Seniors Housing Business is the magazine that helps you navigate the evolution of the seniors housing industry.
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44 www.seniorshousingbusiness.com Seniors Housing Business n February/March 2017 How smart operators can leverage technology for results Most operators would be quick to tell you that technology is impor- tant to the future of seniors hous- ing. But what technologies are actually helpful, and how should operators find and utilize them? "Technology is only as effective as its implementation and account- ability," says Dana Wollschlager, principal with senior living con- sulting firm Plante Moran Living Forward. "Many organizations purchase incredible technology, then use one module of it. Well, that isn't going to generate return on investment. Before you invest in any technology, you need to clearly define the business plan and spell out what the return on investment will be. Otherwise you're just wasting money." For one thing, many operators lag behind other industries in cer- tain areas of tech due to stereo- types that prospective customers of seniors housing don't use tech- nology. Search engine optimization and advertising (such as Google AdWords) are highly underutilized in this industry, says Wollschlager. "Why anybody would waste money on phonebook advertising or rely on word of mouth is beyond me, but people still do it. Every- body Googles everything, so you better do everything you can to be number one in searches." This applies to both prospective residents and prospective employ- ees, she adds. Eighty percent of seniors hous- ing operators still rely on paper records for everything from manag- ing staff rosters to health records to resident information, according to John Shafaee, founder and CEO of seniors housing software program Medtelligent. Streamlining sales process A common tech offering is customer relationship manage- ment (CRM) software, which can streamline the sales process. The program helps sales people man- age their prospects while tracking metrics and benchmarks across the company. Katie Davis, chief strategy officer for the Sherpa CRM system, first used the program as a customer. At the time, she was chief operating officer for Senior Living Commu- nities, a continuing care retirement operator in the Southeast. Over her first two years using the program, Davis says average occupancy across the company's 2,100 units went from 85 percent to 90 percent. "I needed a tool which could illu- minate and bring forward the daily conversations my sales profession- als were having with prospects," says Davis. "The tool showed me the sales team's behavior so my team could coach more effectively and improve our conversion rates." Davis also echoed Wollschlager's concern, however, that operators need to know what they're paying for and make sure they use it. There are many ways to unlock value from the larger software sys- tems, notes Tom McDermott, vice president of senior living sales for software system Yardi. He notes that many customers only buy lim- ited versions of the software. For example, although Yardi offers standard CRM options, it also can make the accounts payable and receivable departments more efficient. Rather than relying solely on paper checks, Yardi allows resi- dents to pay by electronic payment or credit card. Paper checks can also scan checks directly to the bank, saving man-hours and preventing entry errors. "The traditional rents are still col- lected via checks," says McDermott. "There are a whole lot of other ways to collect rent these days." On the accounts payable end, Yardi allows users to digitally track all bills and keep vendors informed of the process. Executives can approve purchase orders on their phones, again saving man-hours and reducing errors. McDermott says the average user sees 30 per- cent cost reduction in the accounts payable department after imple- menting the tool. "In a typical world, the ven- dor does work on a site, sends a bill; it's stamped, sent to corpo- rate, reviewed, approved and sent to accounts payable again," says McDermott. "There is time and cost involved there and vendors end up with bad blood because they don't get paid on time." Build-your-own software Some of the bigger operators have even designed their own technology systems to manage the company. New Jersey-based Bran- dywine Living created a program called ALVIN (Assisted Living Virtual Information Network) that allows managers to track up-to-the- minute data across the company. "We can take data all the way down to a single unit in a single building, or roll it up to our thou- sands of units in six states," says Ken Segarnick, chief corporate offi- cer at Brandywine Living. "That's the kind of telescopic feature you need, so you can see in real time the metrics that allow you to drive cen- sus and rate, control costs, and dive as deep as you need to go to imple- ment an effective solution." Data that ALVIN can report in real time includes move-in rates, labor productivity, deep details on the sales process and much more. Segarnick says Brandywine can keep staff levels appropriate for the census and acuity on a daily basis, or even a shift basis, keeping labor costs down while keeping quality high. In short, there are neither idle employees nor the need for third- party contract labor to help under- staffed communities. "In any given month we have approximately 300,000 labor hours tracked across our platform," says Segarnick. "That can be consoli- dated into an actionable report. From the top of the trees to the bot- tom of the grass blade, we have information we can act on." Another large operator, LCS, uses a variety of technology sys- tems to keep net operating income high. The company partners with a group purchasing organization to keep many of its product costs low, and even uses procurement soft- ware to make sure its supply chain stays efficient. "We're reviewing inventory items constantly for best cost," says Judi Buxo, the company's senior vice president and director of senior liv- ing management. "There's so much paper routing and time and motion tied to touching every invoice. If you can automate those steps with a good purchasing program, you're going to save labor and money." LCS is also testing a pilot pro- gram where ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft can help supple- ment the company's driving staff. "Typically a community has three or four drivers. Because you don't know when the need will be there, you're going to have idle time," says Buxo. "If you have Uber, you can provide the value of offering rides without that idle time. We have four demo projects going right now with that." — Jeff Shaw