Five for Friday: Oak Tree Retirement Villages Rutherford VM Tiffany O’Brien

Tiffany has been Village Manager at the modern facility with 80 villas in the suburb of Maitland, 166km north of Sydney, since August last year.

1. What did you do before and what was the motivation of being a Village Manager?

I have a strong background in various administrative roles which included some time as a Property Manager and a Holiday Park Manager. I also spent some time as an Assistant in Nursing working both in an Aged Care Facility and working out in the community with Homecare which was the start of my passion for working with older people. While becoming a Village Manager wasn’t initially part of my career plans, a local opportunity prompted me to consider it, and I believed my skills could transfer well to this field. Now, after 14 months as a Village Manager with Oak Tree Retirement Villages, I can confidently say that I couldn’t envision a more rewarding career for myself.

2. What is your favourite thing in your work?

I think one of my favourite things of being a Village Manager is getting to know my residents, which personally brings me a lot of joy. There is so much we can learn from our older community and I enjoy hearing their life stories, what their careers were, their opinions on how times have changed and getting to know not just them, but their loved ones as well.

3. What are your top five things to tell me if I said I was thinking of becoming a Village Manager?

• Have an understanding that all residents and villages are different which means it’s important to listen to resident feedback.
• Align yourself with an operator that is genuine and shows care and compassion to their residents.
• Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster at times – celebrating wins and joys together but grieving losses together as well.
• Ensure you can navigate complex regulations, resident relationships and staff management.
• Be aware of the important role of a Village Manager and the many hats you may have to wear.

4. I would imagine you have an open door policy with residents but as they are independent living, is it the same ones that come in all the time?

I believe it’s important to have an open door policy and villages will always have a mixture of residents that are either more private and keep to themselves, or residents that prefer more interaction with their Village Manager and keeping them up to date on their lives. I enjoy knowing that residents feel my office is a safe place where they will be listened to and supported. Residents respect the boundaries of my role but understand if I can’t physically help them with something, that I can gather support from our village.

5. How do you create a community?

Seeing as I am reasonably new to the industry, I can only speak of my experience so far. I believe residents are the driving force behind creating a community which is done in so many different ways while adopting a “we look after our own” type attitude. The acts of kindness around the village whether it be looking out for your neighbour, showing concern when someone is unwell or in hospital and the offers of help with cooking, ironing, walking dogs – the list is endless. The village is the residents’ home and they deserve to feel safe, seen, heard and valued so I believe having trust in their Village Manager and Operator to have their best interest at heart, allows them to relax into their retirement and enjoy their community to its full potential.