The client’s staff have had to work through considerable changes to how the service is provided and what their role is, as well as changes to their terms and conditions over the last 3 years. Many of them were still coming to terms with the changes and this is further complicated by perceived mixed messages about what they can and cannot do. Many of the staff have very long service with the client and therefore with changes this adds layers of historical information about how the service should run.
We believe there were 4 different categories of developments within the ‘Independent Retirement Living with a Meal’ service and one solution does not fit all. We detailed this in our individual development visitation reports.
We recommend that a communication and marketing meal service strategy is developed, which would be followed by a relaunch of the meal service. CedarRevive supported with this project through consultancy over a couple of months whereby the client Board Members, the Directors and Senior Management Team Members, Middle Management and Support Function Members, Development Management and Cooks and all other staff have a clear understanding of what the Meal Service means to the client and their tenants.
‘Internal marketing’ can be as important as external, and both should work ‘hand in glove’.
There is an understanding at development level that decisions were made that relate to saving costs. However, there is also an understanding within each development that what was meant to evolve from the restructure has not materialised as envisaged by senior management, and there is a need for re engaging with these people. The care part of the client’s operation has either been forgotten by some or just does not exist and is not on their radar.
They have all identified that the changes to how the tenancies are arranged have had a devastating effect on the numbers of tenants who use the meal service, which is risking its viability.
There needs to be a fundamental change in the approach to the meal service by marketing it to show its benefits to the tenants, and those advising the tenants and their families on choosing the service. The service needs guidance and support to be able to run effectively and efficiently.
There is an over whelming need to achieve rent income, which has led or meant that the meal service has been dropped or ignored during the allocation and letting, leading to a strategy whereby of letting without meals. In the independent retirement living with meals is not happening which if continued there will been no meal service within the Bield developments.
There is a complete misunderstanding, wrong assumptions of the meal tariffs, lunch, and snack meal pricing, breakfast, morning coffee and afternoon tea opportunities which delivers more income are ignored and how income is allocated and accounted for in the Bield financial reporting system.
Internally, this needs to be analysed and discussed with a new sale and letting strategy introduced. How should this be introduced and aligned with Bield processes? “Does what it says on the tin”, needs to be delivered if the meal service is to be cost neutral.
