Centennial’s Derek McMillan says “every village needs a five-year plan”

VILLAGE SUMMIT 2022 was in Melbourne last week, where Derek McMillan, CEO of Centennial Living, drew on more than two decades of experience in the industry when encouraging every retirement village to have a five-year plan.

Regardless of a retirement village being established or young, Derek noted the benefits of having a clearly defined vision that Village Managers can work toward with their residents, which in the end would benefit current and future customers.

“I’ve always been a believer in an EOS approach,” Derek said before explaining further how a village’s Environment (various stakeholder groups), coupled with the support of an Organization (the Operator) can deliver on a Strategy of where you want to be in five years’ time.

Derek encouraged VILLAGE SUMMIT delegates to be disciplined when involving the various stakeholder groups, as they can have the biggest impact on realising a five-year plan, with the most important stakeholder group of all being residents.

The Summit, which was centred around a Village Manager’s role being “for purpose”, dedicated a large portion of the day to conversations about the emergence of the Baby Boomers as a consumer group and the impact this will have on our industry and our villages.