesn’t mean we’re forgetting our existing members. Please contact our communications manager Chip Henriss chip@rva.com.au to submit your people in profile, new appointments or opinion piece. The RVA has recently welcomed: NSW ACT
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Your ViewThe RVA home page exists to serve our members. In this spirit we’d like to hear your views, ideas and accomplishments. Each week the CEO will select submitted items for publication in the news monitor. We can only do this with your help so please contact our communications manager Chip Henriss chip@rva.com.au with your ideas, photographs and stories.
Contact usHave you got a story or an interesting idea that you’d like to see on the news monitor but aren’t confident about writing it yourself? No need to worry, contact our communications manager Chip Henriss chip@rva.com.au and he’ll be happy to help you draft a piece for the News Monitor. All submissions are subject to approval by the CEO. For further information or to make comment on the above items, please email communications@rva.com.au The RVA News Monitor is a weekly feature on the RVA website, and will provide updated stories on issues involving the retirement village industry. The RVA welcomes story or issue ideas to be included in the News Monitor, or comments or opinions on stories featured. |
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