OCA - Oceania Group - retirement villages

[suse]

My mother was in a Ryman facility and I have to say they were excellent, especially towards the end of her life. I think it is important that the likes of Ryman, Oceania, Summerset etc appropriately pay and train their staff. As a shareholder of course we want to see dividends, but as a human being, I want to see that the word "care" actually means something when they talk about it in their glossy documents.

[Playa]

I feel for you Beagle,my Mum is in the same boat with late care stage cancer, and is also in an aged care facility where they are doing a great job..Makes you think about a lot of things.I don't post much on here but thank you for all the useful posts of yours I have read over the past couple of years

[Beagle]

I feel for you Beagle,my Mum is in the same boat with late care stage cancer, and is also in an aged care facility where they are doing a great job..Makes you think about a lot of things.I don't post much on here but thank you for all the useful posts of yours I have read over the past couple of years

Thanks, you're most welcome and you're quite right. The sort of situation you and I are in makes you reflect a lot on the value of things that money can't buy.

I am fortunate to have a best friend I have known forever and he and his family live with his mother who's still in good health for 80 years of age. I was round there last night having a good old natter about things. I asked if she would like to be a Mum to me after my Mum passes away. She gave me a big smile and caring hug. I took that as a yes Gotta look for silver linings in the clouds wherever you can find them at times like this !!

[sam green]

My mother was in a Ryman facility and I have to say they were excellent, especially towards the end of her life. I think it is important that the likes of Ryman, Oceania, Summerset etc appropriately pay and train their staff. As a shareholder of course we want to see dividends, but as a human being, I want to see that the word "care" actually means something when they talk about it in their glossy documents.

Couldn't agree more Suse. My mum spent her last 8 weeks in an Oceania home, she died at the beginning of lockdown. The care she received was excellent, especially considering the stress that covid was putting on the system at that time. As a shareholder, I believe nurses in retirement villages absolutely deserve the same pay as all other nurses. I'd like to see all the other essential workers there - the managers, carers, cleaners etc - who support our loved ones at their most vulnerable - get higher wages too. I believe more investment in staff would mean the sector would then become more attractive to work in, attracting and retaining top quality staff. Which should result in better care, and a better bottom line.

[BlackPeter]

Couldn't agree more Suse. My mum spent her last 8 weeks in an Oceania home, she died at the beginning of lockdown. The care she received was excellent, especially considering the stress that covid was putting on the system at that time. As a shareholder, I believe nurses in retirement villages absolutely deserve the same pay as all other nurses. I'd like to see all the other essential workers there - the managers, carers, cleaners etc - who support our loved ones at their most vulnerable - get higher wages too. I believe more investment in staff would mean the sector would then become more attractive to work in, attracting and retaining top quality staff. Which should result in better care, and a better bottom line.

Be careful ... The Warehouse tried this trick in the retail arena - and just look where it got them. A very average but highly overpaid staff resulting now in huge job losses. That's life ...

Defining salaries is a tricky job. If you pay your people not enough, the best staff will leave. If you pay them too much, the worst staff will stay. Feeling warm and fuzzy is a terrible method to set ones salaries.

As well- ever thought who is going to pay for it if we pay our amazing age care workers a well as our amazing health care workers as well as our amazing police staff as well as our amazing teachers as well as our amazing road workers as well as our amazing planers as well as our amazing and essential retail workers as well as our amazing bus drivers as well as our (enter your personal heroes here) .... higher salaries because - no doubt, they all deserve it?

The end result is an amazing price inflation ... and if you don't believe me, don't check with the department of lies and statistics, but just go into the supermarket and check what a loaf of bread, a pound of butter, a piece of your favorite cheese, some chocolate or a bottle of wine cost these days compared with 5 or 10 years ago. Or - just check your latest rates bill and compare it with the one you paid 10 years ago. It is amazing what happens if everybody is amazing and deserves these amazing salary rises.

While some age care workers no doubt are amazing, lets face it - as many of them are terrible and most are (as in any other profession) just average. Better lets adjust our salary scales to reality instead of allowing the warm and fuzzy to get away with us.

[justakiwi]

Defining salaries is a tricky job. If you pay your people not enough, the best staff will leave. If you pay them too much, the worst staff will stay.

Wrong. The best staff will always stay, regardless of the fact that we are underpaid and undervalued. Because we are passionate about the job we do and we are committed to providing the best care we possibly can. The worst staff will also stay, because they need the money, and because nobody ever holds them accountable for their less than ideal performance/attitude/care.

While some age care workers no doubt are amazing, lets face it - as many of them are terrible and most are (as in any other profession) just average.

Wrong again. We may not all be “amazing” but the vast majority of us are very good at what we do, and we give our job 100%. Your statement that “many are terrible and most are just average” is unsubstantiated and disrespectful, and says a lot more about you as a person than it does about us.

[hogie]

Wrong. The best staff will always stay, regardless of the fact that we are underpaid and undervalued.

??? Really now ....

Being underpaid and undervalued is a really good way of reducing job satisfaction over time

[justakiwi]

True, but it is the residents I care for who provide me with my job satisfaction. They are the ones who make me feel valued and appreciated - every day. That feedback is the stuff I take home with me at the end of every shift, that makes me feel good about myself and the job I am doing.

Employer/management support and or appreciation, on the other hand, can be seriously lacking sometimes.

??? Really now ....

Being underpaid and undervalued is a really good way of reducing job satisfaction over time

[BlackPeter]

Wrong. The best staff will always stay, regardless of the fact that we are underpaid and undervalued. Because we are passionate about the job we do and we are committed to providing the best care we possibly can. The worst staff will also stay, because they need the money, and because nobody ever holds them accountable for their less than ideal performance/attitude/care.

You seem to think you work in a quite unusual industry where the standards of normal human behaviour don't apply. Actually, many people think that about their industry, but unfortunately - they all are wrong with this assumption.

Wrong again. We may not all be “amazing” but the vast majority of us are very good at what we do, and we give our job 100%. Your statement that “many are terrible and most are just average” is unsubstantiated and disrespectful, and says a lot more about you as a person than it does about us.

Look - I am sorry you took my generic comments personal and took out the sledgehammer before trying to understand my post. I won't hold it against any other age care worker, though :

As well - I didn't say "many are terrible", I said "as many are terrible as there are outstanding". Any human behaviour comes in a statistical relevant number in Gauss curves. Have a look at them and you will understand what I meant.

This is true for any profession and has something to do with the laws of statistics ... unless you are a believer of the fairy tale that 95 % of all students perform "above average" (as a recent survey of students revealed), that more policemen (than the relevant average of the population) are honest and that more age care workers (than the relevant average of the population) are outstanding. I am sorry - but this is just a delusion.

Average - per definition - means 50% of any group are above and 50% are below. Any large enough group performs (in average) just average .... and any group does have some people doing an amazing job and as many people doing a terrible job.

Put enough people in any industry together and you will find out that the laws of statistics apply.

[Snow Leopard]

....
Average - per definition - means 50% of any group are above and 50% are below. Any large enough group performs (in average) just average .... and any group does have some people doing an amazing job and as many people doing a terrible job.
....

Flame time.

THAT IS NOT THE AVERAGE THAT IS THE MEDIAN

And your second statement is not correct either.