Building a sense of belonging

 

The best retirement communities know their customer and understand what makes them feel at home says Dr Margaret Wylde, a United States expert heading to the Property Council’s Retirement Living Summit in November.

Wylde founded research and advisory company ProMatura Group in 1984 to provide insights into the seniors housing sector.

Today, ProMatura operates in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom, and several other countries and undertakes feasibility studies, site and predictive analyses, community audits, satisfaction surveys and community planning seminars with prospective customers. ProMatura also undertakes large-scale exploratory research studies to “better understand what customers want and how much they are willing to pay”.

Wylde says “every aspect” of retirement communities can be better.

Her research has found people in the UK and the US want largely the same things in life- and she suspects the same is the case in Australia. There are some differences in the UK and US markets, notably payment and ownership structures, and the age of people who live in communities. But while “their apartment designs may be different, what they want in life is the same,” she explains.

Last year, ProMatura conducted a large-scale study of retirement communities in the UK, finding that just 25 per cent of independent living residents felt ‘at home’ in their community in the US, and 32 per cent of retirement village residents who own their homes felt at home in the UK. 

A contributing reason for the difference between the US and UK may be the difference in feeling at home in a place you rent (US) or own your residence (UK).

“We look at three elements to define if someone feels at home in their community: if they feel at home in their private residence, if they feel at home anywhere they are within the retirement village, and if they feel at home all of the time,” Wylde explains.

“People who feel at home have the highest level of satisfaction with their quality of life, and they are three times more likely to recommend the community to their friends compared to people who ‘sort of’ feel at home.”

What makes someone feel at home?

“It’s not the building that creates the community or sells the person on moving in. It’s the feeling they get from the other people they encounter. And that feeling is: ‘can I belong here?'”

One of the mistakes Wylde believes retirement living developers and operators make is “assuming that everyone over a certain age wants the same thing, which is simply not the case”. She points to some customers’ liking for communal living and others’ preferences for privacy as an example.

Wylde says that often “people don’t want a big lobby, putting green, lavish fountain or a swimming pool. But no one has stopped to ask the customer”.

The retirement sector in the US “can do better” to meet market expectations, she says, adding that the overall market share is not increasing. “We are just lucky more people are getting older.”

So, what do people want?

One of the most “highly-cherished activities within a retirement community is the ability to get away from that community,” she says.

Wylde, who currently serves on the board of directors of the American Seniors Housing Association and has previously been a board member of other seniors living groups, including the American Society on Aging, has written several books on housing preferences.

She says her data confirms that the “fancier the building, the better community” doesn’t hold water. She points to examples of “some of the most expensive, luxurious communities that had among the fewest people who felt at home”.

“And we’ve found that some of the less lavish communities with quite institutional architecture had a significantly greater proportion of people who feel at home.”

What helps people create a sense of home? Is it choice?

“That’s one of the factors,” she says. The amenity within independent living apartments are important, she says, such as having enough space and storage. But more broadly, community amenities “have nothing to do with sense of satisfaction and feeling at home,” she adds.

Instead, “camaraderie and friendship” and “a sense of control over their own lives” are important.

“We also find many of the people who feel most at home still have their own cars and are able to leave their community when they want.”

Wylde’s message to the industry? “Know your customer.”

Join Dr Margaret Wylde as she unpacks her international research at the National Retirement Living Summit 2018, 28-30 November in Canberra.