Benetas Developes New Customer Experience Model With Mext

1. Informed by extensive research with its customers and their
families, as well as staff, Benetas is pioneering a new Customer
Experience Model that aims to redefine how aged care meets the
needs and preferences of seniors. Kymberly Martin reports.
S
ince July 2014, Benetas has been having a new
conversation with its customers.
In its purest form, the organisation is asking: what's
your ideal experience in aged care?
Then customers are asked: what is missing? What
could be done to improve your experience and meet your needs
and interests?
This conversation has primarily taken the form of extensive
interviews with customers, in addition to follow-up conversations I
with family members, as well as workshops with staff. Focus
groups, email surveys and regular resident meetings also help
garner feedback.
The reason for this conversation is simple: aged care is
changing; the resident profile, and their needs and preferences,
are changing. Accordingly, Benetas realised it had to change too.
The provider has been researching and developing its new
Customer Experience Model, which fundamentally involves
listening to the customer's story and ensuring their needs are at
the heart of everything the organisation does.
"There are many different elements to consider when it
comes to the customer experience," says Kate Barnes, customer
experience manager at Benetas.
Developing the model involved gaining an understanding
of customers' needs, from both an emotional and functional
perspective, and then packaging these insights into a tangible
guide for the organisation, which ultimately will deliver the
outcome to its customers, says Barnes.
"We need to be open, by listening to each individual to
40 I MAY- JUNE 2015 I AAA
discover how we can support them in their
purpose. However, unless we ask what
they expect to gain from the experience,
they won't think about it; they won't
provide information and we won't know.
Asking questions and listening to what
they have to contribute is the key step."
The focus on customer experience
is about striving to achieve the
Benetas vision of being able to age in
an environment that is positive and
fulfilling, says Barnes. "Everyone has the
opportunity to age well where they have
choice and appropriate support. The
Benetas vision treats everyone equally, but
as individuals."
The customer experience focus is
also about successfully responding to the
changing customer demographic in aged
care. As Barnes notes, the Baby Boomer
generation has higher expectations;
1 they don't just want choice, they insist
i on it. "They want control, are familiar
with modern technology and recognise
that their world is now more globally
connected. This is the first generation to
demand so much and it is imperative that
that our services adapt to their demands."

2. As an organisation, Benetas had to centre itself around
customer needs, contrary to the traditional paternalistic attitude
in aged care. "There has been a move away from doctor/patient
thinking, replaced by an entirely new culture around aged care,"
says Barnes.
Successful culture change of this kind has to come from the
top down, which is possible because of the strong leadership at
Benetas. "Some organisations try to implement the 'customer
experience' but it is just lip service. Benetas executives
understand the importance of becoming part of it and what is
necessary to drive it across the management teams," says Barnes.
Sandra Hills, chief executive office, says the Benetas
Service Commitment outlines the provider's promise to its
customers; that it will offer them outstanding levels of customer
service they won't find anywhere else, resulting in a positive,
fulfilling experience.
There are three components to the Service Commitment -
culture, customer and quality (see box). "The commitment to
customer experience extends from the Benetas Customer Centre,
which is available to anyone seeking aged care, through to our
approach to employment, culture and direct service delivery,"
says Hills.
NEW DIRECTIONS IN RESIDENTIAL,
COMMUNITY
The overarching commitment to customer service is driving a
wave of new developments for Benetas, across its residential and
home care operations.
In residential care, significant new builds, along with reviews
and refurbishments of existing sites, will ensure Benetas facilities
provide flexible and supportive environments so the consumer
can live a life of meaning and enjoyment.
THE HOME OF QUALITY SERVICE
The Benetas Service Commitment has three components:
Culture: Sustaining an organisational culture that supports
important client relationships and reflects the Benetas vision,
mission and values of respect, responsibility, community
and spirit.
Customer: Listening to each person's story and ensuring their
individual needs are at the heart of everything Benetas does;
building long-term relationships with clients and supporting
them and their families throughout their chosen journey.
Quality: Embedding a quality framework that facilitates
continuous review, refinement and improvement to ensure the
organisation can fulfil its commitment to provide great care.
Benetas has been
having a new
conversation with
its customers to
understand their
ideal experience in
aged care.
Benetas has
developed its
new Customer
Experience Model.
Two new builds, set to be completed
by mid-2016, will provide modern and
contemporary accommodation models
that meet the changing needs of older
people. The $14 million expansion of
Corowa,Court in Mornington will double
the capacity of the site to 120 places,
while the $20 million development at
Frankston will see a new 80-bed facility
opened, based on the new service model
of eight bed clusters.
"This cluster model is aimed at
increasing the social connectedness of
residents and ensuring they can easily
access the in-house amenities. It also
means that residents have specific carers
assigned to them, increasingly familiarity,
and keeps the back of house operations
away from residents contributing to more
of a 'home' environment," explains Hills.
Benetas is also reviewing its existing
facilities to investigate how the built
environment can be engineered to better
support older people, particularly toward
the end of life.
"It means flexible environments,
service delivery and teams that can
facilitate whatever choices are made by
the residents," says Hills.
Like residential care, the focus on
customer service is influencing how
Benetas delivers its home care services.
"At Benetas, our vision for a good
customer experience in consumer
directed care (CDC) is about
collaboration, independence and
empowerment," says Hills.
Benetas started transitioning clients to
www.australianageingagenda.com.au I 41

3. 42 I MAY -JUNE 2015 I AAA
The focus on
customer service
is influencing how
Benetas delivers its
home care services.
CDC packages in October last year, and
will have all clients transitioned by 1 July.
"We're continuing our emphasis
on training our staff to ensure they
understand the philosophy behind the
way we want to deliver CDC, and are
using feedback directly from our clients to
! design our CDC packages."
To ensure it can deliver what
community care customers need and
want, Benetas is making a significant
investment in technology, including
1 configuring all its systems and launching
the client portal, MyBenetas, which will
enable clients and their family members to
manage their statements and services.
RESEARCH: DRIVING PRACTICE AND
ADVOCACY
The aged care customer experience, the value of nursing in
aged care, and sub-acute linkages — these are just some of
the research projects Benetas is currently involved in.
Benetas is an active and influential player in the research
space. As a service provider, Benetas is well placed to identify
the issues requiring further research and investigation,
providing a voice and a pathway to try new things, always with
the end goal of improving people's experiences in aged care,
says Hills.
Amee Morgans, innovation, policy and research manager at
Benetas, says that research is about trying new things and the
unique part of what Benetas does is applying an aged care
context to existing research.
"Just because something is a great idea in the hospital or
disability setting, doesn't mean it is going to have the same
impact in aged care settings. Not all ideas are good ideas, and
even when they are, sometimes there are barriers to
embedding them in care that need to be investigated and
overcome. That's what we are good at," says Morgans.
Given it has a small research team (two full-time staff) the
organisation has nurtured several key partnerships to
maximise its research work. Strong links have been forged
with industry, education and partner organiations including the
University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin
University, the Royal Dental Hospital, Ambulance Victoria, the
Royal Australasian College of General Practice, Austin Health
and several Medicare Locals. To give greater scope to
research Benetas has commissioned others to undertake
research in joint partnership agreements.
Underpinning its research agenda is the Benetas
Innovation Strategy, which lists six primary areas of focus:
innovative use of aged care service provider data; carers;
building ageing research capacity; ageing and the community;
healthy ageing and better practice care; and social justice.
Elsewhere, Benetas was last year one of 11 partners that
successfully established the International Longevity Centre -
Australasia (ILC — A) with the aim of supporting longevity and
population ageing in the region.
"Population ageing is a significant global challenge and
through partnerships like ILC-A we can contribute ideas that
will develop and shape our industry into the future," says Hills.

4. Sandra Hills, Benetas CEO.
"The directions for home care are simple; we're replacing
the notion of 'the client' with 'the customer' and reshaping our
service delivery, culture and expertise to match," says Hills.
WHO WEARE
The focus on customer experience is heavily reliant on getting
the staff and organisational culture right, says Hills, and a broad-
ranging recruitment review will look at screening, candidate
diversity, development of employee value proposition and
psychological testing- among others.
"Benetas employees will work with their manager and the
People Development Team to create a plan that outlines what
they need to do to provide the customer experience our clients
want, and to develop the local workplace as something truly
great," says Hills.
Benetas is in the throes of developing a workforce plan in
response to the challenges facing the industry and is investing in
leadership development that takes a new approach for attracting
and retaining staff.
"We know that the skills people have now will be very different
in the future. It is a whole new skill set ahead with a clear
emphasis on customer service. Our research shows that if we
want to be the leading organisation of the future we need staff
who can think and act independently; staff who excel at building
relationships, internally and externally."
[Subhead] A strategic vision
Meanwhile, with an active research agenda (see panel), the
provider uses the results of its own work, as well as research
available in the sector, to inform the Benetas Strategic Roadmap
- the document that guides the organisation, its programs and
future development.
Several innovative programs arose out of this research-
informed strategy, such as an initiative to address social
isolation, particularly among men in residential care, flexible
respite options, and the delivery of irmovative support to people
experiencing dementia and their families.
The Strategic Roadmap comprises four pillars - residential
care, home care, housing, research and advocacy - which are
designed to support improved customer focus, service quality
and financial outcomes.
The roadmap details organisational development and
technology as two drivers essential to meeting its goals across
home care, residential and housing.
In terms of organisational
development, Hills says Benetas is
developing capabilities and systems
that support improved customer focus,
service quality and financial performance.
On ICT, Hills says Benetas is investing
in innovative technologies to support
staff and improve clients' lives, as well as
business performance. It is investing in
an overhaul of its finance and business
systems,,while developing an IT plan to
increase the independence of clients and
1 maximise staff efficiency.
· Ultimately the roadmap, like the
many initiatives currently underway at
Benetas, come down to change that is
possible, achievable and evidence-based,
with a total focus on the customer,
says Hills.
"Our model places the customer in
the centre of all we do but it is a fine
balancing act to manage and support
customer and staff requirements, meet
government compliance and manage
budget restraints." •
About BenetasBenetas is one of the leading not-for-profit providers of
residential care, in-home care, respite care, housing services
and retirement living in Victoria. It provides people, their families
and carers with outstanding levels of customer service and
individualised care when they need it.
Benetas cares for more than 4,000 older people each year
through an integrated range of community, home-based
aged care services as well as specialist residential care and
accommodation across Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula
and regional Victoria.
Benetas was established in 1948 when a small group of
volunteers from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne responded to
the urgent need to provide care and support to older Victorians.
CONTACT US
Go to: www.benetas.com.au
Call: (03) 8823 7900
Kate Barnes,
customer experience
manager at Benetas.
®be etas
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