The future of senior living may depend less on new buildings and amenities and more on whether the industry is willing to rethink culture, autonomy and the resident experience itself. In this episode of Varsity’s Roundtable Talk, Derek sits down with Steve Moran, founder and publisher of Senior Living Foresight, one of the industry’s most influential media platforms.
Known for his candid commentary and sharp observations, Moran has spent years challenging operators to rethink leadership, culture, transparency and the overall resident experience. Derek and Steve discuss why the industry may have more of a culture crisis than a staffing crisis, how operators can better empower residents and families and why storytelling may be the key to changing perceptions of senior living for future generations.
Check out the full episode here.
WHAT’S THE REAL STORY IN SENIOR LIVING RIGHT NOW THAT PEOPLE AREN’T TALKING ABOUT ENOUGH?
As you know, we have great occupancy. We’ve had the best occupancy that we have ever had in my lifetime. And that’s really, really good news. What’s interesting to me, there are two things that are really interesting to me. The first is that when I talk to operators and leaders, there seems to be a sense of apprehension or fear like, ‘This is really good, but it feels like disaster is just around the corner.’ Probably some of that’s from the COVID hangover.
The other thing is we have operators who are just crushing it at huge margins and huge occupancies, while there are still some people out there that are really, really struggling. So much of it comes down to the operator and how they run their business because it can be super successful or really, really tough.”
ARE SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES TRULY ALIGNED WITH WHAT TODAY’S OLDER ADULT WANTS?
There’s this widespread belief that baby boomers are going to want something very different. I think there are a few things, but mostly as we get older, we’re going to want the same things people have always wanted.
Part of the biggest problem is that if we’re honest about the industry, senior living is still the last resort. I choose senior living when I can no longer live at home. That might mean I don’t want to take care of my yard anymore, I don’t want to cook or grocery shop anymore or it might mean I have real care needs. I’m not sure the industry is fully aligned with what people actually want because too often the focus is on providing the least amount of service at the lowest cost to maximize margins.
WHAT ARE OPERATORS DOING WELL RIGHT NOW — AND WHAT ARE THEY STILL GETTING WRONG?
I think operators are getting dining pretty right. They understand that dining is one place they touch residents’ lives three times a day. I think transportation is improving too and communities are building better physical spaces.
But I think they’re still not giving residents enough control over their own lives. I heard from a resident recently who said they were thrilled because residents had finally won the ability to choose what channel played on the TV behind the bar four days a week. And I’m thinking, this shouldn’t even be a battle. Those are the kinds of things I think we’re still getting wrong.
IS THE WORKFORCE CRISIS REALLY A STAFFING PROBLEM?
I don’t think we have a real staffing crisis. I think we have a culture crisis.
As long as there are people willing to work at McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Starbucks, we don’t have a staffing shortage. We have organizations that haven’t created cultures where people feel valued, appreciated and connected to purpose.
When you create a great work environment where people feel like they’re changing lives and love coming to work every day, they tell their friends about it. Goodwin House gets something like 900 applications a month. They hire the best people and the rest go elsewhere. That tells me the problem isn’t a lack of workers. It’s culture.
