Good news: village operators are no longer risking cheap village managers
The latest StewartBrown Retirement Living Performance Report says the average village wage is now $114,875, up from $94,000 in 2023. The sector is professionalising as it faces care entering the village value proposition.
The survey covered 85 operators and more than 43,000 village units. The majority were Not For Profit villages, which are historically smaller. James Teodoro, Executive Director of DCM Executive Recruitment, tells us that for new hires $120,000 is closer to the mark to win someone over to a new position.
“The willingness of operators to pay to get really good talent is much higher than it used to be,” says James.
This is good news for the sector as the professionalism of the Village Manager has long been the source of either satisfaction or dissatisfaction in living in a village. The resident complaint historically is the Village Manager did not respond to my concerns. Professionals do.
Today, Village Managers are the custodians of both resident experience and asset value. A good Village Manager protects culture, sales momentum, reputation and resale values. A poor one can quietly erode all four.
The higher remuneration is attracting new, high quality talent to the sector. James Teodoro is being asked to target talent in student accommodation, mining camps and as new phenomena, GMs of residential aged care.
For this last group the appeal is proving great. Instead of a 24/7 business and upwards of 100 staff across three shifts, managing a village is a dream. Managing a RAC is a ~$150,000 position. Many RAC GMs are registered nurses as well. For operators, this is a major bonus at a time where care is going to be a strong component of the value proposition. The operator is better able to ask for a higher home price covering the extra wage cost easily.
This is all good news for the sector, increasing professionalism, enhancing the brand and the resident experience. Plus protection from increased regulatory burden.
