Village tour 1

• Watermark Castle Cove, Castle Cove

• Waterbrook Greenwich, Greenwich

• The Landings Retirement Village, North Turramurra

• Beauty Point Retirement Resort, Padstow Heights

• Waterbrook Yowie Bay, Yowie Bay

• Little Bay Apartments, Little Bay

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• How will the courts manage your residency agreements? Recent rulings may well surprise you!

• Everyone has a brand - but how do they manage it?
• The role of a brand in the retirement village industry - national vs. local.

• Brand representation – case studies of brand management in the retirement village industry.

Management stream

Setting, presenting and selling your budget

Paul Burkett Aevum

• How do you present a residents' budget that is relatively easy for residents to understand and yet complies with the Retirement Act

• Selling the budget to residents - operating expenses are continuing to exceed CPI combined with effect of the GFC impacting residents' income. How does the operator set a realistic budget for the village?

• Building relationships with the residents committee - how this relationship is vital for the budget process.

• Transparency with operating costs to residents.

• Defining the operator’s costs versus residents' costs.

• Surplus – how to build a nest egg in the LTMF for the residents.

1415

The big picture, and some of its implications for retirees

Chris Caton BT Financial Group

As Chief Economist of BT Financial Group, Dr Chris Caton advises clients on the financial implications of economic trends, policy pronouncements and major political developments. A former head of the Economic Division of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dr Caton is a leading analyst of the current and future state of both the Australian and international economies, and their potential impact on individual industries. At AdvantAge09, Dr Caton will impart his wealth of knowledge of these trends and the impacts for retirees.

 

How to manage relationships with your customers

Susan Malone Independent Management Group
Hugh Trumble Total Plan

• Understanding CRM - an essential ingredient for success in the retirement industry.

• Future proofing your sales and operations with a sound CRM strategy.

• How can a good CRM system support your business objectives in a retirement village?

• A look at the issues of prospects, clients, waiting list, residents, family of residents, business associates, staff.

• Maximising the use of your database to provide great customer relationship management - no matter who the customer is.

• This CRM data should become an irreplaceable asset of your business.

• A case study.

Consumer affairs panel session: the link between our consumers, the regulators and the industry

• So what are residents complaining about?

• Engage directly with the watchdogs.

• Ask questions/seek answers.

• What’s on the legislative radar?

• Biggest mistakes being made by operators...learn by others mistakes!

Back from the dead

Peter Hughes
Peter Hughes, a man who found hope and inspiration in most horrific event, relives the unforgettable story of his courageous recovery from the Bali bombings.

Session concludes

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How should the retirement industry village organise and sell itself?

• Does the industry sell itself well to consumers, governments, bureaucrats, bankers, the general public? What can we do better?

• Do we impact on key issues like Act changes, GST, income tax, planning etc well enough?

• Are we organised optimally at industry level?

• How do we grow our market share?

• Are we consumer focused?

• How do we ensure the finance industry will fund our growth?

• How do we interact with close adjacencies? (aged care, home care) 

Morning tea

Marketing the retirement village industry to governments

Aaron Gadiel Urban Taskforce
Andrew Giles Retirement Village Association

To market the retirement village industry to government the industry must:

• Navigate the rapidly changing political landscape;

• Argue the facts in bureaucratic policy development processes;

• Confront hard –edged budget decisions; and

• Challenge the preconceptions of decision-makers in the public service, the ministry and the parliament

This session will help explain how governments think and how it’s influenced by both the media and the quality of the expert.

The triple bottom line: key findings to date of the ARC Seniors’ Living Grant Research Project

David Kennedy former Associate Professor at the University of Sydney

Dr David Kennedy will review the key findings to date of the ARC Seniors’ Living Grant Research Project. This historic research endeavour is the largest and most comprehensive study that examines the economic, environmental, and social costs and benefits of retirement community living within Australia. The research team from the University of Sydney, UNSW, Bond University, and the University of Western Sydney has been collecting data on this AU$1m+ project since early 2006. The RVA of Australia, numerous industry partners, the federal government and the participating universities have combined to sponsor this historic research endeavour.

Development stream

Adopting international business models to increase value in Australia

Richard Davis Sanctuary Residences Ltd

Richard Davis is CEO of Sanctuary Residences Ltd, the Australasian subsidiary of LifeCare Residences International Ltd, a global retirement village company with assets in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.  Richard has extensive experience and knowledge of the New Zealand environment having researched, launched and marketed a Business Model that has now become widely adopted throughout New Zealand.  He will discuss the New Zealand and UK business models and in particular their approach to Deferred Management Fees, the Care Continuum and management of the key value drivers, and how these might be adopted to add value in the Australian market.

 

Management stream

Like water off a duck's back: how to keep your cool even with angry people

Rachel Green RachelGreen.Com Pty Ltd
 

Got angry, negative or complaining people to deal with? Master the art of coping with even the worst offenders. Stay in control. Stay cool. Let it wash over you like water off a duck's back. Don't be hurt by what residents, staff, suppliers, relatives or others say. Ditch defensiveness, irritation and anger. Don't react, just act. And shake it off!

When you stay cool you can think more clearly. When you can think more clearly you can communicate well. And when you communicate effectively you build excellent working relationships. Avoid the pitfalls of anger, frustration and stress. Be calm, no matter what and leave the best impression of yourself and your organisation

Australia at 2050 – what might be the implications for the retirement industry?

Wayne Gersbach MacroPlan

Wayne Gersbach is probably best known in the industry for the time he spent with the Housing Industry Association (HIA) where he held positions as the NSW Executive Director and National Planning Director. At MacroPlan, Wayne has helped to provide important market research for village and other retirement products. As a consequence of MacroPlan’s ‘hands-on’ approach to market research, it is well positioned to comment on retirement drivers across the nation. Australia at 2050 will provide a unique insight into the world that we are about to become – this is a must not miss session for those planning to take their businesses to the next level.

1500

Afternoon tea

1530

Village best practice: Manager of the Year nominees panel

Facilitator: Peter Inge AdvantAge09 MC

1605

Conference prize presentations

1610

Communicating for results

Allan Pease Pease International

• What men and women need to do to get on in business

• Why men don’t listen and women don’t read maps

• How to avoid arguments, disagreements and conflicts

• How to get cooperation and gain credibility

• Female intuition, remote controls and shopping

1655

Closing remarks by Peter Inge AdvantAge09 MC

1700

Session concludes

1900

2009 RVA Gala Dinner and Manager of the Year Award

Proudly sponsored by Programmed Property Services

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