Change is hard. Most people are fairly set in their ways and naturally reluctant to alter their behaviours and ingrained habits.

When it comes to organisational change within the seniors living industry, these challenges are amplified 100 fold, as you try to coordinate long term staff spread across multiple geographic locations, as well as elderly residents who can be challenged by sudden disruptions to their day to day lives.

Luckily, there are Change Managers like Sarah Wright who have spent a career in helping organisations navigate these major transformations of their businesses.

Sarah has recently been guiding one of Australia’s largest seniors living organisations through a fundamental digital transformation of their operations, and in the process armed its leaders with the tools they need to drive successful change.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, I sit down with Sarah to understand what makes a successful change manager and learn what practical steps every company can take to ensure that long term change will be embraced by the entire organisation and its residents.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities.

To learn more about Pluss Communities click here

You can learn more about Sarah Wright here

How much is your lifestyle worth as you age and what is the financial opportunity cost of these decisions?

Nick Donnelly from Plenary Wealth is a financial advisor who specialises in retirement living, aged care and granny flat agreements and believes that the lifestyle benefits of seniors living communities can often trump the financial cost, but alignment between family members is critical when planning for this stage.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, we will be discussing the best ways for people to educate themselves on the options available to them and why getting organised early can save a lot of heartbreak down the track.

Nick will be diving into the detail of retirement village and residential aged care contracts and what people need to be aware of as they transition from one to another.

We will be learning about the concept of “granny flat agreements” and how these can be a win-win option for multigenerational families looking to delay aged care as long as possible.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities.

To learn about Pluss Communities click here

Click here to learn more about Nick Donnelly

Click here to learn more about Plenary Wealth

Is there someone that you’d like featured on The Business of Ageing? Send Shaun your guest ideas here

One of the hardest parts about ageing is knowing when it’s time to leave the family home. Do you move into a retirement village and embrace community life, or stay at home as long as possible before facing the inevitable need for care and the scramble for suitable options that follows?

If that decision making process isn’t hard enough, the financial minefield of contracts and payment options can end up trapping even the most savvy consumers.

Luckily Rachel Lane from Aged Care Gurus simplifies this process by breaking down these complex concepts into easy to understand, practical information, whilst also keeping the providers and policy makers honest by calling it exactly as she sees it.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, Rachel shares some of the trends she is seeing from consumers when it comes to retirement living and aged care, and how there can often be a disconnect between these expectations with the reality of what providers can deliver.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities.

To learn about Pluss Communities click here

Click here to learn more about Aged Care Gurus

Is there someone that you’d like featured on The Business of Ageing? Send Shaun your guest ideas here

Natasha and Justin Chadwick from New Direction Care are a mother and son team who have turned the traditional aged care model on its head. Their Microtown community is exactly that - a miniature community where aged care and dementia residents live in real houses, connected to a town centre complete with shops, cafes and all the services that you would expect from a real village.

This enables residents to thrive in an active, inclusive and fulfilling environment that’s a far cry from the nursing homes of old.

But like any revolution, change is hard and it takes a certain type of visionary with an unflinching drive and an even thicker skin to navigate the regulatory hurdles and cynical naysayers who said it could never be done.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, we learn what it takes to instigate real change in the aged care industry and the implications for not only residents and their families, but also for care staff used to highly repetitive, task-based work.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities.

To learn about Pluss Communities click here

Is there someone that you'd like featured on The Business of Ageing? Send Shaun your guest ideas here

Click here to learn more about NewDirection Care

What does it actually mean to be innovative? And how many people within your organsiation would you consider to be innovators? Is it the Head of Technology that just rolled out a company-wide digital transformation project, or could it be the carer who came up with a clever way to engage the residents they look after?

Innovation has traditionally been seen by many organisations as something that happens by senior people within a board room, but Merlin Kong believes that anyone can become an innovator if given the opportunity to think, and a platform to share their ideas.

As the former director of InnovAgeing, Merlin sought to democratise “innovation” within the sector, by creating a forum that was open to everyone, not just those at the top.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, we discuss how innovation should be viewed as a cultural mindset within every organisation and that providers need to build in more “slack” into their workforce to give employees the opportunity to stop and think, rather than just running around and putting out fires.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities

To learn more about Pluss Communities click here

Is there someone that you'd like featured on The Business of Ageing? Send Shaun your guest ideas here

Click here to learn more about Merlin Kong and Youtopient

The majority of people who work for not-for-profit organisations are driven by a fundamental desire to help others. As a result they tend to remain in the sector, and in many cases, within the same organisation, for the majority of their careers.

The work can be difficult, under-resourced and emotionally draining - but at the same time immensely fulfilling. Having a clear purpose in your day to day job is an incredibly powerful motivator.

But what do you do if 20 years into your career you feel that you need to make a major change to your status quo, but don’t want to compromise your core values?

Most of us fantasise about radical, mid-life career changes from time to time, but not many of us actually go through with it.

Mike Jeffrey did just that, taking a major leap of faith by leaving a stable 20 year career in a church-based aged care organisation, for the uncertainty of a tech startup.

In this episode of “The Business of Ageing” Mike talks us through his experience and how his early days as a youth worker showed him the importance of “community” in developing and maintaining people’s sense of purpose.

This has been a theme that has stayed with Mike throughout his career within the aged care sector, leading Marketing for Wesley Mission Queensland before jumping across to tech start up “Pluss Communities”.

We have all heard about “transferrable skills” but Mike Jeffrey’s experience is a story about “transferable values.”

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities

To learn more about Pluss Communities click here

Is there someone that you'd like featured on The Business of Ageing? Send Shaun your guest ideas here

Click here to learn more about Mike Jeffrey

When most people think of aged care, they picture tired, dark old buildings that feel and act more like hospitals.

Managing Director of Calder Flower Architects & Interiors, Lara Calder is determined to change that perception, believing that there is no reason why the last place that you call home in this world, can’t also be one of the best.

Through thoughtful environmental design that connects people with the memory-inducing sensory experiences of the outdoors, Lara’s vision is to create spaces that bring delight and joy to both residents and the staff who care for them.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, we will also discuss new, alternate models of seniors housing including co-generational communities and small-household co-living developments that are starting to gain some real traction.

So prepare to be inspired as nurse-turned architect, Lara Calder and the brave clients she works with, transform the concept of what “home” means for people as they age.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities

To learn more about Pluss Communities click here

Is there someone that you'd like featured on The Business of Ageing? Send Shaun your guest ideas here

Click here to learn more about Lara Calder and Calder Flower Architects & Interiors