Is Senior Living Occupancy All About Sales?

To answer this question let’s first define the term occupancy in a Senior Living Community. Occupancy equals the total number of occupied resident rooms at any given time.

Ok, got it! Now let’s break that down a bit more. What does a total number of occupied resident rooms really tell us? In order to understand the story behind the occupancy number we need to dig deeper. What has happened in a given period of time, say 3 months? Move Ins and Move Outs may have occurred affecting the occupancy number. Pretty straight forward right? Yes, but does it really tell us the full story?

Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but occupancy involves much more than sales. Although, sales efforts in Senior Living are critical to occupancy growth, so is operations teams managing potential Move Outs!

Every time a move out occurs it affects occupancy growth targets. Challenge teams to dig deeper into the stories behind each move out. One might be surprised in what they find.

Consider reviewing the last 3 months Move Outs and reasons. This may require a step back approach, no judgement, just looking for facts. Here’s some quick questions to get started:

  • What is the reason for the move out?
    • was it related to cost?
    • was it related to a need for increased care needs?
    • was the resident and/or family member unsatisfied?
    • other reasons such as moved out of area, etc.
  • Where did they move too?
    • was it a competitor?
    • was it a higher level of care?
    • was it home and if so did they add services?
    • other such as with family, etc.

For any and/or all of these reasons, drill down by asking why? Then ask why again? Write the reasons down and look for trends or patterns. We’re there warning signs that could be approached proactively in the future.

It is common for teams in communities to get caught up in the day to day challenges overlooking opportunities to save a potential move out from occurring. By taking a step back and digging a bit deeper, one may reveal solutions that address resident needs and put you back on target with occupancy goals.

For more tips on ways to manage and reduce unwanted move outs, connect with Resurgence Solutions.

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