When Belinda Hensler became the Carlyle Gardens Retirement Village manager in June 2020, she was taken aback by some blunt and direct feedback from residents.
“But I shook it off and it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” says Belinda.
After taking a few weeks to consider residents’ feedback, Belinda decided to adopt an open-door policy in the retirement village so she could be available to them for any issues they may have, at any time.
“Now the residents know they can come to me with issues and we will work through them together,” she says. “I feel like they’re helping me to do my job because they’re helping to improve the village.”
Walking the talk
Belinda, a former sales manager at Carlyle Gardens in Bargara, has gone out of her way to increase engagement among the coastal village’s almost 420 residents.
To increase communication both ways, she introduced a new feature to the village newsletter – a spreadsheet of issues that had been raised by residents, along with updates on progress, challenges, or other issues. This ensures that there’s transparency and residents know that Belinda is taking their needs seriously.
Belinda also launched a casual, monthly manager morning tea for residents once COVID restrictions eased. This gives her quality time to sit, chat and listen to the residents.
It started small, filling just one table in the village’s clubhouse, but now the morning tea fills five tables with residents bringing a plate, keen to discuss issues and opportunities in their village.
Residents at Carlyle Gardens are now so confident in Belinda’s management skills they eagerly approach her with any problems they are experiencing as they know she can help deliver positive changes.
“One of the impressive things about Belinda has been her openness to saying, ‘while we ask for respect, tell me what’s wrong.’ She’s willing to put herself out there and say, ‘please tell me how I can improve’,” says RetireAustralia operations manager Scott Burton. “It’s testament to her resilience and willingness to take feedback.”
Turning issues into opportunities
Belinda has transformed Carlyle Gardens into a thriving seaside village. The village is such a vibrant place to live that the residents are regularly recommending it to their friends. In recent years, many of the newest residents have come into the village at the urging of their friends.
While Belinda has faced challenges since taking on the role of manager, she has uncovered a solution for each hurdle in her path.
For example, when she recognised some residents in the village needed assistance to live independently, Belinda set up negotiations between a local care provider, Carinity and RetireAustralia. The resulting partnership gives residents access to personalised care packages.
“There are a lot of residents who are ageing and need assistance,” Belinda says. “There are also residents who, if they have a fall or a sudden illness, could need some help getting back on their feet or whose families don’t live close by.”
Belinda also found a way to upgrade the village’s 30-year-old road network using a technique that saves money and minimises disruption.
Brighter days
Belinda makes the village not only a good place to live, but a nice place to work. After discovering 12 empty slabs of concrete around the village, Belinda proactively set out to make changes to the village’s outdoor seating.
“I realised years ago they’d had seats on them but they had been removed when they fell apart,” she said. “So, I did some investigating, and someone helped me source new chairs.”
The new seats are weather-resistant, created from recycled plastic, and coloured bright blue.
“They brighten my day now,” she said. “It would have cost a lot to remove the slabs but instead we have bold seating.”
These days when residents approach Belinda, their feedback is very different.
“They used to have a new village manager every couple of years, so I’d get asked, ‘how long are you going to stay?’ I tell them now, ‘I’m staying until I retire’,” she says.
Find a community you can call home
