Beneath the Veil of Holiday Retirement Corp/Fortress Part 3
Part 3 is closed for comments - it is now read only.
Your Story?
http://blog.dlcharles.com
Your Story?: Beneath the Veil of Holiday Retirement Corp/Fortress Part 3
Part 3 is closed for comments - it is now read only.
I'll start Part 3 off with a question or two.
Going back and reading Jack Callison's emails to the employees I was struck by the figures he mentioned for March and April. Another individual noted to me that using Callison's numbers it appears Holiday had a 7% net growth in census, not counting move outs. There had to be move-outs, this we have already ascertained. Exactly how many no one outside the elite inner circle seems to know. Now it is also a closely guarded secret regarding the actual across the board census figures. Some sources put the census between 78 to 83 percent, others claim it to be much lower and nearer 72 to 74 percent. My sources place the overall census closer to 68 or 69 percent and are adamant. Does anyone actually know the figures anymore? When we were with Holiday the computer would screen up the complete census figures. Every district and region was represented along with a breakdown of each. Glaunert usually had the top numbers of 100% communities month after month. Now it appears no one knows what anyone else is accomplishing and any numbers Callison wants to toss out there are the only numbers available.
As many of you did, I read the Senior Care Investor article very carefully - and double checked it with other sources. My sources hold to their lower numbers. What is going on?
The blog has now garnered considerable attention across the internet, as we all know. Important question time, people! Where do we go from here? Do we continue it as is? Do we keep it a site for people to offer stories of experiences and no more - do we try to continue it as a medium for collective improvement? Is there any other options we might consider as a group?
Your calls! I am only the gatekeeper - you are the roads leading to that gate.
As for me, I must admit I have become more than just a little curious. I love a problem - I love to study a problem - and I truly enjoy it when a solution to a problem can be found and implemented.
at the end of the 3rd week of March, the occupancy was at 74%, verified with an actual copy of the weekly report, there were nearly 700 move out notices and with a resident population of approx 30k at an average age of 86, there would be many "unscheduled" move outs. At best there has been a slight gain in occupancy in March/April- but, rent paying residents moving out, incentive laden residents moving in, if I were a long time resident of an HRC facility (they used to be communities), I would give a move out notice with the demand to receive the same ridiculous incentives that the new people are receiving.
I tend to believe that the real overall census is around 66-69%. tHATS what I have heard from current employees. If Holiday has 300 buildings at an average of 118 units each.... that would mean 35,400 apartments. 30% empty means 10,620 available units.
At an average of $2500 a month rent...Fortress is loosing $26.5 million a month.
The buildings I know have an average census ranging from 55% to 80%.
The price for apartments is just getting too high and the atmosphere is just like a nursing home in many buildings.
I know a man that moved to an independent retirement facility in central FLorida and he loves it. I asked him why and his response was ---
"THE FOOD IS GREAT AND THE MANAGERS ARE REAL FRIENDLY".
POINT MADE ! ! ! ! ! ! !
DI Charles your doing a great job of trying to help cure the problems!
I agree with JR....
I for one love the blog and it's number one on my bookmark, it's like my first cup of coffee gotta have it...Thank You Charles for this site...
Please keep the blog as it is. It's a valuable sounding board, and with your diligent oversight, has remained a valid forum for exchanging facts and experiences, and for learning the truth about what is happening. The current Holiday Retirement is like a crab boat with no rudder and no captain. With no firm and ethical leadership, small kingdoms are being built by unqualified and ego-driven managers and regional managers. They are firing good people for trumped up reasons. I have seen it over and over. Please keep the blog as it is, so the truth can be told. Thank you so much.
Cowgirl:
You definitely write the truth. My husband and I were two good people that were fired. We loved out job and our residents, but because we told the truth we were dismissed; leaving the managers that should have been fired still employed, and continuing to do the same things that they have always done, not working their schedule, making promises they do not keep, and continuing to fire good people. The problem is that this is going to continue until they get rid of all the people that really care about the residents. When we hired in we thought the residents were the most important. Obviously we were wrong! The worse thing is that all the rules and regulations that are printed in black and white in the Employee Handbook are not being enforced. My husband and I were never written up, but we got fired, with bogus reasons, amazing how dishonest a company will be. I agree, please keep the blog as it is, so the truth is continued to be told
I too was hired and soon to be fired. I haven't worked at my place long but already was told I am no longer need. I do my job very well and don't ask questions when told to do extra, am there on time and finish my work early (saving the company money everyday) I don't milk the clock and make sure the residents are satisfied. I have left it open to them that if they are not to come to me and i will fix it if humanly possible. I can and have done two days work in one. Yet there are those that make their own schedules, come late or not at all.Those that spread out there work and linger the halls and take many unauthorized breaks. And they will still be there after I am let go. Where is the justice in this.
I love what you are doing here. This is very beneficial. I have been out of HRC for a while now
Have a blessed day!
Have a blessed day was a saying our beloved RD used to say. She left the oregon region to be with her family. Let it be known you are truely a beautiful peson and are missed deeply.
..QUESTION. to everyone....I am thinking about applying to Holiday Retirement for employment...with my extensive hotel background....I think the best role would be Regional Director......or perhaps District Manager....BUT.....after reading all 3 pages of blogs it seems as though Holiday has had some issues since the transition with Fortress...has Holiday started to correct itself yet?? ...and oh by the way I am not a "BLS".....thanks for any input that can be offered
If you read everything then you have a pretty good idea what to expect. If your personality can deal with it - GO FOR IT! Who knows, you just might be the one who actually makes a difference.
My answer to you is DO NOT apply to Holiday Retirement. Holiday has been hiring alot of ex-hotel employees, and they are finding out that the main job is marketing. The so-called "Holiday Touch" does not exist any more. Employees are being fired right and left, usually the reason is Poor Job Performance, some truth to that, but when rents get raised $100.00 a year, it is very difficult to market the buildings when you tell potential residents that the rent will go up that much on a yearly basis.
To many people are living in these facilities that should be in higher care facilities, but because the census is low in the facilities, they rent to just about anyone, and that is not fair to the residents that are already there.
My husband and I were with the company for 2 years, and worked in 2 different buildings. The managers of the buildings were never there; very rarely did we have any cross over time, when they did show up, it would only be one of them at a time! We do not regret our time with Holiday, we loved working with the residents, but did not like the dishonesty that came from upper management. The issues are not getting better, personally I think it is going to get worse. They continue to lose management teams, and there are not alot of people applying for employment with Holiday. I do hope that things turn around for the company, because Retirement Homes are needed with all the baby boomers retiring. At this time I would not recommend Holiday to any potential resident. I do not feel that Fortress will have any thing to do with Holiday, it is an investment for them, bottom line they purchased the company to make money, and right now I do not think that is happening. This is just one opinion of alot of opinions that you might receive, but think very long and hard before you make a final decision. Go for an interview if contacted, hear what they have to say, you may feel differently. GOOD LUCK in your job search, I hope you ill be successful.
.QUESTION. to everyone....I am also thinking about applying to Holiday Retirement for employment...Co-Manager team. Is it as bad as I have been reading?
What is meant by "comfortable salary"??
What is the best run district or area to work in? Any incites will be appreciated.
I don't visit this blog much. It seems to be mostly negative. Like any other job, it has its ups & downs. It will be what YOU make it be. Yes, there is some pressure to fill apartments that comes down from the top. How your RD filters some of that will affect your way of thinking. How you handle stress affects it as well. Myself, I don't get stressed about it. We do our phone calls, home visits, community visits, and special events...but to make it work, you have to be a genuine person with your management team, your employees, and your residents (in that order). It really does fall into place if you "keep it real".
FYI: I chose my handle for this blog when we were co-managers. We almost quit a few times because of the manager we worked for. We are glad we didn't. Our community now has "our" personality!
The South under the illustrious leadership had two move ins last week
Great job guys
I agree with all. This blog is like reading the newspaper, early in the morning with a cup of coffee.For those who think they want to work for Holiday...You will most likely give up all your personnel belongings to work there. Depending on your lifestyle. Just keep in mind that all of this will have to be replaced when you leave. So if you think you are saving money,think again..Most people think of how much you can save...Notta. You will only spend it getting your life back. I will say that working at Holiday has more memories than any job I have had in the past. With that being said ..I always found it strange that every building I went to I had to do away with the TRT,s and clean up the discounted apartments that other Managers gave away. Now they are doing it again.
Hello all!!! Well I am here to say we no longer work for Holiday!!!! We quit in March, bought a new business, have much better managers and bosses!! My health is now excellent I have weekends and evenings off and here's the best part, we spend more time now with the residents sharing QUALITY time with them. We visit more, share meals and events, have them to our home and are having the time of our life!! Do I regret my time with Holiday? NO!!!! Serving the residents changed my life making me realize that my empire had very little to do with life. I now have more happiness, more joy, more life purpose and feel like I am the richest man in the world when I enter the building and am greeted by all the moms and dads I love so much. Holiday as a corporation has missed the target of what their core values are. I'm sorry to say it is corrupt, mis-managed, and horribly mis-guided but it is a true American corporation. Bow to the greed please. As for me and my wife, count us the luckiest two people on earth. We love all of you who are toughing it out at Holiday and doing what you can to enrich your residents lives. You don't know us but we also love and support you in your efforts. Good luck everyone!!!
Good words! I am happy for you both.
My husband and I were thinking about applying for the Co-Manager position. It sounds daunting! What is the name of the new business you are with?
I would hate to think I was the only person here who would say run away as fast as you can, however I think there are plenty of folks here that would advise the same. Saying that….. it probably would not have made any difference in my decision to work for Holiday Retirement. I have always believed that I could go into any business and make a difference, and never in my career have I expressed my dissatisfaction of an employer. Corporate management of Holiday Retirement has proven without question, they do not care about their staff or our seniors, it’s all about the money. This rips at my soul and they do not deserve or should have the right to be in the senior business. Our seniors deserve better.
As things have changed drastically in the two years since we left the company, it still appears there may be vestiges of "the Touch" remaining in only some communities in selected regions, where the RM is cognizant of the true value of the Touch with respect to the bottom line. My guess would be that this may be evident in those areas where the sub-prime real estate crunch was less severe.
By the same token, look for Salem to shift its focus the assisted living market only for filling communities in areas where real estate values (aka prospective residents' equity) suffered the greatest losses.
I want everyone to know what kind of people are the current managers at the building we were responsible for in Portland.We were sent this couple who their very first statement to us that they had our back.they were team orientated and they would cover for us any way possible. When they left the room I told my husband something was way off on these people.They told everyone the office was bugged, by whom we did not believe or care. We did our job every day and hid nothing.We took a few days off after Christmas and from the grapevine we were informed they had entered our apt. and snooped and whatever else they did, looking for what.Their name is Gale and Judy and what they did was trespass. I called our regional Bobbie Reid and said we wanted them fired, this was illegal and if they would go thru another co-workers apartment,they won't have any problems going thru the residents, The managers have keys to everyone apts and by going into our apt. they showed their true colors.Our RD said lets give them a chance she moved them out of our building. When she let us go she brought them back as managers. Sounds like a wonderful way to run a corporation. These residents deserve better than this.
I think this info might be provided in different ways. One of similar articles, in which this info is given from the other point of view, I have found at one of periodical search engine. When you deal with different opinions, you start understanding everything better.
Huh?
Ditto on "HUH?" Appears to be an attempt for advertising when I click on it.
Mariyah: I deleted the internet address since it has no bearing on the subject matter. dlcharles
It will be very interesting to see if Jack sends out his usual "blurb" on the great performance the company has had for the last 3 weeks since they have been renting apts at full price. My understanding is multiple regions are upside down with more move outs than move ins.
Way to go Jack! Lower the price; devalue the brand and then expect people to rent at the higher price. Where are the BLS's when you need them. Even they understood a "special" need only last one day or a couple of hours...the idea is to get people to your building (lead generation) not to give it away.
The biggest problem with giving the discounts is that one year from now the resident will receive a $900 / a month increase. How do you explain this to a 90 year old. Most that I experienced did not understand. Bottom Line... They must move.
You are correct, Bill and Sam. We had similar problems with a small discount that lasted three to six months. The residents were often surprised by the significant increase, even though they understood it was temporary. A few moved out shortly after they went back to the market rent. These hotel people don't understand that monthly rent commitment is not the same as a one-night Hotwire rate.
As I have stated before, you should not purchase the rest of your life from the clearance rack. The type of customer that is only looking for a deal is not the customer I am looking for. When we are faced with another competitor offering major incentives and discounts, we tell that prospect that the only way we could match the offer is by reducing the quality of their lifestyle and we are not willing to compromise that.
I love this blog. Though it is geared to co-managers, our trials and tribulations are the same. while i do not comment regularly, I find this blog to be encouraging in many ways. I thank you so much for creating this forum~
ExExChef:
The blog is for anyone who works for, has ever worked for, or is considering working for, Holiday Retirement Corporation. It is for each and every resident who has ever lived in a community, for any potential resident considering moving into a community, and for anyone out there who is simply researching retirement options for their loved ones.
It is not "geared" toward Co-Managers only. It is for people such as the kitchen staff from the dishwasher to the prep cook, to the sous chef, to the Executive Chef. It is for the housekeepers, the bus driver, maintenance person, Enrichment Coordinator. It is for the Co-Managers and Co-Manager trainees to the Managers. It is for the Regional and District Managers and everyone at the home office in Salem, Oregon, up to and including a person named Jack R. Callison Jr. And it is for a group of multiple investors scattered out there who own stock in Fortress Investment Group.
With all due respect toward everyone I have come to the realization that what is happening with Holiday Retirement is basically what is happening with almost every big company today. From WalMart to KMart, from Ford to Cheverolet and Toyota, the strobe light mentality of the younger generation has taken the place of common sense which built those same businesses. There is no loyalty in today's businesses. Companies want your loyalty without giving anything back to you as an employee. Times have changed.
You have done a fantastic job with this blog and thanks to the many people who have expressed their concern(s) for Holiday Retirement Corp., its residents and employees. This once most admired company in its field has self-destructed under the regime of a CEO who still received a handsome bonus for doing what he did to this once great employer. Each and every company has problems, There is no doubt about that but at the end of the day numbers is all that counts. For the life of it, I cannot understand FIG for allowing this to continue to happen. This blog has given many us an understanding of how corporate America really works. This blog has brought many of employees together who normally would not have been able to vent and understand one-an-other. At least we were able to share our feelings and we knew we were not the only couple that suffered under the extreme pressures of the new senior management of Holiday Retirement. This blog also gave total strangers an inside as to how this retirement company functions in today economy. This blog gave people a chance to see what kind of company was going to take care of my parent(s). Sadly enough, many resident families are upset and looking to move their parent(s) to other communities where management does care. Having said that, I do not want to be misunderstood, most of the community staff members at Holiday Retirement are wonderful and caring people.
Charles, you are absolutely correct. There is no loyalty anymore anywhere. Employer towards employees and the other way around.
Thank you so much Charles for keeping up with this blog and thank all of those people who took and hopefully still take the time to write on this blog. It is a great tool for everybody.
This blog is a good thing. I am not sure who it is geared for however, we must all agree that all of the buildings have problems of some sort. It could be Managers, Co,s, Chefs, employees . The biggest problems I had and I was out spoken of this was Corporate. I never seen an outfit that was so confusing.
Before we were hired about a year ago, I found this blog while researching HRC. Initially, I was taken aback by all the negative info posted but did not let that influence my decision I thought most of the entries were from disgruntled cry babies. Now I know better! It's just the opposite.
Thank you dlcharles, for your dedication and diligence in keeping up this blog. I know it isn't easy. Keep up the great work!
I definitely appreciate the compliments. I have to state, however, that the plaudits belong to those who who made the blog a viable across the internet. As I said earlier - I am only the gatekeeper. But thanks again.
Was wondering how much the insurance cost is to the co-manager and how long you must wait until it goes into effect after starting to work.
I'm not sure if anything as changed with the insurance program. It was a waiting period of 6 months before you could enroll in the insurance program.
The cost wasn't that big of a deal since one policy comes out of one check and the other policy comes out of the other. Maybe like $20 a pay? As I said, I'm not really sure.
I do remember that it was kind of funny when my hubby and I would go to the doctor together and the receptionist would just assume we had the same policy. Nooooo. A few odd looks. I do have to say that the insurance wasn't bad.
When I administered the benefits back in 2000-2005, the managers, co's and chefs paid $30 a month. 6 month wait. Good medical benefits at that time.
It's 90 days and around $25 a pay period.
What is the salary for co-managers? What unit will be given for free (1 or 2 bedrooms)? Will your parents get a discount if you are the manager?
Dear Confused,
It has been a few years and things have changed, so I don't remember the starting salary for co's. Your apartment is a one bedroom that is about 545 sq ft. Unless things have changed big time -- I don't think you will get a discount for your parents if you are the manager. Since many current and previous managers that we became friends with said that they couldn't afford to live at a Holiday - there wasn't any discount for prior employees. Given this, I doubt there is any discount for relatives -- even parents.
One thing you want to be careful with -- a lot of the older buildings have manager apartments that are one bedroom and just about the same sq ft as the co-manger's apt. I was really surprised when I would see this. The only difference was that the managers had a full size stove and refrigerator while the co's had an under the counter fridge and a half size stove.
Good luck.
The salary is about 25K each and it is a 1 br. Every building is a little different but the ones I seen the co's apt has a full size stove (which never gets used) and refig. and stack unit washer and dryer.
$25K is right for most states,but did you know that Ca. is $66K a year! They do the same work as anyone else @ a Holiday Building.
Yes, please keep the blog-it keeps us informed about what is happening. The roll of the managers/comanagers is changing so much. They have to committ to marketing with directions from rsm and regional managers and they are pushed from the top to ride them and bug them until they either leave to do the best they can. Its not the same company and will continue to change. Its the residents that are not getting the same touch they use to and it will never be the same unles some changes are made the way the marketing is done. Managers do not have time or energy to do what they are expected to do. Thanks
Is Ronnie Moye still with Holiday and what about LP Tomkins?
Ronnie is, LP isn't.
I've been looking at various Holiday communities for my parents in the Colorado and Utah area. After reading all the comments now I'm not so sure. Are there any other chains that would be better to look at? Or how would I find out which locations are good or bad?
Thanks
I would just caution you on putting a lot of weight behind some of these blogs because some of them are from very angry people who want to just make holiday look bad and they don't even work for the company any longer. Now that is not to say that there are some very legitimate concerns because there are, but there also some very good things going with the company as well and that you don't hear much of on this blog because most of the managers that are running a good building don't have time to come on this blog and commit. I just happen to be off and had a little time on my hands. You will see how some will attack me for just saying what I did but it is the truth. Their are some you just want the company to fail so they can say see I told you so and that is sad that some people are that way.
Fair enough. But it can't be a good sign that of the 40 or so I asked to contact me for more information on Monday I still haven't heard from 11. And why do they all seem to try to hide the second person extra charge? Even though I start the conversation with "prices for one bedrooms for my mother and father" I still have to specifically ask for the second person additional charge. That's a little misleading. Only one guy volunteered the information (which is the only reason I know about it at all) and all others gave the one person price and had to be pinned down. Is that just industry standard because it seems shady to me?
All I can say is sorry for how these buildings are treating you. I can not speak for them on why they did this, but this is not how the company operates. Unfortunately there are people who just don't understand the importance of being upfront about things, but I can assure that this not a common practice. I can tell you this that I am very straight forward with people because that is how I was raised. I again apologize for how you have been treated. I remember the golden rule "Do unto others as you would have done to you".
We are still waiting for an answer.
CeeCee,
The best thing to do is go to one of the communities with your parents, tour, have dinner and sit with residents. Make a list of questions you want to know about....
Watch and feel how the managers and staff interact with residents and the Chef should come out meet you per: managers request(we always asked our chef too! he is a very important part of the team) Feel out the atmosphere. They shouldn't care if you talk with residents, staff unless they have something to hide.. ask the managers all the questions that you are concerned about( The food, special diets, activities, doctor appointments, shopping, rent, yearly increase on rent and more)if they are good and know their job the answers will not be hard for them to answer. One thing we did when families were unsure, we offered them to come back anytime come interact in all activities. Don't know if they still offer the 3 day stay in the guest room, but I believe popping in is the best way to see what going on at the community. We wanted families to do this we had nothing to hide for this is a very important decision for families to make and yes! check out all retirement places... Find one that is right for your patents...Wish you all the BEST OF LUCK!!!
A reasonable explanation for the lack of information you are getting could be the lack of people with any practical experience. We had a General Sales Manager in our building that worked here for 2 months trying to sell apartments who didn't even know that we offered housekeeping services. The person also rented an apartment, with a signed contract to a couple and never even thought to include the second resident fee. When the GSM tried to correct the mistake and add the $700.00 monthly fee and mentioned it as an afterthought, the couple freaked out. Last I heard, they were taking it up with the state attorney general. The GSM didn't mention the fee because it was forgotten in the heat of the sale and said person never received any business training. If you deal with anyone who is NOT the building manager, be sure to ask how long they've been with the company and pay attention to how they interact with the building's employees while on tour. If the person ignores the residents and employees while on tour with you, ask to be toured by the managing couple. Hopefully they will have more than 6 months in on the job and will be able to be completely truthful with you because they know their building and it's policies from practice and not by reading the latest sure fire marketing techniques from a corporate office that seemingly has no idea how their company actually operates in the field.
Well said!
Thank you Stop and Tick Tock for all the advice. I live on the other side of the country but I've decided it will be well worth making a trip or two and visiting for a few days before we pick a residence.
Tick tock -
How on earth did this individual even get to the two-month mark?
LOL.......because they're a GSM. Not bound by the rules which regulate the rest of us schlubs who already know what we're doing. They answer to a "higher authority". The funny part is: this GSM person has gotten only 2 move ins in 3 months. If they're the so called sales professionals, spending all their time in the field, all week long and can only manage numbers like that, how's a lowly community manager who can only get out for an hour or two at a time (if we're lucky) supposed to drum up any business? Yet still, they hound us mercilessly.
The second resident fee is now $ 700.00 in your building? Is this fee now set nationwide?
No, it is 575 in our building.
ENOUGH, since you are so obviously not aware of how it was before FIG, would you please tell us how long you have been employed by Holiday?
Not that it is any of your business, but I do now what it was like before FIG. But instead of trashing the new Management I'm trying to do the best I can 1st in my own building for my residents after all that is why we are here. Next I went through a situation just like this in my former life and yes it was very tough adjusting to the new management but one thing was for sure the changes were/are going to happen whether we like it or not or agree with it or not.
Since you are so well informed we would just like to know your level of experience. Also, please tell us what are "some of the very good things going on with the company" We would really like to know.
Well in our region we are finally experiencing getting some coverage for days off when we are shorthanded, which did not exist before, There is a new excitement around getting move ins and being more creative around getting new DI's special events, advertising etc. The seems to be finally a re-focus on providing the holiday touch. We are now able to, on an individual basis, work on a way stop the rent increases. We just had a re-core and the building looks a feels great.
That's New? It used to be the norm. To bad that you do not have a clue, but want us to see how wonderful you are. You do appear to be the new kid on the block that knows it all. You certainly fit in good with current management.
"... Not that it is any of your business, but ..." .
Enough, I went back and again read each of your comments. You appear to consider yourself something extra special. You berate any comment which questions your expertise and do so very childishly.
I have hesitated so far regarding any response to you in order to ascertain whether I was incorrect. To clarify: You may have the perfect background in some other organizational corporation which allows you to immediately grasp the proper concept with perfect clarity. Obviously the rest of us do not have your gift of insight. While very appreciative of your willingness to enlighten us I must offer up that you, in my personal opinion, do not have a clue.
You have been in the business only a few months, yet you constantly berate those who spent years doing what you are only beginning to learn. When you are questioned your stance is that you are being attacked and "it isn't any of your business". That is not acceptable. If you feel you have the right to question others than accept that others have the same right to question you. Brown- nosing the company as you do won't help due to the anonymity. You react more like a petulant child when a game isn't going like the child wants it to - "I'll just take my marbles and go home if you don't play by my rules."
I wish you well in your Holiday endeavor, but I predict it will be a short career move. You strike me as being too much of a "Hey, look at me, I'm Mr. wonderful!" type of person to allow others to enter into your own tiny circle of self-worship.
This is the problem, You are trying to judge me when you don't even know or me anything about me.You don't know what I have been through and what I am capable of handling. You say that I am all about self. maybe you should read these blogs more closely because I sure here a lot of self promotion of how great they ran a building but then they got upset over the change of ownership then decided that they didn't want to work here any longer. Then they turned their anger toward the new ownership and making statements on things when they are not here to know what is going on. My question is if you people on this blog are so great and have all the answers why don't go and start your own Retirement Community and compete against FIG.
You get more childist with every response. Personanily I have had ENOUGH OF ENOUGH. Maybe one day you will grow up and write a more mature response.
No, Enough - I am no longer "trying to judge you when I don't even know you". I HAVE judged you - and you have fallen way short. I truly do not even care what you have been through or what you are capable of handling. So far all you have accomplished is to show me how immature you are. You repeatedly whine about being judged if anyone questions what you espouse, yet you have done nothing but judge everyone else on here because they may not agree with you. Tit for tat.
You belittle those who walked your path before you. How dare you? You would not even have the job had it not been for those others. And yes - it all stops with Jack R. Callison Jr. - all of it. If anything at any community goes wrong the responsibility ultimately belongs to Jack. That is the way it works.
Grow up, kid, before you attempt to tell others how great you are. I can comfortably tolerate your opinonated slant insofar as it being aimed at me, but when you point it at those who have earned their ribbons I run out of tolerance. I believe you most definitely owe the others on here a big apology.
D.L. I also want to thank you for this blog. Maybe it will not solve all the problems, but maybe it will help keep them from getting worse.I am reminded of this quote: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
So that I understand you. You are saying that when a manager lies and treats the resident badly it is all Jack's fault. I guess the time for personal responsibility is gone you can blame Jack and it will okay. I have never belittled anyone here you just don't like the fact that I don't fully agree with you. Yes I have a big problem with X EMPLOYEES coming on here and speaking about the current situation when they aren't here experiencing it. I could easily start my own blog like this to trash other companies that I have worked for, but it is a waste of time, but of course you are retired and have plenty of time on your hands to do this. I am committed to giving my best to my residents and my building. I want a place the current residents and new residents feel wanted and cared for. There is only one who can judge me and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes ENOUGH I am an X employee. There was a time when youth respected the knowledge and wisdom of their elders. I not only get info. from this blog, but also from personal contacts. I could say a lot more but would run the risk of exposing the identity of my contacts that are trying to hang on under very difficult circumstance. I know what a great company Holiday used to be and it hurts me to see it destroyed. I will say not all current managers agree with you, but will not run the risk of exposing themselves. I am even aware of someone disciplined for discussing this blog.I am going to do my best not to respond to you any more, but I will tell you this. I plan to make comments as long as DL allows even though you would like to tell him how to manage this blog. It is difficult for me to suffer fools. Have a good life.
Oh darn, enough - I was wondering when you were going to roll out the Jesus card. Have you ever noticed how quickly losers use that card when things don't go their way. How do true believers put up with the wannabes? I think you have an excellent idea about starting your own blog. I wish you all the luck. You have never belittled anyone on here? Go back and read your own posts. And yes, when a manager lies and treats residents badly it is Jack's fault. It is his fault because he does not have proper procedures in place to prevent such.
Time on my hands? My wife and I both work long hours in our respective jobs. We are building a new business as well which takes more hours. I am completing a new novel which takes more hours on a daily basis. Never mind - it isn't important enough to bother you with.
As to "There is only one who can judge me and that is the Lord Jesus Christ" - wrong again. Surprise! You have just been judged by the Magic Finger - have a very nice day. Second time since the blog started. Man, I feel so sorry for the residents and staff of your building. You have shown me that you personify exactly what we are talking about. No one is trashing the company. What we are doing is attempting to get them to open their eyes and hearts to the reality and FIX IT!
Opps sorry I am not as dumb as you think. You want to make comments and then not give a chance to respond. I am a true believer, I believe that Jesus is the Christ the one and only son of God. I don't have to explain myself to you. WOW it is Jack's fault when a Manager acts unethically. Well just so you know that in our region 4 sets of managers have been fired for just that, not running their building correctly and acting unethical.
For those on here who may not be particularly internet savvy in the ways of bulletin or message boards, (which this blog has become similar to) I present you with this explanation of ENOUGH:
What Is A Troll?
The term derives from "trolling", a style of fishing which involves trailing bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The troll posts a message, often in response to an honest question, that is intended to upset, disrupt or simply insult the group.
Usually, it will fail, as the troll rarely bothers to match the tone or style of the group, and usually its ignorance shows.
Why do trolls do it?
I believe that most trolls are sad people, living their lonely lives vicariously through those they see as strong and successful.
Disrupting a stable newsgroup gives the illusion of power, just as for a few, stalking a strong person allows them to think they are strong, too.
For trolls, any response is 'recognition'; they are unable to distinguish between irritation and admiration; their ego grows directly in proportion to the response, regardless of the form or content of that response.
For further info see: http://www.flayme.com/troll/
You can look at it, laugh at it, you can even poke it with a pointed stick. Just try not to feed it anything.
BRAVO. You said it well.
Good comment! I will take it to heart.
I am a HR employee and have seen so many ppl come and go throughout my time. Some deserved and some not. I am recently just starting to encounter some pretty big issues within the company. I have always had a stong work ethic and I keep my head down and try to do the best job that I can. Recently I feel disrespected and betrayed by my superiors. With all of these issues and comments why can't we as whole stop this? It's just not right. And as far as "enough", I felt the same way for years and after a while it just wears on you and you get tired. Because when it comes right down to it holiday will protect holiday and thats the bottem line. As it is with many companies but not to this extent.So my advice to you is watch your back.
Enough,
My husband and I are interested in becoming co-mgrs. In trying to learn more about Holiday, I ran across this site as well as a couple of other sites that either blog or give reviews. It's scary the amount of negative feedback is written about this company. I am very interested in hearing the good about working there as well as the bad. My biggest fear is not getting time off and becoming burned out. I am not afraid to work and I am not above serving or filling in. I already work as a manager where I put in long hours, get one job accomplished only to be confronted by 10 more things to do and receive very little appreciation most of the time. I would like to make a difference in other peoples lives. I am hoping that this is possible without completely losing mine.
My guess is that "Enough" is a current executive, not manager. Most likely the crazed Asian that is running the company into the ground. I would ignore "Enough's" comments. Anyone that experiences more than 5 minutes of Holiday will realize what "Enough" has to say is not true.
The facilities are not to blame. Its the people like you who can't see the forest for the tree's. Name some good things coming from Jack,Don,Stan. I would like to know. Because as of yet I have not seen any.
So basically you are saying the each manager in their building are not responsible for their actions. You are so funny hahahahahahahahahahahahaha stop its killing me. So a manager can say what ever he wants and it will always be Jacks fault. I'm certainly not going to try to explain to anything to you because no matter what I say you will find a negative spin on it anyway because all you see is what is bad and that is it.
You did not answer Christina's question either, but we are not surprised.
I feel like am back in HIGH SCHOOL..on what am reading right now (You are so funny hahahahahahahahahahahahaha stop its killing me?)...TO Much Drama.....
Holiday Expounder Edition#1 2007
I have this magazine great reading.
A tribute to Bill Colson
Why don't you take a step back in time and see what Bill has been up to over the years...
How do you write a tribute to someone who be could considered a legend?
How can you possibly say "THANK YOU" and truly show the depth of your heart?
And how you ever really say "GOOD BYE" to such a dear friend?
Bill Colson's creativity, leadership, and business expertise over the last forty years have set him apart in the senior housing industry. But Bill is so much more than just a leader. He is a our counselor,our mentor, our ad-visor,our co-worker and our friend.
He is a gentle man, an honest man, and a wise man. Bill's door was ALWAYS open and he always had a kind word to say to everyone-no matter who they were or what "level" they were in the company.
Bill never lost sight of who our customer was and the importance of focusing on our residents. Through following Bill's example, Holiday "grew" its grass roots approach to customer service, and it has become the cornerstone of our company today. Proving exemplary service to our residents and, for that matter, to everyone with whom we come into contact, Holiday is now known for something called "THE TOUCH"
I could go on and on, but This is what is missing!!!! "FIG" will never understand what Bill Colson started here "ONE LARGE FAMILY" not just a business...
This was very well put. Obviously this Enough person didn't know the life before FIG.
I started with holiday in 2000 and am very disappointed with FIG and how things are run. I am not a manager or co manager. The unhappiness through the staff and residents is incredible; however, most residents feel trapped as due employees because of the lack of homes and jobs out there noe
I have read and re-read so many posts here, but yours sticks out. I feel you have a good handle on what was and what is, please tell us how it is now. My wife and I are in the process of being hired. Can this company make it?
Cee Cee -
Please consider that the people who write here do so with a considerable pride in what they have accomplished and an equal passion for the original mission. With over 300 DIFFERENT facilities all managed by DIFFERENT people, there is bound to be a wide variety of perceptions that evolve. I am reminded of the fabled blind wise men who could not agree on the description of an elephant:
To wit:
It was six men of Hindustan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind
They conclude that the elephant is like a wall,
snake, spear, tree, fan or rope, depending upon where they touch.
Moral:
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
Great fable and good point Not.
Thanks
LP is long gone....
A real nice guy...but Fortress din't like him
I am not surprised. They got rid of all the good ones.
We left the company and are thankful for our time with Holiday. While employed we met some wonderful people, employees, residents and family members that will remain life friends. We gave 100% and received far more in return.
The invaluable education led us to our current position.
For those of you 55+ seeking a new lifestyle in Georgia, contact me. I look forward to hearing from you!
nancyepstein@robbinsfree.com
CeeCee, Please excuse my writing.. I don't know how I missed this when checking what I wrote... I meant Parents, not patents...I apologize!
Yes, Yes, Mr. Charles, thank you for continuing this blog. I am a resident who has experienced the Holiday Touch under the Colson family, and devastated on the changes since FIG took over. In our region I think many facilities are suffering with extremely limited management, cutbacks in all areas and upper management who have no idea on what the real problems are. It should be mandatory that all District Managers live in one of their facilities (ideally for a month) but a minimum of at least one week and take e-calls, and intereact on a daily basis with the residents. Their brief visits they spend their time on their computers or the phone, and have no interaction with the daily probelms of running an efficient operation with all the interruptions, and daily problems, getting worse with lack of required number of Mgr/Co-Mgrs on site.
I am taken with the expertise you display, especially as a resident. Aptly spoken! Would that I could offer a promising option.
I was sitting here today just thinking about Holiday and the blog, letting my mind run over everything to date, and a scenario ran through my mind.
Jack Callison goes to his child's school for career day to explain what he does for a job. Standing in front of the class he introduces himself thusly:
"Hello, Children! My name is Mr. Callison and I make a lot of money. How do I make so much money? Well, first I am the boss of a very large company that rents apartments to old people. I recently was given a million dollars as a bonus for doing my job so good. The company gave me that bonus money because I fired a lot of people and raised the rent on all the old people who live in our apartments. Isn't that a great job to have?"
"Since I am the boss I can hire my friends from other companies and pay them a lot of money too. Also, because I am the boss, I could fire a lot of the people at the company main office just because I felt like doing it. What a neat job to have! And when the old people complain about having to pay more rent I can tell them to pay up or move. My job is a lot of fun to me because I can control how much the old people are allowed to eat every day and even if they have hot water to shower with. See, children, the old people need someone to take care of them and we charge them a lot of money to live in our buildings. When they don't have enough money to pay the extra we want them to pay then we just make them leave. If they gripe about the building needing fixing we just tell them something to keep them quiet, but we don't really mean it as a promise. Old people forget so they can be lied to all the time. Where do they go? Well, I don't know where they end up - but I don't care about that. I worked very hard to be the boss and make so much money. I am not about to let the workers and old people get in the way if it means I might not make so much money. Old people are hard to please, you know, so you have to make your workers not be too nice to the old people. If they are then you fire the workers. If you study really hard you could have a job like mine when you grow up."
I fully expect someone to berate me for being unfair to Holiday and Callison with this, but I am comfortable with phrasing it as the scenes ran through my mind. I am more than eager for someone to write a better scene about "Career Day".
While it might not be Jack's exact thinking the results are the same. DL,you do not mind going out on a limb and we respect you for it. Carry on the good work from someone who cares and Concerned
Unfortunately, that is pretty much it in a nutshell. So sad.
You are right I got out of hand. I appolize. I do care about people and I want holiday to succeed. Would you all pray for my son he wittnessed a 22 year old kid OD on drugs and die. I hope that you all get your point across with this blog.
I am sorry but you are mentally unstable and should in no way be caring for cats much less senior citizens.
Cold. Very cold. I wouldn't call what you've just taken the time to do or say the act of a mentally stable, much less compassionate, person either. I just happened to find this Blog while doing some media research and I must say; pretty disappointing.
Enough:
No apology needed. You have your beliefs and you feel strongly about them - as do all of us about our beliefs. Each and every one of us also want Holiday to succeed. Holiday's competition has to cope with the black mark on the industry because of what is happening and it makes it harder for them also.
The difference is that we hold each other in respect, irregardless of our differences and the way we relate to each other. That is the key - the respect and caring, and as was noted previously by Achmed - THE PASSION. It might not be a bad idea if you approached someone to talk with about your stresses. You do show a lot of stress in your comments. Before you can take care of others you must first take care of yourself. I do have respect for your belief in your deity, but that does not mean I must accept the same belief as you, nor do I expect you to accept what I believe.
No, I am not attempting to sermonize. I care about you even though we do not know each other in the actual world. Be safe and know your son will get through it. I am curious why you portrayed yourself as a employee of Holiday. One of the "problems" with anonymity is it allows anyone to become whatever they feel they can convince others they are.
WOW!
I'm curious of why he said he was an employee but I'm not going to ask, that is for him to clarify....We are not the here to ruin Holiday. We are not the destroyers of this company FIG is doing a good job at that by their selves. I can say "WE who found THE TOUCH" saw the vision that Bill Colson wanted.
Providing an active, safe, and healthy lifestyle for senior. There will never be a job for us that meant so much as Holiday. " It was a PRIVILEGE serve and to be included as members of the community family" We had a very strong commitment to the residents and we stayed as long as we did for them...BUT when you continuously stretched and stressed from the long hours and months at a time from the operational demands and the needs of the community with no break coupled with seemingly unrealistic expectations from Home Office and wonder will it ever get better and it only seems to get worse as time goes on you frequently ask yourselves as a couple team-- is it worth it?
I'm sad to say we said NO! both of us had lost THE PASSION due to a lack of RESPECT from Home Office and just plain burn out...
Mr. Charles, I wonder about his sudden change in attitude.
Me too! How about it, enough? Care to explain?
It is just that I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and say things that were over the top. It is not that I agree with all the opinions here I just need to watch what and how I say things. It has been hard to reply since you have me blocked and so I have to go and find other computers to respond. I would ask you Charles why it is okay for someone to call me mentally unstable, but when I say something I get blocked and I went back and read several post and I don't get it there was a person called WHAT who was way over the top but you did not block him? BTW all I did was ask for prayer and I get called names. There are some good things and there are also some bad comments posted here. I think that both need to heard. Again as I already said I apologize for getting carried away.
In my humble opinion I think that anyone can say whatever he/she wants however, when posting on a blog like this one, one has to be careful as to what is said. There are many of us who have been with Holiday for a lot longer than the average person posting on this blog. We have known the very best of times at Holiday and we have seen, and are seeing the very worst of times as they are now under the ownership of FIG. From everything I have read in your previous posts, you are fairly new with Holiday and as such very enthusiastic and protective of the company. There is nothing wrong with voicing your opinion but please allow people who have been around to show you how things used to be. I am sure Charles will unblock you as long as you have an open mind to others as you now seem to have. We are looking forward to a constructive dialogue.
One of the hard parts about being human is that we tend to let emotion dictate our actions at times. This I understand as I have often succumbed myself, to my chagrin. On the blog I try to refrain from such as much as is possible.
You are unblocked.
None of us agree with everything others post, but we need to remember that each of us are after the same goal of a response from Holiday which shows they truly do care and are working on solutions. So far that isn't showing up.
A telephone conversation with a friend working in a community saddened me a few days ago. The friend was summarily fired. I understand the Executive Chef has quit and housekeepers were fired after working for five or more years. The community was 100% for several years and had a long waiting list. Now there are no managers onsite, only Cos. Census is down and the resultant trepidation about possibly more firings have the staff on edge. This is not a solution. It is only a furthering of the problem.
Man that is not good. Do you know anything about Hawthorne Retirement? I looked at their web site and they seem to be a lot like Holiday in the way their buildings look. Are they run by people who use to be with Holiday?
Hawthorne is the new name for what used to be XL Management. XL was the sister company to Holiday that managed the Assisted Living/Skilled Care Communities. When Holiday was sold, there were several Communities that the actual "owners" did not want to sell to FIG. Those communities transitioned to being managed by XL who soon after changed their name to Hawthorne Retirement Corp (HRC). Hawthorne is run by Bart Colson, Bill Colson's eldest son. As I understand it "The Touch" is still alive.
Just this last month (June 2010), there is one family that owned about 11 of those communities who decided to start their own Management company called Sunshine Retirement.
Hope this answers your question, if no one else has before now.
I am an employee.I was appolizing for my behavior on this blog.
Sorry that that happened to you. So far we have not experienced that. We work with managers who have been here for over 8 years.
With tornado weather upon us it made me think of when we were managers at one of the communities.
Boy were we ever surprised to find out that we were in tornado alley and no one -- including the higher ups -- ever had a plan to use with tornados!
We asked what other communities did, we asked the higher ups -- everyone always said they would get back to us. Needless to say no one ever did.
We were in an older building and asked everyone up the ladder how to use the e-call system in reverse to inform residents of an emergency.
Finally, we went out and purchased boat emergency air horns -- the kind that you blow into so that we knew they would always be ready. We purchased four of them -- so each manager had their own. We tested them with the residents and told them what is would mean when they heard these. These worked beautifully! At three in the morning, when hearing aids are on the nightstands, and a warning is going on -- one manager would be on the pa system blowing the airhorn and announcing to go to the laundry room, their own bathroom or come down to the first floor safe area -- the other managers would be on the floors blowing their air horns and using a rubber mallet on the doors as another way to wake residents.
We also purchased bandana scarves that the residents put on the outside door knob so that we knew they were aware of what was going on and had taken action.
Just a tip for those who are in weather emergency areas. You could tweek it so that it works best for you.
Curious to know if they still have that action plan in place to cope with a norovirus outbreak. Did they ever hire anyone to replace Corby and Nina?
Yes there is still an action plan in place to handle a norovirus outbreak.
My husband and I have a face to face interview for co-manager position soon. I would like to have any POSITIVE tips from anyone that does the interviews or has gone through one and gotten the job. Neither one of us has not interviewed for a job in over twenty years and just wanted some tips on maybe what to expect. Thanks to anyone willing to help out.
Any big announcements from Jack regarding record move ins in May?
And, why would you care?
because I do, why do you care that I care?
Because I do. Why do you care that I care why you care?
Hey, take it somewhere else, you two. My feet are getting wet.
A company-wide Occupancy Report is no longer distributed to all communities. I can tell you that the numbers for the Eastern Division for May 2010 were reported with a total of 202 move-ins, 181 move-outs, for a net increase of 21 move-ins. Maybe other current managers could post the numbers from their divisions here to give us a sense of what direction Holiday is trending.
Watch for signs that what we call the Holiday Touch still remain. The symptoms are a happy staff and happy residents.
Assuming you are invited for a meal and have an opportunity to tour the building with your interviewer, pay close attention to how much and what type of social interaction there is among the residents and between your interviewer(s) and the residents. Also I'd look for the same among staff.
A very quiet dining room may not be a good sign.
My husband and I are currently managers and would like to be floating managers for several regions or transfer to a different region. Can anyone tell us how to start this process? Thanks!
Start by approaching your RD. He can then kick it up to the DM and the DM makes the decision.
What is going on with the Class Action suit between the Co-Managers and Holiday/Fortress
The lawsuite is still very much going. I understand that everyone is on pins and needles for this and waiting to see if it will effect how Holiday supports it's managers. We just hope they do.
What kinsd of law suit is it?
Has anyone heard about Bobbi Reid leaving the company? A shame...she was one of the best managers in the company. She actually was "the face" of the company. Now it looks like we're back to the good ole boys club of all white males! Seems that is what Jack and Stan are most comfortable with.
Bobbi announced her resignation during the weekly conference call Tuesday, her last day is next Tuesday. She said that she wanted to "spend more time with her 3 grandchildren" and that she loves Holiday and loved working with such great people. Did she jumo or was she pushed?
Pushed. This is a woman who made the commute from Oregon to handle a Washington region. When she was finally given Oregon; after the departure of Eric Blythe...she had it all. Limited travel and alot of time at home. More importantly she was just coming off the high of being publicly lauded as one of the better RD's in the country and was spending more time in the Home Office than the people who worked there. She was involved and active on every panel an RD could be on and there was open discussion about her being a MD. Wow...how fast the stars fall. Just as she was not personally responsible for the outstanding performance she previously had...she's also not responsible for the spiral downhill of her region. I suspect...she just got smart and figured there is a better way to make a living. Good job Bobbi; you'll be missed.
She has been great during my short tenure with Holiday. While her region has done "better" than many, the numbers for May and Year to Date in terms of revenue and NOI are scary, at best. It would certainly explain the current "don't spend a dime" mode of operation that is currently in effect. Also, Jack was crowing about May's moveins...but not saying a lot about NET moveins. The slide continues...
Really??? Hmm...wonder WHY one of her Oregon communities has lost two sets of loving, caring co-managers, a world class executive chef, a sous chef, and their long term bus driver all in the last 60 days AFTER she was presented with evidence of lying, bullying, harassment (both sexual and workplace), direct emails, and copies of regular reports being manipulated all by one manager she placed in January??? Watch what happens in the next couple of weeks.
Maybe you should go back to whereever you came from because obviously you are not a team player only a trouble maker. Walk in the shoes of a manager with responsibilities in this industry and see how far you get with this approach.
Creating trouble was not and is not my purpose. My purpose was to tell you that not everything is at it appears. That Holiday via it's RD's allows some of the travesty's to CONTINUE within some of it's communities is my purpose. That Bobbi was given facts and turned a blind eye is not causing problems, it IS the problem. That she is leaving and others will follow is a good thing for some residents. Since I see things from inside just my community, I can't speak for others, but I can speak for what I have seen here and continue to see on a daily basis. I never said Bobbi was a bad person, but even good people can be led astray even by their own shortcomings or corporate shackles.
I hear you....I have been there and done that.....there is not much that I have not seen or heard, not too much surprises me to say the least. I want so much to be able to praise everything that goes on any place that I am at. A person has to find three positives to counteract one negative, It can be a huge challenge finding positives you have to sometimes search really hard for it. The one thing that gets in the way is that it is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Right now the way things are at the facility/regional levels you cannot report anything...examples: harassment, building issues, health issues, horseplay, how residents /employees, and sometimes vendors get talked to or treated. Because like I have said before if things like that are mentioned, sometimes it is taken defensively no matter how carefully you word it or say it.......automatically the defensive people want to hurry and cover it up so that maybe nobody else will see or hear it.....then they want to discredit the person that have the concerns as troublemakers and or they are not doing their jobs. Unless things change I am afraid these things still go on no matter how how genuine and concerned you are to see that RESIDENTS, EMPLOYEES and PEOPLE in general should not have to be mistreated in any way, shape, form or fashion. If the number one concern is the RESIDENTS (and they should be) Then taking care of the EMPLOYEES and VENDORS would certainly help contribute to the RESIDENTS happiness. Because when you take care of all the other people the residents get much better treatment also. When the RESIDENTS are happy your CENSUS will increase because they are your best marketers in the facilities. But it looks like CENSUS is TOP PRIORITY on the list. I think that is why census is crumbling.
I think that most of the people that work at HRC/Fortress have good hearts and good intentions, they just sometimes get into situations that they either cannot deal with or do not want to deal with and find themselves making unsound decisions that may feel or seem right at the time...but later may realize they made a bad call.
What ever the reason...If everyone would just sit back and take a good long hard look and realize that everyone on the face of this earth are people and we all make mistakes (nobody is perfect) and learn together with a willing heart instead of bickering, backstabbing, name calling and fault finding....Everyone could have a better work environment anything other than everyone treating others as they themselves would like to be treated, is working in a hostile environment.
Oh and not everything gets investigated so do not let any deceive you on that note! (I hope I did not talk in circles)
God bless everyone!
My apologies to you. I thought I had replied previously. I liked your comment.
you know and speak of a Bobbie Reid we never met.We were an unfortunate couple who acquired her when Erik Blythe was fired by Dick Glaunett. She came into our region for blood her and Betty Aberg. Bobbie visited our property 1 week after she took over ,she loved us our building was at 80% and she went on and on what great things she'd heard about us. Bobbie told us she had a couple that worked in the Milwaukee bldg. and she wanted to transfer them to ours. We had interviewed the couple a year before and they had expressed to the current RD (Erik) that they did not feel comfortable in our bldg. So they continued working in Milwaukee for over a year. When Erik was let go they were on vacation so I know they had worked over a year to get vacation time. Bobbie told us she was transferring them whether we agreed or not.My husband begged her not to do this for us. She then went on to say they would not be with us long. Bobbie stated that her and Dick Glaunett would support all the way with this as they both wanted them GONE. We were told to write Jamie up the 1st day for her attire. We did as we were told. The next reason was ignoring the residents. This all happened in a 3 day time frame. Bobbie continued to tell us that their MO was to go over their managers head (reported by the Milwaukee managers that when they had problems with them they would e-mail Erik and he would smooth the feathers.)Bobbie then told us she expected the couple to do the same with her and she would fire them for not going up the chain of command. Well you know what happened they did as exactly as she predicted and she fired them.We worked with them 3 days they moved out that weekend and we never heard from them again. The irony of this is we were told to DO IT or we would lose our jobs. We all have done things requested by our superiors and not felt good about but this really sucked.We were astounded on the next Monday when we had a visit from her and she gave us hugs and kisses and informed that Dick Glaunett sent us a great big THANK YOU from Holiday.She also informed us that HR wanted to write us up about how this went down , but not to worry Dick had talked with HR and the problem was solved. We felt terrible we knew HR was in on it and if we reported it we would be fired so as they gave us a severance package (to keep our mouths shut).....We were the old saying what goes around comes around. IRONIC...We are taking this time and apologizing to Aimee and Jamie and would like them to join our class action suit against the great Bobbie Reid who is no more than a snake in the grass. When she let us go she hurt the residents who loved us dearly. She also had e-mailed me a firing list that my lawyer currently has so more to come on that. Our sincere apology to Jamie and Aimee. Yes, this is a very nice gay couple that Bobbie and Dick did not feel fit into the Holiday way. Bobbie Reid will get hers some day, I only hope I have the privilege hearing about it.
The news keeps getting worse for Holiday. A community in Florida (Gainsville) had their kitchen shut down for mold. Why would someone not address this issue before it got to that point?
I just want to caution you on making a blanket statement please. I will say that this is just down right bad and the management needs to be fired. If this wold have happened while I was a manager of a restaurant I would have been fired. We had a great report from the Health Department. The inspector said that she has never seen our place so clean. I agree that someone the chef, management team, RD, Regional Chef, this is unsatisfactory. I would agree that this goes to leadership.
What I hear is that it is getting worse and worse. Buildings that were 100% occupied for years are now 75% or 65% occupied...Why ? Because of the apartment prices, lack of interaction by the management and bad food.
As a manager, you need to be friends with residents. Talk with them...compliment them...say nice things to them... Just sitting in the office is not giving "The Touch".
Unfortunately the new regime of Hotel people is not the answer. The answer is ---bring back the past managers & co-managers and the buildings will have higher occupancy. We were in Mike Lively's district and he had some real good Regional Managers 3,4 & 5 years ago. They knew the business and what people wanted.
Independent retirement living can not be compared to Hotel or Resort living.
Good luck everyone at Holiday Retirement. At the present pace, things are not going to get better.
I agree with everything you said except:
Mike Lively did have some excellent RDs, but he got rid of many. Mike belongs with Fortress.
Mike Lively was our DM and great at it. Our RD was a manager for 7 years before becoming a RD and he knew what managers went through..I do miss my family (residents) it was a great honor to have served them. I worry only for the residents that have to be apart of Fortress BS!!!!
While sometimes people live in there own little world,they go around with blinders on. The company was on it's way on a downward spiral since Bill Colson was not able to do much...He had the vision, he had the touch, love and care for other people...I am not saying that others did not want to have it, they just have not possessed that gift.
But I do know that a large percentage of management did use tyrant management using intimidation tactics not only with management team members but,also all the other employees and the residents as well. Nobody has any idea of the things I (my husband as well) have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears , my heart explodes with pain from it all...I still have problems keeping my composure just writing these few words. It seems that the upper management also allows these things to go on. It must be easier to sweep it under the carpet instead of dealing with it. There is a need of training sessions just on people relations. There is nothing wrong with someone being upset about something. It is how it is handled that make it wrong or right. Most people can be trainable...they just have to want to learn. When someone already knows everything, they cease to be trainable, people using intimidation tactics most likely are not trainable. Unless of course they feel hurt by finding out that is how they are and want to change-there may be some out there. I also will add that early on with our employment with the company I likened the problems I had seen with the company as a spreading cancer or an earthquake about to erupt. There is way too much corruption in the company going on and will take everyone in it to turn it around to heal it from the foundation - up. I hope to see the company consider many things and pray that God will give them wisdom,healing, and strength so they may get the "touch" back as it once was. Without God we are nothing! Management also needs recoup time so that they may be more proficient with the huge jobs they have been given responsibility for and the managers need to be sure the co-managers get the same, the company puts way too much on all concerned and needs to give the tools to the facilities that it needs to be able to run and function at top peak!
Because there is no one left that cares about the residents.
Keeping a clean and safe kitchen was always a priority under the Colson regime. We were in Florida and our Regional Chef was Seth Hayes -- he was the best. Kept people on their toes and motivated people.
THe good old days with Seth and Joel Turner as Regional Manager were great. They both worked their way up thru the system and knew what they were doing.
Here is a problem we really need help with ... we have a community in our region where the managers are indicating move-ins; via paperwork only, collecting their $100 bonus each and then moving them out 60 days later. Our knowledge of this is from a very reliable source(s). The source(s) spoke to our RD months ago about the situation, but we think he likes showing all these move-ins too.
We do not know who to turn to or tell. As we listen to our weekly conference call this community is praised continuously, this is hard to swallow!
Advise welcome
I am sure that this is happening at many locations, take into account the free rent and no security deposit programs being run out there, the opportunity exists. Take a $100 general deposit, move them in on paper with first 2 months free and no security deposit, enter the move out notice in 30 days, move them out at day 60. All the "record" monthly move in months of March and April are more than likely fraudulent.
I would suspect that when Accounts Receivables sees an extraordinarily high quantity of 60-day move-outs in any community, it will raise a red flag that will be investigated. Community Managers fraudulently abusing the system for their own personal gain will not be terminated, and may be facing civil action as well.
Sorry for the typo...I meant to say they WILL be terminated.
Yes and with the new welcome home parties that need to happen within 10 days after they move in, which is documented, they are going to caught very quickly. (I hope) I know that I have zero tolerance for dishonesty. There will and should be a lot of heads rolling.
I will not hold my breath. It has been my observation that a lot of management feels like they have to have their you know what's covered. I say if you are doing your job you should not have to worry about that. I realize that the managers and co-managers need to be a team, but they need to be an honest team. It seem when a co-manager expresses to management (not all case) many times the managers immediately want to discredit the co-managers or persons below them so it looks like the fault of someone else. They run to the RD to say something about the person so if it does get out they had already been marked as a trouble maker or unable to do their job, they may just make up whatever they need to. RD needs to talk to both team members together to get the truth, RD may be afraid it could be his job and does not want to lose the managers and the cycle goes round and round
First you or your very reliable source[s] need to be able to substantiate/document this series of falsifications, which is exactly what it is if nobody ever actually moved in.
Next schedule a private meeting with your RD and present the evidence, unless you truly believe the RD is "in on it", in which case, I'd suggest you do nothing -- just sit back and watch these jerks eventually get bit-in-the-ass when greed gets the best of them.
I spent thirty plus years in the corporate world before joining Holiday. My experience during those years suggests to me that the importance to you, as far as job satisfaction goes, is the two or three management positions above you. As co-managers that would be your managers, DMs and RMs. If they do their jobs right your experience will be full of long hours, frustrations, laughs and satisfyingly fulfilling experiences with some of the most wonderful people ie. residents, you will ever know.
On the other hand managers and the others mentioned above can make the co-managers job a"co-slaves" job. And that happens much to often.
With Holiday I learned that a very well run company can be destroyed in less than three years, and that all it takes is to replace key people in key positions with those who do not know the business.
My experience with Holiday was for the most part a good one. Our managers hired and trained us. They were very good to us and we became best friends. Our DMs and RMs were people who came up through the system and had walked in our shoes. They for the most part supported us and were fair in their treatment of us and the residents. Then Bill Colson sold Holiday and things began to change. The company (Fortress) began to change Holiday slowly at first then the process of replacing the people who were responsible for building Holiday became more rapid. Then the economy tanked and just accelerated the speed of the process of moving out anyone who had been with Holiday before the purchase of Holiday.
Fortress does NOT understand the business!! All of their collective college degrees did not teach them anything about common sense. Well I am just venting now. Forgive me. Most of you already know this and more.
The Holiday Touch still lives. There are manager and co-manager teams who still treat residents, families, vendors and others with respect. I have seen it with my own eyes. As long as that is true there is hope. However the question is how long will it last. Only time will tell.
For those who are still with Holiday I wish you the best. For those of us who have left Holiday for what ever reason, I wish for you healing and happiness. My wife and I left on our own terms after 3 and 1/2 years and have both wonderful and sad memories.
It is very late here and I have tried to read what I have written. It seems disconnected and I fear tat it will not make sense to all of you. If that is your impression I apologize.
So long for now.
Your note rings so very true. Most of the blame can be laid at the feet of Kai Hsaio, Stan Brown and Jack Callison. Collectively they have the personality of a wet noodle and the track record for veracity is disappointing. On the Fortress side, Andrew White is a major culprit to the poor performance and other than a Duke degree brings very little to the party. I've been in meeting where Jack has fawned over his every utterance...and most of what he has said (and implemented) has failed.
Such a sad result to a once great company.
I have to agree with all of this because I have witnessed the exact same thing - especially the failed implementations of Andrew's idea of the week. The obvious truth is that these "imagineers" do not have a clue of what works and doesn't work where the tires meet the road. All they have to do is ask the Community Management Teams and really listen...duh!
So what is happening with the Community Manager concept and one management team in each community? What about the Regional Sales Manager concept. Is that still in plac?
The concept of having all of the communities staffed by 1 couple and a part-time, off-premises, single manager to cover the couple's nights off reporting to an off-premises General Manager is dead because it simply does not work. A few communities where this staffing model is in place will probably be grandfathered until Holiday Retirement goes public or is sold to another Senior Living company like Brookdale. Then, who knows what will happen.
Until then, the majority of the communities nationwide are being staffed with 2 live-in management couples with a General Sales Manager reporting to the Regional Sales Leader. However, the promised career track for a General Sales Manager to become a General Manager after their first 16-weeks has been postponed indefinitely, and as a result many of them are walking. The latest recruiting effort has changed the job title for these marketing positions to Community Relations Managers. Of course like every other position in Holiday, this position is also a dead-end with no possible career advancement. To my knowledge, very few people, if any, have been promoted within the company in the last 3 years, with all positions being filled from the outside.
On another note, single Community Managers are being hired to work as floaters throughout their regions in response to the extraordinary number of communities staffed by only 1 couple these days. All Community Managers being hired these days MUST have a background in sales & marketing without exception.
Stay tuned...
Unbelievable!
I have never had a problem with ignorance as it can be cured by learning. But when stupid takes hold it is incurable - and I have no tolerance for stupidity. What is going on with Holiday at the top personifies stupid. They just will not learn, will they?
Take an ordinary average couple - teach them the correct methods - follow up with the positive enhancements - treat them with respect and intelligence - and you have a high probability of success with them. Fail to do any one of the previous and your success rate plummets. What is hard to understand about this? Most can handle the long hours if they are treated as positives within the company.
Since Fortress took over in the late Spring of 2007, available positions within the company are NO LONGER posted internally at all. No one outside of home office has been promoted except for the occasional Co-Manager to Community Manager. Otherwise, EVERY job in the field is a dead-end!
It seems they tried to reinvent the wheel and it turned out square and will no longer roll. One can only guess what will be next. At some point you would think it would slap them in the face that "we have met the enemy and he is us". (Pogo) Most likely they will blame everyone but themselves.
"All Community Managers being hired these days MUST have a background in sales & marketing without exception."
Ye gads and little fishes, this is absurd! When will truth dawn on these short-sighted bean-counters that the residents are the most genuine, enthusiastic, and effective marketers any community has.
When it comes to pre-requisites for employment as a community management team, I'd be looking for any reasonable balance of people-related/business management/leadership skills among each couple considered.
Making sales and marketing a MUST should yield a fine crop of candidates.
I visualize P.T. Barnum and Bernie Madoff wannabes that couldn't make a go of it in the real world.
It should be noted that after the mandatory proven experience in sales & marketing, recruiters are expecting BOTH candidates of a Co-Manager couple to have some form of people/business management experience as well. These experience requirements are NOT mutually exclusive.
I would say that what they are looking for is the background of most small business owners.
We have been thinking about applying at Holiday, and I ahve avidly read all of the available posts here and elsewhere.
Can anyone tell me how your days off are handled. I get that you might not get them if other team is not in place, but if a property is fully staffed, what can one expect?
And what is the interview process?
Thanks for any responses.
You get two days off per week.LEAVE the building if you aren't too exhausted to leave. If there is a special event, it will fall on your day off or your co's day off, which means, you or they don't get the day off! It is mandatory that you work those days. You spend part of your one day off preparing for the event, then work the event on your next day off, so there you are - working 12 days in a row.
Interview process? We interviewed with a mgr couple then a regional mgr. Not sure how they do it now.
Be prepared to be mirco-managed w/almost daily conference calls, responding to 10+ emails per day, filling in charts online regarding your activities in addition to running a bldg in between this busy work.
"Good luck".
As I mentioned back in #2, Marketing 101 is so simple: Happy residents and happy employees are the number one BEST marketing tools. Residents all go to many local doctors, and when they complain about their Holiday experiences, no doctor would recommend the facility to other patients looking for a senior residence, and it doesn't stop there, banks, restaurants, stores, etc all have relatives who one day may be looking for a senior residence. Give the residents good food, fun activities, and treat them like family, and the referrals will come tumbling in!
Amen
Good add!
I do believe that there is life after holiday. I left the company a few months ago and am very happy in my new job. Did they treat me fairly? No! Did I receive adequate training? No! Were they always asking for more? YES! Did they ever give me the benefit of the doubt? NO! Did I work 7 days a week? YES! Did I work 14-15 hour days? YES Was there an opporunity for advancement? No! In post I read that advancement was dang near impossible at the field level. Managers there are a few regionals out there that got it and felt your pain and faught hard for you. Maybe all of them are gone. Not sure, but I can tell you that the company changed in the 18 months that I worked for them in ways that only a good magician can conjure. They do a good job keeping all the departments bickering with each other so you don't pay attention to what is happening at the home office. Not all RSL's are evil....some got it. The ones that did have moved on. How many of the original RSL's are left? Many were promised promotions, advancement, and pay raises and then told no, not gonna happen and called wimpy weiners when they said they wanted to focus on sales and not marketing. They have hired new RSL's making $55K or more. The old ones still make $50K. I know that pay is a touchy topic on the the blog, but it's true. The only people who make any money are the elite eight and the MD's and RD's. I heard one was at a six figure salary. They have NOT promoted from within (with exception of a few that just keep getting promoted without producing results) and the few that just won't go away (they will remain nameless, even though everyone knows who they are). Everyone reading this blog, hold on....there is life after holiday and you will be fine. Plan your move and go find your happiness. Other companies will appreciate you, your skills, and what you have to offer. Your time will come too! Until, I will keep all of you in my prayers and your deliverance from pergatory and the greedy corporate wannabee wiseguys that you work for. You did absolutely nothing to deserve what you are enduring and will come out on the other side soon.
Before I dish my dirt, is this blog for only EX employees or is it current HRC employees as well? How confidential is it?
It's evolved into a forum for everyone and anyone having any association with HRC - pas, present, or potential. Only the blog owner DL Charles, a former community management team member, has access to your e-dress. One should read DL's "prolog" at the beginning of Part 1 to know what inspired him:
http://blog.dlcharles.com/2009/02/23/holiday-retirement-corpfortress--beneath-the-veil.aspx
So, have at it. If any of the others think your comments are not accurate you'll know about it here.
It's so interesting yet sad to see the decline of Holiday. I literally could not imagine a company going downhill so very quickly. I attribute all the collateral damage to the leadership team of Kai Hsiao, Stan Brown and Andrew White. They have used the company as their personal banking account to pillage the goodwill "The Holiday Touch" previously held.
How very sad.
as a recently former exec chef for the company, ending a 2 year stint, I can tell you that It's better not to work there. Regional support is spotty at best, sales initiatives are ridiculous, co-managers are worked to death right in front of you, and the manager gets to rule from the vantage point of knowing corporate always rules in favor of the manager. My manager went thru 16 people in 24 months between the sous chef and exec chef positions combined, That's one of the top two people in the kitchen every month and a half. I saw 3 sets of co's in 20 months. Yet the manager never gets looked at with the skunk eye. After I left, they're already to the 2nd sous chef in two months. The best part is that in spite of having a warning posted about her in the job posting section of craig's list three different times (naming the property, address, and company name) to scare off any potential applicants, she just got promoted to Hawaii. Unbelievable. I'm glad I don't have stock in the company. I feel free now that I don't have to cover every shift in the kitchen, work every holiday, give up my days off, plan and execute weekly special events, knuckle under to corporate menues and compusary meat orders of high priced prime rib that needs to be frozen between cycles, and having to get permission to make culinary decisions from people who couldn't cook if they had to.
Chef Greg,
I have been in the unfortunate situation as you have. I have written letters to Regional Chef, Regional Divisitional Chef, and Dave Andrews, Haley Crabb from HR. I ended up resigning because I felt discriminated. That was on 8/18/2009. Since then I have written countless letters to CEO Jack Callison, Holiday, and Randal Nardone, COO of Fortress, Demanding a forum where I can present my documents, kitchen photos (my last year, I stepped down to sous chef for a repreive)and photos of recipe books that have not been filled out for 3 weeks! Now, when I was executive chef, managers were tyrannical and demanded that i master the food service program. Meanwhile they documented my progress(in their mind-no progress) the Regional Chef was alway trying to put out fires with the manager. All managers that I worked with have the god mentality. The demanded stuff that was not consistant with the food service manual and training by the regional chef). They all have resigned or were terminated.
I am still fighting for a forum and been fighting for unemployment and am waiting for a reply for Holiday's lawyer ragarding me being blacklisted. My next step is Civil Summons. I have filled out the motion and have gathered documention. Throughout my stint at Holiday, after witnessing several communities as floating chef, I saw what a great relationship between managers and chef and i knew, I have been treated very badly. Still I worked, hopeful that I would have a chance to advance and that my grieviences would be addressed. That never happened. I still offered an olive branch and asked that we settle my discrimination case amicalby. I resigned under duress, but by resigning, I was presenting a possibly of walking off the job or get myself fired. I loved my old peeps. I got so much joy pleasing them and love to make them happy with my fine cooking. I woulnt mind working for Holiday provided that I feel that I wouldnt be under so much scrutny and criticism. Regarding the new Ex Chef that replaced my colleague and boss left, after nine months before I resigned. His ordering practices was still horrendous, never once clean ovens, stoves, back walls. I ended up doing these pretty much weekly. I repeat, by the time I had my first two months with Holiday, managers wrote me up for not disciplining my dishwasher becasue they wanted it done. I said hell no. I dont beleive that my diswasher (who are diamonds to me) should not be written up. A month and half later, I was fired. The next day, regional chef got permission to have a second floating chef until a position opened up. The Regional director agreed to hire me. One reason manager said that I was fired was because I would go to the store to get groceries that I missed. I told HR that I was making sure that all food was present for all the recipes and at times, it made sense to buy smaller quantity of uncommon products. So in 3months, master my job. Recent boss, no improve in 9 mos. That is just one reason.
I am a resident of a Holiday facility in
a Southern State. As a former marketing executive, I am amazed by the strategy of trying to attract new clients by raising prices when business is falling off. Management lies to occupants about occupancy percentages.
Many "old timers" here plan to move since their money has run out and they can't afford the steadily-rising rents.
Most new occupants should really be in nursing homes; many have dementia, don't know when meals are served, don't know where they are, can't find the elevator.
At a movie the other evening a 90-year old grandma, dressed only in a shorty
nightgown, came looking for her "little boy".
One day recently there was an overnight death, two removals to the hospital, and a fit in the dining room.
Both the food and service are terrible.
The oatmeal and coffee frequently taste of dishwater liquid. Cups are dirty.
Oh well - you get the idea.
Uncle:are you in Georgia?
unclebilly
Welcome aboard fellow resident. Although the community in which I live, here on the West Coast, is
just over 2 years old we are experiencing the same type of move-ins that you are. There seems to be an over abundance of walkers, wheel-chairs and oxygen tanks.
I know what you are saying, just think how the managers and co's feel because they are on call to answer for
the ones that are unable to get around or can't afford extra nursing care because the bean counters and shoe salesmen are only out for themselves, the next big adventure(horseracing & casinos check it out on FIG investment)
unclebilly
Do you feel that anything can be done to remedy this awful situation? Is there a different tack that can be taken to alert management of the dissatisfaction which appears to be pervasive?
I think nothing short of a wholesale change of ownership (accompanied by a reversal of current sagging real estate markets) will begin to remedy the situation within HRC.
The "Holiday Touch" that the Colsons enabled to grow company-wide over the years seems to have been dismantled in a matter of months by a handful of young bean-counting thugs from Wall Street, who would likely be mystified by the basic principles everyone who ever attended a Dale Carnegie course knows.
[soapbox/]
Your verbage is exactly what I would use on a good day, to describe my experience with Holiday. "Young, bean-counting thugs". How sadly true. One should sit and listen to the WW2 stories from some of the residents, and develop an appreciation for what they went through so that you and I could live in a free country. They and their peers deserve better.
1.)Reserve one floor for small partments.
2.) Rent to conventional apartment seekers.
3.) Require a minimum of one meal a day included in rent. (Breakfast?)
4.) Sell a book of meal tickets which would apply to other meals.
5.) Stop admitting "dementia" and "wheelchair" people who should be in
nursing homes.
Stop admitting "wheelchair" people??? I guess FDR wouldn't be good enough to sit at your table. Or John Kennedy--his back required a rocking chair...sad, sad, sad that you think a wheelchair is a sign of nursing home!!
YOU MUST BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD!
MUHAMED GHANDI
Agreed. But be prepared to be the change you wish to see in the world from the point of view of a terminated employee, because that is often the fate of loving, caring employees in the current climate of Holiday Retirement.
I've been reading this blog for quite awhile but never posted until now. It breaks my heart to know so many have invested their hearts and souls in this company and sacrificed a huge part of their lives, to be used up and tossed out like yesterday's trash. As previous managers who made a mutual agreement with Holiday to leave several months ago, I understand the great loss each of you feel.
When we first left part of me was relieved to be free of the stress, long hours and demands of this grueling job. And yet my heart ached for the residents we loved so much and were leaving behind. Each of you who give so much for this unworthy corporation do it, not for Holiday or Fortress who are so undeserving, but out of pure love for your residents. You will go to the ends of the earth, move mountains, fight monsters and stand on your feet until you are ready to fall on your face and feel rewarded with the touch of one hand or a smile on someone's face.
We would not take anything for our three years with our residents. Our lives are richer because of it and even Holiday cannot take away our memories. Our seniors have such great stories to tell and bring history to life in a way no one else can do. I know they taught me more than I could have every learned anywhere else.
The conditions continue to grow worse with each passing day. Our residents call and our hearts break with each new story. More importantly, as more pressure is put on census, and qualifying of new residents boils down to anyone with a check, the safety and welfare of the residents becomes more and more troublesome. Independent living is becoming a thing of the past and Holiday communities are allowing people to move in that truly only qualify for an assisted living facility or nursing home. I fear there is a tragedy in the making.
For those of you struggling to figure out you're next move and feeling lost, let me assure you there is life after Holiday and it may be far better than you can imagine. And your experience may qualify you for a position far beyond your wildest dreams.
There are many of us who understand and appreciate and respect the dedication, love and committment of all who have walked this path. Hang in there!
And for those of us whose dedication and experience was as you describe, I would like to thank you for your post, as I know many, including myself, who feel exactly as you do.
Previously on the blog we had a discussion about Jack R. Callison Jr., as CEO of Holiday Retirement, not replying to the letter to him. I mentioned that I found it to be rude, uncaring and unprofessional insofar as a non-response.
Allow me to offer a prime example of how it should be done. On June 14, 2010 I mailed a one-page letter to Mr. Mike Duke of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the largest world wide company there is and Mr. Duke is the CEO of Wal-Mart. I don't think anyone would argue that he is probably a very very busy person.
Yet this very busy individual managed to find time in his hectic schedule to read and actually respond to a letter from an ordinary person he had never heard of. On June 22, 2010 I received a response from Mr. Duke. He even had Human Resources contact me in order to cover in depth my questions asked in the letter.
See what I meant? Callison is not concerned about input regarding Holiday unless it is a feedback of his own words from his yes people. Mr. Duke, on the other hand, apparently realizes that everyone is important to the success of a company - employees, vendors, customers, and just ordinary people who care. I hereby offer a tip 'o the hat to Mr. Mike Duke, CEO of Wal-Mart, in respect for his outstanding concern and for replying to me.
Mr. Callison still has a lot to learn, but I rather doubt the lessons will take root.
This is very interesting DI especially since this blog also has been going on for some time now. I think Mr. Callison doesn’t have the balls to reply as he knows that he and his yes-man are bringing down one of the best retirement company in the USA. All they know is how to ruin residents’ lives and screw employees. I read today that Wal-Mart has been negotiating with the vultures in Chicago to be able to open a second large Wal-Mart store that due to the Chicago politics so far was they were not able to do so. So for the CEO of Wal-Mart to take the time to write you back is amazing to me. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I just have to say that not all this drama and bs takes place in the field. Some shady stuff sure happens with there at corporate office. People are there one minute, gone the next. No notice, no warning. It sickens me to read about Jack getting a million dollar bonus, yet our pay increases were what 1%? I know in particular of a few departments that have had several issues with management, filed complaints with "hr" and nothing gets done. The discrimination, bad attitudes, lack of respect, zero communication, and piss poor management is flooding out of the building. So many long term employees have stated it's so sad knowing how it was ran with Colson & Colson is so vastly different from what it is now. I can't believe the way the employees are treated. If it doesn't involve renting an apartment or bringing in $$$ then the answer is no. No office supplies are purchased, no business trips, no classes to enrich employees etc... Running the place into the ground Jack!
Just as you should never trust a dog to watch your food, money managers should never manage people. Money can be treated coldly and impersonally. If you lie to it, and send it out, and it fails, you just take what's left, and coldly shove it somewhere else. You can lie to money because it doesn't know about the truth. It doesn't require further training, personal satisfaction, fair compensation, a warm hug, or appreciation. Their business skills do not include "plays well with others."
Some one needs to inform the EEOC as to how employees are being treated at Holiday and perhaps all employees need to think about a union just like it is in Canada.
How does the union in Canada work? It sounds like it would be worth the Managers and Co Managers looking into for their jobs and future. How and what union would we use in USA?
when i worked in HO, there were three, maybe four unions in Canada. I remember the negotians took forever! HRC never wanted the US facilities to be unionized. And I a sure under the new regime that wouldn't happen. They want all and total control, obviously. I always thought the Canadian facilities were the easiest to work with and the employees and managers had long tenures. You never had to worry about calling and getting someone new. It was amazing!
EEOC? Holiday employees are treated like 2nd class citizens. I know we should be grateful for having a job, but when you go to work every day not knowing how bad you're going to be treated, or who's going to leave work in tears that day makes being grateful hard. My take on the HR thing is that most managers know the Holiday rules, guidelines, etc... therefore can be as rude, disrespectful, and belittling as possible but not break any policies! It's a bunch of crap!
Don;t you think the managers are under a tremendous amount of pressure? I am sure they are just as badly treated by the RD's who in fact have no clue how to run a building since they all came from the hotel industry. Even under the old Holiday regime there were Rd's who had no clue how to run a building yet they were telling the managers what they could or could not do. If the HR dept. got involved the Rd's ran and left the managers alone without any protection. The HR people under the old Holiday were all scum and took pleasure in letting people go without any regard to what managers had to put up with on a day to day basis. No RD or HR person ever did any duties in a building when staff did not show up. I am sure that still goes on today. No RD or HR person ever had/has to deal with residents passing away or staff members passing away on the job. Managers get critized all the quickly without regard to tenure. We used to get calls from the RD even on our days off. Often of times long term managers have worked days/night for weeks or months on end without and relieve.
I agree with all you have said. Managers have to take all the heat from the higher-ups and I'm sorry to say it but it works both ways on the Management Team "RESPECT" if you don't have that it is a bad pot a brewing and get ready for one or two of management team to butt heads and make your life HELL! There is always going to be a memo King or Queen that will do their best to get bring more heat on the team and to get the attention from higher ups they think they deserve for their service, hard work and their self-proclaimed innate abilities . You have some managers that think they are the ALMIGHTY God and can't be touched and Co's that worked a few weeks thought they could run the place better and focused their efforts on getting the managers sacked or stirring stuff up with the residents to the same end...Holiday's HR is a joke! We got burned out and left after almost 3 years...God Bless the residents and those on the staff that really give the best they have for all the DRAMA that they have to put up with....
In the immortal words of Harry Truman.
"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
Many residents are leaving because of poor service, arrogant and incompetent management, vanishing income, rent raises, disgraceful admissions policy, poor food, and depressing atmosphere.
Any suggestions for residents other than "Grin and bear it"? My favorite quote from management: "If you think the food's bad here, you should see what they get in some out other units."
Remember our slogan: "It's all for show". Plant some more flowers, but don't fix rhe leaks.
The next thing that employees or former employees should think of is reporting to the labor board, start in Oregon, then in the state that you are employed in. Maybe some eyes would be opened to the fact that this company needs to be investigated. I don't think they would have any trouble getting the information that they need to open an investigation.
We were one of the couples that were let go, and yes there is a great life after Holiday!
And did you report it to the labor board in your state? If not, why not and when will you do this. When you do it, make sure to alert them of this blog.
Christena: Please note I deleted your second comment as it was a double post. dlcharles
Thank you for your comments, I definitely will notify you when I do contact the Labor Board. There are so many things that happened during our tenure with Holiday, that I really didn't think about the 48 hour work week, but it is something to mention to the Labor Board.
I do have a question to anyone that has been fired by Holiday concerning unemployment benefits. I am receiving my benefits, but they are fighting my husbands claim, it just doesn't make sense, we were hired as a team and fired as a team! If you have any comments, please let us know what to do in order to get this straightened out. We aren't considering overtime, we just want the unemployment based on 40 hrs a week. Regarding reply from stopthemadness, it doesn't have anything to do with our concerns, but thank you for the help! PLEASE REPLY
Sorry! I replied to the wrong Post..
You have the right to call HR in Salem and ask for a copy of everything that is in your employee files and be sure to say EVERYTHING!!! and any GRIEVANCE!! filed!! (this is very important to included any and all grievances) that were filed against him, by law they have to give this to you...on unemployment maybe they feel they have something on your husband that they don't owe him unemployment benefits, so call and get this mailed to you..
48 hour work week??? Were you "part-time"???
We too were terminated and resigned at the same time, but when we knew it was going to be denied, we hired an attorney whom deals with this problem and though it was about $300.00, it was worth every penny to get our unemployment along with the satisfaction of them having to pay us what was due. It ended up being the principle of the thing after doing so many of us wrongly. They really tried to delay it and call for different hearings but a good attorney is worth it all. Hope this helps.
SORRY...I AM USING MY SONS EMAIL. CAN YOU PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH THE ATTORNEY YOU USED. WERE U A GSM?
This is where Holiday has you on the Labor Board not required to pay overtime.... Any individual whose duties require that he or she resides or sleeps at the place of his or her employment or who otherwise spends a substantial amount of time on call and not engaged in the performance of active duties. The duties must require that the worker sleeps or resides on the premises and to perform duties as part of the job. Note: Federal law may be different than state law in this exemption and a call to the U.S. Dept of Labor at 1-800-487-9243 should be made to determine whether or not the exemption applies under federal law. The higher law between the state and federal laws must be followed.
This is how Holiday get you with the labor board, they don't have to pay overtime... IF-Any individual whose duties require that he or she resides or sleeps at the place of his or her employment or who otherwise spends a substantial amount of time on call and not engaged in the performance of active duties. The duties must require that the worker sleeps or resides on the premises and to perform duties as part of the job. Note: Federal law may be different than state law in this exemption and a call to the U.S. Dept of Labor at 1-800-487-9243 should be made to determine whether or not the exemption applies under federal law. The higher law between the state and federal laws must be followed.
Stopthemadness: Which post is the one you want me to remove?
Charles, I don't know if its my computer but every time I post I get a message that the security code is wrong!!!so 2 post get put on! It didn't matter which one... Thanks! Hope all is well with you and Linda have a great day...and take care.
I have experienced the same problem and believe it has to do with the "time-out factor". Try this: Type the comment before you add the name and numerical code. No one needs to use any kind of email address anymore.
We are doing well, thanks. Linda is happy in her job and I am about to begin my own employment search. At age sixty-six I can now work without losing my social security like I did before. It will be interesting to see who is willing to hire a senior citizen. (I want a bigger boat - shh-h-h!)
When it happens, just go back and type in the new code. It happens to me when I take too long.
I would like to point out to StopTheMadness that the reverse also happens at many buildings - co-managers-in-training suddenly get promoted to community managers and suddenly think they can do anything they want. They don't know what they are doing because they did not spend any time in a building working as a co-manager. In fact, many did not even complete their RTC training (Thank you Mike Lively), yet they know everything there is to know about running a building. To make matters worse, these trainees often take over a building with competent co-managers with several years of experience in place. Instead of trying to learn from the co-managers, these trainees feel threatened by their co-managers and find fault with everything the co-managers try to do or say. The trainees say things like, "We are the managers now and we will do anything we want, and you will do what we tell you to do, how we tell you to do it. You will do things our way." The co-managers usually say something stupid like "this is how Holiday wants this done." And the trainees respond with, "We don't care how holiday wants things done. This is OUR building now."
And a new fiefdom is born. Long-term staff with more than 12 years on the job are abused. Underage servers are screamed at, then told to clock out and go back to work. They should reset the dining room off the clock. Residents are subjected to various forms of abuse and move out. Census falls. Its the co-managers fault.
The trainee managers stagger through the dining room drunk and dressed for the beach (the wife is only wearing a bikini)during the evening meal. More residents get upset and move out. Its the co-managers fault.
The RD questions why the census is falling. The co-managers explain what is going on in the building. The RD responds, "You are picking on them."
Countless complaints are filed with Resident Relations and Human Resources from staff, residents, resident's family members, and server's parents. Home office turns a blind eye; the trainees turned managers have done nothing wrong.
Welcome to the new and improved Holiday Retirement.
I agree with you!!!! This is exactly what goes on... You would not believe the Hell we went through with some managers and co's and HR is a joke....This company has major problems and I see no improvements coming their way only failure...
I would believe the grief you have endured during your tenure at Holiday; my wife and I have endured our own. The names vary from building to building, but the Bulls*** is the same, much of it borders on criminal. I keep expecting to wake up one day and find that all of this has just been a bad dream. No such luck. The nightmare continues.
I have noticed a great conflict between the co,s and Managers. In most buildings. Another issue was that the hourly staff members. They know that they will continue their employment after the Managers leave. So what ever the Managers do or say is unheard. They will do as they please until the next group of Managers come in and it all starts over again. Some buildings the staff never gets any training. I have actually had employees tell me that they have had 44 Managers in that building and they will be here when I leave. ????
The issue of cos and managers has always been a problem. Two couples living together. Problems with sharing the same desk and every thing else in the office probably goes back to the very beginning of live in managers. As mush as I hate the way Fortress has changed things they cannot be blamed for everything. Ten years ago managers and cos were having the same problems as of today. Five years ago or more I met a newly appointed manger that had been hired that week with no Holiday experience. Some times RD's had no choice. My point is that some things were not created by Fortress, although I would certainly agree that they have made things worse. On this subject, while I cannot remember the exact words Cheryl Bauer said that live in managers were our biggest asset,but also our biggest challenge. I believe she was referring more to turnover.
On the subject of the Labor Department I would like to throw something out. When Cos went on salary we had to come up with an organization charts that managers and cos supervised two people. At that time we did not have enough positions for everyone to have two people. Maybe that has changed, but do the cos truly supervise two people. If not, they should not be on salary. Remember, that all this changed a few years back when Congress changed the overtime laws. Managers got a salary increase so Holiday did not have to pay overtime and about a year later cos went on salary for the same reason. This all happen before Fortress. The old Holiday was not perfect, but light years better than now. During my tenure I never doubted the commitment to residents, but I cannot count the number of times I heard Holiday is a great place to work unless you are a manager. That may never change except you do have the self satisfaction of being a positive influence and making life better for your residents. That is your reward for you sacrifice.
Charles I copied this from other page. Just in case someone still has a issue in CA about labor law.
dlcharles wrote:
This posting is made by the lawyers representing the plaintiffs and the class in the Decarr v. Holiday Retirement case. Due to a number of inquiries we have received from potential class members, the purpose of this posting is to provide readers what is available in the public record and can be found in the complaint filed in Superior Court.
Allegations in the complaint:
In the complaint, plaintiffs allege that they were employed by Holiday retirement as "Co-Managers" and typically worked twelve (12) to sixteen (16) hour shifts. Some weeks they worked more than five (5) days (as many as all seven) because the on-site manager was either on vacation or otherwise unavailable. They were also typically "on call" at least (4) four nights each week and were required to respond to various calls during the evening.
With respect to job duties, plaintiffs allege they were responsible for opening and closing the retirement facility, acting as food servers/cooks/dishwashers as needed, ensuring residents' needs were always met, performing marketing tasks, giving tours of the facility, and processing bills to be paid. Plaintiffs also allege that they answered to the on-site managers of the facility and were always subject to the on-site managers' judgment and discretion.
Plaintiffs allege that they and the other members of the class did not meet any test required under California law to be exempt from the payment of overtime. In addition, plaintiffs alleged that they did not receive regular rest periods or meal breaks.
Plaintiffs seek damages, restitution, waiting time penalties, pre-judgment interest, an accounting, injunctive relief, attorneys fees, and costs.
***************************************
The above posting settles any questions about the actuality of a suit. If you have any questions contact Barron E. Ramos at barron@yourclasscounsel.com dlcharles
Can anyone recommend a lawyer in the Phoenix area for a consultation that is up to speed on employment/workplace law for Arizona?
The following law firms are the best rated Labor & Employment Attorneys in the Phoenix area:
OSBORN MALEDON
Tel. 602-640-9000
MILLIGAN, LAWLESS, TAYLOR, MURPHY & BAILEY
Tel. 602-792-3500
Thank you very much
I thought maybe I should share a bit of information with everyone on the blog. This blog is making a difference! My husband and I were selected to be interviewed by someone in HR regarding Manager/Co-Manager retention and why we felt there was such a turn over. Our interview lasted over a hour and 8 pages of notes were taken. I think they finally got a clue, and we will see if things improve in the very near future. Keep the faith, and keep writing!
There is a difference between actually doing something and just going through the motions and putting on a show. Fortress was very concerned about the high turnover when they first acquired Holiday back in early 2007, but did nothing. Indeed, the situation has only gotten worse. Although I would like to think that someone at home office has finally "gotten a clue," I don't believe that is the case. They need to remove the "rotten apples" in the barrel and dismantle these fiefdoms. They need to take decisive action against the mgrs/co-mgrs whose action borders on criminal. They need to stop the abuse that is being inflicted on the staff and residents. Until they do, nothing will change.
The Manager/Co issue has been an ongoing thing from 6 years ago when I was there. HR was even thinking of matching up couples based on a test, but the turnover was so high (still is) that it wouldn't be worth the expense.
As a new Co-manager, I find it very refreshing to hear that HR is truly taking the turnover issue seriously. While I have enjoyed my job immensely (especially the residents) and I think my other CO and I are making a difference, I do feel as if my RD does not care for our well-being.....not once has he stopped to say "So, how are things going? Are you settling in OK? Is there anything I can do to help you succeed at Holiday?" There is no teamwork with the RD. In fact, from what I can see, he seems to be purposely gaming the system to feather his own nest for future promotion, often working against the long-term best interests of the company. For example, we are encouraged to get move-ins at any cost, even if they are not a good fit for our community and they really should not move in with us. They then move out in 2 months (or less), after HUGE incentives have been given. Yet months later, we're still hearing on conference calls how great a particular month was because we had "X" number of move-ins. In reality, when customers rescind before they ever take occupancy or they move out a short while later, they have actually cost the company a great deal of money, time, and energy of the staff. These should NOT be considered move-ins, despite the fact that the company pays out bonuses for these. This type of selling is just BAD BUSINESS! We should be focusing on GAIN, not on VOLUME, and blocking the back door by making our current residents feel valued. The pressure to get move-ins IMMEDIATELY, rather than build long-term rapport with DI's and the community, is a problem. Our product should be highly prized in the marketplace and our communities should be places where people want to live - that should be the "Holiday Touch". Berating the managers and cos because they haven't achieved miraculous results right away (often when they have just started with the company and are still learning) makes us feel as if our efforts in other areas are not being recognized or appreciated. This job is WAY too demanding for it not to have at least some intrinsic rewards, but it's hard to keep smiling when your RD poisons the outlook for the day in less than 5 minutes. Here is an example: on a recent overlap day, all 4 managers were in a great mood because we felt we had dealt effectively with several pressing problems. All of a sudden, our RD shows up at about 1pm and closes the door with the managers, who later come out looking positively CRUSHED. My other CO and I were set to get off work at 3pm and start our well-deserved two days' off. Then our RD says, at 20 minutes to 3:00, that he wants to know what the four of us are going to do to get a move in TODAY before 5pm - whatever it takes! No concern for our needs or respect for our time off! And no concern for the magnitude of the decision a future DI will be making. Just make them sign NOW! This type of behavior MUST stop if FIG wants to get Holiday turnover down...is anyone listening?
just wanting to receive emails again!
Update:
While employed, to get my grieviences heard, I wrote letters to Regional Chef, Divisitional Chef, & 2 mgrs from HR. I ended up resigning because I felt discriminated. Since then I have written countless letters to CEO Jack Callison, Holiday, & Randal Nardone, COO of Fortress, Demanding a forum where I can present my documents, kitchen photos (my last year, I stepped down to sous chef for a repreive)& photos of recipe books that have not been printed 4 3 weeks!I am still fighting for a forum and last week I learned that I was blacklisted,& am waiting for a reply for Holiday's lawyer ragarding me being blacklisted. My next step is Civil Summons. I have filled out the motion and have gathered documention. When I was a floating chef, I saw what a great relationship between managers and chef and i knew, I have been treated very badly. Still I worked, hopeful that I would have a chance to advance and that my grieviences would be addressed. That never happened. I still offer an olive branch and asked that we settle my discrimination and retaliation case amicably. I resigned under duress, but by resigning, I was preventing a possibly of walking off the job or get myself fired & wanted to have a chance 2 b rehired. I loved my old peeps. I got so much joy pleasing them and love to make them happy with my fine cooking. I woulnt mind working for Holiday provided that I feel that I wouldnt be under so much scrutny and criticism. After my Ex Chef left. 9mos. later,I resigned.Re the new chef hired to replace my former chef--oye! His ordering practices was still horrendous,no cleaning, never once clean ovens, stoves, back walls or own pans. I ended up doing these pretty much weekly. I repeat, by the time I had my first two months with Holiday, managers wrote me up 4 not disciplining my dishwasher becasue they wanted it done. I said hell no. I dont beleive that my diswasher (who are diamonds to me) should not be written up. A month & half later, I was fired. The next day, regional chef got permission to have a second floating chef until a position opened up. The Regional director agreed to hire me. One reason manager said that I was fired was because I would go to the store to get groceries that I missed. I told HR that I was making sure that all food was present 4 all the recipes and at times, it made sense to buy smaller quantity of uncommon products. I was expected in 3 mos, master my job. But new chef,no improve in 9 mos! His performance was called "good"?! When I was executive chef, managers were tyrannical and demanded that i master the food service program. Meanwhile they documented my the Regional Chef was always trying to put out fires with the manager. The managers that I worked with were"gods". They demanded stuff that was not consistant with the food service manual & training by the regional chef. They all have resigned or were terminated. I will keep fighting 4 vindication! I value ur feedback, been a lonely battle. Thank u for ur stories!
I am interviewing soon for a job at corporate in IT. Reading the poor, poor state of the communities, I am leery of my future there.
Are there any employees, past or present who can give me a feel for the working environment at corporate?
Not a good place to be. Work life balance doesn't exist and not enough resources to fix what is broken. Turnover at Home Office is high.
Couple that w/the fact that census is still decreasing while certain groups spend like drunken sailors on their pet projects and you can see that they will have to take on huge actions to save cash somehow.
Don't do it
If you value your sanity and self-esteem, run as far away as possible.
Things should come to a head real soon.
Census is dropping so quickly that layoffs are just around the corner.
Residents are moving out because of big rent increases...bad food and poor management. You move into a Holiday building because of instant friendship with other residents and the staff. That has changed.
There is no "Holiday Touch" anymore and that is killing the business.
Census is at 70% in many builings and by September my prediction is it will
be below 60%.
The rent increases are very high and the residents resent paying the 41/2-5% increase when the incentives to new people is 2-3 months free. The market rent is to high in our area and we are the highest with the lowest census and
not much traffic. If they would freeze the residents rents for a year or two they would give us referrals. They are not getting their moneys worth and are looking around for a better home.
Aren't the rents frozen for one year already?
Yes, the rents are increased on the resident's move-in anniversary date. And, on a case-by-case basis, occupied rents have been discounted up to 20% and/or frozen for 2-years with the approval of the Regional Director and the Managing Director when the resident can prove a financial hardship. The company is just as interested in saving a move-out as they are in getting move-ins.
No our market rent is not frozen. It looks like all areas are different>.
If you have a resident give you a move-out notice because they cannot afford the rent increase, they can apply for a Financial Hardship Request (form found on the Portal.) In order to be considered for the request, the resident must be living in the smallest available apartment in the community, and produce their bank statements for the last 3-months showing their deposits and expenses, with the completed form. The paperwork is then forwarded to the Regional Director who in coordination with the Managing Director make a final determination. This has been a standard Holiday policy for some time now. For more information, check with Jeff Roderick, Director of Resident Relations, and your Financial Planning & Analysis representative at Home Office.
The job I am applying for is a niche - so to speak... I will be the subject matter expert, so I can have a lot of influence on how smoothly Headquarters can support the communities, which I am feeling very sorry for.
If things are broken within my sphere of influence, I can fix them. And putting in extra hours has never been a problem for me. I will make time for the family when they need me.
I am fishing for some specific experiences in the Salem office that would lead me to believe that the corporate culture and structure are prohibiting problem resolution and stifling processes, efficiencies and innovation.
I don't want to work for a company that is stagnant, where middle management has their hands tied through corporate policies.
Subject: Old Sea Story
There's an old sea story in the Navy about a ship's Captain who inspected his sailors, and afterward told the Chief that his men smelled bad. The Captain suggested perhaps it would help if the sailors would change underwear occasionally.
The Chief responded, "Aye, aye sir, I'll see to it immediately!"
The Chief went straight to the sailors berth deck and announced, "The Captain thinks you guys smell bad and wants you to change your underwear." He continued, "Pittman, you change with Jones, McCarthy, you change with Witkowski, and Brown, you change with Schultz. Now GET TO IT!"
THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS:
Someone may come along and promise "Change," but don't count on things smelling any better.
It's been confirmed by new co's returning from their training; old Holiday managers are considered to be nothing but coffee pourer's.
We had six move-ins in June. Not bad for a couple of coffee pourer's.
COFFEE POURER'S UNITE!!!!
I just discovered former RD Art Carr's blog and recommend it highly. The kids at FIG should heed this item particularly.
http://progressiveretirement.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/do-senior-living-communities-need-a-wake-up-call/
Perhaps Art Carr is a better blogger than RD. I certainly hope so.
The following is an excerpt of an announcement made today by Jack Callison, CEO of Holiday Retirement:
We just shattered the previous all time high record we established back in March of this year when we recorded 1,107 move ins. In fact, the past four consecutive months easily represent the best four month stretch in the company’s history on both a gross and net move in basis!
To all 10,000 of our associates across North America who wake up each and every day thinking about sharing the Holiday Touch with new and existing residents, I thank you. Your hard work, perseverance, dedication and loyalty to our organization is greatly valued and appreciated.
Although all five districts across the company posted positive net occupancy gains again this month, there are clearly several standout districts, regions and communities that deserve special recognition.
The Midwest set all time record highs for both gross and net move ins; the South set an all time record high for gross move ins in June; and the West set an all-time high for net move ins. WAY TO GO TEAMS!!!
*The Top 3 Performing Regions For Gross Move Ins per Community in June were:
Yovan Luyt’s Region in the South – a company leading 6.2 gross move ins per community;
Mike Bardelmeier Region in the South – a whopping 5.4 gross move ins per community; and,
Randy Perras’ Region in the West – a very impressive 5.2 gross move ins per community!
* The following 3 regions recorded the highest number of Net Move Ins per Community in June:
Mike Bardelmeier’s Region– a company leading 2.8 net move ins per community;
Dave Reichert’s Region in the Midwest – an amazing 2.4 net move ins per community; and,
Phil Benjamson’s Region in the East – an outstanding 2.3 net move ins per community.
There is a new player in town. Today, Sunshine Retirement Living opened its doors by taking over the management of 15 buildings from Hawthorn Retirement. The company has employed several former Holiday people (like me) and our first priority is to bring the Touch back to life! Our motto is "Passion, People, Enthusiasm" Several people mentioned in this blog have come to Sunshine and many more are applying. We are very excited to serve the Residents with the respect they deserve! Our website is SunshineRetirementLiving.com.... Our office is in Bend Oregon... call me Cowgirl!
What all locations does Sunshine have? I don't see a place on your website to look at job openings?
Bringing back "The Touch" to senior living is something we should all be passionate about. Please post your contact information, I for one will apply for a spot on this team.
I for another would like to have information about sunshine to. More later on current happening by HO in order to shut people up.
What are they doing now? Jeez, I have never encountered a company that has done so much to fail in my almost 30 years of management. SOOOOO glad we got out by our own choice when we did.
I DID NOT GET OUT BY MY OWN CHOICE. I WAS PART OF THE GSM TEAM. LEFT A JOB AS A HOTEL GM AS DID MANY OTHERS FOR WHAT...THEY DID NOT KEEP GOOD ON ON THE CONTRACT I SIGNED. CAN U EMAIL ME...I AM NOT TAKING THIS LYING DOWN. I HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN PULLING TOGETHER BEFORE THEY ARE REMOVED AS WELL. OUR THOUGHT IS THE GSM PROGRAM WAS NOT THOUGHT OUT AND NOW IT IS TERMINATION TIME FOR THE GSM'S. TOO BAD THEY NEVER GAVE ME A HANDBOOK OR THE JOB THEY OFFERED ME ON MY CONTRACT. ALSO NEVER GOT MY EXPENSES DUE TO ME WHEN TERMED. GOOD THING I WAS HR FOR MANY YEARS.
Is Sunshine Retirement a subsidiary of Hawthorn Retirement? Their websites are very similar looking; so much so that it can't be a coincidence.
Here's the beginning of Jack's email...
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it is determination & commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. “
- Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti’s relentless commitment to personal goal setting was the cornerstone for his successful 40+ year career in racing. In addition to accumulating 109 career wins on major racing circuits, Andretti became the first driver to win IndyCar races in four different decades. Andretti was never satisfied with his last performance, even the big wins. He was notoriously “crazed” about raising the bar on himself; each racing record he shattered led to a desire to shatter it again the next time out.
At Holiday Retirement, we share Mr. Andretti’s passion for goal setting and commitment to excellence. I’d like to share an excerpt from a letter I just received from Ron & Nancy Thomas whose father, Harold Warner, lives with us at Sunbury Village in Bangor, Maine:
“Our last comment is regarding the care Sunbury has given Dad, who was quite unhappy when he first arrived there. He didn’t make friends at first and stayed to himself. However, we have seen a complete change in Dad over the past year! He has completely come “out of his shell”. Now he greets people every day, always introduces us to the staff and other residents when we visit and he participates in so many community bus trip outings. In general, he enjoys life more and we credit Sunbury for most of that, for we are so far away from him. We are truly happy and grateful for all the Sunbury staff has done for Dad. Thanks again for a job well done!”
You see, we set ambitious goals for ourselves because we know there are still tens of millions of seniors out there like Harold Warner who desperately need and want the lifestyle only we can provide through the Holiday Touch. How many times have you heard your residents say “I absolutely love living here…my only regret is that I didn’t move in five years earlier!”? I believe we have an obligation to actively seek out seniors like Harold who will undoubtedly enjoy a much higher quality of life once they move in with us. With that context in mind, it’s easy to understand why Holiday retirement is “crazed” about goal setting, just as Mario Andretti was.
Ambitious goals, when coupled with detailed action plans and having associates like you on the field, translate into extraordinary results. I am proud to inform you that during the month of June, we shared the Holiday Touch with 1,217 new residents. This represents a new record for BOTH the highest number of gross AND net moves ins in the company’s 40-year history!!!
And here's the rest of Jack's email...
Special recognition also goes out to the following communities with company leading performance during the month of June:
Highest # of Gross Move Ins:
Highest # of Net Move Ins:
Edgewood Downs, Beaverton, OR
18
Edgewood Downs, Beaverton, OR
+14
Windlands South, Nashville, TN
15
Golden Oaks, Yucaipa, CA
+10
Golden Oaks, Yucaipa, CA
12
Windlands South, Nashville, TN
+9
Arlington Plaza, Arlington, TX
11
Venetian Gardens, Venice, FL
+9
Venetian Gardens, Venice, FL
11
Missions Commons, Redlands, CA
+9
Greenwood Terrace, Lenexa, KS
10
Greenwood Terrace, Lenexa, KS
+8
Madison Meadows, Phoenix, AZ
10
Chateau at Harveston, Temecula, CA
+8
Mission Commons, Redlands, CA
10
Brentwood Estates, Lincoln, NE
+7
Brentwood Estates, Lincoln, NE
9
Highland Estates, Cedar Park, TX
+7
New England Club, Cincinnati, OH
9
Forest Pines, Columbia, SC
+6
Chateau at Harveston, Temecula, CA
9
Mesa View, Grand Junction, CO
+6
Highland Estates, Cedar Park, TX
9
Redbud Hills, Bloomington, IN
+6
Lincoln Square, Grand Rapids, MI
+6
Summerfield Estates, Shreveport, LA
+6
Congratulations again to each of these teams and to the entire organization. I am so proud of all of you all. But just like Mario Andretti, none of us are content with just shattering a 40-year old record once or twice. Our goal is to do it over and over and over again because that is how we are wired as on organization. Remember, the stakes are high for seniors like Harold Warner and time is of essence. Seniors like Harold deserve to be living with you at your community today – not several years from now. Let’s get out there and significantly ramp up our lead generation efforts so we can bring them all happiness and peace of mind today; let’s bring them “home to Holiday” today.
Congratulations again, team…we’re on a roll & can’t be stopped; that’s the power of the Holiday Touch!
Warmest regards,
Jack
Just read the letter from Jack Callison that ya'll posted - seems like there performance is really good - ya'll seem to be complaining a lot about each other and the people in salem, but the 9,900 employees who aren't complaining seem to be going about there business and making a real difference. Many of you say that reading these complaints is like your morning cup of coffee - how sad for ya'll...maybe ya'll should spend some more time trying to make a difference in the company and in the world, and less time throwing rocks - this is the first and last time I will read this blog.
"We are not here to curse the darkness; we are here to light a candle." (John Kennedy, in his acceptance speech to the 1960 Democratic Convention, in Los Angeles)
Really? Comparing these complaints to the words of John Kennedy? He was a man of action - a DOer, not just a complainer...honestly, my comment was not intended to be negative - I just think this site would be more productive if people shared positive stories about the things they have done to make a difference - for seniors, or fellow employees - if ya'll feel like you are in a tough spot, wouldnt it be better to share ideas about how you've made a difference and overcome? Instead, ya'll trash each other while the rest of the Company seems to be doing quite well. Hey Charles, if you are leading this site, why don't you encourage a change toward the positive on your site? Why don't you encourage people to share ideas about how they have made the lives of others better instead of encouraging people to complain? Be a DOer not a TALKer.
I am not leading this site. I only started it with a few questions.
You said -- "...this is the first and last time I will read this blog." Well, that wasn't quite correct, was it? And you are truly overdoing the "ya'll" bit. I was raised where "ya'll" is proper use - and no one uses it in writing - only speaking.
IF one accepts Callison's email as factual then I applaud the efforts of the ten thousand.
Why don't you share one of your positive stories with us. Oh, yeah - you probably won't be reading this anyway. Anyone who so chooses will write their stories - it is up to the individual.
I believe Holiday has a Facebook site where only positives are permitted. The basic point of this blog is to seek corrections of things gone terribly astray in a corporate world and to highlight problems which are being swept under the carpet, so to speak.
We are not complaining, we express our feelings. Many of the 9900 emoloyees either have no idea that this blog exists, or they choose not to complain as the labor market is tight and they are in need of that great job at holiday. I know, I made a difference, I did everything possible for the residents I could, and was shot down, like so many others mentioned in this blog, who made a difference for the residents and where shot down. We are not throwing rocks, we are firing the Bill Colsons HOLIDAY TOUCH, that is a little thing that was taught years ago.
Have just heard that Martha Smith has resigned from Holiday?? I would bet she will be going with Dick??? Is Sunshine where Dick is??
I was under the impression that Dick Glaunert cashed-in his chips and is totally retired. Does anybody know any differently?
Dick was forced out,never wanted to retire like John & Lori.One more step in Fortress plan to clean house.Dick is COO of Sunshine Retirement!
John & Lori Desolvo? Very surprising. All they ever pushed for was the best possible for the residents. I guess this says a lot about what has happened in food service. Shame on you Jack.
Happy Retirement Lori & John, was allways fun working with you, where ever we met in our travels
What is the Web site for sunshine retirement. Thank You
http://www.sunshineretirementliving.com
Wanted to inform anyone that knew former Manager's at Riverplace in Columbus, Georgia, Judy and Ken Crawford,Ken was killed in an accident at home on Thursday, July 1st. Remember Judy and their family in your thoughts and prayers.
We are so sorry to learn about Ken. Judy - our deepest condolences to you and the family. If there is anything Linda and I can do let us know.
My wife and I had gone to Riverplace on our two days off in order to meet with some friends and we stayed at River Place. Ken and Judy made us feel so welcome and involved with the community. I was allowed to help with serving meals and pouring coffee. We had a most enjoyable visit there and some very lively conversations. He is missed.
These types of problems exist in so many organizations. Some make the right changes, but many stay on the defensive and never get it right. I don't work for Holiday highly recommend the management book, Theory R! http://www.valueoftheperson.com/theoryrmanagement.html
Until Holiday/Fortress really delves into treating people with respect and truly valuing them as people with real needs and concerns, all will suffer as an organization. It's hard enough to just manage a building or restaraunt or hotel as single identities, Retirement communities have all of these in one! I hope for all involved it gets straightened out, i took advanced courses and on the job work in senior communities so i do have some insight. If you read the book, send it on to corporate and get someone's attention.
God Bless
Can someone tell me if Ronnie Moye is still with Holiday?
Hope not. I dont know how he sleeps at night if he is. What about, is it Cynthia Stutsman? Now there is another one...is she still with HRC?
Please. Someone out there has to know if Ronnie Moye is still around?
Yes, as of 7/23/2010, Ronnie is still around.
All we've seen at our community so far is very disrespectful treatment toward staff from corporate at our property in the Pacific NW. Property needs a rehab so badly it's more than challenging to entice anyone to live there. Our big wigs showed us on a recent visit that they don't really care about the people in the field and have no idea what is is we do, or even the hours we work for such low pay. We are so exhausted we feel like Zombies! the residents are the reason we are holding out. We are hopeful something will change for the better, but feel discouraged at every turn. If anyone from Fortress reads these blogs, your people in the trenches are crying out to you for help and fair treatment. Our buildings need attention for the comfort and pride of the residents and staff and to be able to successfully market your asset. Dignity in the treatment of your Managers and Co's is essential for good communication. If we get to discouraged by these by-gone old school scare tactics, everyone suffers and it is not the right way to bring about any change you seek. Work out in the field for 2 weeks or longer at one property at a time to get a real feel for what we go through. When hired, the recruiter made promises that have not been honored. Not even close. We see children acting as marketing managers at Corp. Not cool. I was the victim of being spyed upon, although I have been working my a** off and have done nothing wrong. We are discouraged, beaten down, disrespected as human beings and treated in such a way that no one should have to endure, unless they were truly doing something wrong. New staff changes at Corp. in this region don't appear to be the kind needed for this type of business, as it is obvious from the severe looks on faces that they don't care; not about the residents and certainly not about the people taking as good a care of them as possible with what they have to work with, which is basically nothing. If you are thinking of working for Holiday...RUN! As far away as you can. Trust us. It has been an exhausting, painful, heart wrenching experience.
It is obvious that the treatment you speak of is widespread and accepted by the leadership in Salem. I recently spoke with someone that had the opportunity to visit with more than several management teams and they agreed the problem is not geographic. I don't believe the company takes any interest in complaints coming from the community level as long as someone is trying to move the needle forward. There was a book that was very popular around Holiday not to long ago that is quite funny now. The book, "Good to Great", provides a playbook for taking a good company to great. It also tells why some good companies never become great companies. I think Holiday is writing the follow up book - - "GOOD TO HORRIBLE". They have taken a good company, with good people, and lacked the leadership to even keep it good. Taking it to great? Not in your lifetime boss.
Isn't it amazing that a company that grew over a period of 30+ years, in good and bad economic times, has stopped growing? I've heard some of Holiday's "LEADERS" say Bill Colson really wasn't that great of a businessman, but he continued to grow his business with a clear vision of the market Holiday served and the lifestyle they provided. Along come the "Business Builders", all successful from previous challenges at other companies. Did any of them ever "grow" one of those other businesses to become a leader in their industry? I don't think so. Who could have imagined the success of all those great minds gathering at one company to turn it around? The last time I checked Holiday has the same number of communities but serves fewer residents than when they started the turn around. Maybe they just need a little more time. I know I was told the problem was not the economy, it was the way Holiday was operating that was holding it back. Wouldn't you think with 10000 associates, that know what their jobs are, and a hand picked "Dream Team" in Salem that these guys would be knocking it out of the park by now? Not quite right yet. Maybe they should look at best practices, dump another "great" idea, change directions again, maybe dump some of the recent "talent" brought on board, and start operating it to serve the market it was designed to serve and provide the lifestyle it WAS capable of providing. Change will always be necessary but destruction of an industry leader is not success in anyone's mind. Why don't all the superstars pull their money together and build their own company instead of destroying the retirement years of so many residents and the careers of so many associates that are in a position to depend on them? I would love to see Holiday be successful in their turn around, not because the "Leaders" have made such a contribution but because the residents and staff deserve it.
This is one of the best postings on all 3 parts of this blog that I have ever read. I just have to say 'Amen' and second everything said here. Thank you, tcb!
I am sorry, but Bill Colson sold a company that he built from nothing for nearly 7 BILLION DOLLARS. That same company today is worth only about 4 billion dollars. Now, I ask who, who was the better business man?
Is it possible to chat with you before we write anything?
Chat with who?
I just want to mention that I appreciate hearing from many different perspectives. I am a current employee. I like some things about the company and I don't like some things about the company. The only disappointing thing about this blog is the personal attacks on people. What you have to realize is that we all have to follow the company guidelines if we plan to continue to work for Holiday. we must do this whether or not we agree with them. We must also realize the impact of a blog of this nature. Even though we may or may not agree with people on this blog, each person on here has family, friends, a reputation and real feelings. It is not right to make bad comments on here for the world to see and judge. Until you walk in a person's shoes, you do not know what motivates them to do the things they do. we all make mistakes and we all wish we could be perfect human beings but we are not. Please be constructive on this blog and use it as a voice for the anonymous but please do not use it as a vehicle for personal destruction.
I don't think anyone questions whether or not you have to follow Holiday guidelines to keep your job with Holiday. Some people are doing things for the wrong reason in my opinion. As you said you appreciate hearing from people with different perspectives. Everyday in every choice we make we do the right thing or the wrong thing. Sometimes we don't see it as the wrong thing just the easy thing. When someone decides to back the wrong things you don't have to walk in their shoes. They made their choice. I am a former employee, I decided to do the right thing. Like they say 50 years from now it won't make a difference which way you went but today it could make all the difference in the world to somebody. Workplace practices are being accepted under the idea you just have to do what you have to do. Nobody is expecting anyone to be a perfect human being. You are right, we all wish we could be. When you have a choice to make please do the right thing, you will be a better person and Holiday will take a step toward being a better company.
I would not want to walk in my managers shoes. I have more integrity then that. They are too good to serve coffee or tea,serve ice cream, or set the private dinning room. I have never met a more lazy couple then them. The RD think they are all that but in fact they would get the EC to answer the phones and do tours and the maintenance man to respond to E calls while they sat in their apartment or napped. They would take $ out of meal money for what ever while there was plenty in petty cash. Residents friends bought flowers for out side the front doors because he was too cheep to buy any. I was asked to make one of the servers pay for her shoes for crews. They would take turns coming on duty while we were off. When we were asked to lie to the residents that is when we handed in out resignation. Don't get me started on the RD. He hardly ever answered his emails or phone calls. We felt so much like he never cared about us at all. We were told when we took this job that help was only a phone call away. We had house keepers lie about us. The lie was so obvious to any one with a pair of eyes but we got demoted and transfered. How is that fair. We tried to manage and asked for a little support but that didn't happen. Then we get put in a building where no one cares about the guide lines or the residents. We would get scolded for doing our job by the managers, jobs that we are supposed to do but they pushed them of onto the dish washer,EC and maintenance man. We are hurt a little bitter and feel like Holiday sucked 2 good years out of our lives. We loved our job and feel we did it well and put every thing we had into it. Feel so sorry for the residents and think its horrible that no one in HO cares let alone the RD. Grateful that we met so many grateful residents. We love you and thank you precious people for enriching our lives with your love and gratitude.
I received an email from an individual who is apparently seeking some type of redress from Holiday Retirement, as well as unemployment benefits. This individual admits to resigning from Holiday, but alleges it was because of discrimation. A claim is put forth about being listed as a "rehirable" employee, only to have said claim changed to "non-rehirable" because the company purportedly accuses the individual "...engaged in public disparagement of the company, publicly threatening to file a lawsuit, and soliciting others to provide proprietary information." The company allegedly then continues that "... this behavior disqualifies you as a candidate for any position with the company. However that has no effect on your ability to present evidence of your claims of racial discrimination."
The individual states that Holiday Retirement has kept record of all the communications on the blog and consider it public disparagement of the company. Stated also is interest in anyone else who feels they have been discriminated against by the company. The individual desires contact with those who share any feelings of being discriminated against.
Reading over the blog there are several comments in which the authors reference discrimination. Perhaps a benefit is plausible with said authors getting together - perhaps not.
To those who took the time to read the legalese on this site allow me to call your attention to the Terms of Use http://www.dlcharles.com/terms.html
Take a moment to read the terms, if you would, noting "You may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, or distribute, in any manner, the material on the site, including text, graphics, code and/or software. You may print and download portions of material from the different areas of the site solely for your own non-commercial use provided that you agree not to change or delete any copyright or proprietary notices from the material."
Public Disparagement - interesting couple of words. Black's law Dictionary (1999 7th ed.) defines disparagement as "A false and injurious statement that discredits or detracts from the reputation of another's property, product, or business. To recover in tort for disparagement, the plantiff must prove that the statement caused a third party to take some action resulting in specific pecuniary loss to the plantiff."
Note that Black's Law does not say "false" OR "injurious", but combines both into a singular. I will emphatically lay claim at this point that, in my personal opinion, no disparagement of the company exists on the site, either true or false. What does exist, again in my personal opinion, is a "think tank scenario" of various directional embodiments conducive to the profitable enhancement of the company - and at absolutely no monetary charge to the company. Most businesses would appreciate what has been offered here. The combined years of experience created a vast ocean of positive ideas to improve the company.
And for the record: If I truly felt, or anyone can convince me, that the blog is against Holiday instead of a site seeking to help the residents and employees have a better life - it would be shut down. I firmly believe there have been ample suggestions worth consideration which have the potential to benefit overall if they were taken to heart and initiated.
My wife and I most definitely desire for the company to be a success. Both of us hold "The Touch" to heart. What we don't comprehend is why the company appears to be against its own success.
I think if you look back at the decision to get rid of all the "old" RDs and replace them with "new" blood, you know younger with more energy, focused ambitious individuals, you will see some hint of age discrimination. If you look at the existing all star lineup of "leaders" the absence of women on the roster may hint of gender discrimination. The whole good old boy club is a form of discrimination but not necessarily against a "protected class". I personally believe most of the actions that took place to clean house of the old guard had some touch of discrimination against a group of people. From my perspective the most blatant form of discrimination I have seen is the DECISION to fill all mid level and upper level positions with people from outside the company.
I truly care about the residents that I worked for and co-workers that I developed a friendship in and out of work. It is because of these folks that I worked as long as I did and it is why I want to fight for injustice, inequality, and help Holiday/FIG to see that they need to improve employee/employer relationships and rebuild employee morale.
Thanks for redirecting our attention to the terms and conditions of this blog. If in fact Holiday Retirement or any other commercial corporate businesses view this site and uses postings as leverage against the posters, they are in violation of the terms. Thanks for creating this blog and I am so glad I found it!
I would like to once again remind everyone of something. It is not necessary to use any email address to post a comment. I would prefer you didn't as it saves me the work of going back to delete them. Type the comment - use whatever anonymous name you choose - type in the numbers in the box - click submit. That is all you need to do.
Having said that let me move on to another item. As you are aware it is my desire to protect the anonymity of all who use this blog. I have it set up to protect everyone in every way possible in order to allow the free flow of information between all involved. What I cannot protect is the "giveaway information" someone posts in their comment, so I would stress each of you realize that what you type may offer up such; such as a particular location, a specific community, a particular superior, etc. etc.
It would be nice (in a perfect world) if Holiday offered something like this for an open and honest evaluation of the company and its problems - but so far it hasn't happened. Even though some of the talk takes on a rather personal vent at times it still stands out that most of us are interested in changes which help the residents, aid the employees, and build the bottom line. Once again let me state how proud of all of you I am. You have done a wonderful job throughout! The fact of Holiday reading the coments and trying to use it against anyone they can locate speaks for itself (remember Jaime on Facebook?) - you are getting through to them! The individual I mentioned earlier deliberately and willing gave the information which pinpointed.
Write it - post it - and do so knowing no one will take it away or harm you with it if you do not tell who you are in real life.
Wake up Holiday Retirement - no one is against you. Everyone is trying to help, not hinder. Fortress needs to take Jack C. out behind the woodshed for an attitude adjustment - it works. Holiday and Fortress have both repeatedly been invited to give us their input, but to date we haven't heard a word. Sound familiar?
DL...just you know, I am not able to post on this blog without providing an email address if I wish to subscribe to my entry.
No - I did not know that. I have never subscribed to any site on the internet, ever - so must admit to my ignorance on this subject.
Suggestion - why not just un-subscribe? When I use one of the other computers in my office to work on, or bring up, the blog I am not subscribed on them. All subscribing does is send an alert when a new comment is posted - correct?
Maybe this idea will work - leave the subscribed part as it - and simply use a different made-up name for a posting.
For me the Submit Comment form says "Email (will not be published)".
Isn't that automatic?
If you want to be alerted to a reply to your posting, you have to "subscribe" to the entry.
I am so fed up with HRC. It is so sad how this company has changed and not for the better. They have hired all these marketing people to fill these buildings, IF they were soooooooo great why would the other companies let them leave.the RSL RD's and DM keep us on the computer with more and more reports, forms, PDR dinners ect... that we don't have time to even go pee! Plus our residents don't see or feel the touch any more! That is long gone! it is so sad, our resident feel they can't come to the office when they need something cause they see how busy we always seem. I am looking for another job! Searching for Dick Glaunert,Martha Smith or Russell Davis. This so called Dream team needs to work a building to really know what we all deal with everyday. They have NO clue at all!
I have had it! So tired of it all!
The really sad thing is they do know what you are dealing with everyday and obviously don't have a clue how to help. Let's look back at some of the "better" paths they have led the company down. The CMTs don't understand the budget so let's make one for them and it will be more business like. Wrong!!!! That first budget without community input was from Hell. Talk about a glass half full. Next - the RDs don't have time to LEAD the CMTs in their region to be successful in changing marketing techniques so let's give them backup - - the birth of the RSL. Another WRONG!!! (Oh yea, now let's get rid of all the experienced RDs and replace them with people that have no idea of the challenges they will face.) Now that we have told the CMTs they don't have a clue how to market a community how do we get them to do the work again? Let's hire GSMs and promise to "PROMOTE" them to GM if they can show us how to get rid of the rest of these whining CMTs. Once again, WRONG!!!!! Wait a minute, wait a minute, I know, I know, let's build RELATIONSHIPS with the medical community so they can keep us supplied with an adequate number of replacement residents with immediate needs. This is a great idea and shouldn't take more than a few weeks - - WRONG AGAIN!!!! No me, no me, I have an idea, let's call it best practice and get the CMTs out of the building doing community outreach and neglect the needs of the existing residents. You already know, I didn't have to tell you - - WRONG!!! Okay here's an idea, let's build up our inventory of available apartments to the biggest level ever in the industry and then cut our prices and offer insane incentives to try and unload them. Let's get crazy. (And someone said the BLS were gone.) Why not try that other hotel approach - drop the rate till you hear the brakes squeal? Wow, so many great ideas and so little time. Seriously guys, how long do you think it will take to turn this big sucker around? Good luck.
You should leave if your fed up, why stay? Are you working the community alone as a single manager? That would make a big difference in how you are feeling. Although it's true, nobody in upper management have a clue what it takes to run a community. I can understand searching for Dick and Martha but Russell???? Russell left his mgrs. high and dry in a lot of situations. He may have done good by managers here and there but in the end he took care of himself. He was known for using his managers to his own advantage. I would question your loyalty to someone like that or at least ask you to rethink it. In retrospect I think it was a good move to see Russell removed. This job isn't easy and nobody said it would be, not to mention the strain it puts on our relationship with our spouses. It may be better working for another retirement community but everyone I have talked to is facing the same kinds of pressures to get their buildings full. In closing I would suggest that it isn't going to be a cake walk in any retirement community at this point and another line of work is what I am looking for. Wishing you the best.
Amen on Russell. Best be careful what you wish for.
I second the Amen on Russell. Some managers really thought he was the man to follow, but as it turns out the lucky ones were the ones that didn't follow. Thinking back on it now makes me laugh at just how well some people can fool you and how well some people were fooled by him. Not worth following that's for sure. He had some managers leaning on his every word and not a one of them are with him now.
Ah, yes. The saga of Russell Davis and the 'left-behind Blackberry'! Caught & trapped while skipping a meeting for the sake of a rendezvous. Sounds familiar, doesn't it, Art?
Came back to see what is happening here after about six months of not reading the blog. Still a very interesting blog and very informative.
We have now finished our fourth year as residents. Fortunately we have both the physical ability and the financial stability to look around the area and see what other residential facilities are available. As of now our building has a floating manager and we have had two sets of managers come and go in six months. Plus three activity directors. We are staying because the food is excellant and we have a first floor apartment with our car parked immediately outside our door. Nice! (We should get something for about $4000 a month.) The staff are wonderful and cooperative. However we have tried to visit with the "move-ins" and are becoming increasingly unhappy that so any of them are physically and mentally challenged. (Challenged has been the "new speak" in education. You are no longer a moron--you are mentally challenged! Come to think of it--that word has been used for a whilek someone will find a new one soon.)
Anyway I thank you for your blog DLC. It is interesting and has been very usefull. It has encouraged me to make sure we have options--so we can say, Ok, if you raise the rent we will be leaving at the end of our rental period. Actually we were going to ask you to do XYZ which you are now doing for the resident in Apartment xxx, with no increase in rent. (Our rent now changes the first of January??? We moved in the 8th of JUne, 2006.)
THanks DLC (Sorry for any typos, I just bought a new iMac and this keyboard is giving me fits.)
Appreciate your input. Thank you for letting us know.
I am so glad to see a resident praising the food at a community. My compliments to your Chef and the kitchen staff. I realize how hard it is to maintain consistent high standards. Please personally convey a compliment to them for me.
Options! If this blog does nothing else except show residents that they control the options available it will be worth the effort. Speaking from a personal viewpoint I am struck by a puzzling question. From the very first cookie drop my wife and I made we have wondered why anyone would leave a beautiful home to live in a community. Yes, we have been inundated with the information hyped as to the whys, but from a personal slant we still don't understand. I would have to be dragged kicking and screaming from some of the homes we visited.
For $4,000.00 monthly I would hire a caretaker couple to either live on premises or come in daily and I would have money left over. I would have a driver if I needed such, a cook, housekeeper, yard maintenance - all of it for about half the money. At least it is nice to think that option is out there.
The striking thing to me is that in the "live on premises" factor it means your job and your residence are one and the same. I know of numerous individuals who were fired and had to be out of their living quarters in a matter of hours. This is very hard to cope with for people. A particular young couple comes to mind who could not afford to rent a truck for their move and had no where to go when they were fired. We received their telephone call and managed to get them a rental truck, a storage unit, and some place to stay for a few weeks until they could figure out something. But this was an exception. Usually it is just "Hit the road, Jack" and no one says Good Luck.
Why would anyone leave a beautiful home and move in a community? I am speaking of back when and not as it is now. Most older seniors that live alone do not get sufficient exercise, do not eat a balanced meal and lonely from lack of social interaction. We solved all those problems in a happy building with good meals, balanced diet and all kinds of activities. Yes some could hire a staff, but then they would have to deal with employees, adding to the stress. Also they still have to manage the 101 things that have to be done around the house. A wealthy retired physician with staff told me that he would be more independent in our community than his home.
Most of the people where we made cookie drops were very happy just to have someone to talk to. I also do not know the number of times that I heard "I wish I had moved in sooner." I believe others out there truly felt that they were improving the lives of people that moved in. We were family, but this again were the old days when our top priority was the residents. Yes, we still had to marketing, but with the residents behind us and our reputation it was not as difficult as now. We had a whole building of residents doing marketing.
For those of you that might be interested, Martha Smith has gone to work for Dick Glaunert managing a community in Atlanta with her husband, Danny, for Sunshine Retirement Living. Dick Glaunert is the COO of Sunshine Retirement Living out of Bend, Oregon, phone 541-323-3456.
Just so you know, Martha is not Managing in Atlanta Ga., she and Danny are doing Marketing there.
Will Sunshine Retirement be expending into Canada as well? Does anyone have any info?
No Canada plans at this time. But things can change ;o)
But change is good, isn't it?
My husband & I just left Holiday after 13 months with them. Would have left sooner if a job would have happened sooner. The people that get on this blog and say, "If you don't like it, leave." - don't seem to understand that the jobs for 60 year olds don't grow on trees. So, in the meantime, we do what has to be done to survive.
The micro-management is a heavy burden for the Management Team and EC's. Go here, mail this, fax this, email this, have these special events, at least 3 mandatory conference calls a week to be squeezed in between all of the do this stuff. The existing residents? Don't they realize it is easier to keep a customer than it is to get a new one? Our poor residents are ignored and they know it. For what they pay a month it is outrageous how they are ignored.
Plus the living conditions of the co's -in the middle of the dining room? Okay, that's private.
Enough. We've been gone a short time and are still exhausted. Even with two manager couples, it can't all be done as they demand it be done.
Best to anyone who is still there.
I love it! Great comment - and totally on-the-spot. If you wouldn't mind letting us know - what type of work are you now doing? And you are correct about jobs for seniors after fifty-five. They are hard to come by.
I am constantly amazed at the number of acquaintances who, like myself, are retired from a lifetime employment and are now working jobs as part-timers in grocery stores or department stores. One of my closest friends is a part-time grocery store bag boy and stocker. For almost forty-five years he managed a very successful company but now no one cares. He doesn't actually NEED the job, he likes to work. Go figure.
My husband got a job in the sales and marketing only of another retirement community. Someone else is the director and managing the building. He has his own office with his own computer! They have a receptionist and an admin person. A real office that runs like a real business. If they have a special event and have to work an extra day, they take another day off that week. He is working Mon-Fri.
We owned our own million dollar business awhile back and sold it. You are right, they don't care about our invaluable experience - so what if we end up working part time as a bag-boy or stocker? Past experience does not count. Unfortunately, we still need to work. Bad investments, etc.
I'm still looking for a job. At the moment I am taking care of my man the way he needs to be taken care of.
(Just realized there was another been there done that. That wasn't me. This is my first attempt at writing on this blog.) Hope it didn't cause confusion.
My wife and I have been with Holiday for 5 months. We have seen the hiring of the hotel people and I'm scratching my head. This new RD in our region is a joke he does not have a clue what managers are going through, he calls during meal time and acts upset because we don't take time to talk to him. All he talks about is move-ins. He should have been required to spend at least 2 weeks working in a building (the same schedule as the manager) before being offered the position. He has upset just about every manager in the region. He tells managers that they are not allowed to talk about things that are going on in their building, we are only to talk to him, right!!! To get people to talk to him he has to earn their respect and he has not done that. In my former life that upper management had worked their way up through the ranks and because they did that I had no problem working for them because they understood what managers go through and as a result I had a lot of respect for them. Not the case here with this RD. He is also quite arrogant and has not earn my respect. What a joke.
Thank you for finally telling us you are a short timer.
I think people were really listening back in the Dallas meeting. We need to position ourselves during this period of weak economic times so we can own the upswing. Well looking at the unimproved product Holiday is offering I'm not sure if they all understood that this was a time to do more than load up the overhead, you should have been team building down to the community level. Turnover in management teams has always been a problem and you failed to fix it. Looks like some of the CMTs got the message trickled down to them okay. They waited till the economy showed signs of improving and are booking on the first flight out. Personally I think the residents are playing this "own the upswing" for themselves. During the tough times they will take the incentives, put up with a little disappointment and squeeze everything they can get out of their budgeted dollars. On the upswing they will cash out on those houses and with the help of their families can choose to move where they want because everyone will offer them a deal. I guess looking back to 2006 anyone could have been successful during those times, it was soooooooo easy.
Sorry to hear that...That's so right RESPECT! Watch out it looks like you might have to walk in the same shoes a lot of us walked in...That's what we have been talking about....
It would appear you have received a real education since your comments of 5-27. You can see now why we did not appreciate your comments.
I hear that people with the company for 6,7, or 8 months are now being promoted to Managers. The company must be hard up. Before the Fortress days, you needed to wait 2,3 or 4 years before being promoted from Co-manager to manager. Being promoted after 7 or 8 months just says they don't have anyone else and that is not good news.
The company doesn't have couples with at least 1 or 2 years experience ? Are that many leaving these days ? If so, thats really bad. The poor residents. They don't get acquainted with anyone. I guess that is the philospohy of the hotel industry. Just keep managers as long as a long hotel stay. Wow...I can't image what is happening. Really--- would you want to go to a building as a manager after 6 or 7 months on the job...especially to a building where there have been numerous manager over the past 3 years.
I'm told this is happening everywhere...
California, Texas, New England, Florida
and the mid-west.
6-8 months? In our region a co was promoted to manager in around 3 months and it appears as though one may come right out of trining into a managers position with no on the job experience. Get use to it, its SOP from here on out.
We are six year residents. Our last two sets of co-managers are right our of finishing school and they needed more soft touch than the residents. With the turnover of managers and residents so high it would seem the company would notice a need for improvement.
I was a little surprised and sad to find these pages of threads about the demise of what we once knew as Holiday Retirement. I am a casualty of Home Office. After spending over 5 years there, in the MIDDLE of the management transition (I won't say in what capacity, can't breach that SEVERNCE CONTRACT) I can tell you one thing is certain. They don't care. Please know that. That's the bottom line. They really, truly don't care. They don't care about managers, residents, employees, no one. Unless it's putting money in their pockets they couldn't care a less and joke about it freaquently. Staff are inferior and beneath them. The smiles and speeches are very well rehearsed, but are nothing more than that. Home Office is governed by fear and intimidation. They pracically have a revolving door staff-wise with people leaving both by choice and not. They keep hiring top-level management positions at exorbanent salaries, and destroying the good people that served the residents. The people they bring in are from hospitality not senior living. They walk into the communities looking like they're about to step in something. It's pathetic and sad. This isn't what it was suppose to become. Holiday Retirement as we knew it is just a memory I'm afraid.
It alot of cases co,s move up because there are no Managers in place.However there are Co,s that are as qualified as the Managers. Speaking for myself, when I hired in I had prior experience in all of the admin. work. Selecting employees for employment was also part of my past. The one thing that I had no training on was the residents. Most of the Holiday Touch is natural with some.
Honesty. Integrity. Ethics. In the past, we often used these words to describe qualities we valued the most in both people and businesses. Many of us still do. In fact, there was a time when most of us would not do business with any company that did not possess these qualities. Sadly, these words can no longer be used to describe the qualities of Holiday Retirement, its senior management, or its executives. In fact, these words now represent an oxymoron when used in the context of Holiday Retirement. Greed and corruption more accurately describe the qualities of the new Holiday Retirement, along with dishonest.
Is this the new corporate America? Is this the new United States of America? Is this what the greatest generation fought for? and died for?
6 days ago careerbuilder posted a job in Avondale? a part of kansas city for unique couples position for senior independent living I Love where it is focused on the seniors. Does anyone know the company?
I have 25+ years in management. I have been with Holiday for 4 years now and am amazed at the lack of qualified managers, especially the one's I work with currently. It seems they sit back and let everyone else do the work for them, they then take all the credit. They do not know how to treat people, ie. staff and residents alike. It is amazing how they got hired on in the first place. I hope that Holiday really revaluates their hiring practices going forward, at least for the residents sake if nothing else.
This is nothing new. I think it used to be a whole lot worst before Fortress took over. In the Colson days, an RD would put a mirror under a couple's nose to check for breathing and they were hired if they passed the criminal background check.
The problem is (and always has been) the total lack of proper discplinary action against the type of managers you describe above. But, Holiday believes it has bigger fish to fry right now, namely renting apartments. And, if that means their customers, the residents, are suffering from the poor treatment of incompetent managers, they don't really seem to care.
Thanks!That is the reality unfortunately.
Sorry for the staff and the residents.
My wife, a business development officer for a bank, and I, an apprentice funeral home director, saw an ad online for a couple's job. We have an interview tonight? We are in our mid 40's have one child who is graduated from college, married with one child and one on the way. So we thought this would be perfect. I am so glad I found this site. This many people cannot be wrong. We were not told the name of the company just that they had over 300 locations. Easy enough to google. We own a home in Georgia and would love to move to Florida one day to be near the family and thought this may be a way. Any who... I told my husband that there is no way I could work for a company that treats semi-retired people this way. They want us to go to Portland for 7 weeks of training??? For what? We are going to do the interview and them I'll let you guys know what he said. Bless all your hearts. Those poor residents. I work now for a large corporation and they treat us like gold, so I can't imagine working for one with no support. You have my sympathy.
Question ? Is Fortress still planning to construct new buoldings in the near future? I heard there was one planned for Spriung Hill, Florida and another in West Central, Florida.
With the current census...how do they plan to fill new buildings?
I know they are waiting for the baby boomers, but they won't be ready for a retirement home for 15 to 20 years. And the big question is --- will they be able to afford the Holiday apartments.
OLne other comment...have you seen the Holiday Retirement website recently. They give you a scatch-off ticket to see if you have won 5 years of free rent.
How tacky for "Gracious Retirement Living".
Holiday retirement is NOT taking the building in Spring hill Florida.
Bart Colson will keep that building just like the one in The Villages Fl.
at least the residents and staff will be treated with respect and fairness.
Very good insight on the age. If you do the math, the very earliest baby boomers are only 64 now and the average age of current residents coming into buildings now are in their 80's. When Jack talks about the avalanche of potential residents ready for HR (baby boomers) he must be anticipating 15 years in the future. Actually the age of typical new resident (about 80) will decrease by approximately 25% in the next 5 -6 years. What do you think will happen to the pressure for move ins when the available market is shrinking? If you don't believe me check out the demographics put out by the US Census department.
I"m sorry, what happened to all of those people between the ages of 64 and 85? Is there a giant gap in the senior population? No, it is still and will continue to be the fastest growing segment of our population, and life expectancy also continues to climb. Good operators will fill buildings, I should know, I am doing just that.
Not only is life expectancy increasing, but the demographic group that SHOULD be
every Holiday community's target market is remaining healthier and more active later in life.
This can truly be a double-edged sword, particularly for those of you who have wall-to-wall wheelchairs and PCAs in the dining room only because you discovered you could keep your census up more readily by targeting "anyone who can fog a mirror."
We are scheduled to have a phone interview and I was very excited about this opportunity. After reading this blog I am very concerned. Did you have your interview? What do you think.
thank you for sharing
Another long time employee leaves,as of Aug 1 Sam Green will be leaving after 7 years of service.Mike Pugh will be demoted to take his position back to RD for those of you that have been around that is where Mike started!!! sam did not want to retire as I'm sure the letter from Fortress will state.
It is with regret that I inform you that Sam Green will be leaving Holiday on August 1, 2010 to spend more time with his family. Sam, who started at Holiday in 2003, is a true team player, having served in a number of roles over the years, including Divisional Maintenance Director, interim Managing Director for the Midwest, and most recently as Regional Director of North Carolina and Virginia. We appreciate Sam’s hard work, dedication, and commitment to his team and our residents over the years. His professionalism and genuine care for our Resident’s has been a trademark of his success. We wish him and his family the very best.
I would also like to announce that Mike Pugh has decided to step into the open Regional Director role for North Carolina Virginia. Mike joined the Holiday team in 2008 as a Regional Director and within six months was promoted to Managing Director (MD) of the East District. He exemplifies what the Holiday Touch is all about. Not only has Mike mentored and helped to promote many Holiday team members, but he infuses others with his infectious positivity and enthusiasm. He is well-respected by his colleagues and team, and has warm and genuine rapport with residents.
After 30+ years of traveling with Kmart, Lowe’s Home Improvement, and Holiday, this change will allow him to continue the intensity of driving success through move-ins and sharing the Holiday Touch, while being closer to home. We are thrilled that Mike will continue to be part of the Holiday team.
I will be supporting the East District in the MD role as we proceed through the transition. Please feel free to call me with any questions.
Stan Brown
Chief Operating Officer
Holiday Retirement
Are all good people leaving Holiday to SPEND MORE TIME WITH THERE FAMILY'S? All these announcements sound the same, aren't they?
According to the unofficial Fortress Dictionary, "...to spend more time with there family..." is translated to mean "we no longer want to employ them, they didn't see it coming, they have no other job at this time, and out of the goodness of our hearts we are offering them the opportunity to spend more time with their family with a severance package while they look for another job in return for his resignation in silence." Isn't that very philanthropic of The Fuhrer, Stan Brown?
If Stan Brown is The Fuhrer, what is Jack C. then??
If you look very closely with a careful eye, you can see the number 666, the mark of the beast - the Anti-Christ, on Jack Callison's forehead.
Stan,
No worries...your time is coming soon to spend more time with your family...much like Edwin, Mike and Sam Green...try to take Kai with you as you walk out the door
Well all I can tell you is that FIG is loosing one of the "VERY BEST" people they had. Sam Green is one of the nicest people you can ever work for or with. I was there when Sam Green was hired at Holiday and he was/is a great man. A man that cared a great deal for the company and for it people.
My god what a loss for the company.
Thank the good Lord, I am not with Holiday anymore.
Had to express my feelings about Sam Green. He was our regional for a year and then the MD for the Midwest region. The three years we worked for Holiday under Sam Green was a great privilege. He is a wonderful person and was a great regional. We quit Holiday when the current midwest regional came on board (about 4 months was all we could stand working for him). Two other sets of managers have also left and I know of at least 4 more that are trying to get out of that region. Sam Green treated his managers with respect and was always genuinely concerned for the residents. We worked in 2 different buildings and the residents loved Sam Green. The regional now has no interaction with the residents, it is truly sad and his treatment of the managers is a crime. Best of luck to Sam Green he will be successful wherever he goes because he treats people well.
I concur. Sam is truly a good honest man who put people ahead of the corporate red tape and jargon. Sam will be missed. Truly a man of intergity and I will miss him being with Holiday.
Does that just about complete the purge of anyone in mid & upper level management that had any idea of how Holiday operated when it was owned by Colson? I guess if you are trying to run a business that you know nothing about for someone else that knows nothing about the operation then you better have a plan. I bet it will be a lot easier to lead a team of "upper management" that knows just about as little as you do about providing the "Holiday Touch". When all the "Old Heads" are gone nobody can confuse the explanations that fly around with facts of the way it could be. Good luck. As long as everyone will get in a circle and hold hands they can tell each other what a great vision they have for the future. And the good news is * * * * * 100% buy-in!!! Keep up the good work.
I worked with Sam also and agree with All of the positive comments. He will do great at whatever he decides to persue may even like it Better!!! We lost Ed Nilles and I am still trying to contact him. There was a RD that followed him to train and took his position. What a mistake thats when we quit we could see the yes mans plan.I hope you know the person who I will not mention his name. If you are from the midwest you will know who I am talking about ! Hope he gets his turn or has!!!!!!!!
I just found this blog today, and I have pored (not coffee-poured) through it with interest. I know what I will write here will stir the pot, and so be it. The current management structure at the company does not work. The reason is quite simple. If I were to look for someone to alter my pants, I would not search for someone who is ambidextrous and speaks five languages. The reason I wouldn't do this is that it effectively reduces the pool of alterations specialists to such an extent that I wouldn't ever get my pants to fit properly. The same can be said for live-in managers. I mean no offense by this: many live-in managers are extremely dedicated and work tirelessly to please their residents. The problem lies in the hiring demographics. The average live-in management couple is mature, grown/no kids, and is willing to give up the independence and freedom of a home/apt. to live on-site, on-call 24/3 or 24/4 (if they have two sets of managers), all while being paid a modest wage. This significantly reduces the pool of qualified candidates. My parents are of the age and experience to qualify, but why would they ever leave their home and freedom to do this? The catalyst for this position is need, not want. And this seemingly subtle difference scratches at the main problem. Many things the Colsons did were brilliant, and they should be lauded for building something so successful. But the one thing that never worked as well as they wanted was the live-in manager system. It is time this system changed. Any organization is successful based on four things: strategy (why do this?), culture (what do we want to build and leave behind?), people (in the end, the single most important factor), and structure (once we've hired the right people, how do we empower them to succeed?). HRC is currently failing in every aspect. Their strategy is unsustainable, as you can easily expect several large competitors over the coming 10 years while there is still economic profit to be made. Their culture has eroded with the loss of the Colsons. Their people, while good meaning overall, don't have the correct backgrounds or Holiday Touch sensibilities that are required in their positions as CMTs (not a blanket statement). And the structure is an abject failure. This failure is not of the CMTs making, although in limited cases (based on what I've read here), they have been exacerbated by the CMTs own limitations. The failure is owned by HRC in that the company has set CMTs up to fail, with limited corporate support, limited upper management guidance and simple interaction, and withering resources. We cannot blame the failure on anyone other than upper management (CEO, COO, MD, RD), as the tone from the top is muddled and ever-changing. Hitting a long-range target is difficult enough without it moving contstantly. I can make recommendations beyond this, but I already feel that my words are for naught. You work for private equity, and you may as well staple a number to your chest.
It is with a grieving heart and broken spirit that my spouse and I have decided to leave our lovely and loved residents to seek other employment, which will be hard at our age. We are leaving, not because we don't care about the residents or our co-workers, but because we have been lied to, worked without breaks for days on end, have received no respect for our many years of management experience, have been mistreated, had every promise made to us broken, we've been threatened, given more work and reports to do than are humanely possible to accomplish and we are so exhausted, we have no life anymore! Sorry to be so dramatic, but it's all true. If Residents are reading this, most likely your managers and co managers love you, but Corporate has them so bound they are not free to actually be managers. They are doing the work other property management companies usually do at the Corporate level, so there is no time. If Corporate Office members read this, I'd like to ask how you sleep at night knowing the damage you have caused and the lives you have affected in the process of your uncaring, cold and malicious acts of terror tactics to keep us in line. You have good people working for you in the field and you don't appreciate them enough to help keep morale up. Give some support, for Pete's sake! Have some compassion for the residents! Take some of the workload off of managers and Co's so they can actually do their jobs. Update your properties so they are appealing! Offer a rent freeze until this economic crisis is over. Better to have rent coming in than nothing. Treat employees in the field with the same openness and respect you would expect, don't come in guns blazing. You spark no loyalty this way. Listen for the concerns of people willing to talk to you and keep your word! We are moving on but for all those left behind. I'll need 20 years of therapy after this experience. Never in all of my 60 years have I ever had a negative thing to say about an employer like this before. Not one person currently working for Holiday that I have talked to is happy with the Corporate mentality. Shame on you. You need to work in the field at your most challenged properties before you make any more stupid business decisions. Most of you are too young and inexperienced to know what you're even doing, nor do you seem to care, like most of your pampered generation. You need a good dose of your own medicine!
To anyone still working for Holiday...if your experience has been like ours, run! If you are thinking of working for Holiday, don't do it. You'll come to regret it. to those who left for similar reasons, you know what I'm talking about and we are a family, grieving together for the residents left behind. We were in the lower 80% when we left, higher than most in our area and still harassed over the census day after day. I'm going to bed now and I think I'll stay there for a couple of months while I recover! Whew!
I am so sorry to read this but not surprised. It is my understanding that on average each building has to do 20 reports per week and on a daily basis you receive (and have to answer) about 50 to 70 e-mail messages and that with only one computer in the office. The very thing that the Colson’s were afraid of is exactly what is happening today and that is the managers are sitting in the office and they have not time for the residents. How in the world do they expect you to get anything accomplished? Then they complain about census? It is also my understanding that if a building does not have co-managers, husband and wife must work split shift and must go on vacation separately.
That’ll be the day that a company tells me I have to take vacation and leave my spouse behind to work.
I am telling all of you current managers again you must unionize and do it soon in order to stop this madness. No wonder the upper management is now being called “Fuhrer” You all must contact the dept. of labor in your local state and start complaining about the working conditions. If you don’t you are asking to be treated this way.
Very eloquently said. I can most definitely relate to your comment.
Folks - MOVE ON!!!!! If you don't enjoy the work, find a new career!! Every company has Pros & Cons, deal with it. I was a GSM for 3 months, I left after the GM program was terminated - it's that simple. Besides some lousy corporate executives, Holiday has a lot of poor mgrs running these communities - it's like a zoo! I believe most of these mgrs were hired because they had a pulse
WOW!!! After 3 months as a GSM you are an expert on community managers. AMAZING!!!!! And you have definitely moved on as you are on this blog.
I'm a community manager who knows what the *ell she is doing, loves her job and am very glad the GM program was terminated.
I deserve to be in charge of my building and not have someone who has never been a community manager over me and my employees. End of Report.
Well said. Right to the point and not afraid of expressing your feelings is a wonderful thing.
Sounds to like Tim gets to spend a little more time with family.
I'm sitting here, having once again read every single comment to date, and it strikes me that perhaps we are looking at this from an improper slant. I went to the company site and looked again at the Executive Team. Maybe we should recognize that we are not being fair enough to the leadership of Holiday.
Forget for a moment that we actually care about elderly people living long term in a purported family apartment situation. Allow your mind frame to instead consider the reality of three hundred apartment buildings sitting out there. Even consider them hotels perhaps. Now imagine that we want to rent out these units on a consistent basis. Looking at the team who has the job of doing this it becomes rather a different picture.
Using the company published blurbs about the executive team allows one to garner a more transparent view of efforts to rent out those units. Immediately it leaps out at you that there is a lot of educated BS involved in this highly plauded team. Several of the team have BAs and CPAs attached. There is a strong sense of "Viva Las Vegas" type magic. Using the skills of techno-nerds and advertising gurus with a strong background in hotels, resorts, and hospices, the collective abilities are strongly poised to take advantage of a marketable potential.
Now remember we are not caring about long term elderly people living here - only about renting units. A minor problem might arise since the potential market focuses on the elderly, but this is easily explained away. Utilizing the expertise of the hotel/resort/ hospice experience all that is necessary is to hype up the same marketing used in these other industries and rewrite it directed toward the elderly. Not hard to do at all. Simply roll out the Vegas concept using the same "we care" wording. Add a few gimmicks to draw in the customers and see whether the crowds come charging in. What a remarkable forward looking concept this is.
As long as you do not factor in a consideration involving elderly people - it has an excellent potential. In fact I have to admit it might even be brilliant. Offer the same outdated idea about having the best interests of the tenant at heart (after all it worked for decades when it was real). Word it correctly, just don't come to believe it yourself. Slide in some glowing tributes about wonderful food at each hotel. Stress how this will ease a lot of financial burdens and worries for family members and package it all together with some resort-leaning vacation jargon - and you have a winner! Perhaps a few words about how well the employees are being treated and the respect given them. Put a shroud of secrecy over the employees and it all comes together in a neat little package.
So, where are the crowds?
"...do not factor in a consideration involving elderly people - it has an excellent potential."
I think you're on to something, DL. It's so simple -- and all in preparation for the "improving economy" we keep hearing about on the news, combined with the moving up of the earliest S.S. eligibility to age 75 or so.
Then we need to do is simply knock out a couple of walls at each community and turn all the facilities into corporate retreat/conference centers. I mean that's where the money is. Right?
Hey, DL, why didn't we think of this before?
I guess it is because we truly care about giving the elderly their money's worth, my friend - or you and I would have thought about it. "Improving economy" - I love that. Improving for who? Certainly not for the middle class.
Very well written DL. And I to am wondering where the crowds are. Sure have not seen them yet.
dl...you have hit the nail on the head. As a current Community Manager of 4+ years, I have lived all of the Jack C.-led Fortress changes made over the past several years. He purposely shifted our focus on move-ins and the budget, with caring for the residents dead last. Furthermore, he has systematically removed EVERYONE that dares challenge his new direction - from the highest levels to the lowest of us. The only difference is that the higher up the food chain, the more they are leaving to "spend more time with their family." Bill Colson's Holiday Retirement is history; dead; no more. The new company with the same name is ONLY interested in numbers, not in people (residents or associates.) To coin a phrase I don't particularly like, "It is what is." The newest proof of this is in their latest promotion, "Freedom Days", where a prospective residents rent is based on the chance of a scratch ticket (good grief), while current residents continue to watch their funds evaporate with never-ending rent increases of 4.5%! It is becoming more and more difficult to give the "Holiday Touch" to our residents when you don't get it from those above you, because you can't give what you ain't got. Jack's idea of the "Touch" is providing our residents with all of the amenities outlined in their Rental Agreement, and pour them a nice cup of coffee. So...where ARE the crowds?
My wife and I have been managing apt’s for the past 15 years, we loved our seniors at our last property so we decided working with seniors was what we wanted do so we looked at Holiday Retirement. We found a blog at glassdoor.com (16 reviews in total) they were pretty much negative, but I just assumed it was a bunch of disgruntled employees, unfortunately I didn’t find your blogs until recently, I don’t know if it would have made a difference, because sometimes you just have to find out for your self. We were misled from the beginning about salaries from the recruiter. We went ahead because we felt this was our niche, after 6 months with Holiday I can honestly say this is the worst company we have ever been affiliated with, absolutely no respect for management or co-management. We have been fortunate to have managers that work hard and believe in the Holiday Touch, but they too are burned out and looking for careers elsewhere.
I need not go into the details because this blog has pretty much summed up what Holiday is about, I wish I could disagree with the many negative opinions expressed here, but the fact are, it’s true, it breaks my heart to fold up and quit, but this is where we are at! We love what we do, we are good managers. I have never expressed negative opinions about a company I have worked for, I’ve always been the company man, but this company needs to be brought down.
Deacon: You have no idea how heartbroken your comment has made me. You come across as a very caring individual with a strong sense of moral conscience. I am so sorry that your experience turned out as it did. If only someone like Jerry F could hire everyone who shows "The Touch" as you obviously do. There are companies out there who operate with the residents in mind. Jerry's company is expanding so rapidly because they operate on the correct premise - Give it your all and do so with respect for your customer in an honest and forthright manner.
My wife and I resigned from Holiday because we saw this coming. We are in our middle sixties and we still strongly care about the elderly. Once again let me state I do not consider the comments on this blog as negatives. Corporations hire companies to find things wrong with the corporations and file the reports of such. For this those companies are paid a tremendous amount of money in order to find problems which need fixing. What everyone, including yourself, is doing allows this industry to obtain a free analysis of such problems. The sad part is that it doesn't appear to be listened to - but it is free for them.
I just finished slightly over a year working for Wal-Mart. In that year I found Wal-Mart willing to be a company working to resolve various issues brought to their attention by employees and customers. I found the CEO Mike Duke to be a "Bill Colson" type of hands-on leader. That business realizes problems surface and strives to correct them. Yes, it has its share of class action suits past and present which often highlights ignored problems, but it tries. I received a "Role Model" employee yearly eval before I left. This means I showed up for work on time and did my job as expected while treating customers and co-workers with a smile and respect - nothing more and nothing less.
I left because I want to do something for the seniors out there. Eventually I will obtain a position where The Touch is still a viable. At my age I can pretty much seek out what I desire instead of working to get by.
Disgruntled employees? I suppose the company applies such a label to anyone who is no longer with them. But the label is worn with honor earned by putting up with the things mentioned by all of us. With the supposed "A-Team" leaders presently running the show it is a glaring omission that none of them have any apparent "senior-citizen-hands-on caring" to offer.
Seniors who pay the bills could care less about the ego of the muckety-mucks upstairs who are supposed to be making the lives easier for the elderly. What the seniors care about are their own fragile lives in their declining situations. Getting old sucks all by itself. It does not need any help from some highly paid egomaniac trying to impress others of the same ilk at their prowess for taking away the things seniors seek.
Who is Jerry F or the company he works with? My wife and I are the managers that that work with streakin deacon and his wife. We started with Holiday in Pensacola moved to another state as co's then to another state as co's. We were then promoted to mgrs when the previous mgrs retired. We came to work specifically for Holiday because of the touch. The RD that hired us was a community mgr for 7 yrs before becoming an RD. We thought we were in an environment that was going to be home for a long time for us. All of the "old staff" is gone and so is the touch. We manage a community that was due for a recore 31/2 yrs ago. The carpet is 12 yrs old. We do not have enough chairs to fully seat in our dining room properly. We have 9 competitor communities that are 5 yrs old or newer or that have been totally refurbished in the last 2 yrs and we are told to keep our census up. The feeling is if you are not at 85% to 90% in census you are not working hard enough or are not marketing enough to fill those empty apartments. Our community is like alot of other communities with resident deaths and moves because of higher level of care situations. Nobody at the Regional or higher level seems to have a clue what that can do to a community and its residents. We started the year in the hole because of deaths and are playing catch up every month. The budget is a joke because it was never realistic to begin with. Bonuses have changed - I wonder why. Yet, Fortress netted 75 million from Holiday this past fiscal year. In spite of all of the bad decisions being made at corporate Holiday is still a money maker for FI. Brookdale lost money for them. It is called take the money and run. I would suspect that Fortress will dump Holiday when the census reaches a certain %. It is sad that good people do all that they can to keep residents happy and content during their waning years and the new regime has no clue how to treat and deal with staff, residents, or future associates and residents because they are more concerned with bottom line profit than living the golden rule .
Jerry F is http://www.rlcommunities.com and is a great individual. "The Touch" is what brought most of us aboard. The replacement of The Touch with a new strictured Indifference is why we left.
I well remember a management meeting in Pensacola while the Blue Angels were putting on a show the day we arrived. Imagine the sudden shock I felt when one second we were driving down a heavily trafficked highway with crowds on both sides, boats covering the water everywhere - and the next second several jet aircraft are coming straight for my windshield! I almost had a heart attack and actually started to whip the car to the side of the road as the sound hit us like incoming rounds. Talk about flashback! No one had mentioned the Blue Angels prior. It is possible we had the same regional.
Someone I know that still works at home office informed me that some many executives have been fired that there is not enough office space for them. The building is being remodeled to make room for all these new chiefs. What about space for the indians you might ask? As it turns out, only a handful of indians remain. In fact, of the 300 people that worked in home office at the time FIG took over, only about 50 remain.
An RD told his managers on one of their conference calls. I don't want to hear about repairs your facility needs, problems with your staff,or trouble a resident might have with paying their rent! All I care about are move in's, that says it all.
Gee was this RD in California by any chance? In the Riverside Area?????
It is a sad commentary in the Midwest region when the Regional was told about one of the manager couples in his region who employ their son as the pm cook and the uncle as the sous chef. The employee handbook states that you are not to be the immediate supervisor to any family members in your community. The worst part is that he was also informed of the pm cook's drug use which is bragged about on youtube. I guess they are hard up for "good" managers. Funny how he ran off several good manager couples but has no problem employing the ones that break not only company policy but also break the law. This pm cook bragged to the young people in the kitchen (servers - dishwashers) which is what alerted the concerned managers of the building he worked in at the time. He was then transferred to another building to work with his parents. That is how they do it in the Midwest Region. I guess FIG is no longer zero tolerance for drugs.
I am proud to be from the midwest and this is not the work ethics from the [eo[le in the midwestre I was so proud to be from and raised in Fire the GET ER DONE HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO______________
What seems to be missing for those that don't get it with comments like "Folks, MOVE ON" is:
We loved our residents...they weren't just tenants occupying a space, they became our family. We saw on a daily basis injustices being done to them and in order to maintain some sanity or order in our communities, (and do our best while trying to keep our jobs)we were forced to keep up the facade so we could continue to care for them. They counted on us. Their families counted on us. Many times our staff were our extended family also and they counted on us. This is not a complaint blog. This is a saddened reality of a once loved career and quality of life for our senior residents being destroyed for the pure sake of greed. Now do you get it????
You know reading all of these over and over, none of us or anyone for that matter can make head nor tales of what point Fortress is trying to make with totally destroying a 6.2 billion dollar investment. Well I guess we have all seen the old movie Wall Street, well I watched it again and decided now I know why they treat all the people including residents with no compassion, interest or concern. Dont forget they are Wall Street......watch the movie again, it speaks for itself.
Remember what I said: people who manage money, cannot and should not, manage people. It's a whole different game, and the players are not interchangeable.
It's so sad. Being sent away from your residents is like having your children taken away from you. I am still grieving the loss.
I TOTALLY AGREE and yes caps is yelling you put it in a nutshel. I see a man at the chiropractor taking timewaiting for the appointment wiping his wifes mouth from drool because she has had a stroke and MY HEART pours out to what a dedicated husband he is and I want to speak with him but I dont feel I should. BUT 2 years ago I could because thats what managers that cared did BUT NOT NOW I miss that old Holiday touch. I really do but from the way things are going I am glad I got out 1 1/2yrs ago. But man I miss the elderly sorry to say their loss but ALSO mine
After reading the post by "anonymous from the midwest" I have to say that I read it several times and still do not understand what they are trying to say. My information was only directed about the current Regional Director in the area, not "all" employees in the midwest. After all I still have many friends in the midwest region. So unless you are the RD in the midwest don't take offense to the info.
NO OOPS I worked in the midwest PROUD TO SAY and what a tight relationship our region had with each other as managers and to let you know I started out as anonomys and now there are 2-3 of us so they are not all of my comments Guess I will change my name tomorrow even though I was the FIRST (maybe) lol
Really I am not a RD wouldnt want it but I truly respected him and got along with ED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!He challenged me and most of the time i Followed through because of his demenor and not pressure
Today I found out, that a resident of a Holiday community was "kicked out" because of health issues. What happend to the Holiday Touch, the Holiday Philosophy and the famous 5 P system??
How is that any different than ensuring that the residents were truly independent and anyone who was either a.) chronically ill who needed skilled nursing services or b.) unable to self transfer or transfer with an aide was not appropriate for a Holiday community? We're going back five years now when we first started and by the time we left, in the last building we managed, at least 75% of the residents should have been in an assisted living or memory care/skilled nursing facility. We were told that we couldn't ask anyone to leave because of the census. So, what's your point?
If you think there has been a lot of changes in Holiday World, just wait and see what this company is like at the end of the next 5 months. Buckle up and hold tightly on the rail in front of you. Woooo Hoooo! It's going to come fast and furious. So much for the promise made at the beginning of the Fortress takeover --- "We won't change a thing; we like the way you've been running Holiday Retirement; we want to keep things the same; we will be hands off" Did I miss any promises?
Have you just discovered this blog? If you know what is going to happen we are all ears (or eyes in this case).
I think I warned you about changes coming... 30 gone at home office; more to come; the 'field' will not be spared either. Telemarketing efforts to expand while the GSM field shrinks (attrition and firings). Don't be surprised if you end up shipping your YGL computers back to the home office for the telemarketers. Oh, by the way, home office may not be Salem. OMG! Did I say that!? P.S. Update those resumes, peeps.
Once again I would like to extend an invitation for any Holiday Retirement spokesperson(s) to join our discussions on this site. We welcome input from the corporate home office which might alleviate concerns regarding the direction and goals of the company.
A most reasonable invitation, DL. But just between us has-beens, I'm not going to hold my breath.
From information gleaned it would appear Holiday claims someone is allegedly "bad mouthing" them by writing a comment (or comments) on an undisclosed purported internet site of some type. Since I would never desire for THIS blog to be affiliated with such a premise I feel the Welcome Mat should constantly be offered to any official person at Holiday to join in the discussions. So far it would appear that the blog is beneath the dignity of company leaders to respond to in any way on site. It also appears, from several sources, that the company attempts to dissuade anyone from speaking anywhere about the company in less than a strictured positive manner. This dissuasion allegedly takes the various perspectives of apparent attempted retaliatory measures.
By our repeated offerings/requests for company involvement one must logically construe that the betterment of the company is at the heart of discussions by concerned individuals. Refusal of, and by, the company to involve themselves in said discussions could therefore put forth the potential opinion(s) that the company is taking a "don't care policy" insofar as residents, employees, and profitable futures of the company. Since this also makes absolutely no sense I find it difficult to understand the hesitancy to enlighten us regarding any "positives" of the company, especially when desired by such an attentive audience.
As long as the discussion is a viable there will be a continued effort to attract the spokesperson for the company to join us in a postive exchange. Why? Because, as mentioned many times, all of us care - we have the passion - and The Touch!
That spokesperson would be Kelly Gassman...but she is simply a mouthpiece for Jack and Stan. She is of little utilization.
Let Fortress know about the problem. Mr Muddy and Wes Eaden don't know about what stan and jack are doing to people
We are concerned about the newly month long training new managers and co managers are receiving and wonder if they are trained well enough to take over a community with 120 units or so? Do they need more help or is the new training good enough to qualify them for the positions they are doing? I hope the residents are safe and well taken care of in these buildings.
I have met several managers from the new month long training + two weeks in a community. They are being trained for sales. They are very well trained on the computer, but I wonder if the reality of medically fragile residents and the long hours will make them wonder if it is a bait and switch.
We have seen no training concentrate on HR matters, office/safety compliance, or any other operational matters. They concentrate on move-ins and rent increases (how to justify it), but nothing on resident retention. The holiday touch is given lip service only. The newbies think they are better trained than all the "old" managers and cos. The teaching supports that attitude.
Being a immersion community. I can tell you the two weeks trainees are here we focus on all aspects of the job. One of the first things we ask is what is your definition of the Holiday Touch? Most have a very limited definition of the touch, so we spend a little time explaining what we think it is. You can almost see the light bulb go off in their heads.
We spend some time discussing what to do if someone finds a body in the community. This is not mentioned in their training.
What "On call" means if you plan to have kids or want to have Grandkids over for the night.
I try and go over many possible scenarios of problems both with the building and with the residents. Residents arguing in the dining room, trying to grab food from the carts. Broken water pipes in the middle of the night, elevator breaks down right before or during a meal, eviction process etc...
The trainees we have had thus far have done most of the reports in the classroom training an can handle the bookkeeping part.
We have them work a special event and set in on planning meetings. They also do YGL cookie drops and community visits. We go over contracts so they know what is in them.
I set up e-calls with the residents since we have a low maintenance population as far as that goes.
I try and give well rounded training for the short time they are here. Of course we cannot cover everything but at least they will not be entirely lost when the go to their community.
Oh! and there is no extra compensation to managers for being an immersion community.
I have heard recently that any manager/co that was employed before the FIG takeover will no longer be employed with Holiday. This seems to be a pattern with all corporations. So much for moving the retirement age to 70 ???
Send all these email to the ceo of Fortress. They think Stan and Jack are doing a great job and everyone loves them.
What is the email of the ceo of fortress? They probably won't believe what they hear anyway.
I am struck by some numbers which, in my admitted ignorance, confuse me. FIG stock opened in February of 2007 and had a high on 2/9/07 of $37.00 per share. Today (8/2/2010) it is $3.86 per share. It has fallen as low as $0.77 per share. Are investors holding on to the stock in hopes that somewhere in a galaxy far far away it will ever get them their initial investment money back? Sources have it that Holiday had to recently borrow quite a few million from Fortress for operating expenses. What is going on with these people?
The originators of the investment group took out their monies right away in '07. Now I believe in long term invesments and you expect the stocks to fluctuate as the market changes. What is confusing me is where do you find the number of "believers" who have so much money to throw away that they will put it into Fortress - or left it there for so long when the spiral has been a primarily continuous down?
Again admitting my ignorance I am asking all of you to explain it to me. Thanks.
Don't look for an upward bump for a while, DL. As major investor, Fortress took a gigantic hit when the sub-prime derivative bombs started dropping.
Public perception of FIG was not enhanced by well-publicized and most untimely association with former Breck-girl, presidential candidate and penultimate philanderer John Edwards.
I think they are really holding out to go public sometime in the future. With the big push for move ins they probably feel that when they hit something around 90% or above they will do an IPO and bail. They've been really pushing for about 6 months now with several "big announcements", does anyone know what the overall census is running? Have all of the move ins really moved the census bar?
Rumor has it that FIG wants to offer IPO by the end of the year (2010). That is ambitious. FIG has allowed census to crash by failing to make the resident retention a priority. In other words, practicing the Holiday Touch. Happy residents tend to stay residents until their circumstances necessitates a change. Happy residents equates to positive growth. It is too bad that the geniuses in Salem have not figured that out. Instead, they are still chasing numbers. And they want to restore those numbers to 2007 levels? That is very ambitious, but it is also unrealistic with the current leadership. How can they run a company when they don't even know what industry they are in?
My wife and I have endured the K-Mart regime, and are now living in the Motel 6 business model complete with a few game shows thrown in for good measure. I have a novel idea: let's offer a quality product and service at a fair and reasonable price. We could call it ... Gracious Retirement Living. We could even incorporate some honesty and ethics into the business. Na, it would never be successful.
Based on numbers I have seen census is in the 70% range.There are several floaters in Mike Pugh east coast region. I should say his old region.He did believe in having floaters. He knew it was going to be hard to get/keep managers.Most of the floaters are really part time co's.
Holidays @ Holiday
Still trying to figure out how that works, they promise most Holidays off even birthdays, but do not offer floaters, the way it works is if you take a Holiday your mgr or co works for you then they take off and you work for them, somehow the math just don't add up.I wonder if Labor & Industries has a better calculator?
Will be leaving this week, I'm going to miss my residents.
I hate to see you leave and never have the opportunity to figure out how to take off a holiday with Holiday. Say your "normal" days off are Sunday & Monday and the holiday falls on a Monday. One plan would be take Sun,Mon & Tue off and then the other couple would take off the following Thur,Fri & Sat. This way each couple only works max 4 hrs "extra" but you all get to enjoy a 3 day break. You must remember it all must occur in the same pay period. As for birthdays only one individual gets the day off unless you and your spouse were both born on the same day. Nobody "works for YOU" when you take off they continue to work for Holiday. On their birthday they can take off because you will be working for Holiday. I'm sorry if your limited experience with Holiday had you in a management team that couldn't even figure this out. You guys must have been really challenged with the BIG issues. Good luck on your new path.
I know we could have taken a holiday day but what is the point, if you have to work another day for someone else, you still don't get an extra day off or compensated for it. You are just trading days.
I agree. Yes we did as anonymous suggested, but if you are working a day for the other team it is an 12+ hour day so you basically trading time off. I suppose you could argue that you are 4 hours ahead, but after working 3 12+ days the holiday was not worth it to us. The only way I found to get a holiday was plan a vacation with the holiday in the time frame. I want to say that during our 9 year tenure we nearly always had floaters for vacations, but not for holidays. A god working relationship between managers and cos in scheduling and having floaters available makes a big difference. We have been away for over a year now so I do not know if Salem no longer allows floaters or us old timers do not want to float under the current management. It used to be that it was up to the RD if he wanted floaters. Most did, some did not. For the last five years our RD was truly concerned about his managers so we were lucky.
We still have floaters but there is certainly a shortage of them and most would never work again as managers of a community because of the new regime and you will never get them for holidays. We have had many three-day weekends but it is just swapping days within the management team, you don’t need a holiday to do that. The paid holidays are a joke with this company. On any given yearly calendar there are approx., 60 noted days and holidays, with Holiday Retirement’s program of paid holidays they could offer all of them and never lose a day. What a recruitment program “60 paid holidays and vacations”. Annon., we all deal with the BIG issues, holidays it is just part of the wrongs being done to employees by this company, that is my rant for the day.
If you want to hold the employer to the "old" guidelines then you also have to be willing to abide by them. There is no way within the guidelines for managing a community that would provide you with many 3 day weekends. What I believe you are doing is working "extra" hours when you "swap" with the other couple and then taking comp time for the hours you worked for them. Although common practice this has never been one of the goals of a cooperative management team. When you shift your schedule around for your benefit you are shortchanging the very residents you want to provide for by eliminating the 2nd couple on the property. When Holiday attempted to do just that many CMTs that practiced this swapping schedule were the loudest voices of opposition. I believe they said if the employer wanted them to work that much without a backup couple it would put the residents at risk. That does not seem to be an issue when you are working out a "Plan B" to get those 3 day weekends. As I heard so many times when I was employed by Holiday "You know, you got to do what you got to do". Back in the "old book" it said something like If you change the program to benefit yourself instead of the residents - - you probably need to rethink your changes. If you took your "3 day weekends" when holidays came around you would actually be paying yourself the extra day off from budgeted benefit $$$, as it is charged, not manipulating budgeted labor $$$. I wonder when all of that was dropped from the training of new mgt team members. Oh well, with the emphasis on CENSUS it probably isn't very important anyway.
I must take exception to a couple of your statements. The 12 hours per week crossover time for managers and cos.was primarily for training. When else can managers train the cos? The important thing is that the building be covered by a set of managers and I fail to see where altering the schedule shortchanges the residents. In fact, if it helps prevent burnout it actually helps the resident because the managers on duty or more rested and alert to their needs. Certainly you have to take in consideration the experience of the cos. in scheduling. Judging from some of the tings I am reading it is a good thing we retired when we did. I wonder which anonymous I am replying to. One I almost always agree with. The other I wonder. Will the real anonymous please step forward.
Here is the latest of the reports needed done. Now we need to make change in the dining area for taxes on meals.
Below is the general procedure that the Community Managers will need to implement to collect such taxes.
Step 1: Print Guest Rent and Meals Invoice from the Community Portal under Holiday Departments > Accounts Receivable > Tax Info - US. Input Community information and guest rent and meal information (including name and dates of stay).
Step 2: Calculate guest rent and meals based on # of nights stay. Please note: breakfast is included.
Step 3: To calculate the taxes for guest rent and meals, obtain the tax rates from the excel spreadsheet on the Community Portal under Holiday Departments > Accounts Receivable > Tax Info - US. (Note: tax rates may be different for guest rent and meals.)
Step 4: Sign and date the invoice and obtain guest resident’s signature.
Step 5: Retain the original invoice for your records and give a copy to the resident.
Step 6: Collect balance due from guest resident and record deposit in Deposit Journal under “Guest Rent” and “Guest Meal.”
Please communicate the above to your respective Community Managers and forward the attached documents: memo, invoice, instruction sheet, and the sales and use tax rates, which are found on the Portal.
If you have any questions as to the process, please contact the Accounts Receivable Department. Thank you.
This from Jack Callison today...
July - Yet Another Shattered Record! Congratulations team! Despite the fact that we set a new 40-year record for the most gross and net move-ins last month, we set our goals even higher in July and did it again! We closed 1,275 gross move-ins and 313 net move-ins during the month of July - both new company records! Looking forward, what excites me even more is our company's much improved focus on generating new quality leads - especially with resident referrals and wartime veterans in the U.S. In fact, I'd like to publicly recognize the following communities as they created the highest number of new leads during the month of July: Windlands South Nashville, TN 226
Augustine Landing Jacksonville, FL 219
Highland Estates Cedar Park, TX 149
Copperfield Estates Houston, TX 146
Cedar Ridge Burlington, NC 144
Highest # of Resident Referrals Leads: Englewood Estates Austin, TX 32
Madison Meadows Phoenix, AZ 31
Oakmont Chico, CA 30
Montara Meadows Las Vegas, NV 22
Jackson Meadow Jackson, TN 19
These communities are working smarter, not harder, to ensure they have a well thought plan to get their communities to 100% occupancy. Well done teams! I also want to recognize that two of our districts set gross move-in records with the West District moving in 291 residents and the South District moving in 329. Two Regions in the West also set gross move-in records; the Oregon Region had 55 seniors join the Holiday family and the Washington Region had 58 join us! I also wanted to recognize the phenomenal effort of Mike Bardelmeier and his team in setting a net move-in record and adding 46 new seniors to their communities. The following communities recorded the highest number of gross move-ins during July:
Edgewood Downs Beaverton, OR 14
Park Plaza Walla Walla, WA 14
Summerfield Estates Shreveport, LA 12
Madison Sun City West, AZ 11
Atrium at Gainesville Gainesville, FL 11
South Wind Heights Jonesboro, AR 11
Copperfield Estates Houston, TX 10
Yosemite Gardens Clovis, CA 10
Isles of Vero Beach Vero Beach, FL 10
Fairwinds Lodge Sarnia, ON 9
Windlands South Nashville, TN 9
Golden Oaks Yucaipa, CA 9
Garden Village Kansas City, MO 9
Let's also celebrate with the following communities who had the highest number of net move-ins this month: Edgewood Downs Beaverton, OR 12
Park Plaza Walla Walla, WA 8
Summerfield Estates Shreveport, LA 8
Copperfield Estates Houston, TX 8
Yosemite Gardens Clovis, CA 7
Fairwinds Lodge Sarnia, ON 7
Windlands South Nashville, TN 7
Las Palmas Palm Coast FL 7
Palms La Mirada, CA 7
Fleming Point Greece, NY 7
Sugar Valley Estates Loveland, CO 7
Paradise Springs Spring, TX 7
Thank you for your continued intensity and focus on both lead generation and conversion activities. We are sharing the Holiday Touch with a record number of seniors each month!
How many move outs did each of these communities have? They don't tell that information do they?
According to these numbers reported by Jack Callison, Holiday had a total of 962 move-outs in July 2010. Therefore among the 290 communities, the company average in July was 3.3 move-outs per community, which has been and always will be the norm for Holiday.
Whatever the move-in numbers may be, financially things cannot be any better with all the “give-away” they do such as 3 months free rent, no community fee and then the rents based on what type of apartment, hell you might as well stand on the corner and yell come on in and live with us for free.
I know of plenty of people who are homeless in this country. May Holiday should make them an offer as well. Living at any of the communities can not be any different with the kind of care they get.
Clearly this was written by an executive in an attempt to manage the company's reputation. Don't believe the lies.
"8/6/2010 1:21 AM xxxxxxx wrote:
Clearly this was written by an executive in an attempt to manage the company's reputation. Don't believe the lies."
As a manager of one of the communities listed above, I can tell you the numbers are spot on correct. The individual above, claiming lies is as ignorant as my shoe. Our census, since March, is very much in the positive.
Oh...and the Holiday Touch is still very much alive, at least in our region.
I don't question the numbers, I question what was given up to achieve the numbers. I'm also glad to see the Holiday Touch is still very much alive in your region, however, it because of you and your management teams. The tragedy is you will be a dinosaur soon because the telemarketing managers are coming.
We heard over 60 are being hired.
MANAGER - thank you thank you thank you for being a voice of honesty....apparently there are still a few of us who have positive attitudes and who go out and try to make a difference in peoples lives - the fact is, the numbers in Jack's letter are all TRUE....and that means that thousands of seniors will now have friends and proper meals...what a great thing! But all the angry people out there who were rooting for failure are forced to call it LIES...how sad for them...
I hate to get between you and the position you are aiming for with JACK but the TRUTH is 1275 honest to goodness, no boast no brag, verified move ins will just not produce "thousands of seniors" living the touch. You can be positive if you need to be (we all need our jobs) just try to keep it somewhat in the realm of possibility. I don't know, maybe I misunderstood. Were you counting all the "thousands" from the past 12 months? Even then it would be a stretch. Good job, keep up the good work.
Well this is just great. Boy what does this say about the Eastern Region. The Ronnie Moye and Mike Pugh area!!! Dont see much success there. Does that say say something about their passion, techniques and the old Holiday Touch. Its effident......there isnt any!!!! This is not speaking of necessairly the management involved, but their leadership. After all it all runs down hill doesnt it?
I may not understand your comment. Why would anyone look for the old Holiday Touch in the regions of Mike Pugh and Ronnie Moye? One comes from the retail world and the other from an old competitor in Jack's old world of prior success. The entire Regional and District leadership (and everyone above them)has come on board since 2008. That was about the time Fortress started looking for a better return on their earlier investment. Holiday had bought so much time promising the world to the residents they probably thought they could get by with the same technique with Fortress. Out with the old in with the new, and good job team. The mention elsewhere of the telemarketers is interesting. As they promised they will bring change to "THE INDUSTRY".
Oh No, I realize they havent been here long, as we were with the company 8 years, but they claim to, or should I say Jack says they still represent "The Touch" and for the figures shown above that is where my comment stemmed from. It is just that we were a district that was running in the 90% area before Fortress took over, it is now in the 60's% I believe. Our region 4 years ago was totally 100% except for two buildings. That is when "The Touch" was our motto and was delivered as such! With all they have tried and failed and with all of the terminations of the old Holiday group of the last 10 years or so, even though not perfect, will prove itself to have to turn full circle to come back to the success of our buildings. It is the residents and the management staff putting the residents first and their needs. Along with that, the staff memebers from the housekeepers to the kitchen help to the residents. It took us all to run a good ship and we became a unified family. Those days are gone, but that is where the success lies. That is what I was relating to.
I understand the comment now. Yes they do say they represent the touch but as we all know they talk the talk but they sure don't walk the walk. The explanation they have comforted themselves with is that the "old" 100% days were just easier than now. No matter what the economy is doing 98% to 100% occupancy on month to month rental agreements has always been a challenge. The reason for the success back then is just as you describe. I don't know if any of us will live long enough to see it go "full circle". The real shame is that we KNOW some of the residents won't live long enough to see it again.
What about the Great Lakes region, That region is sure in termoil at this time. Managers who do anything they want. Harrasment of resident and a regional that knows nothing about running a facility. Let me just say that this does'nt enclude all managers and co's
THey are singularly focused on marketing. Of course it is important, but without working knowledge of all they are asking of teams that just don't work together let alone what it takes to do special events, deal with high maintenance residents and/or families. Can think of managers in that region that are the cause of much of the chaos in their buildings. Why regionals allow it to go on is more than curious. I guess they just need warm bodies. Are any cos or mgrs. in the popeline at all?
My wife and I have been with Holiday for just over 6 months and I can't help but to scratch my head and wonder who these people are. In my past work life I worked for companies that had people in upper level management that had many years experience before they could hold those positions. In retail they call them DM's which is the same as RD's, the DM's I worked for had already walked in my shoes and experienced what I am going through. These RD's are clueless and as far as I'm concerned have not earned any respect from anyone in the District. They need to get in a building for a period for not less then 5 months and live the Managers schedule and then, maybe, they will have earned the right to tell about what kind of job we are doing or not doing. They only march to the same drum beat move-in's not Holiday Touch. They come into buildings a don't even hardly talk to any residents or even try to spend any time with them, but they preach PDR house warming parties, and getting the residents excited about the referral bonus. What do they know. This kind of attitude will back fire on them. These RD's need to understand that they need to earn respect, but because they have never experienced what we experience everyday, this will be near impossible.
We enjoyed great co's who truly cared about us,performed above and beyond, made everything fun, gave special bon mots at meals, really , really cared for the residents...... so FIG gives us Wardens, who came here to make Changes all negative to seniors,we don't need changes!!! We are now Inmates and the new mgrs are our Wardens. is this gracious holiday retirement??? NOT!!!
Does anybody remember last week or the week before was resdient appreciation week?? I remember it very well and I am sure most of the residents in my building do as well.
What appreciation they were shown will notices for rent increases ALL WEEK! How the hell is that appreciation and what jerk decided that was the right week to hand those out!
I know what you mean, we gave them a card, 2 hersheys kisses and a 85.00 to 150.00 rent increase. Just another example of the Holiday Shaft.
We've been watching this site for over a year. After all that we have read, we chose not let it influence our decision to join Holiday.
Now, after more than a year as co's, I will (and have) discourage others from becoming involved with such a dysfunctional organization as Holiday/FIG. There's no sense in making others miserable, is there?
On this site there has been much shedding of tears, expressions of frustration and extreme anger towards the company leadership. Much of it, in my opinion, is justified. My wife and I have experienced the same frustrations and angst that all of you have.
What irks me most is how phony the leadership are. They talk the talk, but the walk isn't there. Granted, it is a for profit company but, giving lip service to the "touch" and then behaving like it doesn't exist does not say much for their integrity.
Unfortunately, it won't change and it will probably get worse. In their frantic haste for move ins, they will continue to overlook and/or disregard the positive attributes that made Holiday a great experience for everyone, residents included.
I am so sorry your experence turned out the way it did. I truly am - I wish it had been so different.
We received an email from the RD in our region, wanting an explanation for the discrepancies between notices of move outs verses actual move outs and basically why wasn’t rent collected for those who did not give proper notice. He did admit death was probably a good reason, but other than death, why? Well let’s have a look and see. I think most of us have kept residents way past the time when they should have been in a higher level of care, because we care and partly those census numbers are in the back of our head, when they start using the paper recycling for a toilet, or people call in the middle of the night to let you know you have a resident wandering the streets lost. or they no longer remember how to find the dining room or where they live or what their keys are for and we finally call the family for the fifth time to let them know this has become a major safety issue and they decide NOW it the time to move them out. Those money hungry B*****DS should be praising you for the months of rent you have put in their coffer the nights spent taking care of these needy residents that should be in a higher level of care. I would bet we don’t have many that move until they absolutely have too and that means NOW. And they want us to reach in their dying pockets for another month of rent.
Yep, and that's what they call the Holiday Touch under FIG.
Friends,
After leaving Holiday, I finally am feeling a bit more rested after sleeping for days and days, The aches and pains from long hours are easing up a bit, in time to start a new job, one I'm grateful to get at my age. I will never forget my residents or the people I worked with. They were all wonderful. The residents are not stupid and the employees aren't either. They are all pretty frustrated by the mishandling of Corporates upper management. Really? Rent increases during resident appreciation week? That was caring. Our RD had no soul. I never heard him say one positive word...ever. He insulted people he should have been praising. After the old building we helped manage had been scrubbed top to bottom, the show suites cleaned and dressed and staff labored to make the old gal clean, were rewarded with insults. When will Corp Heads get it? Old properties need to be rehabbed every so often and you can't make them look good without a budget for paint, carpet and more updated art and furnishings. They can't make a silk purse out of a sows' ear. Everything there is ancient. A lifetime achievement award for friendliest community, nominated for by the citizens of the city and presented in a prestigious ceremony by the Mayor himself was unceremoniously ripped off the wall and broken in a childish display of anger by our very inconsiderate and disrespectful RD who wanted to know what we had accomplished lately? We were all startled, offended and confused. It definitely damaged morale, since there is no reasoning with such an individual. Who hired him, anyway? He's so obviously incapable of leading and inspiring...Oh, I forgot! It's Holiday I'm talking about.
I regret that there are still those good and qualified managers and co's left behind due to a terrible economy, hoping and pleading for a positive change and that someone will step in to make it better. Fortress isn't listening. Holiday Corporate Officers are not listening. They don't care. It shows in every conversation they have, every time wasting conference call and every visit. The pacific N.W. is in huge trouble with the kind of people in charge.
I am looking forward to a better future with regular hours, nice employers, days off and actual paid Holidays off. And a life again.
I think I'll write a book. Good luck to all who understand and are left in the all important field positions. Without you, they couldn't do business. You are the bread and butter! To any Home Office folks who wander in here...Do you believe in Karma? What goes around comes around? Reaping and Sowing? Checks and Balances? How you treated my husband and I, as well as everyone else, will bite you eventually. Hope you learn a lesson while you lick your self inflicted wounds. My mother taught me the Platinum Rule: Treat others BETTER than you would like to be treated and it will come back to you times 10.
Another one bites the dust. Do you think Harvest/Holiday will ever have a clue about the "backbone" of their business? Without the dedicated CMTs working to the best of their abilities in spite of the "leadership" they have had shoved down their throats the company would be nothing. It wasn't just the census that made Holiday Retirement the leader in providing housing for our elders it was the vision of a complete team, top to bottom, committed to service. The present leadership/investors will never recreate the old Holiday success story and if the stories on this blog are factual they will never achieve success with their "vision" either. You know timing was bad, get over it. These guys were handed a money making business that was doing sooooooo well they never even looked at the communities before the sale. If they just would have understood, don't fix it if it ain't broke. All the new talent they brought onboard with all the new ideas and now they congratulate each other for reaching 75% occupancy goals. Oh they days of 100% occupied, 100% of the time. Maybe if they didn't waste their efforts trying to find someone to coordinate the GSM/GM Project (another shortsighted band aid) they could identify some people that could help them with a real problem, the Manager/Co-Manager Project that they gave up on. Thinking back there was someone in Human Capital that sure had a handle on that challenge. Nice pick Bossman. I would guess company wide they are going to miss out on a lot more revenue and take on a lot more expense just trying to keep this ship afloat so they can cash out. I think they might think they are "too big to fail" (maybe that's the Wall Street connection). If the investor sells then whoever buys will surely need upper and middle management people. I'm not sure but I bet the next buyer would visit the communities, talk to the residents and staff, evaluate the potential and get rid of everyone with a laptop and a company cell phone. Wish you well in your new life, these people don't deserve the employees they show so little respect for.
DL you don’t need to protect my identity as I am no longer with Holiday.
Recently we had a nation wide contest “Free Rent for Life”, one of the residents from my community won, she is a wonderful woman and deserving and I will truly miss her.
The interesting thing was the free rent for life was charged to our personal budget, now we have to make cuts in other areas. We brought this up to Guner Christensen when he came to our community, he said he would check into it but nothing was done.
I sure hope no one wins anything in your community, because you will get the Holiday Touch.
OH MY GOD! Are you serious.. Like our budget wasn't screwed up before. I doubt we will ever get that re-core now.
Re-core, are you kidding, ours was to be done years ago, promised year after year. I suspect they will torment to get the census up and sell, nothing will be done.
Our district says by profession he was brought in as a "converter". The definition of a converter is to convert a property to profitability for sell.
The way I see it, this was a corporate level marketing program that benefited all communities and should never be charged against any one community's budget.
Too bad Don Harris is not still overseeing things in that department.
There was no question that this was a corporate level marketing program to benefit all communities.
From the time the winner was chosen to the time of the awards ceremony was about a week. We were promised help to pull it together. We worked endless hours preparing, the RD shows up the day before does not compliment the work that was done, just says to re shampoo the carpet that was done 2 days before. Did they offer to help!!! No, the management team shampooed the carpet until midnight. They brought in the corporate office girls, they do have a mgmt., title but it is not worth mentioning as they serve no purpose other than criticizing and running a few errands. We rented linens, notified media, they did do most of that, I wonder why? Our Activities Director made center pieces for every table, we ordered banners, brochures, and all the other things needed to pull off this big marketing event, oh excuse me!! “awards ceremony”. Our community paid for it. I was actually surprised we didn’t have to pay the airlines to fly in Fuhrer Jack and rest of the Schutzstaffel.
FaeryMom, tcb, imdone, nonameforme:
Somewhere way down deep inside me there has developed a hard core of anger at the blatant disregard and indifference for the residents and workers which has resulted in the continuation of this blog. Somehow I had tucked away a tendril of hope that Jack Callison would eventually come to realize people skills are a strong part of the company process. Apparently I was chasing butterflies without a net.
FaeryMom and imdone - your words really hit home to my wife and me! Even now, after all this time, we still feel the pull of The Touch. I grew up back when "Made In America" stamped on something I made created a feeling of pride in a job well done. If I put my name on it then it was built with every bit of skill and pride I had. It was the way you did it. Those days are gone.
What appears to be at the forefront in today's corporate thinking is the oriental concept of belittling the worker and embarrassing them in front of others. This is often called The Feudal Lord Doctrine. Unfortunately it has gained favor here in the states and at a most embarrassing cost in productivity.
Can Holiday/Fortress be turned around? You better believe it can. Will it be turned around? Not a snowball's chance in Hell! For some reason it appears a determined certainty to move numbers around as required in order to show whatever results are desired. This is the way business moves now. But you know what? Just as Target is chomping at the heels of Wal-Mart with ever larger gains, so also are other companies working eagerly to take over what this company is driving away. Why is it so many people will suffer because of the authority of so few?
To all of you who continue to practice The Touch - Well Done - no matter whether it is still with the company or with someone else - it makes a difference.
DL - you are an angry, racist little man. You should stick to what you know (being angry and racist) - you sound foolish when you talk about stocks, bonds, companies - anything business related - ha! great insights on fig stock price - even better insights on relative value of target and walmart - you are pretty good at this stuff - are you day trading in your underwear and complaining to your wife about how you are so misunderstood? You are pathetic.
Is this supposed to upset me for some reason? And your point is?
I did not understand the point of anonymous’ statements either, other than to attack, I have noticed by other post he has made that his opinion of most of us is we are angry little people that are wrong and many of us are liars. He holds himself up as the all knowing, Mr. Holiday with the Touch. The only person praised as being honest was another that said the Holiday Touch is alive in their region, I sure hope so, it was alive in our region also, but is was only because of the CMT’s. If we treated our residents the way corporate treated us, they would be out of business in a month. What a concept of management.
DL, I personally want to thank you, thank you, thank you, because you do speak the truth on this blog as I believe most do because I have personally witnessed many of the injustices myself. I’m sure some out anger or ignorance speak things that are incorrect, but there is way too much smoke here for there not to be a blazing inferno in this company.
Charles open your eyes, his point is, that he is only half as smart as you, if even that. At least you know how to trade in your underware and you know what you are talking about. hahahaha
LOL - trade it in? Uh, that's how I got it in the first place. But I'm not just a day trader - at my age sometimes I will have to trade in my underwear at night too. We better not go there, though.
I'm laughing out loud here, people - tears in my eyes. This could get hilariously way out of hand quickly!
Big Guy - you got me - but good! I can't quit laughing. Maybe I'm having a senior moment or something.
WOW! Somebody needs a hug,but the attitude probably causes people to keep their distance. First the Jesus card and now the race card. I guess the problem is you cannot attack DL with facts.
OMG is Jack using my anonomous name I am the only ANONYMOUS if he has read what he comments on he would use his own name RESEARCH IT JACK and I am a angry woman
I have to say that I have very little faith in Holiday after only 3 weeks. I was in training in co. It is a buisness and thats all it is. It also makes a lot of money and that is what we are taught in class. How to make even more money. I came here hoping to fit in. I was promised a job for me and my wife and was told to sell everything by my recruiter and come to training. we did that, listened, did our role playing and after 3 weeks we were told to go home by the trainer. We were not good enough even though we were learning. One woman refused to role play and walked out. She never got fired. The attitude of the trainer to us was like pack your things get out you can not sell holiday. Now we are sitting home in an empty house, no car everything has been sold. We have nothing. My only gripe though is this training or is this revenge. I am sitting here wondering what we did and All I can come up with is nothing. We just were not liked by the trainer and home we go. You get to a certain age where you want to help others. Thats how we both felt. Instead we got helped right out the door. This is not about the retired residents. It is about the money. How well you can sell the holiday touch. If you can't then home you go. I have talked to managers and they told us to ignor the rd when they pressure you about selling just do what you can and think about the residents. Thats what matters. Yet, I do not think that Jack or any of the corporate big wigs truly care about the people. They care about the mighty dollar. The big picture is how much money your community can make. Not that your giving a home to one in need. With that said Holiday will never make it going that route. We all suffer here and now I have to figure out what I can do to recover because I was sold a bill of goods by the recruiter and now I am left holding the bag. If you chose to help others please do not do it here. It will not work. You need to make Holiday rich, that is the Holiday Touch. I can not even get a call back to explain what happened with us. No one cares sort of the Holiday way. This is disturbing that a company of this size can tell you to give up everything, then throw you out the door. Be careful, very careful. You may end up as we are, broke, with nothing to show for it
I am so sorry to hear of your experience. Anyone who reads your story can't help but start to wonder why those of us still in the trenches continue to help Holiday. Those of us still working for them enable them to continue to treat people with no respect. If we all gave our notice and told them to shove this new lifestyle they are pushing perhaps we could make an impact. Wouldn't that be something to have 1200 managers or so give their notice at the same time. I wish you and your wife a new brighter life, without the stress and belittlement that the rest of us endure daily.
Thanks, in all reallity the more I have read I feel I should have known better to protect myself and my wife. Still sitting hear wondering what the hell to do. We are pretty well stuck here. The next move seems lost in all this and we can not even get call backs from any one regarding the pay they owe us. It seems like they want you, then they dump you with out second thoughts. We were flown to NY had 3 days to decide to join and go to CO. Sold all we had because we were told we will not be back. Now I am trying real hard after 4 days to adjust after being in CO for 3 weeks and come to some realization as to what we did wrong. It truly makes no sense at all and Being a Sr project Manager for 30 years I never once lost a job. My wife either. I am shocked to find a company this large would make you jump through hoops for them then leave you out to dry. It's scarey for me and I have never been here. I followed a dream to give up all we own to be a part of this Holiday Touch. Now this dream has turned into a night mare. Thanks for the kind word's. It is just sad that no one from Holiday has contacted us. No one really cares I guess.
What was the name of the recruiter who told you to sell everything? This sounds like a lawyer should hear this
Danyel and RD Steven Muiller. I am not affraid at this point to drop names. The recruiting process is a scam and way out there. The regions were New England and New York, Pa, Va, all East Coast. We even moved our daughter up to RI so we could be close to her and mickey our grandchild. Now we have no money to move them back. This is the craziest company I have ever seen. They ask you to give up everything for them, then take everything a way from you. I have written everyone and called. No one e-mails me back and even Byron, one of the head legal guys refuses to even acknowledge me and I met him in person in CO. I can not even get any straight answers to why we were let go. The only thing I can see is that linda Deland did not like me, personnaly. I past all tests givin us. We studied hard and worked hard because this is something we wanted to do. I might have not been the best role player but who is infront of your class mates. It is not a real sittuation. It is role play. We were told by our recruiter and RD that this was a sure job. You would not be tested or fired during training because it was just that, training. Your there to learn. I still for the life of me can not figure this out. I am sitting on a floor in my house wondering where this all went wrong.I was suppose to graduate this Friday and move to up State New York to start our job. This is really crazy.My wife and I have never been fired anywhere. What a bind this company has left us in. I went there believing in the Holiday Touch, now I am seeing that the Holiday Touch, Touched us in a way I do not wish on any one. We were sold down the river with no paddle and a future not looking so bright. I do not know what to do, I am still in shock. There has to be some answer. I just can not find it!
Danyel was the recruiter for the North East and RD was Steven Muiller. Both told us we had to sell eveything because we would not be going back. After our graduation we would be moving to our new community up North. Somewhere in up State Ny. We believed them so much we already moved our daughter and grandson up there so we could be close to them. This is real crazy. We were told it was a trainig exercise in CO and from there you would go to your community. It was a learning experience and you were there to learn their ways and once hired and background check done which it was you could and would not be let go during this training so sell everything. This was the exact words. Now we have nothing and got to find a way to get our daughter home and grandson.
I GUESS THE ADVICE WE HAVE IS:
DON'T WORK FOR HOLIDAY RETIREMENT ( fortress investment)...The Manager and Co-Manager job SUCKS. You have no life.
Work 70-90 a week...A co-manager only has 3 evenings off a week (the other 4 you are on call ) and the managers only have 4 nights off per week.
You can't plan a weekend away or a long holiday weekend.
BOTTOM LINE : The job is not ment for many people.
anonymous change your name because I was the first anonymous hers get LOST I am apauled at your ignorance get a life and your own name Where did you get it DL was racist? Or you just name calling give us facts anyone can trade in their underwear cant you must be a suit start your own blog if you know how
Interesting investment article about Holiday:
http://www.levinassociates.com/1005scihead
DL - congratulations are in order! I see you finally got Jack Callison to post on the blog. Just because he called you a "angry, racist little man" - at least he finally responded to your multiple requests for a comment. Congratulations from all of us current CMT's! LOL
Now that truly was funny! Thanks
You're Welcome!
Good one Jack!!!
Tonight one of my wonderful 90 year old residents called me just to let me know how much we are missed, it broke my heart as I cried with her and told her how much I missed her also. I know she is in good hands with the current management, as they know what the Holiday Touch is. It just breaks my heart to leave these people. Unlike you DL I want to see this company destroyed, they do not deserve these people, Or the CMT’s, I’m not angry, I want justice for them. That is my mission. Dateline is already interested.
T & D?
imdone,
Keep us informed in regards to Dateline. I'm sure there's an endless supply of those who could verify and corroborate what you are telling them.
The truth needs to be told and justice must be served.
imdone,
Good for you! I was thinking, just as I'm sure everyone else has before, of contacting Dateline. I'm glad to see that someone has made THE move. You are offically my new hero! I was done, so to speak, when our RD sent out an email that stated in the text, It doesn’t matter what industry you are in “Sales” forgives all sins. I don't know about everyone else but I'm not looking for forginess of my sins......I took care of that a long time ago. When I came on board with Holiday, I was looking to make a positive impact on everyone that I came into contact with. I looked to grow in knowledge and wisdom, not only from my co-workers but more so from the very seniors that I so dearly respect and love.....sadly, it has been my experience. The very seniors (who truly are our bosses) are left behind and only looked upon with a 100,000 dollar price tag on their heads. That is what I learned at the "Sales" seminar, they are a hundred thousand dollar account. I can not and will not see them this way, they are my family and I will do and have done everything I can to protect them without apology. Many of them have no voice of their own and feel lost and alone.....this downward spiral must stop. So, imdone, keep up the good fight and know that we appreciate your stand.
DL,
Again we all appreciate having this forum to share out thoughts and frustrations concerning / about this company. As a former member of the leadership team I think it's important to reset you and make sure you understand the players. The blame you are placing upon Jack is really undue. Kai Hsaio is is now neatly tucked away behind a door is the person who has created this ponzi scheme Holiday is calling "gracious living". I'll leave it for some other party to walk you through kai's career within the company bur the number of backs he stepped over and upon for his quick ascent to the top is a direct reflection of the FIG model of leadership. Stan Brown is villian two in this drama...although in all fairness I must say he is a very bright man who would be an ideal manager..if people were not involved. The reality of the situation is Stan will continue to compress and compress the numbers until they work...a lot of people will fall by the side..but the numbers will work.
Jack is simply a mouthpiece...no more no less and whatever happened at the time of the unfortunate demise of our former CFO somewhere within that twisted situation you will see where the direction of the company took a drastic change...
What is "Dateline"? Did I miss something as a member of the HRC alumni for exactly two years?
Obviously you did not get the memo. We all joined a dating service. just kidding!!! Dateline NBC is a news program that does news but sometimes investigates business practices, which I hope they will do.
To the "Anonymous #2" who must be a Home Office suit:
Sorry to burst your bubble,my 'friend,' but every word spoken here is true. Our Area Manager did rip the award off our wall, in front of witnesses, plus many other inexcusable things, too numerous to mention. None of us could make this stuff up.
As for DL being a "racist little man and ignorant??" Where did that come from? Why would you come in here just to be rude to the host and knowingly offend everyone? Clearly you'd be happier elsewhere? As I read DL's thoughts here, he is anything BUT a racist or ignorant person! I see him as caring, informed and generous to those of us who were so mangled by the Holiday shaft that he gave us a place to share our experiences and thus, begin healing. The stories we share here are so similar that it is clearly obvious, to everyone but you, that there is truth being told. How can so many people, from all across the country, have the same sort of experiences, unless there is an actual and true problem with the Holiday structure?
I vote that anyone who is brave enough, join imgone and contact Dateline(good idea imgone!)and direct them to this site. Those of us who are no longer employed with Holiday, could come forward and tell them our individual experiences and strengthen their interest. Maybe shining a public light on the abuses will help Holiday/
Fortress re-examine their practices and terrorism. This would certainly give them negative press and hit them where it hurt$. Just a thought.
I have to ask you, "Anonymous number 2," if things are really so wonderful in your neck of the woods and at your property, would you mind sharing how you've managed to accomplish this amazing and miraculous feat? How did you accomplish getting in the good graces of the Home office suits while the rest of us have all been subject to unbearable treatment? No one else I've talked to in the field has had your good fortune, not for lack of trying as hard as they could.
Thank you DL. This is a great place to come. I feel validated after reading everyone's comments. I pray for my precious Seniors who should be given the utmost of respect and spoiling at this time in their lives. They should be given a break from rent increases right now. One poor little lady told us she couldn't afford it, as she only had $30 left over after paying rent every month as it was. Her increase was to be $85. She cried and cried. What's going to happen to her? Holiday doesn't care, that's for sure.
Anyway, I just had to comment on Anonymous, the mean one. I liked the humor about him being Jack. If not Jack, clearly a suit! You guys are great! Humor is a great healer!
For those of you who read DL make comments about "Made in America" and "orientals" and don't see that for what it is, I don't know what to say. he says himself he is angry - and his words say he is racist. So "angry" and "racist" seem spot on, dont they? And as an asian american, I am offended.
By the way - I got my building from 75% to 92% in 8 months by just doing the new sales things my RD tells me about - if all of you know it alls had the same success: great..if not, then "shhhhh", stop talking and start listening to the people around you who may actually have something to say.
Did everyone on this website forget that we get paid for this job? With room and board included - we make more than most school teachers - are you all more important than them? I am not a home office "suit" as people call me - I am just someone who takes pride in my work and my company and I wish I was surrounded by more positive people.
OK - now you get a response! While I am most grateful that others are taking up for me, it is unnecessary. I am very thick skinned and I have never laid claim to striving for political correctness.
You bet I am angry at what I see the seniors having to undergo when they do not have to. And I am also angry at the refusal of those in charge to keep promises.
Racist? That one throws me. I didn't know you are, what was it, asian/american - and I could care less. The statement stands about the business practice. If it makes you happy to consider me a racist, by all means do so. This is one of those things where people who know me know better - and outside of them I don't care.
Little man? I am quite certain you were not referring to my physical size.
I also wish you were surrounded by more positive people of your own ilk. I note the personal "my" of your taking the building to the 92% in 8 months - all by yourself. At no point in your comment did you have the grace to credit anyone else with perhaps being a part of such success, like maybe a few other staff members. You did it all alone by simply doing all the things your RD laid out. Then I believe the RD should get the credit instead of you.
Anonymous #2
We have all done and been where you are but one thing different is "We didn't have a BROWN NOSE". I missed, or just couldn't see the racist remark! But! I will say this I'm PROUD to be an AMERICAN...
You can call me what you want! but I believe that we here in AMERICA should start taking care of "OUR AMERICA" and only buy "MADE IN AMERICA", it's not racist it's taking care of AMERICA!!! Now I must be a racist because I love AMERICA....
Gosh! I think I need counseling, as I have just discovered I’m a racist also, somehow I’ve been under the impression that “Made in America” was something I should be proud of.
My family came to this country in the early1600’s I’m a English, German, Russian, Black, Indian, Scottish, American, although I just prefer to be called an American, how wrong of me!!! I wish I had been Asian then I too could feel your pain when DL described a doctrine, I guess he could have used the word an Asian rather than Oriental concept of belittling, that might have been less offensive when describing The Feudal Lord Doctrine. It’s a doctrine, he didn’t make it up. I’m truly sorry you are so sensitive about being asian because nothing was said that should have been considered racist or offensive. I think the real problem is you are a angry little man that has very little support in the pride you feel for your company, how can things be so different for you? it’s almost like you are isolated on an Island somewhere (Hawaii), we took pride in our positions, we cared for and loved our residents, the company showed no respect for us, and this is proven over and over by the many broken hearts that have spoken on this blog.
By the way if you are making more than most school teachers you are under a different contract or different place than most of us.
I bow to you!
Thank you for sharing all this great information
I am a Wasserman fan.
Back to Holiday!!!! I’ve noticed the past few weeks our RD has been asking a lot of questions about caregivers….How many residents need them…. How many are there…
Are they licensed and bonded etc., from my experience many of them have no business taking care of a pet much less residents with medical issues. I will guarantee you that most are not paying taxes or paying taxes for those working for them. The subject came up about possibly partnering with companies who provide care. Is Holiday possibly thinking of crossing that line between independent retirement living and assisted living because that is where the $$$$$ is. Or is the liability becoming so great in the communities with our aging seniors, that they know something needs to be done before they get sued. Not that they care about the seniors from the corporate level but they certainly care about loss of revenue. A lot of speculation at this point, but something is going on.
That is one of the business plans Jack and Stan have been considering. Partnering with one or many health care providers who would then conduct business in Holiday Retirement communities.
I believe this is something that should have been done long ago. When 2 people were trying to oversee all the "assistance" that was being provided across the country and MDs/RDs were looking at the best "partner" as the one that would pay you some rent (and maybe count it as a move-in on a greatly reduced studio)there was very little control. Holiday had high standards for all the other resident services (provided by Holiday) but the guidelines for caregivers and home care agencies were pretty loose on some communities. Many times the family would choose the cheapest provider to keep the combined cost (rent & care) affordable. As we all know from experience with some of these providers cheap is not always the way to go. I would think that good partnering agreements with quality care providers would improve the PRODUCT being offered. That looks like progress with one of the "P"s being improved. With the RIGHT partner the CMTs would actually have less of a potential nightmare to deal with. They would be able to have confidence in the selected partner to do what they do best. A red flag might be the marketing side of the partnership. The most successful marketing partner may not be the best care provider partner. Once again it will be a decision made on achieving a target goal whatever that may be.
You are so right and the two at Corporate that knew this and worked diligently to make it happen, could not see their vision become reality. Why? There were two of them to help and serve the entire country. Both caring, compassionate, fantastic human beings. They knew what CMT'S were facing.
We helped facilitate an agency in one of our communities about a year and a half before we left the company and it was a great fit. They checked on residents, taught exercise classes, hosted resident events, but never did the marketing. They did visit residents and their families after they moved in, to educate them of the services available and to give peace of mind.
As any CMT knows, there are many in the communities that require service and care. Much better to have people serving them that you know and understand the service they will render.
ALL ABOUT CARING FOR THE RESIDENTS!
When you are right you are right. I guess some of the "old" was pretty good when we look back now.
I call it like it is and change is necessary, even though difficult to accept, some times. The people that had the vision and knew the needs of residents and CMT'S, were passionate people that visited communities enough to see and experience the resident's daily requirements and they, their families and the CMT'S deserve "peace of mind".To elevate Holiday living, the most important asset,which are the residents,they must be able to receive their needed daily requirements and it goes much farther than the present daily amenities. Independent Living?
I believe I have had more than one opportunity to work with you through the years and I have to say you both always looked to the residents needs as well as the needs of the CMTs. One great thing I remember about some of the old team players is that they were team players. If one had knowledge to share with another to make the team stronger there was no holding back. I think somehow they worked that concept into the training meetings back then. I think the situation many CMTs find themselves dealing with today is the idea knowledge is power and it is not shared freely. They only tell the community level people what they need to know rent to another apartment. I don't see anyone sharing information to help the team grow. I wouldn't/couldn't go back now but I must admit there are still times I miss the "Good Old Days". Best of everything in your Newlife.
We were part of four management teams in different communities where Caregiving Agencies were renting space in the community. This has been in place for a long time.
There were former Holiday employees that were very instrumental and helpful in getting this done.They are no longer with Holiday, of course, but it sure was assistance for the residents, their families and the manangement team. Peace of Mind for all and most of all for the residents.
I can tell you beyond any doubt Holiday is soon to be in the home care business; I know because I participated in some of the meetings and discussions concerning the entry into Home Care. While I can find fault wit many areas of Holiday, I find no fault in the decision to enter this arena. The captive audience of seniors will be offered some nominal incentive to utilize the "house" company; no different than what takes place every day when a patient in a hospital is sent home with the hospital owned home health agency taking care of patient. Talk about a lucrative side business to enter...i'll leave the potential rev out simply because I know it wasn't discussed frequently, but there is a $$ number Fortress has attached to this revenue stream. Makes alot more sense than renting closet space to home care companies who are currently within our communities. Remember the game is won by the person with the most distribution points and 300 plus distribution points for home care would make a major statement entering this market. Of course if you're forward thinking and contemplating the totality of this decision then you also understand you've now created an opportunity to address home care for potential residents prior to their moving into the community. It should be incorporated into the communities within by 2012. No $$$$ will be left unchallenged by Fortress.
The rhetorical question being, I'm sure -- "Why should we be going after prospective residents' discretionary funds only when there's sure to be so much more available once Obamacare kicks in?"
No-brainer for even the most recent MBA who graduated at the bottom of the class
The simple answer would be that Fed $$ have a lot of regulations & financial reporting requirements that most "private investors" do not want to be burdened with. Whereas, discretionary funds have no need for full disclosure.
If we look at the 2 investments that were made in the "Senior Housing Industry" we should be able to figure this out rather quickly. Brookdale (with provided services) is making money for the investors, Holiday (without the services) is not. It really doesn't matter what you thought you signed on for it isn't your $6.5 billion that is at stake. You know how that tune goes, "you gotta do what you gotta do". Who knows, try it you might like it.
In our first Holiday facility [an acquisition] there was a relationship with an assisted living-type provider firm that had exclusive rights to interview all incoming residents. For a fee this outfit unilaterally determined whether or not their services were required. The prospective resident was obliged to pay the partially refundable fee. A change in RMs brought this relationship to a screeching halt. But that's another story altogether.
Subsequently, as managers of our own building, we required only that residents direct their professional caregivers to provide us evidence of liability insurance.
Now: If the kids at FIG are considering a sooner-than-later future sale, crossing the IL/AL line might just be the most expeditious way of "prettying up" the bottom line.
The community in which I live made an arrangement with Res Care Home Care to provide not only caregivers, but provide marketing with prospective new residents. It has definitely increased the number of wheel chairs and walkers in our "Gracious Retirement Living" facility.
Wow… what a way to increase the census. Care givers doing the marketing, that pool of clients will come in needing assistance, and Holiday/FIG will not have to bear the cost of RN’s or other medical staff for assisted living. Already overworked manager and co’s better start figuring out how to get a few naps in because e-call’s will be going to a many each night. This is criminal.
Those of you who know who I am, DO NOT let me get started on this...
Or the scenario might be partnering with many of these health care or home care providers, let them fill the buildings with their clients which is starting to happen. Once the census is up to a certain percent. Axe everyone including the managers & co’s hire an Executive Director with a few live in medical personnel. They would have it all.
Then sell.
If Dateline doesn't respond, contact Fox News!
Fox News would be interested, if Dateline isn't!
Maybe the VA should look into all of the Holiday Buildings and how they are utilizing VA benefit scammers.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100814/NEWS/8140321/State-cites-Iowa-broker-Aulwes-in-deals-with-elderly-veterans
To bad that Holiday doesn't do a background check on people that they are putting in front of the current and potential residents. "Tom" aka "Noah" has been in trouble before....just a little research on the web gave us all we needed to know about him. He had hired a guy in the Denver area and was training him last week and he tried to get us to work for him in Florida....thank God we didn't! All I can say it PLEASE check out people/companies that enter your community.....you never know what may be lurking in the shadows!
The VA program is a joke,the people that really need it will never get close to having it.The people presenting it are there to get their hands on the money the vet has to invest it for them(for a fee of course) If they don't have any money they never hear from the rep again> I was told by one if the vet doe not take my program I just forget about them until they come around. How many of the vet's signed up & living in the communities are getting the money due them & how well will Fortress treat them when the money does not show up???The residents living in the community are complaining about the vets not belonging in the same community that they are in,beneath they in status they think.I have heard of several moving out because of this.
If you want to clarify the connection between Holiday and this benefit program just do a Google search on Holiday Retirement and veterans aid and attendance benefit. If you want another take on this program just talk to some of the Non vet middle management clones and they will tell you how to make it work for you. The ends justifies the means. If you want to go the other way "follow the money", fees for a "referral".
Reading the comments I am puzzled about expenses. When we were hired by Holiday we packed up our things in a U-Haul trailer, hooked it to our van, and traveled some 800 miles to our community. We were totally reimbursed by the company for all expenses involved in that move. At about the time we left the company word was out that company paid moving was changing and reimbursements would be cut out. Were they? While we were with Holiday transfer relocation expenses were paid back to you. I know of one couple who was given advance monies to do a transfer.
To Rev Chuck T: Your comments bring up a question or two - if I may. Why in the world would anyone literally sell everything before taking a new job without giving it a "probation period" first. Was it required for you to fly to Colorado - and at whose expense? Even though you were only aboard for three weeks did they pay your way back to where you came from? Does Holiday still pay for initial expenses and relocation of community assignment? What about transfers? I am not questioning your personal situation. I am asking only in order to satisfy my curiosity and for others who may be thinking about working for the company to have the information available. Thanks in advance. Also, anyone else who has undergone this please add your input.
Regardless of what direction Holiday takes for a future it will still come down to taking care of the residents. I am appalled at the various news reports of everything from retirement companies to nursing homes having situations of resident abuse and intolerance. Why isn't something done with the regulatory agencies to stop this? Lobbyists? What? Who?
Read this story from Jacksonville, Florida:
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-08-14/story/lawsuit-closure-so-far-thwarted-nursing-home-case
We were given a one time $1000.00 moving bonus, or new hire bonus, you could use that any way you wanted.
Our recruiter was dishonest about salaries for co’s and management also. We went forward because we felt this was really what we wanted to do. Fortunately we kept our home just in case things didn’t work out, we are thankful we did. I’m sure one of the reasons you were let go was they did not feel you were the sales team they wanted. They are not looking for managers to take care of our elderly or how qualified you are to do so. They want sales people pure and simple, it’s all about the money, not our elderly. They do not care how hard you work or the hours you will work. All they want is census and if they don’t feel you can produce, you are not qualified. That is what Holiday/FIG is today.
Well dlcharles, we were told to sell everything because we would not be back. We would leave our training and go to our community. This is what we were told to do and they told us we had job's a promise so we did what we were told. This was all expenses paid for training and yes they did get us a plane ticket home. Again, Holiday does not care for it's residents only about how much money they make. They teach this in class and this is what you will learn. That said their hiring practices are way out of line. The recruiters tell you your job is secure, sell all you own so you can move on to your new community. That is the bottom line. Expenses are the least of it. If you sell everything and do not have a job that what good are expenses. I still am waiting for a call back to cover the expenses I incured with pay, taxi to air-port 100.00 travel ETC. Good luck in anyone getting any call backs. They just do not give you answers or call backs. They run you around. As for the hiring practices be very careful to what your promised. They lie just to get you to be hired. They promise the world and deliver nothing. As for others wanting to look for work with Holiday. Read what is here first. These are not just angry employees. This is the truth. These are the people that wanted to make a difference in other peoples lives but were held back from a huge corporation. It is wrong and needs to be addressed. If I had found this site before I trotted off to CO i would have at least thought about it. Yet, i was flown to NY on Wednesday hired on Friday and in CO on Sunday. It all happened to fast for us. Take your time and realizse no one cares here. You are a selling number and as others put it. You either sell or out the door. Has nothing to do with residents or your love for them. I visited 5 communities in CO. All managers felt the same here so it is not me just taking. Trainers are very bad trainers. They sell the same bill of goods. If your thinking your going to come to Holiday and help people, think again. Please do not get yourself into the same bind we did. Our hearts are pure but our souls have been sold to the devil through Holiday.
We contacted a recruiter for Holiday Retirement on a Monday. We were asked to fly to NY to meet with the recruiter on Thursday, we did. We were offered a position with Holiday Retirement but were told we would have to be in a training class in Denver, CO for the following Monday and would be sent to a community directly thereafter. We went home to FL, sold and gave away most of our household goods and personal belongings whereas we were told we would need to "fit" in a very small one bedroom apartment. We made arrangements for our 20 year old daughter and 2 year old grandson to lease an apartment close by the area we were told we would be sent. We received confirmation of the trip to CO on Saturday evening fopr reservations the following Sunday morning! We made it to the training where we were told that the training was neither Pass nor Fail, we were already hired as Community Managers for Holiday. We endured 3 weeks of patronizing lectures, role playing and the legas aspects of hiring and firing once we were in our communities. We were even sent to shop competitive companies to collect information on their programs and incentives on false pretenses, of which was collected by the Trainers and forwarded to Holiday's Corp. Offices. On the 3rd week of training, my husband and I were (1) of (2) couples asked to meet with the Trainer and her Supervisor after hours in a room at the Hotel. We were told that it was decided that we were not progressing in the skill set as Holiday requires. This made no sense to me whereas we were both attentive, did well with the role plays before the class audience. (Which you get critiqued as you go by both trainers and your peers). Plus, we both participated in all class discussions. We were just days from the exam, which we had not taken as of yet. I pointed this out to Linda, the Class Trainer and her Supervisor, Jennifer. They didn't care and didn't want to hear it. The other couple was told the exact same thing - of which both parties participated and had done well in class. We were fired than and there. No arrangements had been made to send us home until the following day. We were gioven (1) hour notice of our flight without any means of transportation to the airport in Denver. We had to hire a taxi at a cost of $75. for a one half hour trip and again pay for our baggage at the airport. This left us less than one half hour to get our flight back home. The Holiday Touch - what does that mean to me? It doesn't leave a pleasant taste in my mouth! If you think that they have any further concern and regard for our Seniors - well than you are just fooling yourself! They have proven what the holiday Touch really means. Actions speak so much more than the words they spout.
SallyT:
According to the Holiday Retirement Employee Handbook for U.S. Communities the following is verbatim: Our Employment Relationship. Unless otherwise prohibited or restrictedby law, we have a mutual relationship called "employment at will." This means that your employment relationship with this retirement Community is completely voluntary on your part. Similarly, the Community's relationship as your employer is completely voluntary. We cannot and do not make any promises to you about the length and/or the continued status of your employment relationship and, like you, we reserve the right to terminate our employment relationship at any time with or without notice, for any reason not prohibited by law. there can be no binding change in this "at will" relationship unless it is in writing, specifically addresses the "at will" relationship, and is signed by an officer of Holiday. (Page 9-10)
On page 19 it states "Your first 6 months of continuous service are an introductory period..... Either party may end the introductory period at any time before the 6 months of continuous service is completed in accordance with applicable law, etc. etc. Oh, and it seems no reason for termination or quitting is needed at any time during your length of employment with Holiday.
Also, straight from the manual, you were supposed to have signed a form within the first three (3) days of employment signifying you had read and understood the company policies and this form was placed in your personnel file. You do have the right
I rather doubt any supervisor would readily admit in a company hearing or court of law that they had said anything other than standard company dictates, even if it had actually been said. Was anything written?
I am not disputing your words. I am trying to be factual for both sides. The morality of your alleged treatment is terrible, but the legality of the action seems covered.
So, the moral of the story is:
1) Get your job offer in writing BEFORE you accept the position. Make sure that everything that was promised to you by a company representative during your interviews is in writing. As they say at Holiday, "If it isn't in writing, it never happened!"
2) On your first day of work, be sure your complete all of your New Hire paperwork, and READ the Employee Handbook BEFORE you sign the acknowledgement!
Spoken for a true employee of Holiday. Yes, It can be he said she said and I being a manager for 20+ years know all about hiring at will. Yet, when your fired because of retalliation and no just cause you still have rights. When you recruiter tells you to sell everything to join Holiday you still have rights. What I have read here is not about people making up stories but true to life experiences with the treatment of the Holiday Touch. I read these stories and I can see I am not alone here. The recruiters get paid to get you hooked. The trainers get paided to teach you to sell. This whole process is only 4 months old but already needs to be changed just as the managers which are dropping like flies. Do me a favor. Start letting the truth be more ready available to all. They say the truth will set you free. In this case it can also leave you vert broke and with no home. As for the hiring practices and the laws. In our case we will let the courts decide, dateline has done it's work on Holiday and they are great to talk to. So are the many lawyers that are willing to jump in against this Holiday Touch. You can not ruin someone's lives and then just walk away. It is time Holiday faces what they sell., This Holiday Touch
Great place to live when the time comes. Wonderful staff and good neighbors. Thanks Frank.
Too bad that we can't get one of the shows like 60 minutes or 20/20 to come in with a hidden camera and go undercover as an expected employee to see how the recruiting is done.
Good idea.Does anyone know how to get this done? Fox News would do it in a heartbeat
well Rev chuck you and Sally, seem to be venting a lot of anger , but lets be real , Sally said in my presence she did not want to be here and did not want this job, i had another classmate tell me that in on of your play role sitiuations , you didnt eeven know basic in formation after 3 weeks of training you should nave known these simple questions . Why shoould Holiday pay for you to sit there and not learnnothing ? that would be a dis service to the the residents to send people who have openly said thwy did not want to be there. I think think this is all about Money that you are wanting to get from a law suit . Good luck !! You took this position for all the wrong reasons it was a desperate job. Sally you complained every day and said you didnt want to do this . As far as selling everything and being broke , what person would do that knowing that maybe they would not like the job they signed up for .Your trainers were very proffesional in every aspect of your class and to say it was personal is not true . Holiday is like any other company they are in business to make money not have employees who are disgruntled and spewing untruths . One thing in our class that was at all times was emphasized was that our residents were number one concern and they were the back bone of the business and they came first . Yes marketing was part of your job , and all you had to do was show your prespective residents that you did care about them and be truthful. What do you expect them to do just walk in the door with out any knowledge of what the community is about ? Lets be real and quit the Boo hoo blog and go find a job you really want to do
It looks like you will do very well in your new calling. Did you like the Kool Aid?
I guess grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax weren't part of your training, either. I guess FIG likes them illiterate so they can fill your minds with garbage. I have no doubt that you will succeed in the new FIG run Holiday. You already know how to demean people and stab them in the back.
As for this being a "boo hoo" blog, yeah, ok. Whatever. Go and be a FIG lackey.
As usual, there are 2 sides to every story, and this one seems to be no exception. For those that have not figured this out yet, this blog/forum is dominated by bitter and angry people that do not like what Fortress has done with Bill Colson's Holiday Retirement - period! Sure, they would love nothing more than have Jack Callison post on here so they can rip him up one side and down the other, but no one here is truly interested in any other side of the story but theirs, which is their truthful experience under the new regime. So, a word to the wise, unless you are a perfect speller and typist, and hold the majority's point of view, do yourself a favor, save yourself the aggravation and embarassment, and don't bother posting anything here.
Anonymous 99: to say this blog is dominated by bitter and angry people that do not like what Fortress has done with Bill Colson's Holiday Retirement - period! Some…maybe, most, I don’t think so…..yes I’m sure many are rightfully upset, but most of the comments about Holiday Retirement are factual, we have seen it!!!
Regardless of the references to the Holiday touch in training, it is nothing but lip service from corporate, they truly care less about our elderly. Once you are in a community you see by the daily emails and the time wasting conference calls what Holiday is truly about…. marketing, marketing, marketing. After a half dozen deaths within two weeks, not once did our RD ask about the residents or families that we have grieved with…… Not once did they ask how we were doing….. Not once did they ask what they could do…. What they ask is have you turned those apartments? All they care about is do you have move-ins to make up for the move-outs. Oh….. and if the families can’t get their stuff out quick enough collect another months rent. That’s the “Holiday Touch” I Don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but for some reason I just think our seniors deserve more than a corporation that sees them as just $$$$.
Imdone...I understand and agree with your take on the total lack of empathy with the residents that Holiday displays, and the absence of any kind of 'touch' from Holiday towards anyone, except for their love of the almighty dollar. If you read my posting carefully, I have acknowledged that the postings on this blog are for the most part true and factual experiences by both former and current employees. However, I still stand by my characterization of the majority of those posting here as being bitter and angry over the aforementioned treatment by management towards the residents and Holiday associates. As a matter of fact, if you carefully read the postings of most former employees here that resigned, you will see a common thread of disgust and dismay at what Fortress has done with this company over the past 3 years. And, if you read the comments posted by employees that were terminated, you will see the common thread of bitterness and anger - again, all based on factual experiences.
It would really help if you came right out and said what you mean, instead of us trying to read between the lines or your coming back to explain what you said. To me, not writing clearly is also poor English. I am still not sure of your position.
anonymous99, forgive me for jumping to a conclusion about you from a single post.
Rev Chuck and Sally -
Upon reading reading your initial 8/19 account of your plight, I was compelled to Google your real name, which no longer appears here by the way [Good move DL].
Results of my brief online search reinforced my skepticism of your story. I later found others among us did the same and we are in agreement re: skepticism vs. sympathy.
Then, more recently, you mentioned the name of an individual with whom I worked, for whom I maintain a high regard, and whom I have contacted. Now, in my judgment, based only on what I found in my quick search plus a personal response from the personnel you had named, I firmly believe "boo hoo" has nailed it with respect to your real intentions here.
Correction:
Rev Chuck's initial account was 8/14 not 8/19.
I did not remove or change anything.
I can tell that the facts are never known until there said. You do not know me nor do you know my husband. It seems like jelousy here. I can also tell by your words that you know nothing of what you have sat through for 4 weeks. Your that one that will go into your community and last 1 month. This is not about suits or anything else. If you had read the blogs here you would see the truth and it will set you free. This site is read and seen by all corporate big wigs and I am sure the lies your speading about us only shows your commitment to under line the truth. You were not there nor do you know what happened with us. You have your head stuck so far up your %%%% that you only see what you want to see. You came in kissing all the butt you could because you never had a real job to begin with. This is a game for you and you sat around every nite telling others Holiday was a stepping stone because you were to good to stay there. The one that was desperate was you. Everyone needs a job but you can not sell a job with all kinds of promises and treat people with disrespect and expect someone to just take it. I have not hid my name becuse we have nothing to hide here. You seem to hide behind your boo hoo because that's how you got yourself through this training, hideing. This is about the treatment of Holiday workeres. Recruitment practices and training personnel. I guess you missed that because you were hideing. I also see you have not read this blog but corporate has. They read this everyday and I hope it changes the way people are treated. In class and out. You can not treat people with dis-respect and expect to operate a buisness. Holiday is a buisness not a retiremnt community. I can see you have not done your home work and talk is cheap. Your were not there and do not know what happened. It only shows you have not been paying attention yourself because others in the class have already spoken out about what truly happened. So again you stand alone. We have told the truth and that is what will come to light. I am glad you found this site, now maybe you can read about the other people here and the way they feel about the Holiday Touch. People who live in glass houses should never throw stones. Get the facts striaght before you comment or at least have been there when this all went down. You were not!
Chuck and Sally what was done to you should never have happened. You were the most caring and loving couple we have met and there was a vendetta against you for sure. This person who ever it is did not represent our class. I was in your class during your role play and you were verbally put down for no reason. You had every right to go to Linda's supervisor, it is just too bad you got fired before you could. That was her plan. We graduated on Friday and will miss you guy's. We do have your phone # and will stay in touch. I just want you to know we love you guy's.
Well,if you were in class with me, I certainly feel I would know who you are due to your illiteracy and poor English abilities. I never complained about the job duties and am confident I learned a lot more than you were capable of, whoever you may be. I am certain I have never spoken to you. I am glad you think you know that facts as to a situation that apparently you know nothing about. Do you even know your own name - if so, can you spell it? Or is that a little more than you can handle.
Sally T. now I see why you were let GO!!!
Your remark to unhappyurgone was very uncalled for...Just face it you just didn't have what it took to graduate...
I can see you do not follow what sally wrote. She was not putting down unhappyurgone she was putting down the boohoo that does not seem to know her or her husband. You seem like a real idiot, like this Linda person that tossed them out because they were better then her. I think you ought to read the posts before you open up your mouth. You surely sound like a real ####333. I will let her truth be known since I am sure this couple is going full tilt against the Holiday Touch. They seem to have enough people in class that are backing them. You need to learn how to read so this will not affect you.
I had to go over and read everything Rev Chuck T and Sally T have written. At first I thought like most, a lot of anger. But I too was brought into the touch with the same promises and once unhappyurgone wrote it confirmed what this couple was saying about this Linda to be true. This really happened at training no less. That to me is very scary to know that Holiday Retirement is doing this to up and coming managers. I ask what the heck is going on here? Are we so a head of ourselves we are having hiring, training managers that brow beat and put down others in the name of class room training. That scares me to death. I love my residents and yes I get my RD pushing like heck to sell the Holiday Touch but I stay here because of my residents, not Holiday. Thats why I took the job. It seems couples that really want to be apart of this caring, are thrown out the door because of ego's. That does scare me. I am glad to see though that others have stood up for couples like this. unhappyurgone I applaud you for coming forward and naming names. We need more of this if we are to continue the Holiday Touch. Let's get back to what is real and fix the problems we have like trainer's,RD'and others that are making the Holiday Touch so hard to work into our everyday life's. We were hired to be a big part in our resident'slives. This is what should matter. Nothing else so everyone take heed here and stop the bull...
I don't believe her reply was to "unhappyurgone". I imagine it was to boohoo.
Charles, I deeply apologize to Sally T.
Maybe I jumped the gun...but I have to say there is 2 sides to a story Their's and Hers me the idiot & ####333!!!! I'm still skepticism of the story... Not judging just doesn't sound right...I just don't know why the company would ask you to sale everything..Your apartment is not furnished and you need a car for marketing, cookie drops, bank deposits, and just away to get around. I assure you that I will take time to read all comments before I open MOUTH...
To dlcharles; I am in need of some information. Is there a written policy regarding the termination of co managers? We were told that upon termination, your keys will be confiscated, (both apartment keys and work keys) escorted to the apartment, forbidden to speak to any resident or other employee and we would be given 72 hours to vacate the apartment.
Is this written down somewhere? It sure as heck doesn't sound legal. Does anyone have any information they can share about this?
I have a feeling that this was asked awhile back on this site, but my addled memory is unable to recall the answer. Please pardon my old timers if this is so and thank you in advance for your help.
Everything is accurate except for the 72 hours. I have personally observed a transition specialist show up, take the keys, and stand watching while the couple loaded up and left - all in less than three hours from start to finish. I have never found anything written regarding termination other than the employee handbooks. Note the handbooks state they are not a "contract", but are only guidelines.
It varies some from state to state but legally in most states regardless of a 3 day notice to vacate, if you refused to leave they would have to go through the legal eviction process, which could take 20-30 days to get you out. Once you are a resident and you receive mail at that address whether management or resident, you still have rights and the sheriffs office would not throw you out with out a legal court order, which takes time if they get on it immediately. In general it’s a bluff. Most people just up and get out because they think they have to.
I dont know where it is written but they do hold that policy this keeps the persons being fired from upsetting the residents and bad mouthing the company or they are disgrental for the reasons they were terminated. Where I work now I would be given 30 days and it is written.
We were Co's when the mgrs were fired,the mgrs had told us we will not leave you will have to evict us.(they were fired over the phone)The company paid them $1500. moving expense to leave!(This was in 2001) When we were in marketing & we were terminated,they gave us 4 days to vacate the community.
Thirty people released from home office/field today. I guess they need to make room for more 6-figure salaried chiefs.
Can you give us more info?
what do you mean by field ?
Unfortunately, I don't know anything more. Someone I know who still works there just told me the number. I have confirmed at least two people under Kai's direct leadership (or lack thereof), from Marketing, but do not know any others.
Actually it was 40 people total relased in the most awful way possible with no explanation.
OK, it now appears we have 2 concerns. I am the original.
If they are restructuring its probably b/c they need the cash. My source tells me they were burning through it too fast.
I guess it was a brilliant move to double the HR dept in 2009 and hire a bunch of GSMs only to fire them all when cash got tight. Jack, Kai, Edwin and fortress should be ashamed.
Are the "field" people Regionals and GSM's?
Maybe Holiday is going to try another avenue.....an outside company like The Roche Associates, Inc., who specialize in Senior Living Markets.....at the end of the day, it would probably be cheaper for them.
More long timers... Teresa in P/R, David Gray, Brad Tongue, Neal in Purch. several in Mrktng. Not sure about the field... I bet the new Pres is still there.. What a SHAME !!!
Teresa? She had been there forever! WOW!!!! I am glad I got the axe 5 years ago and didn't have to go through that process that they did to them.
My inside sources say it was mainly accountants in finance. The new guy has automated a ton of stuff so they don't need as many bookkeppers anymore. No one in the field was impacted at all apparently.
Check your sources. More than 30 total and about hald in the field. Several Mrktng, Purchasing, Maint. and others. Last one out GRAB THE FLAG!!! And the picture of Bill.....
nope, not so...the ones in accounting, purchasing, maintenance and mktg folks were all in the salem home office- not in the field i'm told by several folks still there
Yep, it's a fact, I'm one of the 30+ people let go today. It was awful the way they do it too. They have people been there from 1-20 years and they called people one by one up to the boardroom. Stupid Jorge Perez was the one bringing down the ax on people. They had security guys that were contracted out to monitor the happenings. Once let go by F-ING Jorge then we were escorted back to our desk, just long enough to grab a couple things (the rest of our stuff would be boxed and shipped to us) and then further escorted out to the parking lot. Once we were in our vehicle then an all clear was called out on the security guys walkie talkies using first and last names. Talk about mortifying and degrading! The reason we were given is because they are downgrading, restructuring blah blah blah total BS of course but whatever!!!
I took Friday off as a vacation day so I had no idea these lays off took place. Then shortly after I arrived to work this morning, I was called into Jorge's office and was informed that my position has been eliminated. I was no longer needed after nearly 11 years of service to the company. Now I'm just sitting here, dumbfounded and wondering where I go from here....
I am so sorry. Good luck to you.
I am a current Community Manager at a Holiday Retirement community and have wanted to comment for some time. I was recently asked by a Co-Manager candidating couple about the Holiday Retirement blog and wanted to ask me some questions. Their main question was “The blog says that Holiday doesn’t care (about its residents or its employees).” Here is the answer that I gave them. Holiday Retirement corporate, the Regional Managers, the corporate staff don’t care. But, we at the communities DO CARE. We at the communities are here for our residents and our staff and just because THEY don’t care does not mean that we don’t care. Our goal as Community Managers, and your goal as incoming Co-Managers, is to CARE. Caring is made harder without corporate support of our efforts but Caring is obtainable. I have often said that I have yet to see the “Holiday Touch” demonstrated by anyone at Holiday Retirement above the position of Community Manager. But I am proud to say that I have seen the “Holiday Touch” demonstrated daily by Community Managers, Co-Managers, Chefs, ECs, Housekeepers, Bus Drivers, Maintenance persons, kitchen helpers, cooks, servers, and community volunteers. We will keep the “Holiday Touch” and Caring for our residents and our staff “safe and protected” until this long nightmare of the current Holiday Retirement ownership has been replaced. We owe that to our residents/ our neighbors.
Well said and appreciated. You do bring up an important separation. To all of the communities where The Touch is alive - we salute you!
It is worth noting that when we were with Holiday the corporate staff at home office definitely cared - and it showed. You could not stroll through the hallways without feeling the loving care emanating from everyone. I get the impression that isn't true these days, but it WAS there.
daniel.slepian@nbcuni.com
Dlcharles has done a great job with this site to get every point of view. With so many changes and so many mistakes. From the injustices of trainers, to RD pressure the story just continues. I for one would never have been contacted by corporate on my plight if I had not written here. That being said the site is working. For those wanting to talk to dateline which is mulling a story about the Holiday Touch, I have left Daniel's e-mail at the top of this. He does listen and does return all e-mails. Certain things in every company has it's own problems. I have found first hand that this company has more then it's share. Whether they get fixed is another question. Good luck here!
I also thank you and others that are caring on the tradition of The Touch. I am also aware of another manager couple that keeps The Touch alive and maintains a very respectable census. It is sad to hear how the RD pressures them to change from marketing that is working to the nonsense dreamed up in Salem. It is really crazy.
I find it very interesting that so many people are quick to crucify Fortress for being a profit-first organization, while in the same breath saying that the Colsons were about the people first. Didn't the Colson's sell the company and walk away with billions of dollars? Nobody on here seems to recognize that fact.
I agree that there has been some deterioration of "the touch", but if Fortress doesn't focus on the bottom line in a poor economy and in the midst of declining occupancy, Holiday will go out of business and nobody will have a job. By coming on this blog, complaining, and damaging the company's image to potential residents, you are only speeding up this process.
I think you will find that when decisions were made to keep up with changing times under Colson's leadership the question was often asked "how will this affect my people?" (I believe this concept continued through Mark's leadership). The new leadership arrived, I'm sure under pressure to produce, and appear to focus on the question "how will this affect our income/bottom line?". I would guess that keeping his focus on "his people" (residents,staff & vendors)is one of the things that positioned them to sell the company (and Fortress to buy it) and walk away with billions. What I can't understand is if they have seen it with their own eyes why can't they believe TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE - - the profit will follow. I guess maybe that is why they had the money to buy Holiday and I never will.
I really wish you would change your name. The real anonymous makes sense. You do not understand that happy residents results in $$$$$ for Fortress.
In order to focus on the bottom line, FIG would have to improve customer satisfaction. The customers, i.e., the residents, are not happy. They will share their unhappiness with their friends and they, in turn, will not move in.
When FIG realizes that this isn't a frigging hotel they will have turned the corner, but I for one don't see it happening. Thank God my husband and I saw this coming and quit of our own volition instead of having trumped up charges brought against us, like John and Carol Wood, whom I know, admire and have the utmost respect for.
I have no idea what FIG plans to do except use the losses they have incurred as a tax write off or sell. It's too bad that too many people have to suffer. You, anonymous, sound like you came to FIG within the last six months or so. You say that this blog damages the company's image? FIG is doing that themselves without anyone's help.
God.... I hope so!!! Chances are you won't be there in a couple of years anyway. Maybe the new owners will have the vision of the "Holiday Touch" what a concept.
It is awful that a company founded on the "Holiday Touch", caring, kindness, relationships, and quality customer service, has to hire armed guards to protect its upper management when implementing its latest program.
The only reason the company would hire Security Guards to escort terminated employees off the property is if one were expecting some kind of hostile reaction on their part. Hmmm...I wonder why the company might expect that kind of reaction?!
What goes around comes around, especially when you treat people like crap. That's the FIG version of the Holiday Touch. I can't wait to see what you say after you get restructured out of your job.
That's the whole point here - management knew what they were doing was not very nice, so they expected a hostile reaction from the affected employees they were shafting. My prayers are with all of the poorly treated people, especially those that had been with the company for such a long time.
Sure, they did walk away with billions, but did you ever thing about why Bill sold the company to begin with? If you knew you were dying, wouldn't you want to be sure your family was well taken care of? Bill didn't live long enough to reap the rewards of the sale. I'm sure his only thought was that he didn't want his wife/children/grandchildren to worry about finances or the burden of who would run the business when he passed. Bill loved this business. It was his passion. I'm sure that if he wasn't dying, he never would have sold. I believe that he sold for the sole benefit of his family. He had to have known that it was not what was best for the company. After all he did sell to an east coast corporate hedge fund company. Wouldn't you put your family first? I know I would.
Very interesting observation and something we all need to think about. I do agree with what you wrote here. It is also interesting that the Hasso family took over 15 buildings and one more to go leaving Bart with only 20 buildings. The people who worked for HRC prior to the sale to FIG also knew that in reality it was Sheryl Bauer that ran the company for the most part. She did a great job. I personally had a lot of respect for her. She always was open for new ideas to improve things. I also agree with what you said about Bill and taking care of his family first. He would never have sold the company if he was healthy, in fact he would have expanded the company. It takes a long time to plan and execute new properties. Even 2.5 years after the sale, many Holiday buildings around the country are being build.
But 'the touch' is what kept the census up. Bill always said that with happy residents and happy employees, the money would take care of itself. Focusing on the money and the money alone is the problem.
DL, My name is John Wood and my wife is Carol. We were terminated from Holiday on Aug 30th last year. It's not a long story but we got screwed. Our last community was White Oaks in Manchester, CT. We were a training community and felt very comfortable.
I'll relate the rest of the story to you another time. The reason I'm writing you today is because my wife and have personally sent a letter to Warren Buffett, copies to Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Tom Brokaw advocating the resurrection of "The Holiday Touch" through new ownership of Holiday Retirement.
We would be more than willing to e-mail you a copy of the above correspondence if you will send us your e-mail address so you can put it on the blog. You don't have to edit our names off because I wouldn't mind if Jack Callison knew the source of the correspondence.
Perhaps it will give the really devoted take care of the resident employees a glimmer of hope.
Don't know what the reaction will be from Mr. Buffett or the other's but you don't get if you don't try.
Hoping to hear from you. John & Carol
Mr. Wood: What an interesting comment! You, sir, have piqued all of our curiosity.
email to thefreebornman@yahoo.com
I look forward to corresponding with you and Mrs. Wood. I detect a great deal of thoughtfulness and courage here, along with obvious determination. Thanks, dl
John and Carol, My husband and I met you several times at the meetings and we too were a training center. We were terminated around the same time, injustices galore. Our building stayed at 100% for years and is now in the low 60%. Does that tell you anythiing. Good job FIG!
August 20, 2010
Mr. Warren Buffett
CEO
Berkshire Hathaway
3555 Farnham Street
Suite 1440
Omaha, NE 68131
Mr. Buffett:
My wife and I had the pleasure of being employed by Holiday Retirement from February of 2005 until August of 2009 when we were summarily terminated. Unfortunately, many of our associates, who were hired and prospered under the guidance and philosophy of the original owners, have also been terminated.
The company was founded by Bill Colson and his father, originally envisioned as being a construction company. At some point, approximately thirty years ago, Bill decided that constructing and managing RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES would capture a niche market as the "Baby Boomers" aged. Perhaps you had the opportunity to have met Bill or were knowledgeable of Holiday Retirement?
They started constructing retirement communities throughout the continental US, Canada, and Europe. By the time Carol and I were hired there were over three hundred communities worldwide, and ten to thirteen new communities were being constructed each year.
What predominantly contributed to our decision to join the Holiday team was "The Holiday Touch". This philosophy emanated from the top to the bottom of the "Old" Holiday. It started with Bill, his son Bart, corporate headquarters, and filtered down to the individual communities. Operations were very different from many of the competitors, but the focus was taking care of the residents, which a real Holiday crewmate believed and practiced every day. Bill's policy was "If it's good for the residents, it's good for Holiday."
The average age of our residents was 82+. Their rent included three meals per day, housekeeping once per week, and a bus to the local community, i.e. banking, shopping, and doctor appointments. Managers and co-managers lived on premises and one team was on call overnight in case of an emergency. If this type of situation arose the first responder would be someone the resident knew, not a total stranger. Each community was authorized a full time Activity Director.
Turnover in managers was a problem as many people come on board not knowing the commitment that the job entailed. A training program for co-managers was instituted but the success of it was based on the support of the Regional Director and the ability of the community managers that were in training communities.
Our real satisfaction was derived from the fact that we were giving something back to "THE GREATEST GENERATION". Our last opportunity with the old Holiday was a new community that we opened in Manchester, Ct in 2006. We achieved 100% occupancy but it took about one and one-half years.
Some of the residents that we had the opportunity of including as our family in our time with Holiday were:
Carl Bryson - Carl was one of the submariners rescued from the Squalus. He was brought up in the diving bell with the last surviving crew members of the submarine.
Dot Care - A British citizen who was a member of an AA battery protecting London.
Ken Garrity - 101st Airborne. Ken was involved in all of the 101st's actions from Normandy to Market Garden to Bastogne. A true gentleman.
Rod MacLean - Served with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy.
Bill Barron - Served with the 96th division in the fight for Okinawa.
These folks represent a small sample of the contributions that each and every one of the residents made during the Depression and World War II.
Holiday Retirement wasn't perfect but it provided an alternative to a resident living at home, possibly by themselves with nutritional issues, no interaction with friends or neighbors, and no one monitoring their daily activities.
Holiday was sold to Fortress Investment Group (FIG) in 2007. Fortress advocated "That nothing would change". If only that were true. Wes Edens, a principal from Fortress, visited White Oaks, our community in Manchester, in 2007 and said to the marketers who toured with him and his sons that if the rest of the Holiday communities were as beautiful as White Oaks the company would be worth buying.
Everything has changed. The "Holiday Touch" is nonexistent. Employees who were pre-Fortress are just about all gone, most of them to "spend more time with their families". Taking care of the residents has been replaced by marketing. The bottom line is the most important thing now but the senior management at Holiday doesn't understand that if the residents are taken care of the bottom line will take care of itself.
Current employees are berated and intimidated to produce better results. Training and promotions are a joke, and it's the residents who suffer from this blatant lack of leadership and focus.
Mr. Buffett, you are a world renowned inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. Anyone who can conceive the idea of the wealthiest people in the world donating one-half of their fortunes to charity is an innovator of extreme proportions. Perhaps you would consider taking on the idea of providing a better, more humane lifestyle to the generation of individuals who gave more than their fair measure of difficult experiences to keep freedom throughout the world.
I know that they've earned it and deserve it. It's up to later generations to provide it, make it accessible, and/or give it to them. At one point Holiday Retirement was a source of such a lifestyle. Holiday can be resurrected but it won't be easy or inexpensive.
I know of two sources that relate experiences of employees of Holiday, past and present, and an article by a third party that explains the current financial and operational problems the company is dealing with. The first source is a blog titled "Holiday Retirement, Beneath the Veil". The second source is an article written by a principal of Levin Associates in The Senior Care Investor newsletter which I'm attaching to this correspondence.
My wife and I appreciate whatever time you or your staff takes in perhaps perusing this letter. I know that the preponderence of the ex and current employees of Holiday who believed in and practiced "The Holiday Touch" also appreciate and support any consideration or efforts returning Holiday to the great company it once was.
Sincerely,
John & Carol Wood
39 Buckland St.
Apt. #1232-5
Manchester, Ct 06042
(860) 647-0911
jcwood6@sbcglobal.net
Cc: Bill Gates
Oprah Winfrey
Tom Brokaw
Atch: Levin Associates
(NOTE: I took the liberty of changing the line spacing in order to fit the letter. I also inquired whether the Woods wanted their personal address and numbers deleted, to which they replied no - they opted for the exacts. dlcharles)
I would like to applaude you for the excellent communication. I trust your creative thought will yield positive results for a lot of dishonored people.
what I have not seen on this blog yet is the truth about what happened to Stan Young, former Chief Financial Officer. Is anyone aware that he was laid off, AND DIED THE NEXT DAY. Nobody was ever informed that he was laid off, including the staff under him, nor were they informed of how he passed away. One can only imgaine what might have happened. With the way the execs treat people I can only imgaine that this poor man took his own life or passed due to a heart attack caused from the treatment he received while employed by Holiday Retirement.
If no body was informed that he was canned, or laid off as you say, how do you know? And what's up with your implication that he took his own life? The story we at home office got was that he had a heart attack, although I don't think it was an offical communication. Oh yes, and he was an exec, one of the top 3 players. CFO is right up there with COO and CEO, ya know?
Would you consider getting another handle as I have been concerned for several months.
Thats pretty harsh!
hi, my wife and I are supposed to interview tomorrow. So, what I am getting is I shouldn't even bother. I there any hope for his place? It sound like a great oppurtunity. What is the salary like for co-managers?
The answer Dave, is found in a previous posting-- We on the frontline do care and our senior residents need us all. Consider it a mission field for a few months. Do what you can to make life pleasant for these fine folk. Put up with the pressure for as long as you can. You'll do some good and it will be an experience you'll never forget. The core of the Holiday Touch experience is the residents and the base staff. You'll get your 'touch' from the residents-- don't expect much from up the chain. Again, if you have the time to 'serve' it WILL do some good. Thank you. Oh, by the way, keep your resume sharp and up-to-date and if you do find something more rewarding - no one will blame you for leaving. There are other 'options' out there that practice a similar 'touch'-- you just have to look.
As long as you and your wife have elephant skin and a rubber A-- H--- You should be OK for a few months, no question the seniors need you.
LOL that's great! Wish I had that, can I get it on eBay? LOL
As far as co's-pay in the Pacific NW is about 25-26k a year, which was not what our recruiter told us, however once you figure out the hours you will work it amounts to about 6-7 dollars an hour. Working double shifts at Taco Bell pays better.
In the midwest when I figured the pay it was more like $4.50 to $5.00 per hour.
The answer is simple but the truth hurts.
ANSWER: Start caring about your people who take care of the residents (your income source).
PROBLEM: Doing so would be admission of guilt/fault that would likely result in demands for restitution that would likely bankrupt what's left.
ok, so what about this Sunshine Retirement? Are they worth looking into job wise? And do they have positions like co-managers?
If you are looking for a great job with a small but growing company that puts the residents first, drop me a note to jflentje@rlcommunities.com. We are always looking for dedicated talented people; managers, sales people, activity directors, chefs, concierge, bus drivers, maintenance, etc. We might not have an immediate opening, but things change quickly and you never know. You can look at our website at www.rlcommunities.com.
I do have an immediate opening for a sales and marketing director in Austin Texas if anyone is interested or knows someone who might be interested.
I also have an opening for a Lifestyle Director (activities) in Kansas City, send resumes to me at jflentje@rlcommunities.com
http://www.sunshineretirementliving.com/
http://www.seniorlivinginstyle.com/
Take a look...
Thanks everyone. To Jeff: I appreciate the offer, but we are looking for something in the Oregon area. I appreciate it though and I would definitely look into it if we change our area preference.
I must have missed the comments on the new member of the Dream Team in Salem. Mr Bob Donavan joined Holiday in June 2010 as PRESIDENT. He came to Holiday from AseraCare Hospice & Homehealth (where he was the PRESIDENT)so I guess it's not fair to say these leaders think Holiday can be run like a hotel. I'm just surprised nobody has analyzed this selection and given us some comments. He has been on board since June, he must have done something by now. Have we come to the fork in the road?
N0....I think they see the dollars going out the door when we lose residents to assisted living and memory care. It's coming...I just feel for the residents that thought they were going to gracious retirement living and the management staff who is already overworked. I'm sure that will add another time wasting conference call and 20 new respond to emails weekly.
I can tell you of my experience when Mr. Donavan visited our community several weeks ago. We were all VERY impressed with him. He is a very kind, polite, gentle and professional person. Of course his decisions will be where the rubber meets the road, but I think he deserves our initial support and our respect: he has a tiger by the tail, and his job will be very demanding. But in the short while he was with us, he took a genuine interest in every member of the staff....he was not overly critical of our building or of the things he saw. He may not have liked certain things, but he had the good sense to bring them up later at a more appropriate time. This was about establishing trust and confidence in his leadership and about boosting morale, and he succeeded at that. He also took the time to explain, in detail, what the business philosophy of the company is and why it is putting emphasis on certain marketing strategies. If the tone is set at the top, then I think Mr. Donavan is a welcome addition to Holiday management.
We had the exact same experience and impression of Bob Donovan when he visited our community recently. We expect great things from him in the near future, and look forward to his leadership at Holiday Retirement...stay tuned!
Re: the man from AseraCare, he was brought on as a forerunner to getting into company ownned Home Health in all of the communities. Jack has been wanting to buy a home health care company for awhile. It is merely the next move in maximizing profit for an established fact. Many residents are already getting aid from these companies (in fact a number are already residing in our communities). This is akin to opening a gift shop or restaurant in the hotel you are already running. It makes sense in a matter of speaking if it were not for the possibility that free access to other options may be reduced for residents. The correctness of the business and ethical questions it raises will be in the motivations of the originators.
I removed "Dates Agency" as a comment post. It was a poor attempt at advertising for a U.K. dating site and had nothing to do with the blog.
I did not write the posting of Pericles on 8-25-2010 4:37 A.M. but it does seem to make a lot of sense
I was waiting for your response, Pericles. I noted the IP difference and that the capital P which you use in your name was lower case on the imitator's name. I changed that comment to "unknown", but will leave it. Your comments carry weight with most of us and we don't appreciate a copycat attempting to claim your wordings. Thanks
I have just recently heard of this blog, and have spent a lot of time reading it. I am an Enrichment Coordinator in Canada, and have been with the company coming up on 5 years.
I have definitely noticed changes; especially to the job responsibilities for all staff, including myself. 4 & 5 years ago, I had an amazing budget and was therefore able to give my residents very fulfilling and meaningful activities. My focus was this: keep the residents happy by offering activities to suit their social, physical, spiritual, emotional and vocational needs. Nowadays, my budget is extremely small (1/4th of what it used to be), and I am expected to focus more on "potential" residents than the residents who make their home in our community. My residents see this change; they feel shortchanged that our company (and our staff) are being forced to cater our jobs to the "replacement" residents more than to the ones who live with us now.
I have always, and will continue to always keep "The Touch" with my residents...if I have to pick up catfood for a resident on my way to work? fine. If I have to work on my calendar at home because that last hour of my day was spent consoling a new widow? no problem. I could go on for days; I believe I help to embody what Bill Colson founded so many years ago.
The new focus has left much to be desired; change is always hard to accept, but with people like me and countless others who still believe in making a difference, we can do it. It won't be easy, but if we don't do it, who will? In 5 years I have seen 8 sets of managers/co-managers come and go; the focus now remains on marketing and filling the building (not to mention almost daily phone calls from RD & RSL to badger managers about move-in's/events/fill in these new forms/YGL/etc....) The added stress to all team members is uncalled for; they should be there to support us, not constantly ask/demand/reprimand for things we "ought" to be doing. Where did our fun jobs go? I used to wake up and not be able to believe I got paid to do my job; now...if it wasn't for my residents & co-workers(most have been employed at least 8 years), I would be walking out the door.
We need to remember our residents; I understand the need to market, but we all have enough to do. Bring back our building marketers and let us do our jobs. Word of mouth is the best advertising we can do, and if we're not paying attention to our residents, they are not happy, and the downward slide will continue.
It is easy to place blame, but to me, as long as I continue to keep my "touch" alive everyday, I am winning a small victory. To all of you still with Holiday/FIG, please continue to plug through and keep your residents close to your heart...it is only through caring staff that Colson's vision will stay alive.
Bless you, Enrichment!
For those of us who have left HRC, for any reason, we are encouraged to know that folks with your attitude are still aboard.
I second that! Well said, enrichment.
The sad part is that you can bring back all of the marketing people you want to the communities and very little is going to change in census. The truth is that it is TOO expensive to live in the communities and most of the healthier seniors that Holiday was originally built for are staying in their own homes! It is very different from the 70s when Holiday started -- there are all kinds of programs available to help you stay in your own home. Truthfully, what does Holiday offer to make someone want to give up everything and go live with people who wander around naked looking for the train station, or people who cannot even feed themselves at the table or people who sit in the lobby and pee themselves and everthing they are sitting on! These latter people are more and more the kind that families are trying to find somewhere to have them go to and at Holiday we are supposed to open wide our arms and say, "yes, we can take care of all of your needs."
I agree with you that it is getting too expensive to live at one of our communities; so many families are feeling the effects of the economy and can't afford to live the lifestyle they deserve.
I also agree with new programs becoming available to help seniors remain in their own homes; prior to Holiday, I worked for a government agency that supplied services & activities to help seniors remain independent in their own homes, and it was just started to explode (in Canada that is, not sure about the States).
I also agree that due to so many different reasons (top being census), we are seeing..."less independent"? residents enter our homes. (trying to phrase this nicely!) It really does have a ripple effect on other residents, especially those who came to live with us who are completely independent. It is almost a catch 22; admit a "less than" independent resident to increase census, or turn them away due to higher care to wait who knows how long to have a desired level of independent resident come in to the community to live...
What is the solution? I would love to hear your ideas. There was recently some talk of hiring a nurse, independent of the company, but rented space and gave service for fee. (pretty sure this has been scrapped at least for my community). How do we make this work? More and more, our competition (in my area) have the lifestyle we offer, brand new state of the art apartments/services/activites/etc., but also offer 24-hour nurse on call and we have lost a lot of residents to this; once again for many reasons, but primarily I hear their family tell me it is mostly for "peace of mind". What are all of your opinions on how to compete/bring Holiday back to a place where we are the best?
p.s. dl, I love that this blog exists; it is so interesting & helpful to have opinions and views of others who are/were in the same situation. I'm sure this has saved my spouse a lot of venting time!!
I am most impressed both in what you write - and the manner in which you do so. Due to NotMyRealName posting the "caregiver stress" comment below I had the pleasure of another research avenue open up.
Firstly, let me mention that I find a definite difference in the attitude and thinking of the Canadian versus American mind frame. When we were in Oregon for the week at the training we met and interacted with several couples from Canada. During the evening social conversations (away from the company strictures) my wife and I were taken with this "difference". I am not certain whether it has something to do with the bitter winters or a different life-look, but it is obvious.
In my early younger years I spent some time in the reaches of Alaska and remember being aware of this same "difference" of attitude. The separation of them from the "lower states" was much more than a physical distance (at least back then, but now I'm not so certain it is as noticeable).
You mentioned earlier about the time frame the staff had been in a community. From what I can garner it appears that the Canadian Holiday turnover rate is lower than in the US. If so, why? Are you treated better or is that you just do not put up with the junk as easily?
I also agree about people staying longer in their own homes with the assistance of outside care. As I mentioned earlier I have started a business which is senior oriented. This morning I did some repairs for a couple in their eighties. Their home was built in 1950 and the upkeep is beyond their physical capabilities now. Their biggest fear is that some day they will have to enter a nursing home or some place like a retirement community. Yes, they read the blog, plus they have family members presently residing in communities. But they want no part of such and desire to remain in their own home for as long as is feasible.
This trend is growing as the housing market gets worse. It is no longer as profitable to sell a residence or to afford a retirement home. Elderly parents are moving closer to their children (or with them) and finding it is less expensive in many situations to have upkeep done by someone else than to sell and move.
I'm Canadian, therefore the peacekeeper
We are extremely lucky that our staff are very longstanding; 4 have been there since the building opened. Aside from part-time servers (who are absolutely wonderful high-school students), our staff have years under their belt. Why? I'm not sure, but I do believe it is the desire to do something we love, give our seniors the retirement years they have worked so hard to achieve, and a sense of community amongst us. Due to this, I do believe we are treated (for the most part?) well, because managers/co's coming in know that we "should" know our jobs after that many years and we function well. The pay could be a LOT better, but we can't have it all, can we?
I'm not saying I know what it's like to manage, but I have acted in a "floater" role to cover, and I must say that just day to day "manager" roles exhausted me, plus doing the activities. 14 hour days (usually minimum) and everything just in the building that comes along with it would be enough for most...too many more responsibilities piled on + no increase in pay = a recipe for disaster.
dl, I'm glad you have remained in the senior industry. My previous job exposed me to a lot of lower income seniors, and more and more I realize that the seniors I serve today are very close to heading towards alternative housing to be able to afford to live.
Hmmmm....I'm not sure why my name didn't come up with my comment. That's all we need on this board is another anonymous!
I looked, but am not certain which comment you are referring to.
Great attitude! Unfortunately, despite Holiday's policy and labour laws more and more like you feel compelled to "work off the clock". Someone's going to get burned, if not burned out.
Being told your going to be fired all the time makes it rough. As GSM program heard that all those hired will be let go oct 1st.
Anyone knoe for sure
Posted comment was advertising ploy for online trading site - removed. dlcharles
dl...what is this??
Spam!
Entirely too good not to share with absolutely EVERYONE that reads this blog:
http://www.caregiverstress.com/2010/07/a-reminder-that-laughter-is-the-best-medicine/
She is wonderful! And that led me to research Home Instead.com. I ended up telephoning a couple of their franchised offices and had very pleasant conversations.
Thanks so much for putting this up for us, NotMyRealName.
This is so cool that I have been thinking alot about starting a service for the elderly so they can stay in their homes but I dont want it to involve medical just a business to check up on the elderly doctor apointments, errands and fun stuff. Any information to get me started would be appreciated. A companion service.
It is a very good business to start up - and it is also very economical to begin. I recently did such and am most pleasantly surprised at the results to date.
Is there a new ruling in the HRC personal manual that states a staff member can not do services for a resident on their own time? A new manager said its a ruling and I could not find it in the manual. A staff member was fired because she helped a resident before she clocked in for the day. Is this a new way to cut budget or what? Hope to hear Thanks
In the vernacular it's called "working off the clock" and was strictly prohibited, in the employee manual -- at least it was when we left two years ago. I can't imagine it has since been removed.
No one can tell an employee who is off the clock and on their own time what to do.
If they are doing work that is a part of their normal duties, that is one thing. If they are performing duties not done during normal work hours then they can do what they want.
If someone was dismissed for this, and they were doing a "special job" for the resident, they may have recourse depending on what state they are in.
I don't believe they ever changed the guidelines on staff members taking money or items of value from a resident. I believe that policy can be applied on or off the clock. If you provide a situation for an employee to work at the workplace (even for a resident on a "Special Job") you can take the hit as the employer on a workers injury claim. I also believe you can certainly tell an employee what they can do on their own time if they can be identified as an employee of your company. Just look around it is done in every state every day. Why do you think employers want to know who posts what on the various blogs. facebook, etc?
tcb,
You are mixing up a couple of things. One, yes if your behavior affects the image of the company, and you can be identified as an employee of that company, they do have an interest in your activities and can dictate your actions as they pertain to behavior. However, if you are working or performing a task for someone it is no different than having a second job.
As far as taking money or a gift from a resident, that is something entirely different. The policy of not accepting gifts is to prevent the impression of favoritism or seeking special treatment from the receiver of the gift.
I do not see how Holiday could take the hit on workers comp if an incident occurred off the clock.
It's not only a workers comp issue, it could also be a matter of civil liability if something took place on the worksite. For example: If an employee was doing something out of the scope of their job duties but on site and got injured, they could claim that the company was liable if it was an unsafe atmosphere, etc... It doesn't have to be true, but the company would take a hit defending itself.
As far as doing things for residents, even when the Colsons had the company it was against policy for employees to do side jobs for compensation for residents. It was grounds for termination, even though employees did things on the sly.
according to newsystock.com, Monday, August 30, 2010 3:34 PM: Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) slid more than 7% after the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its Chief Executive Daniel Mudd sold more than 150,000 Fortress shares last week.
Here's what I believe most of us pre-FIGers on this blog have been talking "around".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=player_embedded
This talk was the reason I flourished in my time at Holiday, well before Fortress, and why it was so devastating when I “left.”
It also explains in clear terms why census is dropping and why residents are leaving.
What is outlined in this video, is why Holiday was so successful for so long, not every day was wine and roses, but overall until the very end I always felt more valued there as an employee than anywhere I have ever worked, and I think the quality and quantity of my production showed, and what the change in management philosophy post FIC has brought.
I remember a meeting several times with Donna and Jeff, I think Kandy was there, I can’t remember who else was involved, where we talked about what services residents would want in 10 years and how we could adapt to meet the needs, talked about leisure dining, changing the TV room into a theater, and other stuff, wild ideas some of them: car purchasing programs for residents (we did that one) and other things. Brought up a little nostalgia, the good old days were never quite that good, but the overall philosophy was right.
I like that video.
Hopefully someone will investigate this company, this is what I received from Erin Brockovich.
Dear,
Thank you for your email enquiry. I appreciate that you have taken the time to contact me.
I am always amazed and humbled at the number of enquiries I receive from around the globe from people just like you who need my help or want some simple advice on how they may move forward in helping themselves. I take this responsibility very seriously, so it’s important to ensure I take the time to review the many enquiries I receive each week.
Thank you again and I will consider and reply to your enquiry as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely
Erin Brockovich
Good for you imdone. I wish someone would research and exploit them for their blatant unconcerned actions to the many, many employees that have been ruined along with the lives of many residents. Please keep us informed as to Erin's decision. Tank you for your attempt.
While I don't wish to incite you, I can give you some insight (sorry, I couldn't resist): My experience as a new co-manager is that you will have to fight through some VERY demanding times for the first few weeks. You will be exhausted, you will wish you had never taken the job, and you will probably despair on occasion at just how demanding the job is. Having said that, it DOES get easier. Once you get to know the residents, and you get to know the building and the many tasks that you must complete each day, you will begin to feel more satisfied with the job. If you get along with the other managers, that is a critical piece of the equation. And if you have a supportive RD who encourages open dialogue and doesn't get defensive in the face of CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, you will have a huge advantage. All I can say is this: don't do it for the money, and don't focus single-mindedly on moving up the corporate ladder. Always keep the residents and their well-being at the center of every decision and action you take. And despite what you may hear from upper management, the BEST sales and marketing strategy to fill the building is to make your current residents happy. If they love the product, they will talk to their friends and relatives about it. They will also be your best sales tool when future residents come for a tour and a meal. Every successful, well-run community that I have seen, without exception, has a positive "vibe" that permeates the entire building. You can really feel it. On the flip side, if the residents needs' are being ignored, they will become angry and resentful of the prospective new residents. The energy level will drop, and a negative "pall" will descend on the whole building. This feeds on itself in a very destructive way, eventually causing every resident and employee to feel its corrosive effects. Turning this around, once it has started, is very difficult. And selling to new people becomes nearly impossible! And so begins a community's "death spiral", where drops in census lead to further budget cuts, angrier residents, more move-outs, etc. All of us can only hope that someone in upper management will put the pieces together and realize that halting the death spiral requires MORE, not less, investment: more time, not less, spent with current residents. As for your decision whether or not to take a job with Holiday, I can only say "just do it for the right reasons and you can have a good career." What Holiday needs right now are a lot of new people with a positive, can-do attitude AND a supportive and respectful tone in all of their interactions with residents and subordinate associates....a company is only as good as its people. I would not want to discourage you or anyone else from joining the company if you have the backbone to handle what WILL BE a rough initiation period....just don't let the cynical complaints of others bring you down. Good luck!
Great attitude but let me know how you feel about it when you need Your vacation. From all of the managers I have known for 4 year the odds of having a management team that gets along is very slim when you are seasoned you will be a manager and who knows if you will go days without help in all areas of your building, co's, servers. housekeeping. maintenance etc...there will be those times. Good luck and mark my words. All jobs are exciting for the first while.
Very well done, glasshalffull!
Your comment should be required reading for every prospective HRC employee.
"the BEST sales and marketing strategy to fill the building is to make your current residents happy" -- should be on a wooden plaque and prominently placed in every office in the company.
Hellooo, Salem [and Manhattan], are you there?
As an ex-co, I can tell you the reason we quit. The management team should be on the same page with marketing, special events, and staff management. It should be seamless reagrdless of who is on the floor. The team must respect each others' times off and replace the time for the side of the team that maybe had to cover a little more.
Because we had a one or lopsided management, there was no work/life balance. Living and serving 24/7 has a high rate of burnout factor built in. It is all consuming and you do not know how to be off. It is not healthy to separate from family and social interactions and involvement to just be at work.
Of course they say that the rest of the management team needs to step in and step up...maybe in a perfect senerio, but I haven't seen a good model for it yet.
At Home Office, and so terribly frustrated. It is all I can do to continue....
I am right there with you!
Could someone give me input on the quality of Resident Relations? I know of several residents that really need to speak with someone at the top but are afraid that the managers will be informed. I have not had any dealings with them so any input that you could give would be appreciated.
The Resident Relations department at Holiday Retirement's home office does respond to every call they receive. Typically, the information they receive is passed-on to the respective Regional or Managing Director that oversees the originating community, and they follow-up with a telephone call to the person making a complaint. The direct number for Resident Relations is 503-370-2732.
Ask for D.W. at Resident Relations. She and her husband were community managers for a few years. Very sympathetic and fair. Jeff Roderick is still there and in charge of Resident Relations.
Well I understand Don Harris retired. He was the last of the original old Holiday. Now that they have gotten rid of all of them, I give my best to your down hill plunge. If anyone deserves it Fortress, you definately do.
I'm not really sure who you were referring to, but I don't believe Holiday residents and most of the associates 'deserve' Fortress!
Is Jeff Roderick not there anymore? He was Resident Relations.
I was hoping this would be read the way in which I meant it. I absolutely in no way was referring to my precious residents or staff. I was simply referring to the continuing downfall of Fortress itself, which they deserve.
Thank you for the clarification.
Did Don retire by his own choice or was he forced to retire? Don was a good guy. Met him many times during FIT meetings and he also had the best of intentions.
Don Harris may have been a good guy, but I cannot help but wonder if he did not sell his soul to Fortress to keep his job?
Last message from Jack...
What a wonderful summer this has been in our ongoing mission to share the Holiday Touch with seniors across the U.S. and Canada. During the month of August, we successfully connected with another 1,312 seniors who made the decision to call Holiday Retirement “home”. This represents the highest number of seniors we have ever welcomed into our family in a single month in the organization’s 40+ year history. This activity also enabled us to record the greatest increase in occupancy in a single month ever recorded at Holiday Retirement. Congratulations Holiday and well done - we are so proud of you!!!
We are especially proud of the fact that Holiday Retirement has quickly become “the place to be” for veterans and their spouses. We’re excited to share with you that thanks to your outreach efforts, over 53% of our 1,312 move-ins in the month of August were Wartime Veterans! Now pause and reflect upon that statistic for just a moment…how wonderful is that that over half of the residents we brought into our communities this month are veterans who proudly served their country? Let’s make sure we extend the Holiday Touch with these veterans in two specific and very special ways. First, let’s honor their military service by adding them to the Wall of Honor proudly on display in each of our communities. Second, for those who are U.S. wartime veterans and spouses, let’s connect them with our local third party Veteran Service Provider partners who can quickly help them determine whether they are eligible for the Aid and Attendance assistance. We have facilitated the process of connecting veterans with the financial benefits they are legally entitled to in record numbers over the past couple of months. What a wonderful way to share the Holiday Touch! Thank you and keep up the great work. Your outreach efforts are making a world of difference for these seniors.
The Holiday Touch is also resulting in our residents recommending Holiday Retirement to their friends in record numbers. During the month of August, our new DI to move-in conversion rates were higher on Resident Referrals/PDR’s than literally any other lead source across the company. In fact, our conversion rates for resident referrals were over twice as high as any other lead source!
Along those lines, we thought you would enjoy reading the accompanying letter (below) from Mrs. Marie Mather, a resident at Cascadian Place in Everett, WA. Mrs. Mather recently received a referral bonus from us for referring one of her closest friends to Holiday, which resulted in yet another resident referral move in. This is a very powerful example of how we have the ability to not only positively impact both our existing residents’ lives, but also their closest friends’ lives. These “friends of friends” are now living a much happier and more fulfilled life. They’re enjoying the loving “TLC” only you can provide…they’re experiencing the Holiday Touch!
I believe that we have to define the difference between the Pre-Fortress Holiday Touch and the Post-Fortress Holiday Touch.
In the former, Holiday Retirement cared for, took care of and worked with the residents, employees, and vendors. My wife and I were recipients of the latter, as were many others who were employed when the Colson's owned the company. The last of the original corporate officers is gone. I wonder if he was given 15 minutes to clear out his desk and physically escorted from the building as many other corporate employees were? This seems to be a prime example of the current "Holiday Touch."
I must say that the move-in numbers are impressive but at what cost are they achieved? My belief is that they are giving away the farm to cook the move in numbers. I would love to see a company P & L and a Balance sheet. They would tell the real story. One of the top lines in the article published in The Senior Care Investor article about Holiday reads "New Owner Dealing With Large Drop In Census."
One of the latest contributions to this blog is an example of how prospective employees are misled, promised the world, and then receive the current concept of the Holiday Touch. How long did he last? How many others have undergone the same type of experience? This Holiday is going in the wrong direction.
John...there is no question that the new leadership at Holiday doesn't have a clue what the Holiday Touch truly means. They use the term loosely to describe what everyone else calls customer service. Otherwise, they NEVER demonstrate an ounce of respect or compassion for ANY of their associates like Bill Colson did - those days are LONG gone!!
As for the record growth in gross move-ins, every community is incenting the equivalent of 2-4 months of rent to every move-in, and, in some cases, are additionally discounting rents up to 20% on apartments that have been vacant for over 12-months! Where they continue to shamelessly grow in revenue is on the backs of the current residents at a rate of 4.5% to 5% annually.
Hope all is well with you & Carol...you are sorely missed!
This is the rest of Jack's message. If this is all true there must be something working.
We’re especially proud to recognize the East District this month, which attained a whopping 331 gross move-ins and 136 move-ins in August – an all time record! Well done Team East!!!!
The following regions recorded the highest number of gross and net move-ins per community across the entire company in August. Let’s “high five them” together and celebrate their accomplishments!
Most Gross MIs Most Net MIs
TAKEUCHI 7.5 BENJAMSON 4.2
BENJAMSON 7.2 BARDELMEIER 2.7
BARDELMEIER 5.8 ELISCU 2.2
I’m also pleased to recognize the performance of the following Holiday Communities who outpaced their peers in recording the most gross and net move-ins in August. They do a wonderful job providing the Holiday Touch to their residents AND producing company leading financial performance!
Most Gross MIs Most Net MIs
HAWAII KAI HONOLULU HI 14 KENSINGTON COURT WINDSOR ON 12
HARVARD PARK SPOKANE WA 13 KITTERY ESTATES KITTERY ME 11
COPLEY PLACE COPLEY OH 13 HARVARD PARK SPOKANE WA 10
KITTERY ESTATES KITTERY ME 12 OXMOOR LODGE LOUISVILLE KY 10
KENSINGTON COURT WINDSOR ON 12 BLUEBIRD ESTATES EAST LONGMEADOW MA 9
OXMOOR LODGE LOUISVILLE KY 12 HAWAII KAI HONOLULU HI 8
ISLES OF VERO BEACH VERO BEACH FL 11 COPLEY PLACE COPLEY OH 8
GARDEN VILLAGE KANSAS CITY MO 11 COPPERFIELD ESTATES HOUSTON TX 8
COPPERFIELD ESTATES HOUSTON TX 10 LAS PALMAS PALM COAST FL 8
VENETIAN GARDENS VENICE FL 10 VINTAGE LODI CA 7
VINTAGE LODI CA 10 MADRONA HILLS SALEM OR 7
HIGHLAND TRAIL BROOMFIELD CO 7
COTTONWOOD ESTATES PLANO TX 7
INN AT CASS LAKE WATERFORD MI 7
QUAIL RUN ESTATES AGAWAM MA 7
We both spend over 75% of our time each month out in our communities across the U.S. and Canada. We’re frequently asked by many of our management teams what make these top performing communities so successful month after month. The answer is easy. In addition to providing their residents with an extraordinary living experience, these communities are literally “obsessed” finding more seniors to join their communities (Lead Generation). They know they’re good “closers” so they focus a great deal of time on the following best practices:
• Marketing events – First and foremost, they embrace the critical path planning guides (posted on our portal) our most successful communities so generously prepared and shared with us several months ago. They plan their events four weeks out and establish ambitious goals for new DIs and move-ins for every event. They ensure everyone on the team (all four mangers, sales resources, chefs, ECs, maintenance, etc.) understands their specific role in executing the marketing event plan.
Well like everyone else I was excited to get this message but that was all cut short when I was then told you need to get 1 move in a week no if and or butts about it.Who is your next move in when when when. This after we were one of the top communities with move ins for august.
He forgot to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent incentives and give aways- that house of cards will implode very soon.
We just learned that 136 of these August move-ins were referrals from A Place For Mom (APFM) - an all time high. To date this year, Holiday Retirement has 645 total move-ins referred by APFM with four months to go. That’s 208 more than all of 2009.
Concerned--before you talk about a man selling his soul you'd better know the man you are dealing with!! Don was an incredible man of integrity, honesty, and character who by the way does NOT need the money. He was the one that kept any shred of decency within the top line of command. Before you make blanket comments about someone keep your wondering to yourself.
Thank you so very much for the way you wrote about Don Harris. He indeed was a good man with integrity and everything else you stated.
Thank you
Did Don retire to spend more time with his family?
From what I know of Don Harris, coupled with the official announcement from Jack Callison, it appears that Don just retired - peiod. I do not believe that money was his motivator to work as his own personal investments were sufficient to make him quite comfortable. Whether he was asked to retire, no one will ever really know unless Don himself wants to talk about it. Other than that, I can't think of a nicer guy that deserves to be happy at whatever he chooses to do post-Holiday.
I am pleased to see that 53% veteran figure Jack cited.
I am only hopeful, on behalf of the existing residents we knew, that the vast majority of these vets are those of the Korean Conflict, otherwise there could be a preponderance of WWII vets [truly the greatest generation] who are in their 90s an may need more than just "gracious living" environment at this point in their lives.
On the other end would be the Vietnam or Desert Storm vets who are likely much younger than our the median residents age and are likely in desperate need of very special care.
Don't get me wrong, as a Vietnam veteran myself, I have a true kindred feeling of brotherhood for every one of them -- There but for the grace of God...etc.
However....
Long Story Short:
Interviewed with HR.
Researched HR while awaiting an offer.
Found this blog.
Felt strong need to "stand up" for this amazing company that approached ME while employed with a stable job with promises of the sun, moon and stars.
Left stable job,accepted offer.
Experienced two weeks of bliss in training.
Experienced months of agony, stress, confusion, sadness and fear once being in the field with upper level management.
I left.
I wish I had never heard of Holiday Retirement.
It makes me sad that the entire time that I have kept up with this blog that I remained the Devil's Advocate and can no longer. I can no longer see both sides. I wasted a great deal of time remaining optimistic for the wrong cause.
Sounds Like you were one of the General Sales Manager -- soon to be called Community Sales Leaders. Don't Trust the Training Managers. They have never worked in the field and don't know what is going on.
Devil'sAdvocateNoMore: Please believe me when I strongly state how sorry I am for your situation. To have the promised potential of a meaningful career extinguished is extremely saddening to anyone. There is such a "lift" in caring for the residents and when the caring is subjugated by the externals it defeats its purpose.
Know that most of us have undergone this ourselves. The caring for the residents never totally goes away in our hearts or minds even though we have physically separated from the company. Recently my wife and I were in the city and happened across two residents of our former community. The hugs and well wishes were exchanged as we had a brief conversation catching up on all the "gossip". Amid the "Wish you guys were still here" and "Things have really gotten terrible" sentences the fear of those two elderly people rang loud.
The two ladies went on and on about conditions, rent raises, food service, etc.. All my wife and I could do was sympathize with them. We felt so helpless as they teared up when expressing concerns about their approaching financial inability to continue residence and having to consider different living arrangements. It was an emotional experience which is hard to describe. As my wife and I returned to our vehicle and drove away the visible heartache displayed by my wife was obvious. It gets to you!
We recently left Holiday. If we had seen this blog prior - we would NOT have accepted the position. There are many dimensions to a management position in a Holiday building. If all those dimensions work together then it can be a great job, but even the best of scenarios will have the life sucked right out of it by the "powers to be" - those at regional levels and above who relentlessly hammer the obvious on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. Most of whom do not have the slightest understanding of the pulse of a building - nor do they care to understand. We loved the staff and fellow management, we loved the residents and we did not want to leave any of them. But we simply could no longer work for a company that so blatantly does not care for the staff and residents of their buildings. Whose only concern is profit - not people. We know that the very reason we left is closely related to the very reason we should have stayed, so some personal reasons tilted the scale to the decision to leave: mainly, the lack of personal time for all things outside of work and the effect of the stress on our health (by the way - the health insurance claimed every single thing we sought care for was a pre-existing condition and denied every claim. We will be paying doctors bills, for months to come). Someone asked the question "can Holiday learn from this blog?" The truth is yes, they could. The reality is, they won't. It was hard to leave the staff and residents. They became our family and very dear friends - we still miss them dearly.
Snickerd00dle, I am very sorry to confess that there are dozens and dozens of couples out there who share the exact same story you do. It is a shame, but what is - is. Best to you guys!
One thing that continues to puzzle me is why new people are surprised when they get the shaft with this company. If you worked for Holiday pre-Fig and you just became a victim of the changes rolling over you that can be understood. For people that say they have read this blog before going to work for Holiday - - WHAT DID YOU EXPECT???? The people on here are not making up these stories. Look on any of the employment websites and you will not see 100+ job openings with any other company in this business. Holiday is no longer the biggest and they certainly could no longer be considered the leader so why do you think they have all these "OPPORTUNITIES"? As long as they can keep the shell game going and nobody asks why or cares that very few salaried employee has been around more than 3 years in a company that was a leader in the senior housing market for 30+ years it will go on. Looking at this picture, 10,000 associates in a growing company on the verge of expansion and nobody in charge of anything has been around when the company was a leader. I know I may hear from the "exceptions" to this that will say they have done what they had to do to keep their jobs in this economy. For those I would ask, are you proud of what they let you keep? For all you new recruits if you are looking for a new career opportunity I would urge you to ask one question. Just ask anyone you have the opportunity to interact with, "Could you identify ONE person that has moved up in the company in the last 3 years?" My advice, if they are able to identify someone, stay away from that person. I know as well as anyone the economy is not good and jobs are scarce but this process will continue as long as there is meat to push through the sausage machine. Holiday has an expected life cycle for a new resident and an expected life cycle for a new staff member. When they say remember it is a business, they ain't lying it's all business. Maybe they should all read that Good to Great book again. I agree there are dozens and dozens with the same story and the sad fact is there will be dozens and dozens more.
I can name one person that has moved up the chain - Mike Bardelmeier has recently been promoted from Regional Director of lease up communities to Managing Director of the east coast. He has been with the company less than 3 years, maybe less than 2 years.
I'll stick with my original comment & advice.
I am not saying you are wrong, just that I know of 1 person that has moved up the cutthroat food chain. Considering who it is, I am not surprised by the promotion.
I hear you loud and clear, for I am one of the persons you are speaking of. I was let go for stupid reasons that made no sense at all, and it seems like I'm dreaming, and when I wake up, I'll still be at Holiday. It was obvious that they just wanted to get rid of me. I loved my job, and everything that it entailed. I got along well with the residents, and I loved them dearly. Yes, some days it was more stressful than others, but overall I loved my job, and was hoping it would be my last job before I got to retirement age....but like many others, that fell short. Holiday needs an awakening on how to run their business the right way, and I am convinced that if they got back to the "true" Holiday touch, that they would see the census improve, and then corporate wouldn't feel that they needed to "micro-manage" the communities. My background is in management, and management teams are to work together, not separately. It's amazing how poorly the co-managers are treated......as if the co's are just there to take up space so that the managers will be able to have their days off. Yes, it's obvious that the residents "do not" come first. The residents may be elderly, but they are not stupid. For those residents that have been at the communities for several years, they can see the changes over the years, and it's not positive. I know residents that would like to move out, but really have no place else to go. Bottom line is, if Holiday really cared about the residents the way they say they do, then things would be very different. Knowing that they do read this blog, you would think that they would "get it". I just don't understand!!
I wonder what Bart thinks of how these "stewards" have ruined this company. It is a shame to see what they have done rather quickly to something his father took a lifetime to build. It's no longer someone's vision, it's just business!
What part of the country are you at? I have 35 openings at this moment (I/L) and I will pay $500,00 for each resident you bring to our building.
Contact me at: rightstuff_52@yahoo.com
Is that a "Holiday" community? I thought the bounty was up to $1500.00 per move in if they stay at least 60 days (or you can manipulate the M/I & M/O date to cover 60 days).
No, it is NOT a Holiday building.
My husband and I worked for Holiday also. We were recently fired after I informed Mike Daley that I'd filed a civil rights suit against the company. My apartment was broken into by the managers I worked with and nude photos were stolen and put on the internet. I was called a nigger at work, sexually harassed my a floating manager, and had my life made a living hell. When I informed Mike that we wanted to transfer, he came down and fired us for telling company secrets for letting the residents know that we were transferring! I have a claim with the state right now, they are being investigated, the claim was found valid. If anyone else has experienced any discrimination at the hands of holiday please let me know, be it sexual, racial, or otherwise.
Wow! Do keep us posted.
...and best of luck.
This is unacceptable anywhere in our society today. You have the right of privacy in your apartment, barring an emergency. I hope you made a complaint with the local police about the theft and posting, as well as contact the State Police and FBI cyber-crime. Also consider the ACLU and NAACP.
I would also contemplate civil action.
Don Harris is a top-notch guy. He actually believed he could make things better. Have a great retirement, Don.
Has anybody ever heard of Sunshine Retirement communities? Not Sunrise, but Sunshine. Are they related to Holiday/Fortress?
When Bill Colson sold Holiday Retirement to Fortress Investment Group in March 2007, his son, Bart Colson, held on to a small group of communities that Fortress was not interested in buying. Bart formed these communities under a company called Hawthorne Retirement. Recently, Bart sold a few of these communities to a group of investors led by Dick Glaunert, former Holiday Retirement's West District Managing Director. Dick formed the company known as Sunshine Retirement headquartered in Bend, OR. Dick and his investors have put in place all of Bill Colson's original business model in their company, so don't be surprised if it looks a lot like the old Holiday Retirement.
The buildings are owned by a private entity that would not sell when Fortress bought Holiday, so Hawthorn managed them, Bart, nor Hawthorn or Dick Glaunart have any ownership in those buildings. The buildings were taken from Hawthorn due to the owners dissatisfaction with Hawthorns management of the properties, so the owners formed their own management company. One note, the owners are notoriously cheap, not willing to make upgrades or improvements to the properties. Most of the properties a very old and not in top shape.
Thank you for the clarification.
Now that you have brought up the idea of improvements and upgrades to properties I have a question. Of the approx 300 Holiday communities out there how does it look for upgrades and improvements this year. Many of these communities are aging also and fewer than ever are getting those much needed re-cores. If they are not upgrading the "old" communities and they are not building any "new" communities what is the plans to double in size? Do they really plan to acquire additional existing communities when they obviously have trouble staffing the ones they have now? When you have some communities that are over 30 years old and not being upgraded, and you didn't grab the options on the new communities built the past 2 years this is certainly a new growth strategy. Maybe you are as big (or too big) as your abilities will allow. On a positive note, if you ever get a working model for this senior living stuff you guys will be hard to beat. Oh for the good old days when it was all so easy.
More accurately the one company is called Hawthorn Retirement (no 'E' at the end of Hawthorn) and Sunshine is a management company and is managing a select group of Hawthorn's communities. Dick Glaunert's Sunshine is headquartered in Virginia Beach I believe. It would be nice if someone from either of those companies would clarify. I know they are on here.
Sunhine has an Accounting office in Bend OR and an Operations office in Newport Bch CA. We have 15 bldngs so far. We are making LOTS of improvements, so I tend to disagree with the comment above. We have great vision, great direction and are providing our Residents the care and respect they deserve!! Wish us well!!
Let me be the first to wish you and all of the Sunshine Retirement organization well. I personally know some of the leadership in the organization, and if the principals are willing to make the necessary improvements to enhance their investments in the properties, then Sunshine will be a great place for seniors to live and for people to work. Here's to your success!
I left Holiday in June 2010. When I resigned I received a phone call from Byron Shinkle in HR asking why I was leaving. I politically explained why I was leaving. Towards the end of the conversation he offered me a settlement offer stating that I would not sue Holiday Retirement for a lump sum of money. I was wondering if anyone else has been approach with the same offer?
Yes!!! This seems to have become an accepted practice when you don't pay attention to all the rules we should all play by. Did they also tell you were special and to please keep this offer to yourself? I would guess anyone that leaves without an offer has probably escaped just before the axe fell. (I didn't take the offer, who knows where all this will end up)
Gee, do they see class action suits coming their way and this is a way to control the damage?
I left after 4 years and NO write ups transfered 4x to buildings that needed help to bring up census and staff problems with how they treated and cheated the residents and had 10 pages on the staff of how they ran the building and grouped together causing chaos and they fought my unemployment and won THANKS DAVID hope he is gone too!!kiss butt
Sorry but I am still angry that I saved alot of $$ to quit knowing things were going down with no RD support knowing that was why we were sent there to clean it up. Biggest of all I miss the seniors. Never collected unemployment in my life but paid into that account for years.
So nobody knows if David Roch et is sill a regional in the midwest????????? Or where Ed nilles is?????????? Help me guys.
No.......I got a $7,000 bill. The disputed charges that were made the last three months of my employment....like i wouldn't have the receipts to back it up. After 4 years of watching them make a total mochary of the company holiday used to be, you would think they would be a tad bit smarter to make that type of allegation!
Found this on a local CraigsList:
Couple Wanted to Manage Aparment Complex
________________________________________
This unique opportunity is for couples to manage an Independent Living Apartment Complex for Senior Citizens. This is a live on-site position for a company that ONLY hires couples who have prior work history together to manage their properties. The two main components of the job are property management and grass roots sales/marketing. Because of this, both people in the couple must have hands on, one on one, face to face sales/marketing work experience. This is a salary plus position, which means the couple will receive both a salary plus: housing (the couple must live on-site and will be provided an apartment at the property as part of the package), free chef prepared meals on the property, housekeeping service, all utilities, an excellent medical insurance package and 401k. Please note, you must be open to relocation, which the company will assist with. You must have compassion for Seniors and enjoy interacting with them. For the right couple, this position can really be looked at as a Lifestyle vs. a Job!
Holiday Retirement will be out of business within 15 months. All of it. Residents expelled, real estate sold.
Watch it happen.
What do you base this on? Do you have any information about this, you wish to share?
If you are correct, residents had better start looking for other communities to live in. As you can see from a previous post, there are communities looking for residents so please do share with us where you base you inforation on.
You sound like a troll. Prove your statements or go away.
Should one call this "insight" or "incite"?
You really should not state something without any proof or facts to base this statement on. You are dealing with the lives of people who live and work for holiday. It's like yelling "fire" when there is not one.
This statement is riddled with error, to include the writers intentional identity. I don't like typing, so let your mind expand on the little info I give. Only a hand full of people in this size of an organization would know of such a decision; because money is at stake.
A company of this magnitude has an IS department (Information Systems Department) and controlling information to maximize profit is priority. An IS dept (at the Fortress level) has high end IT security and a non disclosure team readily available to crush your life....but forget that. Aside from that.... deductive reasoning has to assume that the few people that would know this info would not benefit from the discord of such information; including anyone that benefits from the success of Fortress, from employee to family to service providers. Also, when a company that is sold for billions, has an operational agreement that tends to be 10 to 20 years. What I have mentioned is just the surface of an intent to stimulate your thoughts on reasonable business practice in America. Its mathematics more than culture. At the level of Fortress, the mathematics of purchasing a company in a down market and then dissolving it in the same market is stupid. Please people, move on with other issues as has been presented. The Fortress Insider is a romper-room throw away.
gravity pub, you are probably absolutely right however it does promote thought to a company that was stupid enough to pay what it did for Holiday and then stupid enough to almost completely destroy it in less than two years. Wouldn't you say there is a parallel here?
touchless,
good point, and a correct perspective, but I'm going to side with greed and smarts. A company of this magnitude doesn't match up with stupid. There has to be a star chamber at this level and number-crunchers. There is a definite transformation happening and it is for profit. The company (on an elementary comment) is transforming from a pure "touch" to a market share holder. A faster pace is required in this transitional market and I think that a gain in some marketing and acquisition of the market share comes at the expense of the current practices of pure "touch". In other words, I think the balance of the funding, with the percentage of the "touch", introducing aggressive marketing and market share acquisition is being aligned and the transformation pangs are apparent. this is NOT to state that I agree or not. Many good people are affected by this. But at the top is math and at the bottom is people. Happens all the time. I'm still watching and listening though.
Shame on you, that is a lie. Holiday residents read this and your going to scare them about being in jeopardy & homeless. Holiday has had record breaking numbers the past six months and is very secure and not going anywhere. so, please if you have issues with the company then fine, but don't lie to the seniors we love without facts.
Whoever Fortress Insider is, they have set up a possible pandemonium when residents become aware of their posting
Pericles: I don't think that will happen. Fortress Insider might actually have an insight, although I seriously doubt it. The comment appears more of a "trickster" than anything else.
Fortress has once again decided not to pay any dividends to shareholders. It has been a very long time now since any dividends were paid. This, to me, says a lot about the strength (or lack thereof) of the investment group itself. Even if Fortress Insider has the correct information there are a few things which dismantle it. There are regulations in place to prevent residents from being "expelled" if the scenario came to pass. The congressional and media outcry at such a ploy would be unbelievable.
A blanket sale is potentially feasible - if a buyer could be found. A public offering is also a potential, but here I see numerous pitfalls which would in all probability make this unlikely in the near future. What will most likely occur is a continuation of the present situation. As long as residents are willing to put up with things as they are nothing will likely change for the better. Employee turnover will continue at all levels. At this writing the shares are at $3.69 for FIG and everything is going according to a specified plan. Jack Callison was hired to do a job - and he is apparently doing his job very well. The pyramid effect is running at peak with those at the top raking in the money at the expense of those at the bottom. It is all about the numbers.
During the course of my research on Holiday and Fortress I have been struck at how frequent are the monetary losses of various purchases made by Fortress. Name a single profit producing purchase made by Fortress Investment group since it began. As long as there are investors with money to throw away on managed funds there will be a Fortress or a Fortress type situation. The money managers will always make money as long as the money keeps flowing. The Colson concept is dead and buried with regard to Holiday. What is left is a lip sync of that concept. In a few communities some hard won teams continue to live THE TOUCH, but they are becoming fewer each day.
I.m just saying that rumors, true or false, can have a very emotional effect especially for people with physical or mental problems.
Although I completely agree with what dlcharles has written here I also wonder why Fortress Insider wrote what he/she did.
This person must know that many residents and their families read this blog. In the case of residents, these people can easily be intimidated by such a statement from Fortress-Insider and start worrying about where they are going to be living and or how they possibly can find another place in a short period of time. The elderly, in the Holiday communities, do not need to be made upset over this sort of statements. (these folks are already upset enough over the treatment they receive at most of these communities).
If Holiday Retirement would indeed be going out of business and this statement from Fortress Insider takes off into the sunset, what incentives do you think that any family or potential resident have to move in from this point forward.
Here is another observation.
With all of the incentives being offered, by Holiday Retirement, to attract new residents what do you think the current residents think when they receive their annual (or in the case of Holiday Retirement) bi-annual rent increases.
What would be interesting to know is the variety of incentives being offered by any of the Holiday communities in the various different regions.
I have heard incentives of 3 months free rent during the first 3 months of stay plus no community fee to financial rewards to give-a ways of large scale items.
This tells me that Holiday/Fortress is desperate.
It is also my understanding that Holiday is trying to get ready to do an IPO (Initial Public Offering) real soon. Buyer beware! Just look at the way Fortress went public and how fast the value of their stock dropped. It is all public information for you to read. I am not writing anything that is not true.
Since Holiday reads the blog (and occasionally prints it out) let's see whether someone from Home Office or Fortress will set minds at ease. Pericles, Achmed, and the rest are correct about the residents and the residents' family confusion regarding Fortress Insider's comment. I believe this would be very important to the company and the stockholders for such confusion to be quickly cleared up.
If the company/Fortress does not step up with clarification then I believe it would behoove any resident to heed that failure and react accordingly in regards to the futures of said residents and their living arrangements.
Here you go, Jack R. Callison Jr., because the ball is squarely in your court. Do the residents have something to worry about or not? Do they start looking for somewhere else to live or will Holiday be around to take care of them?
So that all of you are "in-the-loop" - I just telephoned Holiday at 503-370-7071 (extension 7038 for Resident Relations) and left a message regarding Fortress Insider's comment. I said I wished to be fair with Holiday and am attempting contact with them for clarification which I would then post on here.
I was one of the General Sales Managers - started in April, lasted until July, when I was able to get back into the Hotel business where I belong. As I understand it, the GSM's are being "renamed" Community Sales Managers - wonder how that's playing out, especially if it means lower commissions. I also have heard lots of rumblings of a class action suit on the part of GSM's, based on the completely false representation of job responsibilities, earnings, duties, etc. I know that was certainly the case in my situation.
On a side note, I can't tell you how privileged I was to work with some FANTASTIC community managers - I worked at two communities during my short tenure with Holiday, but the CM teams at both were very caring and committed to their residents. I hope they're able to weather the storms, whatever they may be - they're a credit to all of you that are committed to taking care of our senior population.
A very nice comment and well said. Would you care to go more in depth about your situation?
Sure - I was hired as one the many GSM's brought in from the hotel business. Although Sales was not my primary focus in the hotel industry in the past, I was initially told that I would work with a specific community, learn the ropes about selling, as it's such a large part of managing a community, then move into what we all know is delusional position of "General Manager."
Reality was pretty quick in coming - in my first week, I was told that rather than have my own community that I would be paired with another GSM...then less than two weeks later, I was moved to another community whose GSM departed - back to the hotel industry, (that was a pretty big clue for me - he had been one of the first GSM's hired, and he only lasted three months). I was also told during my first week what my schedule expectations were - needless to say, it was quite a different story than I was told during training.
I guess the thing that struck me the most was the callous attitude of Holiday during the whole GSM fiasco - they bring in hundreds of people, most with NO knowledge of the industry, to sell, (and theoretically MANAGE), a product they don't know/understand, while virtually ignoring hundreds of well-qualified, caring Community Management Teams that are already committed to their communities! And they wondered why so many couples left?! It is still astounding to me, months later - I completely understand why the management teams were paranoid, upset and angry about "us" coming in to take over.
As for me, I admitted the ever-shifting policies, procedures and overemphasis on "MOVE-INS OR ELSE!" mentality vs. maintaining relationships with current residents, maintaining buildings and spending a little money to keep good staff was not my cup of tea, and happily, found a great position at a beautiful hotel.
On a side note, a friend of mine from the hotel biz was very recently recruited and hired in a Regional capacity by Holiday - I can safely say that based on what he was told, the plan is to take the company public in less than two years, which means BIG stock option bucks for the chosen few.
Correction....we were not just told about the GSM status to GM status....it was in the offer letter that the transition would happen.
Thank you. Very interesting. I am sorry it did not work out for you - I truly am. So far there is no response regarding our attempts for clarification from Holiday. I really don't expect a response because from the very beginning of the blog Holiday Top Dogs have done nothing to show they actually care. Reports come in about them labelling commenters as liars and negative naysayers, yet they prefer to hide in the shadows when offered protected response options.
You know what? I often wonder if the blog would have been initiated if Jack R.Callison Jr had taken the two minutes to respond to my initial letter to him. I point out that the CEO of Walmart (Mike Duke) had enough "Business Intelligence Developer" courtesy to respond to an unknown. Looking back, I must say I am glad there was no response because of what has developed with all of your comments. I am so proud of you guys for speaking out with the concerns and potential solutions. You're Great!
Pericles: Due to the company's refusal to respond to the direct questions regarding futures of viables I would strongly advise anyone presently living in a community, or considering such, to begin seriously looking at options. The silence screams a warning louder than any words. No matter how much a dedicated management team/staff tries to live The Touch a community cannot survive unless the company leaders are willing to lead by example and deliver the steadfastness required - and that just isn't happening.
As much as I detest Holiday / FIG for what it has become, I could not imagine even this careless, despicable, money hungry company selling out based on property values alone. All the hyperbole about making residents move is someone looking for a reaction, and they have accomplished that. Their push for census without regard to their CMT’s may be more telling as to what their intentions are.
The push for census is not working on the east coast!Last months move ins were 173, move outs 160, net 13 .Occupancy 78.3% Last years9/30/09 78.1% WOW How not to get the job done.
Yes, Little Ronnie is still there and being a puppet to the highest bidder...
Is LP Tompkins still with Holiday
LP is gone to spend more time with his family.
Do you know how to contact LP? Hope he is doing well.
Who else left to spent more time with there families. Anyone know?
With very rare exceptions, almost everyone that was around in 2008 are now spending more time with their families.
So, how many more are going to spent more time with there families in the near future?
Those that have resigned have typically given 2-4 weeks notice, and those that are forced out never seeing it coming. In any case, it's not the sort of thing anyone can predict with much accuracy.
George & Nancy Lewis have retired after 11 years.They were laid off when the marketing dept was shut down came back as floaters.
Hellish... ..please induldge excerpt of letter I will never send: "painstakingly built my reputation and career as a Holiday chef from the ground up..worked/covered every kitchen position.To weather the whims of increasingly transitory management no easy task..staffing/scheduling concerns put aside..part-time dishwashers/cooks forced to compete for what should have been full-time positions..kitchen nearly collapsed..climate of fear ensued.." end of story:was promised help,given vacation,THEN terminated.
Worked 60+hrs/wk,left clean, in budget kitchen.Good chefs beware:be assertive, go toe-to-toe to survive or u WILL get screwed.Corporate's out to break us. Watch ur back, no joke. One shabby write-up,most things already addressed.
Nature of the beast-justfeelsorry for everyone. Stupidly,honestly didn't see it coming.TALK to your fellow chefs.Mostchefs in place longer. Why do they treat us like crap? Real scary when your blood runs cold,your feet hurt and you're having freaking nightmares, all with a happy face. All is not cool at Holiday,and it's starting to show.Love your residents,love ur staff,get rid of the bad ones quick,CHECK/FIGHT for your prep hours/caution:probably why I got canned..come early/stay late love ur family when u get home..u WILL be burnt hope they love and support u back..my kids are happy,they have their Mom back. My husband too..Remember:U work to have a life. This company is bringing out the very WORST in management and they really, really do not care.They're making us hard-sell ambulance chasers..I think everyone feels trapped.Again, I dont hate my managers..especially after reading all this..it's a cautionary tale,folks.
I understand that along with the cuts at the Home Office the Resident Enrichment Department has been cut and is now being run by one employee. What are the chances that soon we will hear our Activity programs will not have an Enrichment Coordinator?
I see Holiday is advertising for a "Business Intelligence Developer" (...Insert punch line here, the choices are endless!!)
I see that particular position is no longer open. I wonder whether they actually hired someone or if they found out no one had the "Holiday" version of "Business Intelligence".
Very funny job title considering it's for Holiday Retirement. I read that this position is in the Information Technology department, and focuses on data storage and management techniques used for data warehouses in crunching out reports for management. Yikes!
"Holiday Retirement" and "Business Intelligence Developer" in the same sentence? I wasn't an English major, but that sure fits the definition of "oxymoron" to me.
is ita common practice to not have floating chefs in place? in our region we were encouraged to cover each other(chefs) for vacations or asked to float by the regional.
In our region, the regional was floating and covering in his communities and out of his/her region to cover for chefs. There are still regional chefs in training in place to help covering, as far as I know
I think our regional got burnt out. They had to sub pretty often at a couple of properties that had no chef in place. No floaters that I was aware of, for at least a couple of years. Wonder if the new regional knows what they're in for.
A very enlightening blog which brings answers to many lingering questions. Information that is much needed. Thanks
I received a response from Holiday on my telephone request of 9/24/2010 (in earlier comment):
At 6:36PM today (my time) I had a telephone conversation with Kai Hsiao, the Chief of Staff & VP Business Development of Holiday Retirement. Regarding my question to him about the comment posted by Fortress Insider Mr. Hsiao stated the statement was false. He added that he felt it was a careless statement to make and felt it unnecessarily created a confusion/fear among the residents. He questioned the authenticity of the commenter (as do we all). Mr. Hsiao said he realizes there are differences - but hopes that all remain focused upon the common goal to continue the Colson tradition of the residents always being first. (The echo from the speaker phone at Holiday would occasionally override the conversation.)
I touched on fears of residents about their futures, about employees (past & present) concerns about their jobs, and about the need for holiday to set up some form of communication with their people. Something like this blog so people can safely offer any type of input without fear of reprisal. His response was that any employee can contact them with concerns and will be listened to. He was very vocal in his praise of community management members and staff.
I gave a blanket "anonymity protection" insofar as to those who place comments in the blog. To my question of Holiday offering an IPO in the next two years I received no answer, neither pro nor con. Mr. Hsiao did repeatedly stress Holiday's putting the residents first and foremost as a company policy. When I related concerns about the indifference being shown by the company I was again given the standardized words about The Touch being alive and well, but his words rang with heartfelt conviction.
Mr. Hsiao is the first Holiday Retirement upper echelon to step up to the plate. For this I give him applause. If we hope for a more open exchange in the future we must be fair minded in such exchange. I believe all of us desire to see the company do well as long as the residents and employees are treated with respect and fairness - and maybe, just maybe, this will be a start.
The fact that he had you on speakerphone just convinces me that he had company in his office -- most likely lawyers and upper echelon FIG people. The other fact that he gave you nothing more than the company line is what I expected as well. Remember, actions speak louder than words and the actions of FIG are a disgrace. Mr. Hsiao is a marketing person trained to sell ideas to people. I'm sure that the length of time it took for him to respond to your inquiry to Resident Relations was designed to have the attorneys and FIG people hone and craft his message.
Isn't this the same man who allegedly walked the halls of home office making fun of the holiday touch and singlehandedly destroyed it? His "praise" of CMT and staff is short in coming and was not in the least bit sincere. He's trying to come across as a "good guy" but his praise rings hollow in the ears of those FIG has wronged.
And as far as the IPO goes, of course he isn't going to confirm that...nor anything else mentioned in your questions.
I'm sorry, but I don't believe anything that comes from a FIG executive.
What a phoney. DL is to smart to let them outwit him You GO DL You have etiquate (SP) I know what your thinking
I am in the unique position of being able to refute all which was said by Kai Hsiao; I worked directly for him. While his words may have offered praise for the CMT's in the company, he personally spent much of his time skewering anyone who would work in that position. Please remember he was a chief proponent of the Exec Director program as a replacement to the CMT because he felt "The Touch" was a concept which was outdated.
In re to residents being placed first you should have spent some time asking him about Wyndlands South in Nashville TN; a god forsaken property where the residents were completely disregarded and left to fend for themselves. I'm sure Ronnie Moye will be able to address this when "he leaves to spend more time with his family" as Sam Greene is doing now.
Kai Hsaio is the master manipulator and you only need to look back to the first coup he backed; the departure of Cheryl and the other good folks who made this a good company.
I still have good friends in the company those from the old company and from the new...the IPO is openly discussed and will happen.
My husband and I also have experienced first hand how quickly Kai can stab you in the heart. We had, what we thought, the honor of spending a few days with Kai a few years back. Believe me when I say it is no honor! Kai's belief "Community Managers are to be seen not heard".
Another incredible RSL gone. It's tragic to see top notch managers - regional or otherwise, feel forced to leave a company they believed in when hired...only to see them depart disheartened. Good Luck J. - you are loved and will be missed.
Another Regional Director Ut, Mt and Co is gone maybe due to HRC Stress and to spend more time with his family. I bet he will be very happy to go back to the Hotel industry so he can do a job without corp. pushing, changing and adding more stuff to dish out to Resident Managers. Hope the new fellow will be able to work longer than 9 months.
I for one want to thank all the Community Managers for allowing us to "touch" you with the Holiday Touch! We are touching your salary by reducing the company match into your 401K's and only matching your contributions once a year if we have the money to. Please know how much we appreciate your willingness to give back part of your salary so we can afford to collect our yearly bonuses here at Home Office. God bless each one of you suckers!
Just watching Problem Solvers on our local news and a company was sent to the hall of shame for collecting 30 days rent after a resident passed away. It was not a Holiday building but this is also What Holiday did. Maybe we should have them also on the Hall of Shame
There is no hall of shame big enough for holiday/FIG
AMEN
The BEST way to contact L.P. Thompkins is by smoke signal... Just get a big ol' cigar and start puffing... I'm sure he'll see it and find you.
All ready tried Smoke Signal and he did not get the message...SORRY!
Sunshine Retirement is a great company who treats their managers with respect. Puts the residents and employees NO 1. Our buildings may have years but we have heart for our people.
Can someone tell me where the EC's in Florida train?
came to post once again...I can say that to my knowledge, Tess Aiello is the only home office staff member left in Resident Enrichment.
from an enrichment point of view, this worries me greatly; I am now getting pressure from my managers that I'm "not doing my job" unless I am actively involved in marketing (PDR invites, arrangements, inviting community groups, etc.) are there any others in my situation? what are CMT's opinions of EC's getting involved?
my community has been told (with recurring reminders) that we are not to spend money unless it's absolutely necessary; I can't even ask for $10 to cover lunch out with my residents anymore (according to my Manager)?? apparently by the 6th of the month, my budget has already been spent (even though I don't get to see how my managers divert my leftover money every month....) frustrating to say the least.
this company has taken all of the fun out of my job, and my Managers (believe it or not, not my co's fresh out of training who market extensively, but yet in 2 weeks have come to more activities than any manager of mine has in 5 years...)have left me wanting out...some managers were obviously hired just because they have a pulse, and expect that pouring coffee=they do their job. this job just keeps getting worse
YIKES!! I just read this to my husband and he said "You could have written that". And isn't it wonderful that the EC's are supposed to drive the bus too? I suppose that way we might get to spend some time with the residents.
My residents are tired of us turning as many events as possible into marketing events. I've had quite a few tell me"This is supposed to be my home. I wouldn't have all these people in my home."
I could go on and on. I'll hold off for a bit because I most likely will not be with Horrific Retirement much longer. I'll be glad to leave, but feel so bad for my residents.
Cocoa, I feel your frustration. When I was hired years ago, it wasn't mandatory, but I got my bus license, and have driven the bus on more occasions than I like to remember. I love my outings, but we suffered through a few months with no bus driver, and it was just me. Driving the bus (which is such a difficult job unless you have actually done it, don't pass opinions
My building has just stopped doing special events (marketing more or less) due to budget restrictions and are now focussing on private dining room invites by residents...it's more personal, but the residents know they're basically herding in prospective residents, and feel that it is not their job to do...I could go on and on as well!
Keep strong, and if you do leave, I really hope you find an Activity department that makes you happy.
subscribing
Wow - pretty incredible performance here! Hard to dispute their success.
Date: October 4, 2010
From: Jack R. Callison, Jr. & Bob Donovan
Re: Sharing the Holiday Touch in record numbers - again!
“Never in the face of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few. “
~ Winston Churchill
What a wonderful quote from Winston Churchill on the enormous gratitude a nation owes its fellow wartime veterans who so bravely and unselfishly serve their countries. Holiday Retirement genuinely loves and treasures our U.S. and Canadian wartime veterans, much as Churchill cared deeply for the men and women who bravely served his beloved country.
In fact, a stunning 52% of the 1,352 new residents who made the decision to call Holiday “home” during the month of September were wartime veterans! The success we continue to achieve in sharing the Holiday Touch with those who bravely served their country with a sense of pride and honor is truly inspiring. Holiday Retirement has quickly earned a wonderful reputation as “the place to be” for Wartime Veterans, thanks to your dedication and efforts.
We’re also excited to share that (not surprisingly) we once again shattered the records we set last month for the most gross AND net move-ins we have ever recorded in a single month in Holiday’s 40+ year history. September marks the fourth consecutive month of doing so for both gross and net move-ins. We applaud and salute you all – well done team! You are an incredibly ambitious and competitive group.
Special recognition goes out to the South district which closed 365 gross move-ins and 144 net move-ins, both new district records. The Midwest is also celebrating 292 gross move-ins, a new record high for their district.
The following regions are deserving of a hearty round of applause as they set all time record high for the most gross and/or net move ins ever recorded in their respective regions:
New Regional Records - Gross MIs New Regional Records - Gross MIs
Yovan Luyt’s Region (South) 82 Yovan Luyt’s Region (South) +45
Mark McCracken’s Region (Midwest) 78 Sam Fair’s Region (Midwest) +36
Mark Quintero’s Region (South) 70 Mark McCracken’s Region (Midwest) +36
Kevin Boje’s Region (South) 49 Mark Quintero’s Region (South) +35
Lyle Takeuchi – Hawaii (West) 18 David Scharfenberg’s Region (West) +26
Ted Bird’s Region (Canada) +14
Lyle Takeuchi – Hawaii (West) +11
We are also very proud of the following communities which produced the best move in performance across the entire organization during the month of September. These teams are doing a tremendous job delivering the Holiday Touch to new and existing residents AND producing stellar results all at the same time. You’ll never hear these communities use the phrase “there’s not enough time in a day”. They’re obviously doing a tremendous job working smarter, not harder, and we applaud the efforts and accomplishments!
Again, I wonder how many of those 700 new residents that are "wartime veterans" are either Korea vets, were approaching middle age in during 'nam, or still youngsters at the end of WW II. Nearly all others, I fear, would likely be in dire need of far more than what the "independent gracious living" environment would afford them.
Part 2 of Jack & Bob's memo:
Holiday’s Top Performing Communities –
Most Gross Move Ins Holiday’s Top Performing Communities –
Most Net Move Ins
Windlands South, Nashville TN 16 Aspen View, Billings MT +12
The Madison, Sun City AZ 14 Greenwood Terrace, Lenexa KS +11
Sterling Court, Deltona FL 12 The Madison, Sun City AZ +11
Aspen View, Billings MT 12 Creekside at Shallowford, Chattanooga TN +11
Copperfield, Houston TX 11 Lincoln Square, Grand Rapids MI +11
Greenwood Terrace, Lenexa KS 11 Sterling Court, Deltona FL +10
Vista Del Rio, Peoria AZ 11 Windlands South, Nashville TN +10
South Colleyvine Ranch, Grapevine TX 11 Vista Del Rio, Peoria AZ +9
Creekside at Shallowford, Chattanooga TN 11 Whispering Chase, Cheyenne WY +8
Oxmoor Lodge, Louisville KY 11 Kalama Heights, Kihei HI +8
Lincoln Square, Grand Rapids MI 11 Oxmoor Lodge, Louisville KY +8
Although over half of our move-ins this past month were military veterans, we are still in the very early stages of our outreach efforts. To fully understand what is possible when a community has a well thought out business plan to connect with veterans, take a look at the following communities who had the most veteran move-ins this month:
• Aspen View, Billings MT – 11 Wartime Veteran Move-Ins in September!
• Windlands South, Nashville TN – 10 Wartime Veteran Move-Ins in September!
• Oxmoor Lodge, Louisville KY – 8 Wartime Veteran Move-Ins in September!
• Vista Del Rio, Peoria, AZ – 8 Wartime Veteran Move-Ins in September!
We would all agree that a resident referral is truly the ultimate compliment in our business! When our very own residents indicate the Holiday Touch has made such a difference in their lives that they proactively reach out to their closest friends and recommend Holiday Retirement as “the place” they too should call home, that’s the ultimate source of pride. That’s why we do what we do. Please join us in recognizing these communities which recorded the highest number of resident referral move-ins from PDR events:
• Desert Rose, Yuma AZ - 4 Resident Referral Move-Ins in September!
• The Madison, Sun City AZ – 4 Resident Referral Move-Ins in September!
• Greenwood Terrace, Lenexa KS – 3 Resident Referral Move-Ins in September!
Don’t forget that resident referrals are now worth $3,000 for the fourth quarter! Also remember that we are happy to pay the referral fee directly to the resident, their family, a charitable non-for profit organization, etc. We’re also happy to pay referral fees in the form of cash or a gift card to just about anywhere they prefer (shopping mall, restaurants, etc)– our residents can choose! This is just another wonderful way for us to share the Holiday Touch with our residents as we approach the upcoming holiday season!
We are so proud of each one of you and greatly appreciate your continued dedication, loyalty and support. Thank you for your personal investment in our seniors, our communities and our organization.
Part 3 of Jack & Bob's memo:
Our future has never been brighter and we eagerly look forward to being trailblazers with you in our industry over the next 40 years.
Warmest regards,
Jack & Bob
THis is great for the community management teams who did all the work.
I only have (2) questions. About of incentives, and will they be their in a year after there rent increases. What about that H.O. and don't give any credit to the Regionals because they have nothing to do with it,it happen to be in their region.
I wonder what will happen if the new move ins don't receive the Wartime Veteran program after moving in and living for several month waiting to see if they receive it. Their rent is reduced until they get their $$ but what will happen when they don't receive it and then have to move out? Then to have to pay back the $$ they owe to HRC after they receive VA $$ or what if they don't get it. I feel sorry for those who will have to move out because they can't pay the rent and new increases by then. I wonder what the next big push will be to get people in. $3,000 is alot for a move in referral from a resident.
I now work for the competition of a holiday community. We are sitting at 100% for the longest time. We are loosing potential move ins to the holiday community as we have no suites to rent. Sad to say, we have been the first choice, but Holiday gains these move ins because most of their competition is at 100%. Hopefully the Holiday Community is at 100% soon so those potential move ins stay on our waiting list.
I am worried about the VA a&a as well, you sign the addendum, then write a letter that is sent to the VA stating how much rent they pay which is the amount they should be paying not the deferred amount, that they ARE paying.
My understanding is that the Marketing "management" Team of each community consists of: Managers/Co-Managers/Chef/Enrichment Coordinator/and GSM (if one on board). Because of this, each member gets 'move-in' bonuses. So maybe if you turn down the Move-In bonuses they'll let you off the hook. Otherwise, it's "all hands on deck" when it comes to marketing efforts and quarterly events and the Vets program. Get used to it or get your resume ready. By the way, a lot of us don't like what's happening but somehow it seems to be working if Jack is publishing honest numbers. Maybe we were just spoiled? More changes coming. Notice the new hire and department added? Health & Wellness?
I believe the reduced amount of rent is based on what they pre-qualify for. They only pay it back if they get the approved amount. If it's less than what they pre-qualify for, that is the amount they owe in back payments. If they are denied completely the resident will have the past amount waived and be given a 30 day notice that the market rate at time of move-in will take affect. They then have a choice to move or come up with way to pay.
This is today's announcement from Holiday Retirement that we all knew was coming, delivered by the new President, Bob Donovan.
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Holiday Retirement recognizes that our residents wish to age in place in our communities, gracefully and independently with services that support their need for wellness and health. Some of them seek the services of outside healthcare providers for assistance with the basic Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) or temporary in-home skilled services after a health event (e.g. rehabilitation after a fall). Access to these services and wellness programs can be confusing to the resident, although much less so if the local management team has sourced their own programs and vendors.
Consistent with our desire to enhance the Holiday Touch, we want to assist more of our communities in identifying and organizing these services for our residents. Hence we have decided to create a new position that will plan and coordinate efforts to ensure our residents have access to high quality home health providers as well as health and wellness programs. I am delighted to announce that Cathy Newhouse has accepted the position of Holiday Retirement’s first Vice President of Health and Wellness Services.
Cathy Newhouse comes with an impressive background to help accelerate and orchestrate our community management teams’ access to these services. Cathy has her RN and MBA degrees and an extensive resume focused around bringing health and wellness programs to seniors through her executive leadership roles with some of the nation’s largest healthcare with companies such as Gentiva Health Services and Almost Family.
She began her tenure at Gentiva as a Staff Nurse and over the next 23 years professionally advanced and served in a multitude of capacities. Cathy knows how to work through a broadly decentralized organization and develop and implement home health and wellness programs for seniors. She most recently launched and operated “Frail Elderly Care Management,” a team-based therapy and nursing driven homecare program. In addition to the program development, Cathy will be rolling out a number of education initiatives to our own field management on addressing the needs of our seniors.
Cathy comes to us from Almost Family, a leading provider of home health nursing, rehabilitation and personal care services that was rated #24 in Forbes 2008 Best Small Companies. While there, Cathy worked as the SVP of Sales and Clinical Programs. Prior to working at Almost Family, Cathy served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Clinical Officer of U.S. Medical Management.
With a background like this, you can see why we are thrilled to add her to our team! Cathy’s official start date will be November 1st and she will be relocating from Louisville, KY to our headquarters, here in Salem, in the near future. Please join me in giving Cathy a warm Holiday welcome.
Well Bob, I am somewhat of a bullshitter myself but occasionally I like listening to a professional PLEASE continue
OMG. How heavy can the top get before it topples? A new president AND he immediately hires a VP. Are you kidding me? And how many people have been "laid off" -- Grab the flag and RUN.....
I think this is a great idea and a great move. Now this will torque some of the ECs but I think the ECs should get a full 40 hours per week since most only get 32 hours and that most of the additional hours should be given to working with any programs that Cathy Newhouse organizes for the benefit of current and new residents. Personally, I'd love to have a variety of tasks to fill out the week. Makes time go faster. Activities, parties, driving the bus for outings, etc. and now working with the healthcare programs to generate more wellness among the residents.
It's like a really bad nightmare and hard to believe that in less than 3 short years, Holiday Retirement went from being the BEST company to work for to one of the WORST ever! Who could of ever predicted it?
Almost everybody I know predicted that. What do you expect if a company with this magnitude is changing ownwership from a lovely caring family wit a big Touch and heart to a money hungry investment group who has the $$$ signs in there eyes like a slotmachine. You throw the cash in at the top, but nothing spits at the bottom. Nobody plays on that machine anymore.
Well, the Holiday Shaft is alive and well, even 3 months after we asked for a transfer, were refused, so resigned. We left for a new job that fell through, as they changed their minds about hiring us after a few days through no fault of our own, without explanation. However, for their part, Holiday is fighting my unemployment, but my husband is already receiving his. We were a co-management team, so this makes no sense. The reason they gave were that I could've stayed a few days longer, even though we had to re-locate to another city.
To top that off, I received a letter From Regence on behalf of Holiday that because I had a pre-existing medical condition, Holiday would not pay for my Doctor's office visits, labs and x-rays. I thought this was no longer a legal practice due to changes in health care laws. It is certainly very unethical of them. It's not like I have an expensive to treat form of cancer or anything. I'm an epileptic with fibromyalgia. I just need my medications to keep it under control. I've never experienced this with any other employer before, as it was a non issue.
The fun just never ends. As far as any class action lawsuit, they certainly deserve it the way they treat their employees and residents from the Home Office. They lied to us from the very beginning about pay, job description, living situation, hours...the whole ball of wax. I was hoping to move on, but they keep piling it on.
Anyone going to apply for a job or consider moving into one of their properties, please look at other options. This blog is full of people in the know about Holiday and are telling you the truth. It's terrible and they should be ashamed of themselves, if they had a conscience at all.
Best of luck to those who are still there to take care of the precious residents. They are lovely!
Sorry to read about your trouble with Holiday, just to let you know my husband and I went through a similar situation. We were fired in May 2010 with no explanation but trumped accusations from Holiday. We applied for unemployment as soon as we could I started receiving my unemployment in a timely manner, but they denied my husbands unemployment, so we immediately began to do what was necessary for him to receive it. During that process, we received a letter from corporate stating that we resigned our position and they would not pay for our moving expenses. My husband was furious to think that they asked us to agree to an outright lie! We contacted the corporate office to tell them we would not sign a false statement. Shortly after contacting Holiday we received a letter stating that they were not goingto fight my husband's unemployment claim, we later received a check for our moving expenses.
My husband had a heart condition when we were hired by Holiday, he also had an attack on property during our scheduled working hours. Holiday never mentioned his health problems.
I could go on with all the things that we went through during our tenure with Holiday, but I think there have been many couples that have gone through similar situations as we have. My feeling is (as my husband says) What goes around comes around! It may take awhile, but they will get what they deserve in the end.
DO NOT let this company get you down, we have been out of there for 6 months and we are happy that we are. It is true; there ia a GOOD LIFE after Holiday, enjoy it. My husband and I wish you and your husband the best, and stay strong!
We would also like to wish the best of luck to all the residents and employees of Holiday.
The bottom line is Holiday is not what it used to be. The current owners (FIG) do not care about what you, (as employees) feel and or think about the company. They will push you and push you so that they can receive their bonuses at the end of the year. Anyone can write a letter how great everyone is doing and how many move-ins they have had during any given month. They fail to tell you how many move-outs they had during that month or how much revenue they have given away in order to get these move-ins. Don’t be mistaken, they are giving away the farm with all sort of gimmicks just to show (on paper) that the occupancy is going up. Please keep in mind, when FIG bought Holiday, the national average occupancy was 94% with at least 75+ communities being 100% occupied. I do not know what the national average occupancy is today but I am sure you can count on one hand how many communities are 100% occupied.
Anyone stupid enough to start working for Holiday, after reading this blog, is asking for punishment. By now, many of us have written enough messages on this blog to tell you all about the way it used to be and the way it is today. We all make choices and if you choose to work for Holiday in today’s environment, then please don’t come back here, months after, to complain about the company when you knew how bad it really was by reading this blog. There is no way you can miss this blog if you do your research about Holiday since this blog shows up on any search engine right underneath the main Holiday web page. I have offered many of you to bring me the residents that currently want to move out of a Holiday community. So far none of you have responded. To me it means that residents are happy at where they are. Isn’t that all that counts? Holiday is not the leader in the retirement industry anymore and it never will be either.
I know, this message sounds hard but this blog has been on the internet long enough. If you don’t like the company all you need to do is resign. If you like what you are doing and you can put up with the enormous amount of “BS” you get from your inexperienced regionals and higher-ups then continue what you are doing. The regional’s and higher level of management are just as frustrated as you are because those folks have absolutely NO CLUE what the hell they are doing. Do you really think that Jack Callison could possibly run any community for any length of time? HELL NO. He’s never done it nor the BS regional’s so just tell them to shut the hell up and leave you alone. If they fire you, oh well no big loss. It costs them plenty of money to replace you. The more they fire the higher their unemployment contributions will go on a national level.
Now I’ll see what kind of reaction I get based on this message.
Good luck everyone, where all in the same boat.
Very well said!
Achmed, I agree with you that Holiday is not what it used to be. Years ago, (even as an Enrichment Coordinator) I was praised for jobs well done, special projects were given notice, and my opinion was respected due to my inside knowledge of my residents.
I cannot tell you the last time I was told that what I do makes a difference; residents and their families tell me a lot how much the little things (on top of the big things) I do matter, but managers/regionals and especially home office don't even bat an eye. I am now being asked to make at least 5 phone calls a day by my managers to prospective residents and must be more involved in the marketing (even though I already do activities and drive the bus...and make $16/hour which is pathetic). I am now on a job hunt, as I can't wait to get away from Holiday, but it kills me because I love my residents; if you want your life slowly drained away from you, I definitely suggest going to work for Holiday. All you do is give and get kicked in the ass for it and asked why you aren't doing more.
Achmed, I agree that if you don't like it...quit. Unfortunately a lot of us must wait until something else is in place for financial reasons before we do (I just came into my 30's and have a long way to go + mortgage, etc!). It saddens me that I must leave a job I love because of mismanagement, but the time has come.
Icome on to the site to catch up from time to time. My gratitude to all who continue to keep the pressure on Holiday. Let me share another issue which should receive some oversight. When you look at the RD ranks, you'll find the average profile would be White males (all white, one female) with an average age of less than 40. Do you think Holiday has anything against diversity in their managment ranks?
There are a lot of rumors going around here at Home Office that Holiday is about to form a new Health Care Services company that will provide its residents with assistance (getting dressed, bathing, medication management, etc.) They will ultimately staff every community with nursing staff to deliver these types of services to all residents that want/need them. Look for an official announcement within the next few weeks.
Why not? As someone said earlier the hotel owns the gift shop because the guests shop there. Holiday will "own" the care providers because the market they are working on needs more care. It's just a plan to try to keep some money in house. This sure ain't no news flash - - they can't sell the real estate they bought so they may as well squeeze anything they can get out of it. Business is business.
by doing so,will that not change the license that they operate their building as?.sounds like borderline level care being offered and if so that means govt involvement and unions!!
Anyone know if David Scharfenberg is still employed in the Pacific NW?
Glad to have discovered this Blog. Can anyone tell me how to contact Russell Davis? Sure miss Joe G and Joel Turner.
Russell Davis is probably in a Hot Tub somewhere!
Where is Russell Kauffman. I heard he went with another independant senior living group
Russel is with Sunshine Retirement with some other former Holiday people.
Last night I was watching "Boss undercover", very interesting. The CEO of Fortier Airlines went under cover and worked in different jobs at the airline. He worked as a flight attendant, airplane service (cleaning) and so on, to see if customer satisfaction and employee standards are being met. he found that there is not enough time for four employees to clean an airplane in 7 minutes between arrival and take off, he found that employees struggle with a 10% wage cut during the recession and so on. After all, he listened to the concerns of his employees and fixed all the issues to better customer service and improve employee satisfaction. I believe it is time for all multi million CEO's, especially the once from Holiday/Fig to follow the footsteps of Bryan, the Frontier CEO and work undercover with the hardworking people who keep their company's running day in and day out. Bryan, and the big heart he has, reminded me lots of the late Bill Colson. I encourage everyone to find that show on TV or via Internet and take a look at it.
I watched this show as well and could not agree with you more. How about using the 'holiday touch' on the hardworking Employees as well,who take personal care of thier 'assets' 24-7, oh wait,I almost forgot my 2% raise last year..... YES I should be lucky to have a job in this economy.....
Don't get me wrong I am in this job for the right reason, I love my Residents!
sign me working hard & getting it done!
Do you mean the 2009 or 2010 raise? I won't be surprised if I was given less than everyone else. I have been disrespected by this company from day 1.
The average raise in 2010 company-wide was 2%.
What was the raise for kitchen helpers?
the same.
Then why did I get a .8% raise when I got all 3's on the evaluation?
My guess as to the answer to your question is that your increase was more reflective of a 2 evaluation rating. If I recall, any evaluation rating of 2 or lower was required to be accompanied by Performance Documentation with an Action Plan for Improvement which your Managers were probably too lazy to complete, or trying to avoid the aggravation of dealing with the real issue at hand. In any case, you (as every other employee) deserve to know the truth about your performance and your resulting pay raise.
Nothing was ever said about an action plan. I saw the evaluation and it was clearly a 3 for everything. My boss even said I was doing a good job. Should I contact HR? How do I know if management created an action plan and forged my signature?
I don't know if you will be able to ever find out what your managers actually did, or how they explained a 0.8% pay increase. If you didn't keep a copy of your evaluation, be sure to get one from your managers BEFORE you contact Human Capital at home office with your questions. Don't expect any miracles, but if they did forge your signature on any documents pertaining to your performance and/or evaluation, an investigation by HC should uncover it. Good luck...you'll need it!
Do not forget that you have the right to review your employee folder at any given time you want. A manager has to be present but you, as an emplyee, have that right. It is a Federal law. Also if indeed you go to the HC, indeed make sure you have ac opy of that evaluation in hand. In fact, you should have been given a copy at the time of your evaluation after you signed it.
I still do not understand why all the employees of Holiday Retirement do not unionize.
“Undercover Boss” is a good show but it will never happen with Holiday. They don’t care……. they know the hours you work…… the double shifts…… the lack of means to take time off or take holidays. As long as they can get by with paying about 5 dollars an hour( if that} for the hours you actually work, it’s worth it to them, burn you out and keep the pipe as full as they can with prospective management teams. And if you think they have benefits, their Insurance is worthless if you have any pre-existing conditions.
The Holiday touch is nothing more than lip service to upper mgmt, It won’t take long to figure that out once you are hired on. Holiday is the most corrupt bordering on criminal corporation I have ever been involved with, they don’t need an “Undercover Boss” they need undercover agents. It’s a shame that frontier justice has become politically incorrect.
I honestly think that Holiday has now reached an all time heartless low! I voluntarily left Holiday as a Sous Chef on extremely good terms. Today after visiting one of my "family" members, I was instructed by the weasel who is now managing the facility, that I would soon be receiving a certified letter. Due to a HR investigation, which did not even include myself. My letter will be informing me that I am officially banned from the facility that I once considered my second home. Maybe everyone out there that is considering this company for either their employment or living arrangements for a loved one, should reconsider. It feels like I now am mourning the loss of more than 100 loved ones!
Same thing happened to the managers who worked without co's for months while the company tried to push them out. When they left, they had to do so like criminals. Hadn't done a thing wrong. I was lucky to work with one great set of floating managers. If you're reading this, hey guys.
I recently left the company after almost 2 years as the chef. Trained my sous to take my place, and they spit in his face after he worked 70 hour weeks for a month to cover the hours from a number of other kitchen workers who quit soon after.
Advice to any chefs reading this: You may hear from your regional "you've got it good compared to other jobs in the industry". It's a load. Paperwork does not make food taste better, and private dining room party flow charts will not convince your residents you care for them. There are many far less soul crushing jobs out there; economy be damned, people gotta eat.
I have been with holiday for less than a year and came into my position with great excitment but have since been extremely disappointed. I have fallen in love with every resident & staff member so it is difficult for me to walk out. The first 7 months I was here I was taken advantage of and not compensated for the additional work I put in...A part of me thinks this is illegal but will not persue it because holiday would just increase the rent to cover court costs and lawyer fees. In the short time I have been here I have seen several insidents that employees are not compensated for the work they do. I was also asked to sign an associate status change form with a change in ROP and they had not discussed this with me and would not tell me what my new ROP is...needless to say I did not sign it. The managers in this building have no co-managers and therefore are not getting any days off and there is no end in site because the RD will not get any co-mgrs in here. It has been this way for the entire time I have been here. I have 100 other examples of Holiday's poor behavior but no space to state them. My advice for anyone listening. DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY!
We've been there! We were alone managing for a very long time with no end in sight for help, no additional compensation or even a pat on the back. It was just ASSUMED we would do it...and we did so gladly and willingly. Why? Because we loved the job, loved the residents.
But the RD's...oh my! They don't have a clue, yet they constantly badger you about when the next move-in is to take place. As soon as you give the date instead of a "well done" attitude they ask, "who's next?" The marketing has taken a nasty turn, one that we do not wish to be a part of. And so, we left.
AMEN lets take a pole on how many managers have done this your one, I am two who is three .......Really I am curious. How can they win the battle on unemployment ALL the time? I had 10 flippin pages of FACTS
I have just seen over the last two months 2 sets of outstanding managers leave the company because of the treatment of the RD. He just does not have a clue on how to treat people or even care about what we go through every day, all he wants is move-ins and that is all we hear all day long. Then he threatens to fire us if we can't get all the move-ins he wants. What a jerk.
Our community seems to do the most closes nearer to month end. With that in mind, the RD still calls to push and whine that "we are getting enough move-ins region wide" and yet, still calls to see how many DI's were entered into YGL, how many tours you gave today and how many move ins. I find it most amusing when they ask you for an "estimate" of how many move-ins you are expecting that week and then when you get none, say you have "fallen short." Uhhhh, there is a reason they call it an ESTIMATE! What we know at our community as do many, building relationship over time is what works. Being pushy with an intelligent senior does not. Thesse folks still have their faculties - for the most part, and are well read on the retirement communities they are researching. Home Office - give them a break and give us a break. We had a conference call this week during which not a single manager said a single thing...even when the RD commented there were 16 people on the call and no one had anything to say? Hmmmm, what's left to say when what you say matters NOT!
We were managers for 5 years we did not see our being let go coming. We worked very hard for this company. We loved the residents, took very good care of our staff, which helped with keeping them longer than 3 months, that also meant less training funds for the company. We were given a severance package and were let go. No where did they tell us that we could not go into the building to visit the many friends we had made in our time their. Well this weekend I went to Parkrose in Portland. I went and visited a friend dying of cancer, gave my regards to the family and though she was almost gone she recognized me and smiled held my hand and she felt the love I generated to her. Incidentally she passed last night at midnight. Godspeed Jean. While leaving the building I was waiting for a friend we were going to a show and dinner.They had 2 sets of co's on they asked for me to come to the office I refused. I no longer work for Holiday just visiting a friend who pays $3000.00 a month to live in a 2nd rate apartment, where she eats 1 meal per day of her $3.00 that the chefs are allowed for each resident daily. NO JOKE....I was told to leave the building that I had been told not to come back in the building. I told them that was a lie. I had spoken to one of their home office lawyer about 3 months ago and he did not encourage it but said they have no legal reason to keep me out. This is the kicker this huge monster of a co-manager over 6ft. tall grabbed me by the arm and tried to physically touch m, I told her to get her hands off me or I would have her arrested for assault. As soon as she heard this she let go. A resident Gerta who had just turned 90 years young the day before said to her get your hands off my friend. Gerta told her I pay my rent here monthly as I have for 15 years and I can have any visitor I want to come see me. I kissed Gerta goodbye and went outside to wait for Dena and as I am walking away that big monster of o co-manager was PHYSICALLY- PUSHING_ moving Gerta she was almost falling and could not keep hold of her walker. That my friends is the TOUCH that is now required of Holiday employees. It gets better. I called Gerta and asked if she was ok I told her to inform her family of the way this big lug physically pushed her. With regrets and tears she tells me that she was told if she told anyone about the incident she would be evicted. Gerta has lived there fo 15 years she has brought a few of her friends to move in and made many new ones, where does a 90 year old person go to start over.This woman needs to be let go and charged with ELDER ABUSE but as all the old timers know the residents are abused every day with the terrible food they are feed daily, the portions are now so small my friend reports its just as easy and safer to stay in her room and eat a peanut butter sand which tastes better and is safer than the food they are served. One last note it breaks my heart to have the residents to have to live in and see this behavior
Kathy,
I would advise you to make a call to Adult Protective Services in that area. You can make an anonymous call stating that you witnessed what that co manager did. There needs to be an investigation for the protection of those residents. YOU are the only one who can do this since you witnessed this act.
So very sad and hopefully you will follow up on this.
Does anyone know what company Bobbie Reid and Dick Glaunett went to work for after leaving Holiday?
Sunshine Retirement
Until the investors and Home Office figures out exactly what we do; things are going to be a mess. I don't see any of the above mentioned even trying to spend enough time in a building to see how we work or what we are... We get the move-ins as requested, but at what cost. We have gone from Elegant to Gracious to Independent Retirement Living as has our services to our residents. I don't like being the WalMart of senior living facilities and our residents like it even less. I'm not sure who is calling the shots from FIG, but it would be nice if they would communicate with the managers to see what works in bringing new residents to our buildings.
Cutting the maintenance budget only brings us down the ladder even faster. Curb appear is also the physical building itself. Not getting a building washed shows neglect, not having the trees trimmed shows neglect...the little details are noticed by our current residents and prospective tenants. Our bus is a moving billboard around town. There was no money in the budget this year for washing the bus. This also shows neglect... We were told not to say home office would not approve any of the above expenditures but to "Take responsibility". Doesn't that say I'm a lazy manager who doesn't care about my residents or my building. Sorry,no can do!!! HO and FIG have the misconception that managers are stupid and replaceable, but we are what is keeping the company going. It's certainly not the decisions and business practices put in place by those above us.
Aides and Attendance was a hail mary play and is about to collapse around our feet. We are not who the VA intended for the funds to go to and the VA knows it.Advocates for the benefits are canceling seminars because they are getting worried.
What will happen to the resident who is approved then the VA decides they really do not qualify because they live in one of our facilities and they have to pay back the money. It's going to look very bad for Holiday and our individual buildings because we approved the advocates and encouraged our residents and DI's to speak with them.Suggesting this was a great program and a good thing for them to explore. They trusted us and...you know the rest.
HO & FIG stop panicking and making rash emotional decisions. We managers know what works in our building if you ask us for our help we will gladly help you to same our company and personal reputations.
There is an agency in that town that you need to go to and file this report. Also, there are media outlets that would love to do a report on this incident. Do everyone a favor and take action. Don't delay.
Kathy Casey:
As everyone is aware no personal attacks are allowed on the blog. However, in this instance I do not see anything which could be construed as such.
Reading your comments brings up some very important points for consideration. How far are we willing to stand up for the residents? At what point should the company policy take a backseat to the proper treatment of the residents? Accepting everything you stated at face value, I also agree that an official report/complaint should be filed with the proper local authorities. You placed your name up front on your comments which gives credibility to your words. My wife and I have personally witnessed incidents of resident abuse and mistreatment. We stood up at the time and the company responded in a forthright manner. It does happen.
You identified the community and the participants in a fairly concise manner. The information you posted gives the company ample reason to initiate an investigation. We'll see whether they do or not. Insofar as to "bugging" - it happens in a lot of communities.
Heard that when they get the medical people in the buildings they will not need live-in managers. A CNA will take the night calls and they will hire 9 -5 Mon - Fri administrators for the office. That is how most of the retirement facilities are run including Brookdale. Managers be careful because as FIG past performance has shown they will not give you any warnings.
Where did you hear this? How do you know? There are so many things like this on this web site that have never come to reality. It just scares people and is wrong.
Is it true Stan Brown has "decided to go spend more time with his family" as well?
Please tell me what happened!
If the demise of Stan Brown is true, it is very hush-hush around here at home office.
Well they took Stan's Bio and pic off of the Holiday Retirement webpage -- couldn't be to hush-hush
I have also heard this (from a very good source -- someone who reports to him) just this morning. I was told to expect an announcement including the "spend more time with his family." statement.
Stan is a good guy. I would not blame him for abandoning the sinking ship. He probably tired of FIGs constant involvement at every detail. Make no mistake...they are the one's calling the shots not anyone else. Jack is merely the puppet.
With the exception of Kai, all of the chiefs are "good" guys that mean well. However, with the hiring of Bob Donovan as President, Stan's position as Chief Operating Officer is quite redundant. Stan's background in the resort industry doesn't line-up as well as Bob's background in Health Care, which is the direction FIG wants to keep residents living longer at Holiday.
When will Jack be leaving "to spend more time with h is family" ?
Maybe right before X-Mas, so he knows how it feels to not have employment over the Holidays and a family to feed like some of us last year (one week before x-mas). Oh wait, he does not have that problem, he had a million $$$ bonus
I can't belive what I am hearing at some of the buildings. Census is dropping dramtically. We worked in a 100% occupied building 3 years ago and now it is at 70%.
I hear another building has managers that do absolutely nothing... They even called the maintenance man to come in on a Sunday to change 2 light bulbs. Some of the people working as managers & co-managers have no clue about customer relations and being nice to residents. The whole concept of providing the Holiday Touch has dimished. We also tried to visit a building that we formally managed and were told --"we were not welcomed". WE left on good terms and wanted to see some of the residents who had become our friends.
I wonder what the overall census is like now, compared to what it was when Fortress took over.
I find it humour, that when you type in Holiday Retirement on Google--- the 3rd item that appears is this blog.
Please allow me to set you straight here. Even under old Holiday, when a manager’s couple and or co-managers couple left the company, they were not allowed back into the building unless they had written permission from the Regional Director to do so.
That was clearly stated in the employee hand book.
I always agreed with that rule and still do today even though I am not with Holiday anymore. The reason is obvious, when you have been at a building for several months, residents get used to you. Once you leave, you are out of their minds, how upsetting this might be for the residents that managers or co-managers left the company.
Now if you come back to make "visits" the residents get upset because they do not or did not understand why you left (them) in the first place and they (the residents) feel guilty for you not being there anymore. The resident should never know what goes on behind closed doors no matter how angry you might be at the company, once you walk out of that office, your focus should be 100% on the residents at all times.
We all have complaints at the companies we work for. The Holiday way was and still is a good way with managers on site.
I understand it is difficult for past managers and co-managers not being allowed back into the building but please you left or you were let go. Either way, it does not matter how you feel. You are gone from the company and realistically have no business being back into the building. It sound harsh but look at it this way, if you worked in any other type of company and you left or you were let go, would you go back to visit there just because you liked your co-workers, for example? I almost dare to say 99.9% of you would say NO. So why is Holiday Retirement or any other retire community different?
I am not a FIG fan as well written on this blog however this rule was in force at old Holiday so it is not something that was created by FIG.
Excellent point, and very well stated.
forget "the holiday touch".......bottom line , only!
harriett, so many people have left messages like yours on this blog that the “touch” is gone. What I do not understand is this: if you are a community manager’s team member or co-manager’s team member are you being nasty to your residents every day? I would hope not. All these residents want is a friendly smile and a hug. Is that too much to do for you? (I am talking in general so please do not misunderstand me I am not attacking you on your comment.) If a resident pulls the emergency cord, do you not attend to them to find out what is going on? During meal times, do you not have a smile on your face when you give the residents their coffee, tea or hot chocolate milk? When a resident comes to the office with a question, do you not try to help them in any way you possibly can?
Some one really needs to explain to me why you or anyone thinks the “touch” is gone. I don’t understand it.
Yes, even under OLD Holiday, bottom line is what counted. At that time, if you were not able to fill up your building, don’t you think the RD would come by and see what is going on? If the RD felt uncomfortable with the management teams, he/she would make changes, right? That still hold true today. IT IS A BUSINESS. It is all in the way the RD interacts with the management teams in his/her region. Now does current Holiday have shitty RD’s, yes I firmly believe they do as they have never ran any building for a month or more doing all the jobs you are expected to do but we had the same complaints under old Holiday with certain RD’s. Remember the “Blue-Light-Specials” (or ex Kmart people) that all over a sudden came into old Holiday? None of them ever ran a building for a month or more yet they were telling you what to do. We were all upset about these people coming into the company when so many employees wanted to be promoted to RD positions that were available. I can tell you enough stories about these BLS RD’s that will make your head spin. Keep in mind that was under OLD Holiday. Here is a statistic for you: under old Holiday number 1 turn-over in staff were co-managers, number 2 turn-over were Exec. Chefs.
As one of the former GSM members who has watched this site from even prior to accepting (and leaving) the position...I understand what you're talking about...it IS a business..the goal is to make money. HOWEVER, while the managers were incredible...and do their best to take care of their residents every day...if I understand it correctly, the push has gone from making our residents lives with us as rich as possible enjoying activities, meals, etc....into opportunities to only attract more business. Even before a new resident moves in, the regional managers want to know when their "welcome" dinner is planned...they don't give a crap about "welcoming" them...all they want is the potential to give a speech to potential new residents....I was once told to "just forget it", when talking with my superior about hosting a welcome dinner because this particular new resident didn't have any friends, only family they could invite, and none of them were going to be someone who would move in.
So sure, the goal is to make money, but isn't it supposed to be all about the residents? The best companies in the world make money and don't even really have to advertise, yet alone make sales their primary focus- if Holiday really were the best place for seniors...trust me, seniors would know...and people would be on waitlists trying to get in.
You are correct in that if Holiday today was/is the best senior retirement community company, there would be an enormous waitlist and we both know there is no such list anywhere in the country. Just that alone already amazes me because of the huge amount of incentives Holiday has in place right now. If you were a Holiday employee “prior” to FIG buying Holiday, you also know we could not give away the farm as they do these days. I am competing against 2 Holiday communities in my area and I also know both of these communities in this area are 60% or less occupied. Holiday has 13 communities in this state and building a new one as we speak.
As for the current RD’s, I do not know any of them so all my information about them is what I am reading on this blog and if all the info is true, then I am not surprised at all that community managers and co-managers are burning out like wild fire. What do you expect though; it seems that all of these RD’s have come from the hotel industry. We, who have worked or still are working in the retirement community industry could easily work for any hotel corporation but if you have worked for the hotel industry it is extremely difficult to work in the retirement industry if you do not run a retirement building for a minimum a month and do all of the jobs we do on a day-to-day basis which includes but is not limited to dishwashing, housekeeping, maintenance, marketing, activities and also obtaining the CDL license and drive residents to their appointments. That was one of my biggest complaints about old Holiday as well when they hired the BLS RD’s. All those people knew were the enormous amounts of long winded conference calls that didn’t mean a darn thing but took away so much time or to screw around with the Activity Director (as in the Midwest) and put a lot of community managers in major problems. Sorry, had to put out there again.
Bottom line is that nothing is going to change at the current Holiday until Jack Callison either leaves the company or first goes into the field and runs a building for a minimum of a month exactly like a community manager does and then make adjustments. It is like the TV program, Undercover Boss. It is a perfect program and a “MUST-DO” for Jack. If he is not willing to do that, he should leave the company because his policies failed. Numbers tell the story.
Achmed, as a point of clarification, Holiday (FIG) is not building a new community in any state. The Construction part of the Colson Empire was not purchased by FIG. Colson Construction may be building, and Holiday may have an option to purchase this new community but Holiday is not building it. Actually, I believe Holiday has an option to buy all new communities (as part of the purchase contract) but management has not exercised their option on one of these new communities yet.
I stand to be corrected. It indeed still says Colson & Colson however it has all the same wording on the signs as Holiday used to have. That's why I assumed it would be another Holiday building.
This is for Kathy Casey, did you happen to have your phone with you and take a picture/video of the incident? Video and a good lawyer she would never have to pay rent again or being evicted!
No, unfortunately it all happened so fast. The 90 year old lady who was pushed is very with it mentally and the witnesses residents and a visitor (who was there visiting )are all very upset about the incident and will make good credible character witnesses.This was turned into the state for elder abuse from the ladies niece and also resident enrichment and they have heard nothing so far. Just like all things around any Holiday building silence is golden.
Ok now I am really worried. My husband and I have interview on tuesday,with holiday.
Before we go quitting current jobs and uprooting we are real curious about some things. Hopefully I will get a answer before we leave. My husband is a smoker is that going to be a factor? We have a dog that is a bit over the weight limit is that going to make a big difference. We love to make people comfortable esepecially those in the later years. We are more worried about the living conditions and now how we will be treated. What we have to look forward to? Is it even worth the trip? We dont know where we will be going. And after reading some of these comments on this blog we are a bit concerned that we may not last. We have that holiday touch as described in the ads. But we are very concerned about the residents and if we will be allowed to do the right thing by them??
Maybe employees,
My wife and I have managed properties for the past 15 years. Our last property was 75% over 55, that was when we decided we wanted to dedicate our lives to seniors, we applied with Holiday and got the jobs. It was the biggest mistake we have ever made in our lives.
Fortunately we kept our home and had a means of escape. I would not recommend Holiday Retirement to anyone much less someone I cared about. After reading these blogs and you still decide to go ahead, God bless!!!!….you will need it.
This is my heartfelt response to you, maybe employess. If you are already employed, stay away from this company. It isn't worth the heartache and aggravation you are bound to experience if you come on board. As one of the DM's said, "this is not a mission field".
I agree with BobbyBGoode.....in truth, the average "shelf life" of a Co-Manager is 6 months. If you do decide to go forward....have Holiday provide you a furnished apartment for 3 months. Then you can try on the job and see if it's a good fit for you and the hubby. You never know until you try. However, heed the warnings of the blog!
maybe employess
Shoot me an email at kasco_anchor@yahoo.com and I'll give you "The GOOD, the BAD, & the UGLY" about the position and why I think the GOOD outweighs the rest. I think it is worth a shot if you are in it for the right reason. I've seen too many co-manager couples come into this because they are in bankruptcy and are looking for an apartment, utilities, food, and some salary. All the wrong reasons. If you have a "What's in it for me?" mentality - you won't survive. If you are in it for the service to seniors viewpoint, then you might make it. Again, I think it's worth a try if you are coming in for the right reasons.
Very well put and very true. This is not a "job". You either have the "passion" to give your self to the residents and company (yes in that order) or you will not make it.
The apartment's are not worth the benefit as most of these apartments are 'shoe-boxes".
When you are being interviewed, please make sure you ask the right questions before you give them your commitment. Make sure you write your questions down as well as the answers they give you.
Good luck and please keep us up to date.
Yes, please heed the warnings you have read on this blog!! What you read IS THE TRUTH!! I know, for my husband and I were co's, and now we are without jobs, and no place of our own......AND we did have the right attitude about the position, for we loved the residents, and cared for them deeply. We were hoping that this would be our last job until we retired, but that didn't happen. I will say, we did not leave on our own accord.......use your imagination!! We are so disappointed with what took place, and it is so sad that Holiday doesn't "GET IT" .....that a company can't treat people like they do, and expect positive results. It's like Holiday is from another planet. I'll never understand it!!
I have seen many people on this blog having written this as you just did. I will not and ca not understand a company for letting people go when it shows these people care enough. I would love to know more details of what exactly happened to you and your husband including your personal views.
Are you willing to share this with us so that new people can be warned before they start this type of life style.
If you and or your husband did something wrong that caused you to be let go, please let us know as well. It would be interesting to know how Holiday reacted to all of it.
Hope you are willing to share.
When we first started our jobs at Holiday we knew this is where we wanted to be. We loved our jobs and the residents and ironically our regional manager and their boss as well. This is when the community was run by the old fashioned Holiday way. We set a time frame and after 3 years no write ups and things were wonderful we decided we would sell our home and we would then retire and move in one of the Holiday buildings. Someone spoke about managers become like car salesmen, that is true but to be successful at selling anything you must really believe in what your selling. If your a phony and just telling your potential residents what you have been told over and over what to say it will not ring true. We kept our building over 90% the first 3 years because we loved the company and it showed, we were not just trying to tell them anything to get them in but we wanted them to really love there new home. Most of the residents had lived in their own homes from many many years, it usually due to the loss of a loved one that makes them decide to sell their home and move into a retirement home. We always told them this could be the last move they should have to make barring any unusual circumstances. We truly believed that,we had wonderful food, outside help from caregivers who helped residents stay way to long. They needed more care but they did not want to leave their NEW home and the many new friends they had made. Then we had the takeover by Fortress management. Everything changed all we had a new regional director almost every 9 months some were good some were not. They were taking orders from the higher ups and most of these people never got to meet and really care about the residents or any current residents and people we had been working on for years to be their when they were ready. Under the old regime we had our marketer who was assigned to our building and lived there with us. This kept our building in the high 80%. Then they hired a marketing supervisor in the Portland area ( she still works for Holiday and IS the main reason every building is running in the low 60%. Her name is Betty Aberg she was hired by Erik Blythe who was a very good RD, she back stabbed him he was soon let go. The sad part is he Knew what she was doing but he could not get anyone to listen. Erik had arranged the Iron Chef competition and had worked very hard on it ,they let him go the Friday before the meet. The way they let people go is inhumane how can they care about the staff and residents to have someone there for breakfast and then gone at lunch. How do you explain that to other staff and residents. This is when we knew it was a totally different company we had hired on with. NO,NO,NO, Run away from a job offer from this company.How can so many people be wrong. The new program they started where they hired general sales managers for every building was such a joke they hired people who had never RENTED apts. in a retirement setting but came from hotels.
The GSM's have contributed 5k move ins since Jan 2010. At an avg of a 3 year stay is .....what a BILLION dollars? The comments from the operators are warranted but the GSM's are no JOKE. Holiday was flat before 2010. Service may be an issue but MI's are booming regardless. Let's focus on the service aspect. Record MI's in 2010 says that GSM's are NOT a joke. Its not our fault that the operations of the company is suffering. Look elsewhere to complain.
move ins with out rent collected or major incentives do not add up to a billion dollars, I hear there are millions of dollars in accounts receivable on the books- anyone can give it away.
YOU skipped over, or my sarcasm didn't strike. The point is that GSM's are not a joke. We are generating the revenue that was requested. Put gagillion in the blanks....I dont care. How it is done may be in contention, but leave out the personal "joke" shots. This posting site for HR is becoming boring with unmentionables. Keep the big picture in mind without attacking our own. GSM's have been screwed if you know the history but still generating the expectations. No jokes are involved. No comm management team is a joke, no EN Cord is a joke and neither are we.
Dear Anonymous. The letter from dlcharles states how everyone feels about how all Holiday buildings are currently run. I do think you telling all staff to continue working and loving the residents makes no sence. Why you ask. Why lie and make them feel secure and then you who have loved, cared and been them for them. And then the so called RD you say are not so bad comes along and fires you. Who gets hurts more when this happens. Sure the couple who no longer have a job, have to find a new place to live within 3 days and you are confined into your apartment because they do not want to upset the Residents. NO ,they do not care about the residents. Although most residents are in there 80's and 90's they feel like an abandoned child who their best friend has just vanished from their life. We became close to all our residents and we were there for them 24/7 and we were glad to be there for them.The staff they are hiring and training are not even able to help push a man in a wheel chair after surgery because they are Independent liveng. How can anyone who has any heart and cares for the elderly watch this man struggle to and from meals and look the other way, this is what the RD and regionals want all the way up to Jack. No,the story about the elderly man ended happy , he had a stroke trying to be so strong and stay in his home,but no he will finish his life in a nursing home. Jack, Does this not make you feel good about the company you oversee. In any other times the families would come looking for you and there would be a lynching at highnoon. Is it hard looking in the mirror in the morning?
I am only speaking from our region in Oregon, The GM program was rolled out and their superior was Betty Aberg and Bobbi Reid. They brought our GSM into our building she was a 30 something woman who had only ever worked in the hotel business and had never worked around the elderly.We were blindsided Bobbi brought her in one day and said she is assigned to your bldg, Good Luck,,Had we'd known she was coming we would have been prepared and was quite taken aback when show said that the plan by Aberg was to have us train her to do our job. First day she shows up with a black skirt so tight and short it was revolting and the residents hated her. She never went out of her way to speak to the residents and said from time to time they made her feel uncomfortable. It was a disaster Betty Aberg and Bobbi Reid threw them into buildings and they knew nothing on how the buildings were run so she was doomed from the start. She was also a gossip and we were in the process of having our co-managers transferred and they befriended each other and anyone who has managed a building knows how when venom gets together it causes a feeling in the building. Needless to say she was with us 3 months ,never rented one apt, and caused conflict everywhere she went. Also since the GSM were paid on a commission she worried every day on how she was going to pay her bills, she could not understand why the managers were not on commission and felt this ads unfair. She was transferred and was let go because she did the same things at her next building. I am not saying all the GSM are bad .but the company set this up to fail. Where will the program be in the future, GONE I'm sure.. What about all the move-outs. Almost all these move-ins are made to look good on paper. Myself I do not believe the future is that rosy.
Fair enough.....I see and agree with your perspective. Just a small note that we (the GSM's) are not all like that. Some of us (if not most...CARE)and are in conflict with performance vs. serving our distinguished Americans in this changing environment. I hope for the best
That other planet is called: Wall Street. How much money do you see on Wall Street compared to how much Seniors you see on Wall Street. So, what counts more??
I would like to double or triple this request for all to heed the warnings on this blog - my husband and I were managers for almost 2 years, very well loved by residents and staff. We were "let go" with no advance notice, no write-up, just offered a one month severance pay only to be given to us if we signed a contract to NOT speak to anyone! HO even told us if they found out we talked we would not be given the money and would have to vacate immediately. They (HO) knew they were in the wrong and if our residents and staff caught wind of it they would have been horrified! So after we begged for 7 days to vacate instead of 3, with no place to go, we were not even allowed to say goodbye to our resident's who were family to us. We were let go for a VERY unfair reason. Now we sit in a hotel room trying to figure out what to do next, and try to heal - mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually from 2 years of sire hell. Holiday Retirement is VERY corrupt. Anyone wanting more information - please write me.
I wonder if HRC has began to add the home health agencies to any buildings?
Will they be bringing their own marketing person for each building? It will be interesting how long it will take for the home health to be part of the total company.
But, once again they do not understand what moving out because of a need for higher care means. In my building and I think in most others this means the need for 24 hour care. Meds and a bath are not the reason most people move out stating a need for higher care.
Usually, they already have private care givers in place to work a few hours a day or week to care for those type needs.
Higher care usually means the need for help to get to the bathroom during the night, to get dressed every day and possibly even help getting around outside their apartment to the dining room,to activities and/or a watchful eye to make sure they eat or do not wander off... The cost of 24 hour care in one of our buildings is financially impossible for most of our residents.
Do the investors and HO understand this? Doubtful! They are looking for another cash cow instead of making the rents more reasonable and fixing up the buildings.
Sometimes, I feel like a stereo typical 50's used car salesman.
Just found a bootleg copy of Jack & Bob's October memo to the company. Say what you want to say, it sounds like that company is outperforming the entire industry by a sizeable margin. Pretty impressive!!!
To: Holiday World
Date: November 2, 2010
From: Jack Callison & Bob Donovan
Re: What a Spectacular October!
Congratulations Holiday! We just closed out the best October ever in Holiday’s 40+ year history. Our previous record was set back in October 2005 when we closed 954 gross move-ins and only 166 net move-ins. We easily surpassed both totals this month by sharing the Holiday Touch with 1,275 new seniors who elected to call Holiday “home” this month, resulting in 298 net move-ins…both new 40-year records for the month of October!!!
We’re also pleased with the tremendous progress we continue to make in reaching out to Veterans. At the beginning of this year, only a very modest percentage of our new resident move-ins were Veterans and this past month that figure was 54%. We continue to hear countless heartwarming stories about how we’re sharing the Holiday Touch with Veterans and wanted to share one of those stories with you here. “Donald” (last name intentionally omitted so as to protect his privacy) was a World War II veteran who recently moved in with us at The Remington in Hanford, California.
According to Holiday Manager John Weinstein, after many years of military service to his country, Donald had fallen into a prolonged period of financial hardship and loneliness. If not for the loving support of his family who found The Remington for him, he was heading toward spending the last of his senior years in extreme adversity and hardship. After touring The Remington, Donald fell in love with our community but his immediate reaction was that he could never afford such a “luxurious place”. However, after receiving confirmation that he qualified for the Aid & Attendance program, Donald was able to move in with us immediately and began enjoying the comfort, peace, warmth and tranquility offered by The Remington.
Today, John reports that Donald has the “best appetite in the building” and frequently asks for second helpings of our delicious, executive-chef prepared meals. He’s now also participating in numerous community activities each week and has truly come of his shell. Donald genuinely embraces the unique and independent lifestyle only we can offer at Holiday Retirement and fondly refers to The Remington as “My Home”.
Team, this is what the Holiday Touch is all about. This is how we are able to touch and transform lives. This is what we stand for and this is why we do what we do! Thank you to each and every one of you for your unselfish dedication to sharing the Holiday Touch with Wartime Veterans like Donald. Your efforts are making a profound difference in their lives each and every day!
Forty years ago, thirty years ago, twenty years ago, ten years ago,we were collecting money on our move-ins. Your programs today indicate move-ins, where is the money? I guess this is why Holiday is loosing millions of dollars presently. Sounds as if you have a tremendous executive team. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Part 2:
Reflecting on our performance, we’re thrilled to announce and celebrate that the South District set yet another 40-year record for the most gross and net move-ins EVER recorded in a single month in the company’s 40-year history, with 432 gross move-ins and 164 net move-ins. Congratulations Team South! You continue to inspire and motivate all of us! At the regional level, Hal Cook and Chester Reed’s regions set 40-year record highs for the most gross and net move-ins ever recorded in a single month. Well done teams!!!
The following districts also set 40-year records for the most gross and/or net move-ins ever recorded during the month of October. Let’s give them a hearty round of applause!
Most Gross Move-Ins ever in October Most Net Move-Ins ever in October
SOUTH 432 SOUTH 164
EAST 179 EAST 46
MIDWEST 326 MIDWEST 68
We also want to recognize our top performing communities who recorded the highest number of Veteran move-ins and Resident Referral move-ins during the month of October. These communities are doing an incredible job with their lead generation activities and we applaud their success (which is a direct function of the time they invested on the front end of their lead generation events to ensure they were well planned and thoughtfully executed):
Most Veteran MIs This Month Most PDR/Resident Referral MIs This Month
ASPEN VIEW BILLINGS, MT 12 HOLIDAY HILLS ESTATES RAPID CITY, SD MATTHEWS, NC 4
EAGLE CREST MYRTLE BEACH, SC 9 VISTA DEL RIO PEORIA, AZ 4
MESA VIEW GRAND JUNCTION, CO 9 ASPEN VIEW BILLINGS, MT 4
WILLOW GROVE MATTHEWS, NC 8 ORCHARD PARK YAKIMA, WA 3
HOLIDAY HILLS ESTATES RAPID CITY, SD 8 PARKWOOD MEADOWS ROUND ROCK, TX 3
COWHORN CREEK ESTATES TEXARKANA, TX 8 COWHORN CREEK ESTATES ORMOND BEACH, FL 3
GOLDEN OAKS YUCAIPA, CA 8 UNIVERSITY PINES PENSACOLA, FL 3
The following communities contributed the highest total number of gross and net move-ins during the month of October. Please join us in saluting these communities for the tremendous job they did sharing the Holiday Touch with new seniors!
Most Gross MIs This Month Most Net MIs This Month
ASPEN VIEW BILLINGS, MT 17 WILLOW GROVE MATTHEWS, NC 11
MESA VIEW GRAND JUNCTION, CO 14 ASPEN VIEW BILLINGS, MT 10
WILLOW GROVE MATTHEWS, NC 13 MESA VIEW GRAND JUNCTION, CO 9
HOLIDAY HILLS ESTATES RAPID CITY, SD 12 STANDIFORD PLACE MODESTO, CA 8
ORMOND IN THE PINES ORMOND BEACH, FL 12 HOLIDAY HILLS ESTATES RAPID CITY, SD 7
STERLING COURT DELTONA, FL 11 ORMOND IN THE PINES ORMOND BEACH, FL 7
MADISON SUN CITY WEST, AZ 10 MADISON SUN CITY WEST, AZ 7
VISTA DEL RIO PEORIA, AZ 10 VISTA DEL RIO PEORIA, AZ 7
ISLES OF VERO BEACH VERO BEACH 10 COPPERFIELD ESTATES HOUSTON, TX 7
COPPERFIELD ESTATES HOUSTON 10 PARADISE SPRINGS SPRING, TX 7
COWHORN CREEK TEXARKANA 10 RANCHO VILLAGE PALMDALE, CA 7
HAWAII KAI HONOLULU 10 SIMI HILLS SIMI VALLEY, CA 7
PONDER CREEK ESTATES LOUISVILLE 7
PINEWOOD HILLS FLOWER MOUND 7
CAMELOT HEMET 7
Thank you very sincerely for all you do each and every day for your residents, your fellow associates and our organization. With the upcoming Holiday season approaching, it’s a unique opportunity for all of us to pause and reflect upon what a privilege it truly is for all of us to be able to work with and for seniors. When you hear wonderful stories about residents like “Donald”, whose lives have literally been transformed in such a positive way by making the decision to move in with us, it really reaffirms Holiday’s mission statement, which we leave you with here.
“Holiday Retirement is in the business of providing security, comfort and value to seniors
seeking an active and independent lifestyle; We provide “The Holiday Touch”.
Thank you again for your passion, dedication and loyalty; but most importantly, thank you for keeping the Holiday Touch front and center each and every day. We genuinely value and appreciate each one of you.
Anon, I think it almost makes sense that holiday beats 40 year old records like crazy. 40, 30, 20 and 10 years ago, there where less communities and most of them had 85%+ occupancy, therfore there where less units to rent. Now, with over 10.000 empty units (like stated earlier on the blog) it is easy to "beat records". I do not see any numbers or have excess to them, but I think if you take the whole move ins by numbers of communities and availabe units and compare them in percentage with the past, I think that there are no broken records. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I quite don't believe that they outperform everybody, as our waiting lists grow longer and longer with no units available and the Holiday communities in the region still have empty units.
Hmmm. Nice publicity stunt that it happens the resident that one free rent for life lives in Salem.
http://www.kptv.com/news/25639538/detail.html
Three people won. The other two live in other parts of the country. Be happy for the winners, for other people. Not everything is evil or bad.
I wasn't saying anything was "evil" or "bad". I'm glad they won. Was just pointing out that it was one in Salem.
Meant "won" not "one". Sorry, my bad. Got in a hurry!
Everyone please read the last sentence of Jack's memo. There is not one worth of truth in this sentence than any other thing that is projected out from the BIG SHOTS at the home office. This memo was wrote by some employee from the home office and has probably worked for Holiday for maybe 6 months who still has stars in their eyes. It's really sad because it is how we felt about Holiday but after all the crap they pull all the time you just shake your head and wonder if anyone believes anything they say. Regarding the gentlemen who's life has been transformed and all the great news about how his life has changed. Great but for how long. We wined and dined many veterans who lived month to month on their social security checks and felt just like that man who did not feel the could afford to live in such a beautiful setting and have food prepared daily for him. This man is in the honeymoon stage of living in a Holiday bldg.What happened here was this man was moved into the bldg. he was waived community fees and all the extras that anyone else pays to move-in.All is well now, what happens when the money for this program dries up or another BIG SHOT from NEW YORK CITY feels like there is not enough profit from all these vets and the program is terminated. And do not tell me that won't happen.Every new person that comes along has a new idea they do not let there previous ideas to come to frutation. We all agree it is profit but that once happy vet will soon see Holiday's true colors... He will have eaten how Jack describes a gourmet meal that has been prepared by the many short order cooks that are hired thou a revolving door. We once had a cook who was so bad but yet still with the company because he was a friend of a friend, that is the way Holiday works you scratch my back and i will scratch yours until you have done all their dirty work such as firing a gay couple,a his panic woman who did not speak fluent English and was let go after 9 years although all the resident understood her well. But again we had an RD who signed a her e-mails---Have A Blessed Day-Bobbi Reid let her go because SHE did not like her, and that is what will happen to all the vets men and women who no longer have assistance from the program because we all know if you cannot afford the rent NOBODY in this company cares or they would not continue Rental Adjustment which means they have to move again. This company cares nothing about people and their wants or needs. This veteran program is just another desperate plot to make the numbers look good on paper..On this memo it states all the move-ins why did they not include the move-outs..The vets better enjoy themselves it will not last long. I wonder in all the 300 buildings how many are gay and or have gay children, it would interesting to tell them how they are looked upon by the great holiday elders.
And what happend to the all famous holidays "5 P" system, where the first P is People (Residents, Staff, Family, Friend's and Vendors). It went under with the Touch.
My wife and I have been employed with Holiday for 3 yrs.We started in FL,went to AL, and are now out West. We have been managers for 2.5 yrs after being co's for 6 months. We have seen the changes and been through the changes. We have had 6 RD's since we have been employed.We have seen 5 GSM's come and go. We do not currently have a CSL. We have seen the mass exodus from HO and know that there are only the few, the brave still at HO.
I find it amazing that inspite of all of this we still enjoy managing a community. We are one of the few I guess that has good co's and a good staff still here. We have great residents even.
That's why we came to work here.There will always be a need for what we do. FIG will not always own Holiday. As a company Holiday may not survive because of the inner turmoil that it has but there will always be a need for what we do.
Companies will spring up and replace Holiday because the right business model is to have live-in managers who care first and foremost for the residents. The Colson's recognized this and even though they made alot of mistakes they made money because they did not lose sight of who was ultimately paying the bills - the residents.
I would tell anybody looking at this site to do your homework before coming on board. Find the right team and it will work for you.We do not manage a 100% community anymore there are not many left with Holiday. We still have move-ins though. Sometimes we give incentives sometimes we do not. Learn to work within the system and you can make it work for your advantage.
The key though is to definitely remember and respect the residents in the community.
Not a perfect world with Holiday but it can still be good and work.
It's encouraging to hear that there are some managers that are content with their jobs. I wish I was in one of those communities. I like serving people, just not being abused by the job. Like many others have shared, finding different jobs after 50 years old is getting more and more difficult. I keep telling myself maybe I'll get use to it or maybe it will get better.
I did not have the pleasure of working for this company while Mr. Colson owned it. The current owners seem to be concerned with move-ins only!
I agree, do your homework and think long and hard before coming on board with this company. You will work long hours and get paid very little. The life style is quite a change without all the other challenges you might face.
Unfortunately, I have been working for a community that is run like assisted living! The residents are VERY needy and because of a company vehicle, we (the managers) are running people all over the place! Each time a housekeeper, dishwasher, cook, server, bus driver, etc takes a day off or calls in, plan on the possibility of doing their job. You will do this on top of all your other duties! (no extra pay for any of this either.) I also hope you don't like sleep. It can be very limited when you're on call!
I have found that I spend my two days off sleeping and resting so I can go back out there and get through the next five days. My body is so tired and hurting at the end of my week! I'm hoping I can continue to do my job.
Oh, don't plan on have any holidays off. Yes, you are told that you have certain paid holidays but where I am at, we do not have the pleasure of getting the holiday off to spend with our family. We are busy making sure our residents have a pleasant holiday. And when you do get that paid day off, you will have to recipicate by serving and additional day without the other community managers so everyone can get that paid day. Holiday doesn't send in temps or as our company calls them "floaters" to help ease up the holiday schedules.
Most regional directors have no idea what the community managers job entails because they have not taken the time to train in one. They will call during the meal hours, set up conference calls when managers have time off and/or send emails requesting things at all times of the day. They do not ask how they can make your job easier. No, they usually want to know who your hottest lead is and how many DIs you have going. Depending on your district, you might have additional paper work to do after each tour you give and only 24 hours to get it in. Oh well if you were up most of the night on emergency calls and just put in a 13 hour day on the floor. So what if it's 10 p.m. just do as you are told!
So please, if you are reading the blog entries and are considering a position. Realize you will put in long hours and depending on all the other factors, it could become your worst nightmare!
Just found this blog, heard about it from one of our employees. Since today and this week have been about the worst since I began work with Holiday, all I can say is ditto to this blog. It says it all. I love my managers, staff and the residents but we are experiencing the same and there appears to be no end inn sight.
Off to our in-person interview tomorrow. Have taken in everything on the blog and am keeping an open mind. We both have jobs and are not in a position of desparation, so they will need to sell us if this is to go anywhere. Thank you all for your comments. I will post again to let you all know how it went (goes!).
I know it has been on the blog before, but can anyone tell us who to contact at Sunshine Retirement Living about Community Managers jobs? Thanks!
Jack, here's the link to there website, all info is there.
http://www.sunshineretirementliving.com/
http://www.sunshineretirementliving.com/contact_sunshine_retirement_living
Try Calling 541-323-3456... ext 311
Thanks guys, but the website doesn't give that information. I called the phone number given and it only gives you a recording. Any other thoughts?
Thanks!
Your welcome, maybe try to call one of there communities, all the phone numbers should be on the website, they should be able to give you info who to call, RD's or so.
You know its funny that the things I read on here from time to time are the same things I hears my friends and others say about their respective jobs..not verbatim of course, but the same struggles within a corporate entity..Justsayin
So what you're saying lines up with an old accounting addage that states, "Liars figure and figures lie."
I will probably be able to tell my story sooner than later. That's right, I may be leaving to "Spend more time with my family." The writing seems to be on the wall.
Managers and Co-Managers, keep doing what you are doing for the residents since they are who we are here to serve. I can tell you that not all RD's are bad and many of them want the same things you want.
Your story will be very interesting. There are RD'S that care for residents and employees and former/present managers know who they are/were. We were fortunate to have worked under a fantastic RD who cared for his residents and employees. We are thankful to have experienced his compassionate leadership.
Best to You!
Anonymous - it should be an interesting story and we look forward to your sharing it.
Allow me to put forth a personal stance based upon our own experiences with Holiday. Until, and unless, my wife and I can personally attest to Holiday actually delivering on their promises then we will continue to question their information. All the numbers being thrown about by them, all of the hype being produced by paid scripters, and all of the promises tossed around, mean nothing unless it fills the needs of the residents who pay the bills.
In my opinion Holiday upper management has shown themselves as narcisstic individuals concerned more with their reputation and financial awards than about actually caring for the people who they are supposed to be so thoughtful of - the residents and the employees. This is my personal opinion and I will hold to that opinion until something shows me different. As of this writing I will still maintain that I would not recommend this company to any person seeking a retirement home for themselves or a loved one. When we joined Holiday we did so because of a belief in the concept and we planned to spend eight or more years with them. We left because we decided the tolerated/condoned indifference and disrespect being exhibited outweighed the positives of our caring for the elderly with this particular company.
My wife and I will always miss the residents. We even miss working for Holiday in some ways. I am getting old - old enough that in a few years I may need a retirement community for myself. When I do it will be in a community run by a company that treasures its residents and shows respect to its employees. You can make safe bet that we will conduct extensive research first. No individual, whether resident or employee, ever deserves to be yelled at, cursed, struck, or in any manner wrongly treated by a supervisor just because the authority is there for them to get away with it. I will always take up for those who undergo such.
As I stated: Prove me wrong - show me different - and I will cheerfully tell the world.
I also continue to believe what is needed is an objective couple or a team to visit retirement communities and make reports based on actualities and not simply following a pre-configured set of checks to the company they work for.
Sadly, as a Holiday RESIDENT of 6+ years, the year 2010 has been the worst imaginable for Residents. The food is often spoiled, tasteless, and when we're 'out-of-money' here, they serve Welsh Rarebit (bread & cheese sauce) for dinner, or eggs or Goulash w/out the macaroni! The website even boasts of some Holiday dishes with recipes! Ha! I've NEVER even had any of these dishes. They also boast about the nutritional value of their meals. Again, most meals are high in salt & fat, use cuts of meat I've never heard of or eaten before, and very rarely have fresh vegetables. Our kitchen equipment is so old, the ice cream doesn't freeze, so we have a melted slog and the oven can't regulate it's temperature so we have lots of burned things, too. Yummy! I've had leaks in the roof for about 6 months and only vague promises to repair them if the weather is sunny! We have "Thugs" for management and it's only getting worse. The Holiday Touch is over. The current owners, a real estate hedge fund, is only interested in tax loopholes and dividends for it's investors. Run as fast as you can...or try to catch me.
Wow, our chef has all the money to spend and last weekend on Saturday he put BBQ Baby Back Ribs on the menu and on Sunday he had Prime Rib with all the Trimmings, the weekend before he bbq'ed New York Steaks outside, and it was cold, this week he has Beef Short Ribs on the menu and Shrimps, I tell ya', we can't complain about our food. Krudos to our chef. We are not a Holiday Community.
This sounds like Parkrose Chateau in Portland. We were the managers their for 5 years, we tried unsuccessfully in all that time to have the kitchen updated and repaired. The story always the same, no money. No matter how good a cook you are when you have worn out pans, equipment that you cannot regulate the temperature your food is always overcooked or undercooked. We went thru so many so called chefs that most all of them came from little dives and were short order cooks, and almost none of them knew how to batch cook.Almost all of the residents are so sick of chicken the flinch when you tell them what there having.The bone-in chicken leg must be really cheap and tastes like it too. And how many ways can you cook the fish talapia, they served it fried,broiled, boiled,baked and it was never cooked properly due to human error or equipment that should have been replaced years ago.Then you have Bobbi Reid and Betty Aberg who buy all kinds of decorations and gore way over the budget trying to entice some poor old sole to fall for all their lies.Speaking of the the THUGS that are the current management, we found out that during our days off they entered our apt. We wanted them fired for trespassing. Bobbi decided to save them and transfered them to another building.Needless to say after we left she hired the thugs as managers. Low and behold what is happening now. A lot of the residents are missing expensive jewelry. A friend of ours a 82year old lady said the managers told her what nice things she has, the only problem being she has never invited them to her apt. So she pays over $3,ooo a month and had to go out and buy a safe to keep her things locked up from them.. That is what Holiday has come to hiring people of that character. Say a prayer for all the residents living at Parkrose and discourage anyone you know from living there.
Go to www.SunshineRetirementLiving.com and see if we have a Community near you!!
THANKS but NO THANKS.... We have already been used by Dick Glaunett and Bobbi Reid. Too bad both of them did not leave Holiday a year earlier. After Dick left Bobbi continued working at Holiday and running the budgets into the ground. Bobbi made us fire a gay couple per orders by Dick. It was either do it or be gone, in hindsight it was a bad decision that we have wrestled with. AFTER THE COUPLE WAS FIRED Bobbi CAME AND GAVE US A BIG HUG FROM DICK GLAUNETT.... wasn't that nice.Bobbi told me that Heather and Diana from HR at Holiday would cover for this. And now they are all working for Sunshine Retirement so no we want nothing to do with this organization and these unethical people. You will soon see a blog like this for Sunshine Retirement as these leopards do not change their spots. My prayers to any staff or residents who work under these vultures. I would be looking for a new place to live and a new job. Have A Blessed Day this is how Bobbi signs off and stabs you in the back.
This sure does not sound at all like the Dick GlauneRt that we knew.
Unless there was an actual problem/complaint among residents about that couple's "overt gayness" (public displays of affection, etc.), I'd have to believe there was a lot more behind their termination.
This indeed happened. This couple had worked at another Holiday building for 1 year prior to being sent to us, without any write-ups and in January 2010 Bobbi Reid gave them a great evaluation. Bobbi stated to us that the reason she was sending them to us was to GET RID of them as per her and Dick's request as they did not fit into the Holiday lifestyle. Also before Dick and Bobbi left Holiday Bobbi went on a spending spree with a company already in financial woes Dick let her go nuts putting all kinds of lighting and fixing up what had already looked very nice. Now that we know that it had been a plan that Dick was going to take over Sunshine, we have to wonder if it was their intent to put Fortress in the hole even more in the red. And taking lots of Holiday employees with them. We ask why did they not take Betty Aberg with them, she is still at Holiday making life miserable for anybody who has the unfortunate encounter with her.. .This is their true colors showing they do Not care about the staff or the resident just their Power.
Sometimes it doesn't hurt to see the reflection in the mirror.
Worked for almost 2 years as a comomunity manager. In that time span was never given a "mandatory" written feedback/evaluation from our RD and not one write-up. All correspondence from RD to HO was positive and my wife and I managed a community for over 60 straight days without any assistance from Holiday. We made a policy mistake and was told during the investigation that based on our record and how much the residents loved us, no one was getting terminated. We were terminated 2 weeks later. No written evaluations, no chance to improve or demonstrate our understanding of the mistake we made. We were given termination notice. Our RD is new and didn't fight for us. Numerous associates have quit since our termination and many residents have contemplated moving out because of how we were treated as managers.
My wife and I witnessed previous managers steal money from Holiday, fudge on reports and even mistreat us as co-managers when it came to "comp" time-off, etc. All was discussed with RD and nothing was done to them. I argued a few times with my RD and RSL when they continually called for us to work Saturdays for special events (Sat. were my wife and I's day off) and would call after 8 p.m. at night to go over Top 8 future move-ins. I believe they terminated us because we exposed them for what they are: Money hungry corporation which devours their managers until they either quit or they terminate them when the time is right. Again, we were given no written feedback or evaluation (required by Holiday) and were never given a write-up of any kind for sub-par performance. But we made one mistake and instead of a write-up and chance to improve, we were given termination paperwork. Something isn't right with that picture. Not upset however; glad to get on with my life and bid Holiday good-bye. The only negative aspect of all of this is that our wonderful residents will pay in the long run because they now have to face every day in their community with new managers who proabably won't care about them as much as they should. My wife and I cared so much about our residents and poured our hearts and soul into our residents being happy. Our community's occupancy % went from 71 to 80 percent in the 9 months we were there. Again, I don't understand how our regional management (who knew of our mistake and ignored it) still have jobs and we were not given a chance to correct our mistake and stay as managers. We are better off now because the job took its toll on our health these past 2 years. I just feel bad for our residents and associates who will suffer if/when their new managers show how little they care about them. Holiday, "you should be ashamed of yourself how you mistreat your managers in the communities". You WILL get yours in time. To all the managers still employed by Holiday: "watch your back"!
Sounds to me like you should have spoken to the Wage and Labor Board. While the suits at HQ do work more than 40 I can assure you they're getting more than their fair share of time off. What is preventing the community managers from organizing or calling in some type of union to adress their inequities. BTW I'm not a part of the company. I was simply made aware of what is going on and enjoy following this as much as my wife enjoys following the soap operas.
With all of the "supposed" move-ins that Holiday "claims" they have and braking all sorts of records, I can tell you why this is. They truly are giving away the farm. No community fees, 1 month free rent, no second resident fee, freezing the rents for 2 years, if you are filing for the VA benefits, than you only have to pay half of the rent until a decision is made by the VA and if you do not qualify, they do not make you pay what you owe either. It is no wonder that supposedly so many new residents have moved in. With all these give-aways, it is still amazing to me why not every building is 100% occupied. Heck why aren't the community managers go find the homeless Vietnam vets and move them in? These vets are everywhere in the country. Might as well since Holiday gives away everything anyway!
It also does not surprise me that the market value of Holiday Retirement has dropped to around 4.5 Billion down from the 6.8 FIG paid for it. This info according to internet publications.
Holiday, keep going. I know how much it cost to operate a building as I have worked many years in various of the Holiday communities. Soon enough you will file for bankruptcy just like some of the other "projects" FIG owns.
Rent Freezes? I wonder if all the current residents are getting a rent freeze? I would encourage all current HRC residents that receive rent increases this year to ask for the same deals as the new people moving in. Waiting for VA- pay half? If you are not a veteran, and are selling your house, do you get the same deal? why not? some of these practices seem discriminatory and could be a violation of the Fair Housing Act.
As much as I detest Holiday Retirement and the lip service of the “Holiday Touch” from upper management. Incentives can change from month to month depending on how upper management chooses to administer them. I know it sometimes doesn’t seem fair for the residents who rented the month before with less incentives, but it is not illegal to change incentives. Kind of like the automobile industry, different deals and rebates every other month. Where you could hang Holiday is if they offered different prices and incentives, for the same apartment during that monthly special. Then fair housing would have a field day with that one. I know it happens because I have seen it, but you generally have to have complaints before fair housing will shop you.
as I have written here before, I come yet again to voice frustration.
I have just recently been "informed" that marketing the building is to be my top priority (even though I'm an EC)
I must be having at least 2 groups a week into the private dining room, making phone calls, covering for managers while they are marketing...I could go on.
I would like to know when I am supposed to find time to do this on top of scheduling/running all activities, driving the bus and being there for the residents? this job is getting out of hand, and the added job responsibilities definitely aren't reflected in pay, that's for sure.
My job hunt can't go fast enough...as much as it pains me to say, I can't wait to give my two weeks notice. any other EC's in this situation as well?
I thought the EC's always did that by having groups in you didnt have to cook or serve you just had to line it up and show off your building we called it making a friend!The DI boxes only have so many cards in them to call
re: to Anonymous.
I have had groups in 3-4 times a week since I started working. And yes, I do serve when anyone is sick or absent because my managers refuse to, and I have done everything in my building BUT cook, but I'm sure I would excel at that as well.
As to your comment of DI boxes...I have called them, as that is part of my "job" now...I know that every building is different, but I'm tired of covering for lazy managers who don't want to market, and dump a lot of their job responsibilities on me, and I'm sure I'm not the only EC in this position (i.e. you're the one who knows the residents so well/community contacts...you have lived here for years, you'd know them better for marketing purposes, etc.)
Anon, have you ever programmed, run and evaluated an activity, loaded up the residents & their walkers on the bus, unloaded it all, watched out for those who might get confused, then repeated just to come home, then run a special event, setting up & tearing down, being the primary contact...then maybe go home after hearing from managers how much you have let them down marketing wise??? when I ask you should I find time to do what is asked when I am running activities, driving the bus, serving when needed, housekeeping even when someone calls in sick?? this is just the tip of the iceburg....meanwhile my managers sit in the office and complain how much work they have to do....yeah, but I'll call it "making a friend".
$16 an hour for this? not anymore
My EC only made $10.00 per hour and I do understand because I was right there with my EC and did everything with her when she need me.2 heads are better planning than 1. I know exactly what ur saying because in 4 yers we had NO Co's that would fit the bill so I understand you have lazy managers with no passion thats sorry we would even take the buss on our night off and Go to Texas Roadhouse etc... because it was so much fun and appreciated!!! The problem with the management or co management is the ones they are hiring should rent a apartment because most are looking to suppliment their social security and have alot of medical issues they cant move their lazy bones to pour coffee let alone serve which I thouroughly enjoyed. But with not having a team I was burned out. We would even shampoo the carpet after the evening meal was done and the residents went ot bed because we wanted their home to look great BUT for 28,000 a yr NO way. Looks like you made more than we did and unfortunately maybe that is why you were taken advantage of. I still have a HUGE passion for seniors but I make about 50,.000 a year managing a trailer court + bonuses and I have HOLIDAY S and Weekends off and my residente only pay 378.00 a year and I still have my seniors to enjoy!!!!!I am angry still that it had to end this way I DID QUIT
Dear Enrichment, Our hearts go out to you.When you were hired I am sure you were not informed that you would also be in marketing, answer phones and watch the building so the managers can go out and sell. This is what Holiday does to every employee, if your in the managers seat you are going to wear many hats.One day you will be the manager, next day dishwasher, server, and the lists go on. The maintaince man becomes a plumber,carpenter and even a server when needed. You as a EC are not alone. One thing everyone has in common if you last for awhile most everyone loves the residents, I know there are a few who don't but we all know them. That is why we stay.In this blog it is certain that with a the vile things upper management has done to people and if they'd only known what was in store for them but while you are still employed you do not believe it will happen to you. So for all the Current Employees who work in all the 300 bldgs. now is the time while you are employed to become members of a union. If one building does it and the next 299 followed, Holiday would not be allowed to treat people like they do.A union would protect you. All of us that are no longer employed if they would join in on a class action suit maybe someone would listen. You know Holiday treats their employees worse than Jimmy Hoffa did his but we all know what happened to him. Are you listening Holidays CEO's starting with Jack. But EC I know its hard to leave the RESIDENTS but there are lots of nursing homes looking for activity directors where you won't be asked to do your job and 10 others. Good Luck get out before you get the aaaaaax it just is not a good feeling, almost all the EC's we were in contact with were truly there for the residents but think of the deserving seniors in nursing homes who need you too and you will be treated with respect.....
Kathy Casey, the more you write the more I doubt your side of the story. I've been suspicious of your stories all along, but when you tear down a man like Dick Glaunert - (one of the best ever and maybe the closest thing to a Bill Colson clone when it comes to taking care of the residents) - I wonder how delusional you must be. For all the energy you spent here talking about injustices, you could have been contacting authorities that could do something. Hey, you seem to have all the 'evidence'. Now the most recent 'crazy talk' from you was about getting unions and saying "look how Jimmy Hoffa treated his employees and what happened to him" ... Good grief... Jimmy Hoffa WAS THE UNION!!! Don't you even know your history. Yeah, bring in the unions and end up with a pay raise... but then pay more than the pay raise as union dues. That's what's wrong with this country. Sheesh. Go find another hobby. Quit discrediting this blog with your wild rants that mostly don't make any sense.
You beat me to it.
Couldn't agree with you more about Dick Glaunert.
Finally, thanks for saying something, Y, your a good guy
What is the present status of the Health and Wellness Services?
Are there currently any "employment" law suits either private or class action against this company?
How would we know, no one can tell us on the blog or email the information. I have asked many-many -many lawyers and they say we are employees at will.Which means Holiday can terminate anyone for reason/reasons what so ever. I will will give you my email if you want to contact me.
Reply to coalminers son this is in your response to what a great man Dick Glaunett is thats why we live in America we all have our own opinions and are free to vent them when we know they are true. There are lots of seniors that he has stabbed in the back and ruined there lives. This man and his staff and the people he brought with him to Sunshine are exactly like him, NO GOOD. And yes I will continue to tell everyone what this man has done. Yes we know he has his snitches who read this blog and if he was any kind of a person he would man up and respond. But no he has YOU to cover his back. Why don't you man up and give your real name. probably not because you are the one who is delusional. Oh and please do not ever compare him to Bill Colson Sr. this man had s vision and to see it destroyed by the likes of people like Dick Glaunett and the Bobbi Reid's he is probably rolling over in his grave. When you see my entries skip them cause I got your number and where and what your being told what to be write.And frankly I do not want to hear it.
Let's cut out the name calling and get back to the original concept of why this blog was initiated
Hear, Hear! Name calling is nothing more than a feeble mind attempting to express itself forcibly!
K.C. - You are totally wrong on your Dick Glaunert charges. BTW - I don't work for him or Sunshine. I'm still part of the Holiday family and see the residents as my supervisor(s). I work for them and them alone! You are a sad, sad, and bitter person. Don't resort to argumentum ad hominem to make your case.
I would be terribly remiss if I did not put forth my opinion and information here. I strive to keep the blog running on a reasonably fair level, while giving everyone a basically open forum to vent, offer up problems and potential solutions. What occasionally happens is that an individual's sense of being done wrong may take on a life of its own. I believe this can be prevented in most cases.
Kathy Casey: Please note that your comments have been left exactly as you wrote them. I say this because I feel they are approaching that very narrow line we do not wish to cross. This afternoon I contacted Dick Glaunert via telephone and we had an open conversation. I explained to him that I wished to offer an opportunity for his feedback to your comments and that it was the only fair way to be. Before I go any further let me preface with the fact that Dick Glaunert has a stellar reputation regarding his concern for the residents of Holiday communities, and always did so. As a Divisional Manager he consistently outperformed the rest in the running of his territory and usually had the highest census. People who worked under him reflected his caring and it proved up time after time. I, as most of you know, am a research addict and all of my research backs up my statements. I have made numerous telephone calls to various people who know Glaunert, emailed more of them, and even visited with a few. The overall rating came back five-star time after time.
During my conversation with Mr. G today I asked pointed questions to which he did not hesitate nor skirt around. He puts the residents first - both then - and now as COO with Sunshine Retirement. Have you considered that he had no knowledge of what may have transpired about your claims? He may not even know who you are.
I realize you have hard feelings about him for the wrongs you claim he was responsible for regarding your time with Holiday. But the incident(s) you claim to have caused you such hardship do not validate from my research. I am not disputing that they happened as you remember them, Kathy, but am saying that Glaunert's reputation does not portray him as someone who would do such things. I suggest you contact a legal opinion if you feel so strongly about it, but hereby inform you that further personal castigation of Mr. Glaunert cannot, and will not, be allowed. This blog is about Holiday as a company and Mr. Glaunert is no longer with the company. Sunshine Retirement is considered a small company at this writing, but their reputation is building as a resident-conscious entity and until they earn bad publicity, if ever, it should not be given without foundation.
When we were with Holiday we had Mike Lively as our Divisional. I'm sure there are individuals out there who will feel he was not a good person, but in the dealings my wife and I had with Mike Lively he always kept his word to us and those involved. He proved repeatedly that the residents came first. I recall one time when we were having dinner in the private dining room of a community and the managers began to serve all of us first. Mike Lively immediately informed the managers that our salaries came from the residents, not the other way around, and they should always be served before company personnel or guests, always and no exceptions. This is also Dick Glaunert's stance and I speak from personal experience. Dick Glaunert hired our Regional Manager, L P Thompkins and LP managed five or six communities before becoming a Regional. Holiday lost greats when Dick, Mike, and LP left. Sunshine Retirement gained a gold trophy in Glaunert.
I realize this will not make you happy, but it is the way of things.
On another note: Check out http://chucksproduce.com to see the grocery/produce store in Vancouver, Wa. that Bart Colson is involved with. It is fantastic! Check out the old cars.
Thank you for taking the time to talk with Dick and posting this, DL.
...and if K.C. comes back, as she is likely to, with more absolute b@ll$h!t about either Dick Glaunett (sic) or Dick Glaunert, I'll be the first to post some stories I've heard about her own libidinous, falling-down drunk, godless, puppy-kicking, hippie lifestyle.
As a matter of fact I'm beginning my "research" as we speak.
D.L. I totally agree with you ref Dick Glaunert. We did not work for Dick must met him many of times at the FIT meetings. He was/is one of the most caring person's you'd ever want to meet, work for or work with. You are so right when you wrote about the time he was a Regional Director. All of the community managers and co-managers reporting to him loved him and it showed in the occupancy numbers. I can honestly not find any negative words about Dick from anyone that worked for him.
I also appreciate you talking with Dick about all of what was written here.
He always has been and always will be a gentleman.
Well, my husband and I did work under Dick from the beginning. Kathy you must be on crack! Dick Glaunert was and is one of the finest men in the entire Holiday corporation even though he is no longer there. He gained respect from his management couples as he was always there and would always reply. He was one of the most positive leaders and would stand behind his people at all times unless you failed to do your job or take care of your residents and building. He built his region to within two buildings at one time of being 100% region and you don't get that kind of production and cooperation out of your people, if you don't have respect from them. He was an awesome gentleman, with a real passion for the business. Shame on you for trying to discredit one of Holidays former finest. I too would work for Dick anytime, any place and would be honored. Sorry you are such a miserable person that it prevented you from getting to know such a wonderful person. I will indeed say a prayer for you.
Two of the most torturous events over eight years, experienced with Dick, was watching him desperately trying to shag, while his wife was dancing well. The other was an anniversary dinner for my wife and I private to a few couples, when I had to argue with Dick who was going to pay the bill. I won but it was torturous.....haha,hoho,heehee!!!!!
You are absolutely right about one thing. I do not share your high regard for Mike Lively nor did the majority of managers in my region. Sorry, but this time I disagree. After 9 years I feel I am entitle to my opinion.
You are most definitely entitled to your opinion and it is warmly received. As I stated clearly, he was extremely fair with us and I wish you had known him as we did. I have no problems with anyone's opinions whether or not they jibe with someone else's. My concern is that point when the opinion crosses the line to become defamation or slander. We tout "free speech", but no speech is actually free since we open ourselves up for reactions by those we speak about. The fight to keep this blog a viable has been costly in ways other than financial to us.
I will always protect confidentiality and anonymity, but without proof of some sort to back up allegations I cannot go too far out on a limb which may be cut off. I legally can't say that Joe Blow is a mean crooked scalawag without legal ramifications. I can legally say that in my personal opinion Joe Blow is these things, but if Joe Blow feels I have caused him to lose business or damaged his reputation to the extent of loss because of what I publicly stated than I better be able to prove what I say or suffer the potential consequences. Have you observed the news where they always insert the word "allegedly"? There is a reason for doing so.
Carol and I had the privilege of working with Dick Glaunert for most of our employment with Holiday until he became the MD of the west region. Our dealings with Dick were professional and he always responded to questions and problems.
If the opportunity arose we would go to work for Dick at the drop of a hat
Hi,
My husband and I recently signed up with Holiday - Although I have seen some of the postings, I have not been able to read them all from time constraints - so forgive me if this is redundant- My question is this - Holiday & Hawthorne look very familiar in the pictures & I notice the same language in the advertising -
Is Hawthorne owned by Fortress also?
Do they also have live in managers ?
Has anyone from Holiday moved over to Hawthorne, and do they like it better?
If they are not live in, is the pay better to offset living expenses?
I'm trying to keep an open mind about Holiday, but I know how corporate America works, so I am keeping options open. Any info would be appreciated.
Hawthorn (no E) is owned by Bart Colson (and his investors) and Bart is the son of the founder of Holiday (Bill Colson). Bart is still owner of Colson & Colson construction which builds/built most of the buildings owned by both companies. The buildings basically are set up to be run the same way with live-in managers. Only the attitude at Holiday has changed mostly due to the influence of the new owners - Fortress Investment Group. Until the non-compete agreements are up (soon) there is a hold on Hawthorn hiring ex-employees of Holiday. Although, Sunshine Retirement may not be restricted and they do some contract work/management for Hawthorn. If you think this is confusing wait until the first part of 2011!!! Hooo boy.
Thanks for the quick response. It helps to know some of the history.
Who has the non-compete clause? Colson with Fortress? When is it up?
Just keeping options open & it's good to be informed.
Just curious - what happens in 2011?
Sorry if this is very elemental; I'm coming into a totally new industry & am
trying to get a good understanding of the players.
Any additional words of wisdom appreciated.
I dont understand why you took the job with reading this blog?? Were there any other options out there for you. If I had read this befor I started in 2002 I would of not even concidered it at all!
Just to clarify, we accepted the job then found the blog -
Did you know that the average income in 2008 was $29,214.00 for those 65 or older. The median household income nationwide was only $52,029.00. Predicted baby boomers will total 75 million with higher projected poverty levels. Stats claim 2/3 of Americans are not saving enough and 1/2 are not saving at all.
The National Academy of Science has a growing national acceptance of a revised formula for poverty levels which is replacing the 1955 formula. The NAS claims a more than doubled rate of poverty in the US.
What this means to we elderly is bleak. Where are we going to get the money to live in the retirement communities and homes? Social Security payouts are declining, costs to live are spiraling up, and older Americans are experiencing less disposable income due to health costs.
How many of you have enough money to comfortably stay at a retirement community with any of the companies? How about your friends or family members - can they afford it? Nursing home costs appear to average $50,000.00 and up per year. Where do we get this kind of money to support ourselves during the final years?
These thoughts, along with this blog, has created a different type of concern for myself and a few of my constituents. With the coming baby boomer influx we believe a new type of senior living care will have to evolve. Perhaps something along the lines of using a closed military installation and converting the barracks into a dormitory living situation for seniors. Another is an open community arrangement with a centralized community dining/recreation. One thing is very clear to us and that is the facts are strong regarding potential collapse of the high-end retirement living lifestyle - at least for the average senior. The money simply will not be there.
I am gathering stories from as many seniors as I can in order to begin a "spin-off blog" called Retirement: The Tarnished Golden Years, plus a series of articles regarding the forgotten seniors. What are seniors doing to defray their costs now? What do they envision for their futures? And, do they believe they will be able to afford it? I find it very disturbing how many responses to date are from seniors whose total income is less than $1200 per month for a couple. Many of them never had the education or jobs to make the better wages through their lives. I am also surprised at the number who respond with stories of having to go bankrupt in their elder years due to medical costs. There is also a rise in home losses due to financial inability for the elderly. Many of them refinanced their homes to help their children and found it was the wrong thing to do. What is going to happen to these people in a few years and where will they go to live? Homelessness is rising among the elderly at a rapid pace.
With almost 14 trillion dollars in real debt and 59 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities the United States could easily tip over into insolvency, just like the European countries and Iceland. Can it happen? It most certainly could. Will it happen? Unless a different mode of operation takes effect the possibility is very real. Most Americans are only a single payday away from broke. It would not take much to send us spiraling down again into a complete recession which is very long lasting - and we are barely beginning to climb out of this one. What happens to the elderly when there is no support?
I recall an old adage: "You can tell the morals of a society by what it leaves in the streets." If that is true then we are in big trouble.
You are a smart man DL. So glad that you and your wife have touched our lives. Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!
I wish! And ditto about touching lives.
I like your website at http://www.houstonsprings.com and I know how hard you two work to build the business. May your dreams materialize.
Perhaps we should all consider what started in Boston and is growing across the country? Check out this website and read the article below.
http://beaconhillvillage.org/">http://beaconhillvillage.org/
FROM THE ATHENS (OHIO) NEWS (Sept. 16, 2010)
The Athens Village, a local, nonprofit organization that enables senior citizens to remain living in their own homes, celebrated its one-year anniversary Sunday at the Ohio University Inn. "It's lots of fun being here celebrating," said Ellsworth Holden, president of the Athens Village. The Athens Village was the first rural "village" organization in the U.S. and still only one of three that exist in a rural community. Most are in big-city areas, Holden said.
"Villages" in this context are a national initiative that encourages and helps senior citizens to remain in their own homes versus moving into a retirement home. The name originates from Beacon Hill Village in Boston, the first neighborhood in the U.S. to have such a service available to its elderly. They provide many services through paid and volunteer work by other members such as home repairs at a discount, transportation, technical assistance, and a buddy system. SEE: http://beaconhillvillage.org/">http://beaconhillvillage.org/
The Athens Village charges $400 in annual dues that allow such services to be available to its members. Part of the dues pays for the salary of Lane Hoisington, the home maintenance coordinator remarked Dru Evarts, a member of the Athens Village and editor of the organization's newsletter. According to Hoisington, who is retired from OU after 31 years, throughout his six months as the Athens Village's "handyman" he has put up handrails, changed light bulbs and door knobs, installed new sinks, and offered a free annual household inspection. Members of the local village also benefit from the organization's partnering with the Appalachian Community Visiting Nurse Association, which provides home nursing care at a reduced rate.
Their administrative infrastructure serves the village and has been a valuable part of it, Holden noted. The "village" concept is becoming increasingly popular - there are currently 50 villages across the nation offering 24-hour services, Evarts said.
In an AARP news release, Elinor Ginzler, AARP senior vice president for livable communities, talked about the benefits of these villages. "Nine out of 10 older Americans want to stay in their homes for as long as possible and the 'Village' movement is capturing the imagination of the Boomers that organized babysitting co-ops in the '60s and '70s," she said. "Only now, they are organizing services for themselves that will allow them to continue to live comfortably in their homes and communities as they age."
http://beaconhillvillage.org/
This may be a 'cleaner' link. Not sure what happened above.
Ex Holiday employees can and do work for Hawthorne Retirement. Three couples come to mind right now, one being Rick Eastman and his wife. They are at one in NC
Yes, but a stop was put to that per Fortress's request to 'stop the bleeding'. For a while a Holiday employee would have to ask their supervisor for approval to apply with Hawthorn (no E) - in the case of managers that would be asking your RDs approval to apply with another company. If he/she decided to fire you then you had to ask human capital's permission to apply. Doesn't quite sound legal does it. Now, Bart has been quoted as saying that he won't hire any Holiday people until the non-compete expires. Yes, there are a few ex-Holidays working there. I know some as well. But they were hired early on before it became a problem for Holiday and Fortress. Remember, Bart and Fortress are partners on some of the communities and Fortress owes Bart some money. So he kinda had to comply with Fortress's wishes.
From what I understand it was a court order from FIG, not a request.
Why would Bart have to comply with FIG's wishes? THEY owe HIM money -- big time. Just curious...
Wanna read something interesting from Bill Colson 6.5 years ago? I find the last paragraph on page 2 enlightening. Shows even Bill had manager conflict problems - though not on the scale we see now. Check it out:
http://www.colson-colson.com/Senior_Centric.pdf
As the holidays approach us my wife and I would like to wish each and everyone of you a most happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Christmas. In almost two years of this blog we have learned so much from you guys and appreciate all you do. May the night breezes whisper their secrets to each of you and bring you health and good fortune.
Charles, Thank you so very much for all you have done with this blog. It has been and still is a great forum/tool for past and present Holiday Retirement employees to vent and share experiences, feelings and whatever else.
You are a "Great American" as Shaun would say. Please make sure you keep this blog going as many more people and potential employees need to read this blog until FIG finally gets it and start appreciating their employees in the communities and make the changes that need to be made in order for FIG to "earn" the respect of it's employees.
Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you and your wife. God bless you both.
Thank you.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE INDIVIDUAL WHO STARTED THIS SITE, IT SADDENS ME TO SEE HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BY HOLIDAYS CONTINOUS FAILURE TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN COMPANY POLICIES, BUT I AM HERE TO SAY THAT THEY ARE GETTING READY TO FEEL THE WRATH OF MR.T, I WORKED FOR HOLIDAY FOR 3 1/2 YRS AND WAS DISMISSED WITH NO EXPLANATION AND TO DATE HAVE NOT RECIEVED ANY SEPARATION PAPERS ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN WRITTEN POLICIES,I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH OTHERS WHO WERE TREATED THE SAME I HAVE VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH ALL, AND HAVING MY OLD SUPERVISOR CALL ME AND TELL ME WHAT THEY DID TO ME WAS WRONG AND THEY CONTINUE TO MISTREAT AND ABUSE THEIR EMPLOYEES FOR THEIR OWN LACK OF INFORMATION.WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING. HOPE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE SOON. GOD BLESS
Mr.T,
I know just how you feel......I also was dismissed for reasons that were not true. I am still trying to regroup from what took place, for my husband and I loved our residents, and miss them very much. I don't believe Holiday has a heart for people at all......they can talk all they want, but their actions speak LOUDER than words!!! Something needs to be done!!!
Happy Holidays everyone. Now I am not with the company I actually get a 4 day paid holiday weekend and they are letting us leave at 3 today!!!!
Whoa - four days in a row and with pay, plus getting an early start! You have to have gone into politics to get that.
DeCarr v. Holiday Retirement is a definite pending class action suit in Santa Clara Superior Court of California.
Lead Attorney of record for the plantiffs is Barron E. Ramos ( http://www.yourclasscounsel.com) - click on news and events. If anyone has information regarding actions in other states please let us know.
Mr. DeCarr: I will place a link to your online resume if you wish. Email me @ thefreebornman@yahoo.com .
wont give any info but my company is hiring in 5 states get ahold of DL I think he knoes who I am
Feel free to offer any information you choose. I have a lot of respect for you and your company. Any options to offer compatible jobs for caring people is definitely a plus.
If you remember, I do not keep email addresses in order to protect confidentiality and anonymity. You will need to contact me at thefreebornman@yahoo.om with an address for people to contact before I can forward. Thanks.
I am interested.
Anyone know anything about this company?
www.merrillgardens.com
What a sweet man...take a look at this. This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful to have the privledge to work for Holiday Retirement so I can take care of my residents the way I'm allowed to do. It has been a wonderful five and a half years in my community. May you all find the inner peace you have been seeking this holiday season.
Holiday Retirement,
Happy Thanksgiving! As we pause across the United States today to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives, we undoubtedly have much to be grateful for. President John F. Kennedy left behind an unparalleled legacy and many memorable quotes. A personal favorite is “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
Those powerful words resonate and ring so true across all 313 of Holiday Retirement’s communities each and every day. I’m so proud of and thankful for all 10,000 Holiday Retirement associates who tirelessly contribute their time and talents to help us provide a wonderful living experience for our residents. I’m especially grateful for our 626 live-in managers who also call Holiday “home”. Our live in managers truly exemplify the Holiday Touch and that is what sets our organization apart from all others. You make the Holiday Touch real. You nurture and care for our residents. You love our residents unconditionally and treat them like family. For that, I am incredibly grateful to you and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I’m also grateful for the unselfish service of the many military veterans who are living with us today at Holiday Retirement. This Thanksgiving, I'd like to share the following excerpt from one of my all time favorite books – Tom Brokaw’s “The Greatest Generation”:
“During this generation, America's citizen heroes and heroines who came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War went on to build modern America. This generation was united not only by a common purpose, but also by common values--duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country, and, above all, responsibility for oneself.
At a time in their lives when their days and nights should have been filled with innocent adventure, love, and the lessons of the workaday world, they were fighting in the most primitive conditions possible across the bloodied landscape of France, Belgium, Italy, Austria, and the coral islands of the Pacific. They answered the call to save the world from the two most powerful and ruthless military machines ever assembled, instruments of conquest in the hands of fascist maniacs. They faced great odds and a late start, but they did not protest. They succeeded on every front. They won the war; they saved the world.
They came home to joyous and short-lived celebrations and immediately began the task of rebuilding their lives and the world they wanted. They married in record numbers and gave birth to another distinctive generation, the Baby Boomers. A grateful nation made it possible for more of them to attend college than any society had ever educated, anywhere. They gave the world new science, literature, art, industry, and economic strength unparalleled in the long curve of history. As they now reach the twilight of their adventurous and productive lives, they remain, for the most part, exceptionally modest. They have so many stories to tell, stories that in many cases they have never told before, because in a deep sense they didn't think that what they were doing was that special, because everyone else was doing it too…..I have now come to understand what this generation of Americans meant to history. It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced."
We are incredibly fortunate at Holiday Retirement because "The Greatest Generation" that Tom Brokaw wrote about is literally the same generation that we have the privilege and honor of caring for on a daily basis in our communities.
As we all sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, we will give thanks and express our gratitude for many things. I will personally be giving thanks for the many relationships that I am blessed to have in my own life, starting with my wife Meredith and my two sons Brandon and Ryan, whom I love dearly. I will also give thanks for having the privilege of being affiliated with such a wonderful organization as Holiday Retirement, whose sole mission is to provide a warm, loving and caring home for “The Greatest Generation”. What an amazing honor. I will also express my sincere gratitude for the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve our country so unselfishly with their military service. We owe much to them and to their families.
These are just a few of the things I’m personally grateful for, and I’m sure you have a similar list of your own. Despite the fact that our organization is comprised of over 10,000 individuals scattered geographically from coast to coast across North America, we all share a common bond that unites us; that common bond of course, is a genuine passion for sharing the Holiday Touch with our residents and with each other.
From my family to yours, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and joyous holiday season. May God bless and keep you all.
Warmest regards,
Jack
pure propaganda, Jack couldn't care any less about the managers or the residents, if he cared about the residents he would offer the same 5 year rent freeze to ALL of them that he is advertising through direct mail to new residents that move in by the end of the year- now that would show some gratitude. Everyone that is living in or looking at a Holiday facility, should ask the manager or sales person to give them the deal at the bottom of the discount spreadsheet on the official HRC Guide to Gaining Agreement and Closing, that is so neatly laminated and present in every office.
Happy Thanksgiving, make em give til it hurts.
Yeah, Right?!
"Incentives or discounts are not always needed - DO NOT LEAD WITH AN INCENTIVE. Keep it as a tool to drive urgency in your customer."
"Incentive: a one time deal, affecting your revenue temporarily. This is waiving the Community Fee, or 2 month's rent, pushed into the 3rd or 6th month. This is always a better option than discounting when closing a sale."
"Discount: an on-going deal, affecting your revenue for the duration of the lease, usually for 12 months or longer in duration. This is a less desirable option compared to an incentive when closing a sale."
"Always collect monies up front."
"Develop a 'don't take no for an answer' attitude - be persistent."
The bottom line on the discount calculator sheet is a 25% Off the Market Rate discount.
The above is straight from Quick Guide to Gaining Agreement and Closing. I will take issue with this simply because I believe an elderly person or family member should NEVER be pushed into a sense of urgency as an attempt to rent an apartment. I realize the buildings have to be filled to make a profit, but I maintain the customer is not buying a vacuum cleaner from some pushy salesperson. They are about to embark on a lifestyle change which will probably be their last stop before that final move into eternity. They are nervous, angry, even frightened, at what is happening. I know, I know, it's all about the numbers.
But think about it for a minute. Wouldn't fewer problems be encountered if a potential client was respectfully offered suggestions to look around at the competition with an open mind, to talk with their family advisors, to speak with their financial advisors? Speaking personally, I would be more receptive to a sales offering if I felt I was being treated with intelligence and a true sense of concern for my well being. I don't care whether I am buying a vehicle or a television set, I never put money up front unless I have done my research for the best deal to my satisfaction. If a sales person starts attempting to rush me into a decision and get front money then I usually back off and look elsewhere.
My wife accomplished some amazing closings because she made the client feel comfortable and relaxed during the tour and after. She had a personal conversation with potentials - and she not only listened to them, but she oberved the "hidden" signals to set them at ease - and she truly cared about them. When this is done it is usually the client who takes the step to sign on. When you honestly believe you have the best product available the conviction of your belief, the power of your conviction, presented with the facts, closes more deals than all the sleight-of-hand parlor tricks.
I would like to add a postscript: Nowhere in the guide is there any reference whatsoever concerning a resident-care philosophy of loving concern and respect. Not a word. That guide has all the emotional appeal of a used car contract when it comes to potential residents. Somewhere in a guide, somewhere, a prospective client should be made to feel important and the person trying to follow the guidelines needs to know it.
DL
The sale should be made long before an incentive is used, and should not be made with discounts. When the customer believes that they have found the right lifestyle choice for them, they will buy. The incentive should only be used to make the move or the transition easier for the customer, and hopefully they might move in sooner rather than later. I don't think any HRC manager or sales person will ever urge a person to look at the competition for fear that they will never come back- it is the old car sales philosophy- don't let them leave the lot without buying- sad and sometimes abusive sales tactics. In the old days when we weren't setting any 40 year move in records, but somehow had occupancy well above 90% while adding 20-30 new communities a year we were taught to not twist the arm of a senior, but to offer them our arm to help guide them through this difficult process.
Well put! Your expertise shows clearly.
How right you are, DL!
Clearly FIG's long suit has never been consumer marketing (much less people management) but rather financial strategies and fund management. I am truly dismayed by the irony of their ineptitude in engaging the major obstacle that arose just about simultaneously with their purchase of Holiday - namely the universal deflation of real estate values, loss of "real equity" that mom and dad used to have in the old homestead was suddenly no longer there.
FIG/HRC's front-end discounting offers of late work best in a competitive retail market, which depends mostly on discretionary money (or short-term credit) that is readily available among a vast, impulse-driven customer base. On the other hand, selection of options for long-term, secure living environments - and the transition thereto - is not an impulse-process. The whiz kids from Wall Street, it seems, have yet to recognize how to use their own leveraging skills to take advantage of the very equity they had a hand in depreciating.
What a great comment ! If I could gather together all of the knowledge displayed by the commenters on this blog and start a consulting business - man, the money would flow like a river. This is very true, yet Holiday apparently continues to reject what is staring them in the face.
Why do you, as a non-employee, have a copy of the Quick Guide to Gaining Agreement and Closing? If you are so worried about HRC employees reading and following your Terms of Service and not printing or otherwise using this blog, shouldn't you show the same respect and not access or publicly distribute Holiday's proprietary information?
Seems a bit hypocritical if you ask me. I'm just sayin'.
That is a very fair question and it deserves an answer. You must not have actually read the terms, because nowhere does it say you can't download or print out. In fact, it states just the opposite. Do note the words "non-commercial use".
I have QG information for the same reason I have reams of material relating to several different endeavors. My wife and I kept everything from our time with Holiday - from our Grass Roots books to memos. Others send 'things' to me because of the blog. Sometimes innocent conversations offer tidbits which, when checked out, prove up in research. I have also visited communities myself and I strive to be an astute observer, replete with copious notes. When information is easily accessible to the public view it loses its proprietary defense. Also, read up on the legals regarding "implied consent". You will find it most interesting.
Correction: I am not "worried" about HRC employees (or anyone else) reading and following the Terms (I note you only reference HRC employees). The Terms of Service are fairly standardized. As a published author I do the same. Insofar as someone printing out the blog - help yourself. I have no qualms with it as long as it is not for a financial or other gain. I take the time to delete email addresses or "giveaways" of commenters in order to ensure they have anonymity if they wish so they do not have to fear a reprisal from the company for what they write. Isn't that a sad commentary about a company? I'll use yourself as an example here. You wrote anonymously, yet your IP shows where you write from. Would you face castigation if your identity was known?
Print out one of the stories on my site for your own enjoyment and that is also agreeable to me. But - print out and sell for a gain of some type and that is a horse of a different color (hence the terms). I sweat blood to write novels for others to hopefully enjoy. Those on site are a no-cost to anyone - as a free read only, not a carte blanche sell to others.
The blog is an open and honest effort to lift up a corner of the carpet of a retirement company in order to publicly show that there are a lot of things being swept under said carpet. These things affect the lives of those who should have the company's complete concern for their well-being. At any point when I feel the company is showing a good faith effort to truly take care of the residents and employees I will be thrilled to post plaudits to them or even remove the blog. To date that just hasn't happened.
Hypocritical? Perhaps. I personally don't believe it is, but if so, I am comfortable with it. The one thing every court recognizes is "Truth" and that is what one reads on the blog. Just sayin'.
Satisfactory answer to you?
This company is just a sign of the times.I have worked for several large corporations,it is always the same.It is about the numbers.The business is about the numbers, The employee is just a number .The residents are just a number.Few people really care about others.It has been the me first mentality for a very long time. Integrity,honesty and ethics are lost.Just as the mom and pop businesses have gone to the way side so has senior concern and care.How many children have moved their parents in the communities knowing that their parents have a case of dementia,or are truly not independent.Their main concern is saving the possible inheritance instead of paying for the care they actually need that would cost twice as much in assisted living. Lets face it,there is no going back to the 70's when this concept was first created.So how do we make it better going forward?
Part 1:
I disagree, in part, with what you have written here.
1 Yes, any corporation always looks at the bottom line. That’s why they are in business.
2)It is the soldiers who make the difference. In this case the soldiers are the employees of every community from Managers all the way down to the servers and anything in between. If all the staff in any community work well together and do what is expected from them you will have a happy community hence higher occupancy hence higher revenue. Isn’t that how it all works?
3)You mentioned that some residents move in with Alzheimer’s or Dementia and in your opinion such people should not be living in the independent communities. I beg to differ in opinion here as well. In the early to middle stages of Alzheimer’s or Dementia an independent community setting is perfect for such people because of the daily routine a community runs at. People with Alzheimer’s of Dementia decease are not a danger to anyone. A little TLC goes a long way which counts for all of the residents.
So where to go from here: well here are some suggestions;
a)Start looking at yourself first. Are you really the right person (couple) for the job?
b)Do you “both” have what it takes to do the job? Whether it is the 70’ or ’10?
c)Are you and your spouse able to work together and still love each other at the end of a busy day?
d)Just like being a nurse, or school teacher or police officer (all of whom are severely underpaid as well for what they do) do you have the same level of patience as they do with people? It is not only the residents you deal with but their families as well. If you do not have the” thick skin” this job requires you to have (just like the nurse, school teach or police officer) please resign your position as soon as possible. This is not the job for you and your spouse. Do you always (100%) agree with your spouse? You chose to marry your spouse. No one forced you to do that, right? The key to this job is being a servant. It is not about the paycheck, it is about the little rewards that come daily from hugs and knowing that you made a difference for someone every day. The rewards are not monetary.
e)Keep in mind, “YOU” choose this job. No one forced you to take it and yes sometimes the focus of the mission changes midstream. You need to adapt to it or resign. If you choose to stay with the company, than commit to the mission whatever it takes. Do you think that the soldiers in Iraq and or Afghanistan like what the “generals” do or say? The soldiers also chose to go into the armed forces. No one forced them to do it.
Part 2
Ok now that we have established all that, get with the program. You either stay with the company or leave no matter how incompetent the RD’s really are (and yes, they really are incompetent), no matter how incompetent the upper echelon at home office are (and yes they also really are incompetent) you and your spouse need to sit down and make a decision as to what you want to do from this point forward. If you choose to stay then make a 100% commitment to it as your residents “need” you and YOUR leadership. Learn all jobs of your employees and be thankful that you have loyal employees (if you have any). Keep in mind, as managers of any community, YOU and your spouse set the Tone of the community. If you have a negative attitude than the entire community will have a negative attitude.
And just for the record, I am an ex-employee with an 8 year tenure with Holiday.
I agree whole-heartedly with both parts of this posting. And just for the record, I am currently a Community Manager employed with Holiday Retirement for the past 4-years.
We each read Bob's comment differently. I didn't interpret it as him stating other than such things happen, not whether he agreed with them. And they do happen. You also bring up an interesting point of staying with the company or resign (get with the program). What about a third possibility of bringing to the boss's attention things incorrectly done, of attempting to initiate a change. What happens when the needs of the residents run counterpoint to the dictates of the new company policy? Where does one's commitment lie at that point? I agree with you that sometimes it becomes a case of "shut-up and shoot 'em" or resign. At least we in this country still have the options, unlike other countries. Soldiers don't have this option once they are sworn in.
My wife and I resigned, but that does not mean we were going to let it end with our resignation (the blog). Sometimes one has to work at resolving a problem by distancing one's self from the actions escalating it. I do know that there are other retirement companies out there without these particular problems. Are the managers and staff any different than Holiday as a whole - I doubt it, but I do believe the company leaders are different in how they reflect policies. Many of them are former HRC who moved on or were dumped because they disagreed with the new policies. It would be interesting to know what the respective employee turn-over rates are.
I realize I cannot change the world, but I can attempt to tidy up a little bit where I am able. To me it is akin to walking a littered path in the daylight. I can see to remove the items which could cause harm to others or when someday I have to walk the path again in the dark.
Lady Gaga, Bob, MoBettah, NotMyRealName, and Kathy Casey, all are correct in my humble opinion. Each brings out salient points to consider in order to seek a feasible solution. But before a solution can be initiated there must first be a recognition by those in control that a problem exists. This is what I see as the biggest hurdle of all, getting Holiday to accept maybe, just maybe, they have lost sight of the basic concepts.
It is about taking care of and serving our senior citizens with respect and loving concern because they have earned this deserved time in their lives. I maintain, as Bill Colson proved, that a fair profit can be consistently achieved without depriving the elderly.
IT appears lady gaga did not quite understand the comment and question..Thanks Dcharles for verifying.Lady too bad with all the passion you exhibit you no longer work for Holiday.
Dear dlcharles: just want to sincerely thank you for having the courage and foresight to express yourself and in so doing have given others a place to "land". In my experience with Holiday I went through a transition of promotion and was initially able to make some positive changes within my sphere of influence. To make a long story short, I was patronized and lied to, then fired. The questioning and self-doubt that comes when you can't talk to anyone for fear of being accused of insubordination is draining and disheartening. It's as if nothing you ever did matters, now that you are the one who needs help. I can definitely empathize with Bob's viewpoint. I know corporate is in the business of picking high climbers but they prune till the blood runs cold. Management is literally biting each others heads off and the staff is looking on in dazed astonishment at another transition, another hard sell, another event residents don't want. I tell you you cant sell home for money. People are feeling this wolfish mentality and leaving for someplace not so goddamn artificially classy but someplace where there is a sense of permanence in the atmosphere,at least in the love and care of the staff. If you think the residents csn't tell when the staff is scared to death of losing their jobs for crossing management for the least little thing, your'e wrong. If you think a prospective resident can't see the $$ flashings in your eyes, your'e wrong again. These people aren't stupid. Unfortunately they are stressed and pressured and cold-called in rehab and hard-selled in front of their kids who are pressured to find, yes, "a place for mom". Corporate, if yyou really care, engage the community. Use local vendors. Encourage the residents to do clothing and food drives for the needy. They like that kind of stuff. They like to be connected. And a lot of times it's true, the kids don't visit. Stop trying to be such a vicious top dog. Be a pettable golden retriever. Don't you think these people are tired of the ratrace? They do't want to do a whole bunch of stupid stuff. They don't want five weird things for supper. They don't want to run around all over the place. They do like to be entertained. Get bands, have dances, plays, etc. Do the stuff they like to do. It doesn't take a rocket scientist, it doesn't take an overburdened pulled in all directions activity director, it doesn't take a split ambitious cutthroat management team,it doesn't take a stressed-out understaffed kitchen,it doesn't take a maintenance man doing the job of 1 1/2 people at least. Whatever it does take I am sure someone will find out who has a heart and soul. You cannot play these seniors like this anymore. They are not, I repeat not, stupid.
Again,a catharsis, and just being able to breathe, lifesaving. I had many wonderful experiences with Holiday and met people I'll never forget. Sadly, the cold,headhunting mentality is trickling down now like icewater.
Thank you for a very insightful comment.
Now allow me to pass on a compliment to all those who made the blog what it is. Friday I had a conversation with someone who heads up a retirement company. No, it was not Holiday. Obviously I am not at liberty to put forth the name of the company.
During our conversation the individual informed me that the blog is read throughout the industry, which we all already know. His company has initiated a review of their practices to make certain they are performing with the attitude needed as talked about on here. You guys ARE making a difference and the compliment belongs to each and everyone of you. Thanks.
What happens if a couple works for Holiday and one decides to leave but the other wants to remain as a manager? Is that possible? Their community is one of the best in the region (census and otherwise)and one of the couple loves the work; the other loathes it. What are the options? I'm guessing that someone out there knows the answer to this issue.
I have found that when this type of situation occurs, there is no policy or guideline to follow, but rather many factors that are weighed at the whim of the Regional Director and the respective Managing Director. But, basically, it boils down to how great their need is for managers in that particular District, coupled with how valuable they perceive the remaining manager is to them (no amount of begging will sway them.)
I have seen some used as ‘Floating Managers’; others reassigned into a ‘Maintenance’ function or ‘Marketing Managers’ (now known as Community Sales Leaders; and in very rare cases, a few have been kept as a ‘General Manager’. In the Bill Colson days, many were transferred and reassigned to a support position in Home Office, regardless of their experience and background, but one would have a better chance of winning the lottery than that ever happening with Fortress.
At the end of the day, the smart money is on the termination of the one that ‘loves the work’, and to hell with showing them any kind of ‘Holiday Touch’!
Thank you for responding to my question. It's a very precarious situation when the livelihood of each person depends on the performance and decisions of the other, especially when one is unpredictable and dissatisfied. In training we were told that each person is considered separately if one falls short but I have yet to see only one person terminated when there is a problem. It's always the couple, regardless of who is at fault and it's usually sudden. That's scary, especially in this economy and considering the ages of most managers.
We give it everything we've got and then some and I personally find great satisfaction in serving our seniors. It is especially rewarding to watch a community grow and evolve into a beautiful place to live under your management. But on the flip side, it's disconcerting when all jobs at every level are like revolving doors. Rarely do we meet anyone who has been with the company for any length of time. I'm sure that a lot of changes caused people to become disgruntled and either leave or get fired, but it doesn't seem that managers and others are truly valued. It's kind of like using up a work horse until it drops in the field and his replacement quickly steps in and leaves him in the dust without a second thought. Sorry if that sounds a little dramatic.
Anyway, I love our residents and I will continue to work my 16-hour days and do what needs to be done because I feel that I'm doing something worthwhile. I believe that we truly do bring enrichment to their lives and in many cases help them live longer and healthier.
Thanks again for your input. It is much appreciated.
I spent some time with Holiday and stayed on awhile under Fortress (some may say it is still Holiday but we all should know that's absurd thinking). Back in the other leadership there was always "the exception for exceptional people" and that was used for manyh of the single positions that were filled. For anyone that has been around Holiday awhile you will certainly remember Regional couples being used. That said I can only remind you of the job opening you probably applied for stated they were looking for couples/teams to do the job. You are always considered as individual employees, as it should be, but you probably came on board as part of a team. When the "team" breaks down you normally both lose your position, housing, meals, etc. Probaly not what you wanted to hear but like everthing else there are always pros & cons on every job.
I appreciate your comments. It's a bit precarious since we were told in the beginning that we were hired as a couple but would still be considered on an individual basis. Hopefully I won't have to cross that bridge if I can just keep the other half of my "team" content and focused...a HUGE order.
This has certainly been a learning experience and I would not have wanted to miss crossing the paths of some truly wonderful people. I'm hoping that we are blessed with a lot more time to continue building this community and learning so much in the process. I guess time will tell.
I am enjoying this site, especially the depth of understanding involved in this job and it's challenges. It's nice to know there are people out there who are or "were" walking in our shoes and offer such great insight. Thanks!
I need your help with something, please. I am being asked to allow trackbacks and I don't know enough about them to make an informed decision. When I first set up the blog I had a tremendous amount of spam with trackbacks, but supposedly new filters are in place to prevent this. Does anyone have an opinion?
I have been doing research into the number of Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs contracts Fortress is involved with and am amazed at the numbers. Big money flows there.
It appears our United Kingdom relatives are also having many of the same problems with Peverel Property Management Group that we see on this blog. Check out this:
http://www.thetruthaboutsolitaire.co.uk/2010/09/09/is-this-why-there-are-so-many-ppmg-guises/ Scroll down to the 4th response by Neil on Sept 9, 2010 and it will be interesting.
And if anyone thinks this blog is picking on poor Holiday Retirement check out what present and past employees say on
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Holiday-Retirement-Reviews-E7691.htm#
Who is the current administrator of the 401k plan since it is no longer AKT Wealth Advisors?
Fidelity
The new record keeper is Fidelity. The new financial planner is Greg Fiore. Home office should be able to provide the contact information for both if you no longer have your original transition booklet. Your accounts should be visible to you online at the Fidelity website after December 10. The 401(k) Plan Administrator at Home office was laid off on November 1, 2010. You will submit your requests to participate in the plan online at the fidelity website. Increases, decreases to your deferrals will be done online. Requests for loans, hardships, distributions will also be done online at the fidelity website. AKT could not handle the volume associated with Holiday, and the lack of customer service and the exhorbitant fees charged by AKT were the main reasons for the transition to Fidelity.
any other communities suffering a big loss in census? I work in a community that has never dipped below 98% and we now are close to 86% and counting.
residents are watching this drop (due in some part to new competition) and have already been complaining about staff roles.
Does anyone know who licenses the Holiday in West Covina, Calif. Community Care Licensing says they do not have a record of them, and I have called everywhere in Corporate and never get a call back. I have a relative there and have a complaint I want to be lodged. Any help is appreciated.
Community care licensing is for assisted living. Try the county adult protective services/senior ombudsman. Perhaps they can help.
Try the BBB in your area. If your complaint alleges any type of elderly abuse then there are numerous official options. Honestly, I am surprised that HR @Holiday did not get back with you, or even Resident Relations.
Check this site as it may be of help. It covers both assisted and non-assisted elderly. http://ccld.ca.gov/PG408.htm
Excuse my ignorance, but what is a "trackback"?
Put simply it is a "link" to another site which notifies that someone has written something which someone else may have written about too. The problem is that it allows an unbelievable amount of spam to follow. Porn sites are renowned for using trackbacks to place stuff on webpages. Supposedly there are new filtering guards in place, but I am not certain how effective they are.
Having written this I now withdraw the question as I just will not allow them on here.
Sounds like the right decision to me. Then again, how would I really know, since I didn't even know what they were in the first place! LOL
DL, how do I email you personally if I don't want it published on the blog? Please advise.
thefreebornman@yahoo.com
Sorry DL, but I tried that before and it bounced. Now, I just tried it again and it bounced again. Said the domain not found. Beats me, just thought I would let you know.
First time I have heard that. I will email the address you gave before I delete it.
If that doesn't work try: dlcharles1944@mediacombb.net
I wish that this blog was making as much of an impact on Holiday as I am sure we all hoped. I am sadly still an employee and cannot stand it much longer. I have been witness to the worst treatment of residents since I began with Holiday years ago. Between employee complaints and SEVERAL resident complaints and letters still nothing has been done about the rude, inconsiderate, disrespectful managers we have in our building. It has gone so far people are moving out because of them and a few have been brought to tears by the managers. This building has held, in my opinion, the "touch" for many years and ran smoothly up until our new managers came. They will single handedly destroy this building and the worst part is it seems to me that nobody can do anything about it.
hopeful: We all wish such. Obviously, the only impact which will garner their attention is a loss on the bottom line. When census downfall reaches the critical point then Holiday will "suddenly" have an epiphany - and not until. I find it interesting that reviews posted for Brookdale Senior Living and Holiday Retirement on glassdoor.com seem to run in the same vein. Both companies are Fortress. Researching performance reviews on the different retirement companies always turns up poor reviews for these two.
As more and more people read the blog it is making a difference. Look at the ones seeking jobs with Holiday who come on here with the statements that we are being unfair or negative about the company. It doesn't take long for them to return with news that "if only they had listened". Residents reading the blog are finding out they are not alone with their problems and there are options available. Potential residents and their families are realizing options exist and that other companies do practice an actual caring for them.
We have come a long way from some old guy posting three letters to Holiday Retirement Corporation/Fortress two years ago as a start-up to a blog somewhere completely unknown on the internet - a very long way. Every single person who comments or reads the blog makes a difference of some kind to others in a greater awareness of how our seniors are being treated. This also brings out the lack of treatment for seniors and employees of the company.
DL
Just found your blog and none of this surprises me. I was Googling for info on how to get in touch with Holiday HR to report harassment and verbal abuse by a manager at a Holiday facility (my wife is / was a vendor whose contract was just terminated). Do you have that contact info and do you even think it is worth pursing? Would love to get this guys ass fired. Keep up the good work!
503-370-7071 for the home office switchboard. Before Fortress took over I would have answered with yes about pursuing it, but now I have my doubts. I would suggest talking to Risk Management or Human Resources. No offense to you and your wife when I state there is always at least two sides to every story. You have to be aware that the individual will refute your claim of such.
Dare I inquire as to particulars?
DL
Sure but off line for now. And I'd have to check with her first, as it is her business. Want to keep it under the radar right now. Thanks for the phone number.
We were employees with Holiday, loved the job and loved the residents. We didn't care that we worked 16 hours a day. We did it for a few years and loved it more than I can express.
But it's not the same. Our RD told us we were not allowed to help the residents, not to spend time with them, not care for them. Only market, market, market.
Wait a minute! Aren't the residents the MAIN reason we are there???? Apparently not any more.
Of course maketing is important, and it is also fun to do. But the current residents come first! Or at least that is the way it used to be.
The definition of "Manager" has changed drastically and not for the good, in our opinion.
Yes, I know that many people say that every company, every business has those who do nothing but gripe about their employer. And I guess that is true.
But there is so much more going on here than just people just wanting to gripe. So much more.
I'm responding to your post mainly because you seem to have the right attitude about dealing with older retired people in the last years of their lives.
My mom has been a resident at a Holiday facility for about 9 months now. We chose the facility as the room available suited her needs and we liked the layout and location. We knew the food was not terrific as we sampled it but I must say that it has gone downhill significantly in the last months from bad to worse. Talking to the managers brings little satisfaction. So much of the food offered is very starchy, filled with cheese, large quantities of meat and minimal fruit and vegetables. If there are vegetables, they are often unappetizing and overcooked. Many times lately, the choices are changed at the last minute with poor possiblities as substitutes.
It baffles me that supposedly these meals are designed by a nutritionist. Is that possible? As we get older, putting on weight should be a concern and healthy choices should be available. In addition, so many men over 70 have developed diabetes and good nutrition is so important.
My question as you seem to know the company well is where can I start with corporate to see what can be done about the food. At this point, I don't want to even identify my mother's location for fear of retribution from the managers. They say they are concerned but I think it's mostly lip service since nothing changes and things seem to be getting worse.
I hate to see so many dignified people so frustrated with their meals. According to the long-timers, the food there used to be wonderful 10 years ago or so. Do you think I will have much luck going to corporate and who would be the best person to speak to? Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated!
I do not know the present extensions for HRC, but call Holiday home office switchboard at 503-370-7071. Talk with Resident Relations or leave a message. Hopefully your call will be returned. Please let us know if they do or not. Realize that at some point your mother's name will probably surface - so keep it in mind.
Actually... use 888-370-7071.. why not spend their nickle???
Sounds like your Mom is living at our facility, but I guess many residents feel the same way. If your Mom is in the northeast region, you can email greg.lowe@holiday touch.com who is in charge of the food for the region. If not, resident relations can be emailed at resident.relations@holiday touch.com. We the rsidents at our facilty have had some good results from resident relations.
IF you are able to get a hold of anyone above building management - NOTHING will be accomplished. The building we worked at had to operate on such a ridiculous budget, making it impossible to produce the kinds of meals the Exec Chef and cooks wanted to prepare and serve for the residents. The menus are passed down from above and very little decision making is left to the Exec Chef. He and the cooks did the best they could considering the impossible budget and menus they were expected to follow. The managers may very well be concerned, but they are forced to respond with mostly lip service because their hands are tied too. Corp is only concerned with profit, not people which is one of the very reasons we left the company. Very sorry to not have a word of encouragment for you and hope you are able to find a more suitable place for your mother. More residents need children to show the concern you do.
I am fairly new to the company and operate as a Co-manager. The push for sales and marketing is understandable, from a business aspect. It saddens me to see other managers treat their employees like shit and the residence like objects. I DO NOT have a hotel background and most of the new hires today have hotel and realistate experience. How do some of these people pass the background check?
The background check conducted by Holiday Retirement for prospective new Co-Manager hires is simply a verification of their social security number and history of criminal records. If the candidate passes these 2 criteria, they are considered eligible for hire.
As long-term readers of this blog may recall, I've long been an advocate of personality testing and was always astonished that both members of prospective manager teams were not given the Meyers-Briggs Preference Test, Kinsey Temperament Sorter, or the like as part of the interview process.
A similar personality/attitude 'survey' was administered as part of our Leadership Training in Salem and the results were rather revealing, particularly as regards how various couples matched up. Even that survey could and would have been a very reasonable predictor of CMT success, had it been administered early on -- in the hiring process for example..
At the location where I work we have a cook who screws around all the time, doesn't follow the menu, and doesn't even clock in or out. Management doesn't do a thing about it. These same people wanted to fire for showing up 15 minutes late one time.
Here's an item I came across a couple of days ago and thought most of you would enjoy -- and the rest of you should take to heart.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20101202/NEWS/12020861/1020
Mike Pugh, RD in Virginia & North Carolina 'has decided to spend more time with his family.'
Wow, that was short lives. Did he not take over from Sam Green?
That was just a matter of time. He did nothing when FIG forced them to fire three sets of managers on trumped-up charges just because the accusers threatened to sue the company. He did nothing when they forced Bob McCarthy to quit as well and he was one of the finest RDs around. So what goes around comes around, as they say.
Hear, hear re: Bob McCarthy. A real salt-of-the-earth sort of guy, who, like Dick Glaunert, was a delegator who was there if you needed help. They'd both "tell you like it is."
That sort of mgmnt style doesn't fit in the FIG corporate culture, it seems.
He has been with company since March 2008; that's about 2 years and 9 months. Started out as a regional director, became managing director of the East Coast, and then took over from Sam Green as an RD again.
Clearly FIG is poised to strip the company down as much as possible. Consider this, since the inception of the RSL position 18 months ago there has been 34 turnovers in this one position (20 hired) Now either the job they are being hired to do is not doable...or the people they are hiring can't do it. I prefer to think/believe the latter. Most of the blame for the mismanagement of this company can be plaed at the feet of Kai...
this I don't doubt...today I found out that my RSL is "no longer with the company"...I'm assuming to spend more time with family.
my job interviews next week can't come soon enough...all of the employees of Holiday I have come to admire and actually know what the touch means have all been "let go", "spend more time with family", and so on...now, they want anyone with a heartbeat as long as they market...I have seen co-managers hired that between the two of them have 4 teeth in their mouth and can't even shower, but hey, that won't affect staff or residents right? imagine having them tour you and your parents.
smarten up FIG. I have gone above and beyond for years, and for my "touch" I am just kicked in the ass, as are other countless quality employees. mark my words, this company will collapse within the next 2 years.
I know myself personally, I will never promote Holiday and I am ashamed to work for this company now. Years ago, I was proud to say I worked there...they treated me well, the residents like gold, and never forgot to give thanks.
I can't even refer family friends there anymore (yes, my soul cannot be bought for $1500, I'd rather sleep well at night).
I will watch this blog and FIG's future while I go work for someone who actually appreciates their employees, and say "I told you so" when it declares bankruptcy or goes public.
Tis the season......
before I begin please note that when I refer to the upper echelon I will simply refer to them as "Mr. Holiday" ...seems appropriate for the holidays right?
the ghost of Christmas past......all of the Staff received a Turkey for the holidays.Beautiful place mats depicting lovely winter or holiday scenes with matching napkins added the right touch to the dining room tables.
Residents party was JUST for the residents.
ghost of Christmas present.........NO gifts for the staff( thats OK we buy them a turkey out of our OWN money now, with retirement on the horizon we will have a little less for our golden years, but we will leave someday knowing that we showed our appreciation to the staff who is wonderful and dedicated)The residents party will be awesome( once again with our own funds)they are the reason I get up every morning, they have my undying admiration.....
they inspire me to be better than I am everyday.
the lovely place mats are now an advertisement and forget the matching napkins who needs overkill right? I hope Mr. Holiday is adorning his dining room at home with these lovelies. OK, have a party but you better invite everyone under the sun.....
ghost of Christmas's to come ????????
With that said.......Enjoy your nice end of the year bonus Mr. Holiday and Bah Humbug to you
I may be scrooged but I still say 'Merry Christmas and God bless us everyone'
We had an awesome christmas party at our community (not holiday). The budget per person was twice as much as holidays used to be years ago. To my knowledge, all staff will receice gift cards for the mall, as they did every year before. The residents will get a Gala Dinner (like holidays candle light dinner)and I believe the chef puts filet mignon, shrimp and other fancy goodies on the menu for that (not out of our funds).Happy Holidays
Our region was specifically told...NO GIFTS, NO HAMS, NO TURKEYS. So, what does a community spend $500 on or $750 if you are a larger community? My question? What difference does it make how the money is spent? Why can't managers make that decision? Most employees won't even attend a party any more because they are looking for a little holiday cheer. We can eat a free meal at work everyday so food seems rather redundant. Last year we had a mere potluck. What happend to the party money? Why can't Mr. Holiday and his friends just show a little appreciation for those who are giving their all to keep this company's reputation in line. I couldn't believe when I read Holiday Retirement is now known as the Wall Mart of retirement living. Really? Now that says it all.
Bill Colson stated the phrase himself in 2004 in response to building two communities near the Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Read the article by Les Shaver at http://www.colson-colson.com/Senior_Centric.pdf
At the time it was truly a positive statement for retirees. Unfortunately, this does not hold true anymore.
A great article about a man with great vision. Remember this folks: Bill always said: What is good for the resident(s), is good for Holiday.
FIG does not have that vision and never will either. Such a shame. I used to say that I worry about the residents but now we might also include the employees. There are so many employees who really want to do a good job for their residents and if they do, they get fired for it. Is this America or Nazi Germany?
"ARBEIT MACHT FREI" (the nazi slogan at the con.camps) @ holiday, I don't think so.
Sorry, I should have said @holiday under FIG
You better believe that's not Holiday. I've been a cook at my bldg for several years and Xmas has always kind of sucked. This year I just found out from our regional chef that I, and only I,being the night cook get to work all day Xmas and Xmas eve. It's all good my family's really not that important anyway, I guess.
We've never gotten a thing from Holiday and never will. the rez's are kind enough to contribute a little something to the other bldg staff but if you work kitchen you get next to nothing.
Resort Lifestyle Communities kicked off the holiday season today. The CEO/Owner of the company dressed up as Santa Claus, and yours truly as an elf. We visited two of our communities where we gave each resident a gift. The chefs and staffs prepared grand cookie buffets along with hot chocolate, cider and egg nog. Each chef prepares a signature cookie for judging by Santa and prizes will be awarded. We also delivered the gifts for all the staff members of the communities. Next week we will do four more communities, this is the second year we have included Santa, the elf and a cookie contest to our holiday festivities, all communities will host elaborate holiday feasts for both Christmas and New Years. It was a great day. The true touch resides with those that freely share it. Merry Christmas.
Go Jerry!
What a nice tribute. My compliments to the CEO. You, an elf? Send me a picture and I will happily post it on here - or give us a link to where you do put the pictures up.
I will get some photos to you, dimples and all!
That is one big elf! With dimples too!! Nice work Jerry!
It looks like this is the company to work for the way they value their staff and residents. Good Job for Jerry F
Does anyone know the salary range for Enrichment Coordinators with Holiday?
It was about 500 a week, around $12.00 per hour, could have changed by now.
EC is now Extra Caller, did they tell you that?
When the CEO of a company willingly takes the time to interact with residents and employees it is highly unusual, to say the least. When upper echelon management accompany the CEO for the occasion it is even more unusual. Resort Lifestyle Communities does this, obviously, from Jerry's comment. Which brings me to my point.
Christmas is upon us once again. The push is on for the homeless to receive the last of their, what, three media publicized meals per year from those more fortunate. I have often wondered how they are expected to fill their bellies for the rest of the year. Soup kitchens can't feed all of them. Any act of kindness given is always much better than no act of kindness at all. The economy is in bad shape, no matter what Washington spielmasters dole out. People are out of work, jobs are scarce, money is tight, and the future isn't too promising to most. Those who have a job are hanging on with everything they've got in order to stay afloat.
Once the holidays are over the homeless fall back into the oblivion of non-concern to the media and public at large. The acts of kindness tend to become fewer and farther between acts. The daily grind to keep our heads above water once again comes to the forefront. This is especially true when it comes to caring for the elderly. What happens to those seniors who cannot afford to live in communities? That, my friends, is another story yet to be told. Trust me when I say it is not a pretty story, either.
I would like to offer a suggestion for your consideration. Everything out there has some type of awards offering. Why not come up with our own? Why not create two awards, one for any retirement company doing the things talked about on here - and one for any company failing to do those things - and giving those awards to the companies once a year. The design and wording to be done by the commenters and the presentation method to be determined by same.
Since this blog is primarily about Holiday Retirement Corporation/Fortress I would like to wish them a Christmas toast. They will awaken on Christmas morning and go to the presents under the holiday tree, their families will gather around to celebrate the true meaning of this day, they will be filled with their lifestyle of success. At that time it is my heartfelt wish that Jack R. Callison Jr., CEO, and all of his upper management underlings, plus those owning Fortress Investment Group, individually receive and have magnified a thousand-fold the treatment and care afforded the least of their employees and residents. It is actually a very thoughful wish, a wish I hope improves each one of their lives.
"When the CEO of a company willingly takes the time to interact with residents and employees it is highly unusual, to say the least. When upper echelon management accompany the CEO for the occasion it is even more unusual."
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I'm not sure how 'unusual' this is. For whatever it's worth, on a recent visit to our community by Jack Callison ( accompanied by our Managing Director and Regional Director) earlier this year, Jack took the time to actually speak and LISTEN to several of our residents and staff.
I define "LISTENING" as acting upon what you have heard. I see (nor hear) no evidence that anyone has "Listened" to our residents or staff. Sounds more like he was "slumming" it, by visiting with the "great unwashed." LISTEN AND ACT and we will believe again.
Well said. A very good point.
Anonymous: I am glad to have someone speak up for Jack. Please realize that any comment I post is based on my research, on information offered by others, or by thoughts which I entertain, as well as my own experiences with Holiday. Out of all the people who post on here I admit I am probably the least qualified. Sometimes I post something as more of a "devil's advocate" in order to elicit discussional input from others.
You mention Jack "actually" spoke to residents and staff. So you appear surprised that he did so? And why is that? Usually the "big shots" come because something is wrong or for either an inspection or photo op. There is almost never a sense of ease at these visits.
What RLC did was different, at least to me. The company management clothed themselves in costumes and presented gifts to residents and to staff. And not just at one of their properties as more is to come. This is the "highly unusual" I stated - a pleasant visit to show those who pay the bills and work the jobs that they are appreciated. What a nice touch! I heard nothing about only a form letter emailed to communities with a standard "Hall Mark Greeting" like other companies sometimes do. They took the time to put the personal in the visit.
Finally decided it's time to make a comment here. We have only 4 years with holiday but that seems to be a long time now days. Would like to say that we had Mike Pugh as RD twice between his time as District and thought he knew what had to be done but was always under presure to accomplish the impossible which anyone still hanging in is experiencing. We respected his ability to know what had to be done and understood, like the previous 5 rd's we have had in 4 years what would happen to him within his 6 mos as rd again. So many reports and pushing for promises of how many move-ins this marketing week when we are working with people that don't want to have to make this decision and need compasion instead of making a quick decision. We now have a new rd #6 which you could copy Mike's e-mails and compare them to his and they would be the same words. We have hung in and still hang in hoping one of these new RD's are actually going to give us inspriation and ideas about how to accomplish their goals but are losing the energy to to continue. Spoke with two family members today about rent increases which both said they remembered when the managers had time for the residents and increases had gone up every year since our new bosses took over.They actually expressed that they were sorry that we were having to work under these conditions.
As a resident who has been following this blog since it's inception, this is my prognosis regarding Holiday Retirement Corporation. Fortress Investment group originally purchased HRC with the intent of making it a publicly owned corporation by means of an IPO. The IPO failed to materialize due to economic conditions. This economic slowdown resulted in fewer people becoming residents of Holiday Communities requiring a number of new programs, such as monetary incentives for rental agreements, health care companies working with management teams to provide potential new residents and "VA" Seminars to entice veterans to sign up to temporarily move in so that the overall census would be increased. Bob Donovan, from AseraCare Hospice & Home Health and Cathy Newhall from Almost Family have been added to the management team to install a Health & Wellness Service within the corporate structure of Holiday Retirement Corporation. With the new programs and the new additions to personnel HRC now becomes a much more lucrative investment for some of the Health Care companies that are prevalent here in the U.S.
I am confused I have NOT been with the company for 25 months and I got a letter and a call on the decision of my unemployment letter again and it is asking me if I want to appeal the decision ??? I had quit after 4 years because there were no qualified co's and many many hours left to fend for ourselves. Thank god no divorce because we were starting on each other. Also not just the co's situation the people that did not show up to work or called in. DL I would like to scan you the letter because I feel you are pretty darn knowlegable on almost everything! I think I want to go there !!!and appeal
Hello Anonymous,
This is totally bizarre how Holiday is treating everyone. I understand your frustration completely, for Holiday is appealing my unemployment as well, but my husband got his unemployment right away. I just don't understand it at all!! Maybe if we all come together in a united front regarding how we are being treated,then maybe something can be done. I don't know if anyone else feels the same as I do about this, but I do think that something needs to change. Maybe someone has some added ideas about this whole ordeal. Too many lives are being ruined in many different ways, and I hope that this nonsense stops soon.
I'm going through some craziness with unemployment myself. My husband was approved for unemployment, but mine was denied. I have contacted the ACLU and the NAACP. I need this community's help though. There is a facebook page calld The Holiday "Bad Touch" that tells thet entire story of what happened to me, and I am waiting from another response from a news channel. Pleaese go to the page, read my story, and like it to show yourn support. Holiday has done some terrible things to people, destroyed lives, almost destroyed my marriage. Please, whatever you can do to help. It's the holiday season and we're about to loose everything because we can't pay our bills with all that has happened. I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel though, there has to be.
My wife and I went through the same thing, She go her's and I didn't. Make sure you go though all the steps and I can tell you how because you will get it and back pay to. Email me if you need further enfo.
How do you get to this on face book
I have been reading the blog today, and I cannot believe what has been going on. My husband and I were fired in May for whistle blowing and any other trumped charges that they could come up with at the time. My husband has a bad heart condition also, we feel that it was another reason for letting us go. My husband was denied his unemployment and I received my right away. After many phone calls and letters to corporate and to our congressmen and senators he finally began receiving his, and received all back pay. DO NOT give up, stay right on them until you are satisfied.
DL what can be done about what is going on with HOLIDAY, we need to get together and fight for these ex-Holiday employees
I have read the statement on Facebook from "Civil Rights", they need some help
and guidance as to what steps to take next. Holiday cannot continue to get away with this stuff, maybe we need to bring a "Class-Action Suit" against them!! There probably would be alot of people that would take you up on that.
Thank you for the support. It's still unbelieveable to me that they get away with this. I'm just sick about this, I wish I'd never heard of Holiday Retirement
Here is the Facebook site addy http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Holiday-Bad-Touch/156553431056924?v=info#1/pages/The-Holiday-Bad-Touch/1565543105924?v=info
We have spoken twice now and her story makes one incensed. She has credibility in her statements.
I just wanted to caution FB users about "liking" Civil Rights's pages. By doing this you put your real identity out there and you know that FIG will use that info in retaliation against current and former employees such as trying to fight unemployment claims, disciplinary action and termination for "disclosing company business." FIG would like nothing better than discovering who posts on this blog so please be careful.
Thank you for that point. Appreciated.
Remember Jaime? She was allegedly fired because she listed on her Facebook page that she worked for Holiday Retirement and they did not like her statements. Do be careful.
Having said that, let me offer the following: Putting myself in their position I would have reacted thusly: I would seek criminal charges against anyone who entered my residence when I am not there and without my permission unless it was an emergency. If anything was taken from said residence it adds to the charges. Once I had knowledge that photos (however private) were put on the internet by the alleged thief I would contact the proper authorities at the city, state, and federal level, especially the cyber-crime department. The internet transmissions bring into play a gigantic set of violation potentials because it crosses not only state lines, it also crosses international boundaries. Once something is published on the internet it is there from now on. Someone else has seen it and downloaded it even though I manage to have it removed after the fact. It can surface years from now to haunt you all over again.
If the attorney I hired to pursue legal action misrepresented his/her expertise to handle the particular action I would file a complaint with the state bar association - and fire the attorney, demanding a refund also. If I had supporting evidence of a racial nature I would find a federal civil rights attorney in the yellow pages or through the internet and sit down for a consult (usually this consult is at no charge). I would also contact the local NAACP and ACLU. I would email or write a letter to Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and even to the President himself - anyone I could think of.
Being me, I would also contact the local televison stations and every media outlet available to bring the publicity out in the open.
Most of the above I have been personally involved with over the years, in one form or another.
When you have nothing left to lose you have everything to gain.
We kept our 401 K with Holiday and we pay a broker fee and it was stated we were terminated so we had to pay the fee NOT we gave 2 weeks notice and ran.
Now here is RLC's St. Nick and his big dimpled elf visiting their residents for the holidays.
That was a fun day, Santa is our CEO and the Gingerbread Man is our CFO- the residents at each community had a great time and so did we, we were asked the question "Are you guys executives or entertainers?" I think that being an entertainer is a big part of being a good senior living executive. I have to say that after almost 20 years in this business I am having more fun than ever, I love my job, I love my customers, I hope they get as much out of this as I do. Thanks DL for posting- Jerry aka Buddy the Elf.
subscribing
Is the Regional Director Tom Mischak of the Florida region still with the company? Can anyone please give me his e-mail address at the home office. Thank you,
Tom Mischak can be reached at 503-508-8471.
That would be tommischak@holidaytouch.com
tom.mischak@holidaytouch.com
Can anyone please give me the website for the Florida Regional Director. I believe his name is Tom Mischak. Any help would be appreciated, as I want to contact him.
Never have I seen such a poor company and no signs of them trying to improve this image. They act as thought there's an endless number of people to fill their co and manager positions. We were once a part of this poorly run company and left as fast as we could. There is no desire to show or give this Holiday touch they so graciously talk about. And so many of these co's and managers that are good people that have gotten trapped and have no choice and can't leave. But there’s also so many bad co’s and managers. Where else is there a company that you could be on the verge of being fired one month, to being the managers of the highest occupancy building in the region the next? Holiday.. I've seen it. So any one looking at this company, please do your homework. Check them out, talk with everybody and make sure of your decision before joining this /?.$ Hole company. I only wish I had found this blog before we had joined. One of the few high spots, were the great residents that you get to know. Some of the people have amazing stories to tell, if theirs someone willing to listen. These people are our history and they deserve so much more then what they get with Holiday. Well God bless to those who are still with Holiday. Hopefully someone will take note of what a true asset you folks truly are.
My husband and I have been considering working for Holiday as Managers, having done it before. However, from what I'm reading, this is not the company for us.
Thank you so much for this blog.
THE SYSTEM IS BROKE!
The Holiday Touch once meant something and it was a service that no other facility provided. Unfortunately, the management and employees that are suppose to provide this very unique service are so over-worked, tired and unappreciated that continuing to pass it along becomes impossible! It truly is lip service! The management that is trying so hard to provide it are literally killing themselves to give it.
The company goes thru managers and co-managers due to the extremely long hours put in and the abuse they have to take from upper management.
The executive chefs quit for some of the same reasons. They too are expected to put in long hours with no days off when they lose one of their chefs in the kitchen. Help doesn't arrive until management breaks down or quits!
If you are a manager or co-manager, you are stuck! At least the other employees get to leave the building. If weather turns bad and your crew calls in, you will end up covering ALL the positions while all your residents stare at you and ask when they are going to get their meal?
Later on in that same day, management will get a phone call or email from their regional RD or CSL stating the circumstances of weather or anything else don't matter and that they should have found time to get in YGL and find "hot leads" and get move-ins! Management will be told that getting move-ins should be their number one FOCUS! These same wonderful Regionals will tell you that the building only needs one manager to run it and that the other manager/managers should be out of the building doing cookie drops, home-visits and/or meeting with lead sources.
Back at the building the manager left behind will be dealing with the meal-time, answering e-calls if they arise, running the office, filling in for missing workers, etc, etc, etc . . .
The job ads run on Career Builder or the Company website state that as a manager, you will work 7:30 to 7:30 but not to let that scare you because your spouse will be there to help. Reality of this is, you will get up as early as 5:30 a.m. to open your building and make coffee and fill air pots. You will then go back to your apartment take a shower and get yourself ready to start at 7:30 a.m. I consider it a good morning if I don't get an e-call or problem arise before I go out to start dealing with breakfast.
Getting off at 7:30 p.m. that night all depends. Are your servers done with the dining room by then? Are your menu boards and activity boards done? Have you managed to get your phone calls done in YGL? Do you have a resident our for a medical procedure that you are waiting to pick up? If these possible scenarios are complete (and I'm sure other building could provide more.) You might get to go back to your apartment and collapse from your day. My biggest hope at this point is that it'll be a quiet night. Otherwise, I will get a call around 2-3 a.m. because someone has fallen and needs help. (see next post)
(con't)
Then if someone goes to the hospital in the middle of the night, it's a good chance that you will be awakened to let them back in.
Sleep deprivation comes with the job. The e-calls wake you up and even when all goes well, it is tough to go back to your apartment and fall asleep. It never fails that once you fall asleep, something else wakes you up in that same night (usually the ambulance or family bringing the resident back and the doors are locked for the night.)leaving you extremely tired as you start your next day.
The company may argue that there is overlap of managers on some of these days and that is true. BUT! when managers take their well deserved 2 days off, the other set is left alone.
The supposed paid days off for the Holdiays is a joke. If a manager does not find a way to get another day off, there's no additional pay rewarded. There's no double time (managers are salary and do not receive extra compensation for all the extra hours ALWAYS worked each week.) When you do take that day off, you will be stuck working 4 days straight without help to cover for the other set of managers that are trying to take the Holiday off as well.
I repeat, THE SYSTEM IS BROKE!
No one should have to work this hard to earn their pay. By the way, I added up the hours I worked this past week and divided it by my salary. I made a whooping $8.44 an hour. This does not include the on call hours at night. Those were just the on the floor hours.
Many of the managers hired are older. I'd say 50+ doing this type of work. IT'S VERY HARD WORK! You need to be in shape and at your proper weight. (Next time you're in a Holiday facility, take a look around. Most of the managers do not fit this bill.)
Let's talk about the luxurious apartmenet you receive as one of your benefits. . .
If you are a co-manager, you will get a one bedroom, one bath apartment. Managers get a 2 bedroom apartment.
I just love sharing a bathroom as we both try to get ourselves together to come out to work in the morning. Besides dealing with that you might find that your closet doors are constantly coming off, the doors and drawers of your kitchen cabinets are out of alignemnt or broken, the apartment stackables given to wash your clothes leave little to be desired and if this is the only place you have to live, there's not much room for your things. You will end up really downsizing or getting a storage unit.
Don't let Holiday fool you about this being a benefit. Holiday needs you to be on site 24/7. Someone has to answer the e-calls, the after hour phone calls, the fire alarms that go off because something else triggers them (flooding waters from a broken pipe for example or shorting wire on a circuit board),the front door when a resident or out of town guest wants in after hours, an employee calling in sick, etc. The managers are the security. You are responsible for everything in a multi-million $ facility.
(con't)
(con't) THE SYSTEM IS BROKE!!!!!
Three meals a day is another benefit managers receive. (The day-time employees all receive the mid-day meal referred to as "Dinner" as a benefit as well.) It is wonderful to receive the meals. I could not make it on the amount of salary I'm paid if I didn't receive the meals and had to pay for all my groceries. Again, don't let Holiday fool you. There's no time for you to make your own meals with the schedule your work. And while they do provide them, as a manager, you are the last person to be served. (that is if your servers even ask you before leaving the floor) If the kitchen runs out of something, you will have to take whatever is there. If you are filling in for someone that called in, you will scarf your meal down in between serving, cleaning up or washing the dishes. Another component of meal time is the managers serving coffee. You will serve coffee and tea to all the residents. You will serve coffee two times during each meal. Those coffee pots are heavy. When full of coffee, they weigh up to 6 lbs. in each hand. Left side carries decalf, right side carries regular. You will walk your dining room pouring these for your residents. Many of the managers end up with tendinitous, aggrevated carpal-tunnel or knots on their index fingers from carrying and pouring these pots.
Another benefit a manager receives is the cleaning of their apartment. Interesting benefit. . . Depending on your building and housekeepers you may choose not to have this benefit. One, you don't want the housekeepers telling everyone your business and two because of stealing within the building you're afraid to let other employees in without you being right there. So you may or may not have housekeeping as a benefit. (And believe me, you really will not have time to clean it.)
Your job will also contain the regular parts of a management job. You will hire and fire people, process rent checks, pay bills, process paperwork, handle complaints and problems of employees and residents, assist with activities and move furniture around for activities, blow up balloons and sing happy birthday for residents,host other events using a room in your building (this means you provide refreshements while they are there) empty trash on weekends, act as maintenance and/or housekeeping on weekends - you will do "whatever it takes" to TRY and provide the Holdiay Touch!
This is beneath the veil. This is what's going on in most of the communities.
The staff is unhappy because the hourly wage they receive leaves little to be desired. Why would they risk an accident in bad weather for their meager wage? Staffing really is at the bare minimum on all shifts. Overtime is not allowed for any of the hourly people!
And last but not least, I have yet to meet my Regional Director. I have been with the company for several months now and have only talked with this person on the phone.
(con't) THE SYSTEM IS BROKE!!!!!
The owners of this company appear to only care about move-ins. (We are told that they hope to put this company on the open market next year.) I'd say its about money but yet they offer deep discounts on apartments to get new people in. Currently the company is offering their current residents $3000 if they provide a move-in and meet certain critteria. This is all great but I don't understand why the company doesn't use those monies to provide staff so the Holiday Touch that's always being pushed is actually there?
My spouse and I thought we could make a difference as well when we considered Holdiay. We too had worked in many different places under many different circumstances. We prayed about all this and thought this was where we were suppose to be. We too thought it could not be as bad as what was being written on this website. We were VERY WRONG about the inner going ons of the company and Holiday has just about broken us. . .
Most of the managers are a married couple. The things you face will either strengthen your marriage or break it. Having a stong faith and relying on God is the only way you will make it through. Being in pain and so tired puts both people on edge. This comes out amongst one another and unfortuanatly on all those around you.
In the long run, it is the residents that pay the price for what Fortress is doing. . .
Ditto to the above, it was the same for us also. My wife and I are now managing a regular apartment community again, we miss our seniors but the conditions Holiday provides to work in just don't work.
WOW
WOW Thats bad
You hit the nail square in the head
Yea but if you cared for them you were at the hospital beside them all hours of the night Been there did that now since I left the company the only time I have to do that is when I have another grandbaby Yea and by the way I was just told I am having another one YIPPEE #2
Here Here to what Fried Fritter shared. It is EXACTLY what we experienced and anyone interested in going to work for this company should pay close attention to it. We enjoyed out time as managers, but candidly, the hours and work are simply not sustainable - and Fried did not even mention the times when you are without co's and have to work 7/24 for weeks on end without floaters to cover. The fact is that people do that only because they desire to be of service to the residents. Thus, when they feel the company no longer appreciates them nor their extra-ordinary effort, they look for other employment. All we can say is that "bean-counters in New York City" sure make poor Senior Retirement bosses!
yea then they deny your unemployment because they tried by giving you co's that should be residents and a half of a co for 2 months that was waiting for his wife to fufill her last job contract while he read the newspaper and we came in on our day odd cuz he couldnt figure out how to fix a vaccum when we fixed it he was talking to a dishwasher about BS
Hi all, been watching this blog for almost 2 years now. Was with Holiday for 7 years. Our building census went from 100% to 70% in that time. God bless any of you managers or co-managers that can survive, our seniors really need you. Sorry about Fried Fritter, but she or he is 100% correct
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here's a thought about our 3 chef prepared meals perday. First off, our chef is a monumental jackball that is constantly miserable and complaining about how hard he works and the company yackety smackety. MEANWHILE CONSIDER THIS!! Check your paycheck stub and notice that your meals are valued at 116.64 per pay period divided by 42 (which is the number of meals that you PAY for but hopefully don't go eat on your days or nights or mornings {if you get them} off unless you are a masochist) that works out to a value of 2.77 per meal...now in our community our "chef" runs a ridiculously low food cost of 3.30 (because he is content with serving below high school cafeteria slop) but we will go with a number of 3.60 which is closer to the expected and easier to do the math. Let's go ahead and divide 3.60 by 3 and get 1.20 now in subtracting 1.20 (yes I know the two poached eggs and english muffin that I eat for breakfast in the morning don't come close to a food cost of 1.20 but let's move on) we get 1.57 THAT IS A MARKUP ON MANAGEMENT MEALS!! wHAT AN EASY WAY TO PROFIT! Now let's take that same 1.57 and multiply by 1095 (3 meals a day 365 days a year) and we get 1726.97 per manager per year. DO YOU SEE WHERE I AM GONG WITH THIS?? Making the assumption that not all buildings have two sets of managers and some have three, we will be generous and only assume an average of three managers per building. Let's go ahead and multiply our previous number by three, that's a profit of 5157.45 per building per year let's go ahead and multiply that number by a round 310 and on a company wide basis HOLIDAY IS PROFITTING FROM MANAGER MEALS TO THE TUNE OF 535,361 PER YEAR. This is even worse when you bother to do the math on these two things 1) How many of the meals that you PAY for do you actually eat? 2)Managers are treated like second class citizens when it comes to the "food"service part of most communities. At our FACILITY the bus driver, housekeepers, maintenance person and enrichment coordinator are all fed "dinner" before the meal service. Therefore they are entitled to their choice of the meals. As the MANAGERS WHOM ARE ACTUALLY PAYING FOR THEIR MEALS BY VIRTUE OF IT BEING PART OF OUR COMPENSATION are served last...it often ends up that the alternate runs out and we aren't offered that choice. IF YOU BOTHERED TO READ THIS STAY TUNED FOR A VERY SCANDALOUS POST THAT HAS ME FUMING BUT ISN'T THE SAME TOPIC! YOU WON'T BE SURPRISED BUT YOU MAY BE BLOWN AWAY!
Wow you spent a lot of time figuring that out. But you do not pay for those meals the amount on your check for apt and meals is a company benefit which THEY pay unemployment taxes on so when you file for unemployment it is considered part of your wages and you receive more unemployment. I questioned this as well. I can't wait for the scandalous post!
in our region they are now offering referral fees to the crooked VSP's helping veteran's scam the sytem and hide their money! Yup 1500 clams for getting the company that desperately needed move in! That's good money for basically stealing the available funds from the actual vets that NEED it. oh and these guys are all really professional and attentive to the people that DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY TO HIDE! NNNOOOTTTTT! one of the ones that we deal with blows off appointments without even calling the person, including OUR EXISTING RESIDENTS
We were just informed that performance reviews for our region will be put off until March (this after the management team complained about having been short multiple major positions including maintenance and "chef" for weeks now if not months) They supposedly want to give the management team a a chance to "fix" the operational issues. I am curious to see if any other regions have been told the same thing, if that is the case than here is my theory. There is supposedly going to be a change in ownership after the first of the year. It makes perfect sense to me to NOT do performance reviews WHICH LEAD TO YOUR YEARLY SALARY INCREASE before you sell the company because even though it's only 2% it's 2% of EVERY employee in 300+ buildings! Sounds like a good way to a few million on the balance sheet and show assets in the sale! Ironically the new company doesn't have to do performance reviews or salary raises at all!! Anyone else thought of that one!
And Thatguy: how confident are you in the information about Fortress selling? Who are they selling to?
I believe the actual case is that the wage increases will STILL take place in January as planned, but managers are instructed to make sure the latter performance reviews 'match' or justify the increases granted or not granted. The performance reviews consume a lot of time which the company wants spent on marketing right now. They are not withholding the 'generous' increases; only delaying the reviews. When will they learn that annual reviews on an employee's anniversary would be a smoother and less interuptive process? Having said that, there could still be a sale in the works and it may not be the company as a whole, but piece-meal to local chains: in other words, Kansas communities to a Kansas chain; Pennsylvania communities to a Pennsylvania chain; etc. Anyway, the 2% is coming in January! Hold on kiddies - it's coming!
That would be welcome news ( other than Bill Colson buying it back) but I cannot find anything online about the sale. If someone could point me to anything that would remotely verify this information, it would be helpful in an upcoming legal matter.
Oh My! IF we weren't leaving the company in a matter of a couple of weeks...THAT WOULD BE FIVE DOLLARS A PIECE EVERY WEEK!!!
If you were lucky enough to get the 2%.
Thatguy: can you explain more? There is an HRC manager I know who is probably doing this, just not sure how. This guy needs to get gone fast - not only is he probably scamming residents, he's a ticking time bomb.
I would like to, I spent some time with an attorney friend of mine (former customer actually) whom has a very solid business law practice and he informed me that what they are doing is not Illegal, just immoral. let's just for now say that one of our residents made a formal complaint to a VERY FORMAL agency and I ended up accidentally involved in having to answer questions of an investigator whom had been told one thing and that was we wouldn't pay fees to VSP's which I reiterated, ONE day later I got an email from a regional saying we would be thrilled to pay you a referral fee blah blah blah...ironically the guy hasn't been back to our building in two months and he is our primary guy!
Does anyone know what happen to the Managers at Willow Park in Evansville? Both they and their new co-managers seem to be gone . . . One day here, the next day gone.
We kept our building full for 5 years. When fortress took over they started telling us everything we were doing wrong.We left in 2009. The building now has 31 empty apartments. They still don't see the hand writing on the wall. too bad???????
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL,for those who have experienced the injustice of Holiday Retirements failure to abide by their own policies i sympathize with you, being a former employee of close to 4yrs and part of a regional team was wrongfully terminated let go with no legal cause or true justification am here to say that if you have experienced this type of adverse action from HRC department, i have information that would share to those who want JUSTICE and want to put a stop of this kind of treatment of individuals who are THE HOLIDAY TOUCH and loved their job, and now unemployed and going thru hardships it is time to put a stop to this continuous violation of employee rights.
Out For Justice;
If you have information that will help right the many wrongs done by HRC, please share it.
You can reach me at; bobbgoode@yahoo.com
Hey, whatever info is out there to help, please count me in. How can I send you my email?
setting up a special address will post when up and running looking forward to talking to you.
Please be aware if you reply or send emails to individuals you don't know. Protect your identity.
Hey Big Guy thank you and i do understand your reply, absolutely.
If you are legit and telling the truth then HOW can you get in trouble???????????
New Market rates are in.
HOLY *HIT!!!
I must be on beach front property!
Whoever is calling the shots with these prices is nuts.
A resident can't down size any longer, it will cost you more than where you are currently paying.
Of course we'll try to rent apartments at these prices, but I look for a continuous decline in census as people move out and we have more empty apartments.
If everyones increases are as high as mine this company is in for a horrible year.
So thats how you lock in rental rates for multiple years- you jack the price up to cover the increase over the expected length of stay, which according to the HRC Quick Guide to Closing and Gaining Agreement is a maximum of 33 months- so only 2 rental increases have to be covered- pretty shrewd, I bet a whole room full of MBA's at FIG spent many, many hours working on that!
We want details. From what I am hearing, Holiday currently has frozen the rent increases for 5 years for new residents, 1st, 2nd and 4th month free rent, waiving of comunity fee's and if you are filing for the VA benefits, the first 6 months you only have to pay 50% of the rent amount.
That that hold true in your area of the country as well?
What are the increases going to be?
That is the scariest part of the equation. The bozos at Fortress are giving the company away in yet another unsupported giveaway just to try to grab a temporary census spike. NONE of these 'tricks' are good for long-term survival, and in fact decrease the chances of survival for the company. It's crazyness!!
The 2011 rate increases are simply a marketing ploy, and nothing else. Remember, they are offering permanent discounts of $200-$300 per month as an 'incentive', which will bring new residents right back to the original rates BEFORE the 2011 increases. If you have a 'SALE' on an already inflated price, it's not really such a big deal.
The incentive for the rest of December 2010 is a $99 Community Fee, a 3-year rent freeze, and a permanent $300 monthly discount. So, the new market prices don't mean very much, do they?
This is more than a marketing ploy some of my apartments went from 2450 to 3110 for a 1BR.... No way to off set that much with incentives.
How does this compare with the rates of your closest competitor's 1-bedroom apartment of similar square footage?
It's apples to oranges. My competitor has larger apartments with stove and refridg. in each apartment. Nicer counters, and cabinets, open dining. Cottages with garages. Assisted and independent living where you do not have to move out of your apartment if you need higher care. They also have had a rent freeze for the last three years. Fortunately, every building hasn't gotten this much of an increase.
Just sharing the current woes...we have been without our ten year maintenance person for going on two months now, we are in the north and been getting a fair amount of snow (needless to say I have been shoveling and moving lot's of mag pellets.), then our chef hurt himself so he's been out for a couple of weeks, we've had no pm cook for going on two and a half months. So guess what all the regionals do to help us? Yeah send nasty emails about how few di's we have and move-in's. Gee it might be kinda hard to make phone calls from the cooks line or the tool shed!!
IOWA??
I'm sorry to hear your woes Thatguy. Unfortunately, these same type of scenarios play out. And the managers take the brunt of all this. THEY are expected to pick up the slack and lost pieces.
The rent increases that the above posts speak of are scary!!! We hear constantly that we must rent these apartments and create urgency and yet we are considering these HUGE increases. Just doesn't make sense!!!!!!!!!!
My wife and I would like to offer our congratulations to a couple we consider our very dear friends. We came to know them while working with Holiday Retirement and a close personal friendship developed. They are exceptionally strong marketers and have joined Hawthorn Retirement Group's marketing team, where they will do a fantastic job (as usual). Linda and I wish both of you the greatest success as you return to the field you love and are so good at.
Congratulations are in order as you begin the new year with Hawthorn - keep us in your thoughts!
Love you guys,
Dl & Linda
Thanks so much...We look forward to being associated with Hawthorn. They appear to have the "heart" and it will be nice to work with a company where residents and employees are valued.
Happy Holidays to you both!
To all past and current employees of Holiday Retirement Corp.
I want to wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year.
To DL, thank you for keeping this blog going.
I am convinced that it is a great tool and sounding board for all past and current employees as well as residents and vendors.
It is sad to see how a corporate structure (i.e. FIG) is capable of bringing down one of the greatest companies in the USA to one of the worst.
Over the past years since its inception of this blog, many past and current employees have been able to vent their frustrations about their jobs and the management of Holiday. If this blog would not have been there, God only knows how some of the employees would have been able to share their feelings and cope with it.
It is my hope as an 8 year previous employee, that whatever we share on this blog will help the current employee’s and also will help the families of the current residents to understand that this company once was the PREMIER Company in its field.
To the current employees: Please do whatever you can for your residents. They depend on you to make a difference in their life each and every day. Ignore what the corporate and field management tells you to do. Your current residents are more important than any nasty e-mail message you might receive from your RD’s.
All these Rd’s as well as 99% of the corporate management have never managed a community for any length of time. You have the edge and your residents deserve nothing but the very best of you. Love them and hug them every day. As Bill Colson always said: Treat your residents as if it will be their last day on earth.
Keep in mind, how many of these residents will be with you next year Christmas. Just think about this for one moment.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL of YOU and “THANK YOU” for what you do for your residents.
Herein our now-annual departure from anonymity/lurking to wish a very merry Christmas to D.L., his family and absolutely everyone else participating on this board.
My husband & I had work for Holiday's.
Hawthorn called us for a interview, my concern is are they anything like Holidays??
Does anyone have any insite on how Hawthorn treats there managers?
Any information would be helpful.
Hawthorn is a company that treats its employees with respect as they did when they owned Holiday. I hope that means something to you.
Go for it.
Merry Christmas
I would be so Happy to work for Bart again, He is a great person, as was his Dad Bill who always said if it's good for the residents and employees it's good for Holiday.. Good luck
I agree with 110%.
Good answer Dick G.
It always seemed pretty straightforward that if an employee broke a company policy there was cause to fire the employee. Black and white, cut and dry.
Today's labor laws are tougher to interpret and enforce, especially in the realm of social media, because the argument can be made that an employee venting about their job during their private time is freedom of speech, not breaking company policy.
Today's article summarizes a recent court case of a woman who was fired from her EMT job because she insulted her supervisor on facebook. Despite the fact that it was done using company code and terminology, the employer saw her breaking company policy and disparaging the company.
But the National Labor Relations Board sees this as a freedom of speech case, calling the company's policy illegal.
Share your thoughts in the comments section after you read the whole article.
http://www.thereibrain.com/do-you-have-a-social-media-policy-for-employees/2121/
Thanks for the cheer, Howdy & Jerrie and Achmed. They are definitely returned ten times ten.
Tonight, as each of us awaits the visit by an imaginary long haired fat guy with a beard and smelling like wet animal fur, let us not forget the real meaning of this day.
Happy Holidays to all and may the new year bring your dreams to a reality.
My wife and I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Anyone know what happened to David Rochet or Rochier from the midwest that took Ed Nilles job?
In looking at a variety of "brands" of retirement centers, I see such diversity in meal plans...and corresponding diversity in rent amounts. A local place is $2200/month for two people, 30 meals/month/person. Given that some residents elect NOT to eat 3 meals per day, this seems like a really good solution. Could someone explain to me why the Holiday facilities I know ONLY offer full-meal plans (3/day ever day)? Rent is so much higher, and for services some residents don't want (all meals). With other brands I've seen restaurant style meals, 2 meals/day with a reasonable charge for anything else, and other variations. ANY of these would seem to lower the rent and make the brand more competitive.
Because Holiday Retirement has used the current all-inclusive business model for over 35-years, which has proven to be highly successful for them while offering a perceived value. Holiday has always attempted to attract the MAJORITY of the average (economically speaking) Seniors. That being said, I know Holiday currently has a pilot program where a few communities are trying-out the flexible, casual dining program.
Although the hubby & I are no longer with Holiday.....I find myself thinking of all of you and the wonderful seniors that have become a part of our extended family today. We would like to thank you all for the honorable work that you do....and to the seniors, simply put, we love and miss you! May God Richly Bless and Keep each of you.....
It was a much quieter week from the last time I wrote. This is good!
I still struggle with the not having any holidays off. I have not been able to see any of the children or grandchildren since we started this job.
The one time we worked with the other managers and took an extra day off, my spouse came back and had to work 4 days in a row and being on call 24/7. It almost felt like a punishment!
How do others deal with this? There was no job experience in my life that I could have compared to what I was in for once I chose to take this position. The loss of freedom to leave at night, the loss of being able to spend time with family, the loss of knowing a set time when you can plan to be off during the week. (Other than the two days off.) The loss of additional pay for hours worked or holidays worked.
People that take this job and stay with it have to be saints or something. I care about people and want to make a difference in their lives. I struggle with it taking my health down to do it.
Yes, Holiday provides great health insurance but when does anyone have time to use it? When would you be able to take time off if needed? If one spouse is sick, it just puts double the work load on the other to make up for one being off.
Can anyone help me understand?
There isn't much to understand. This is the nature of the beast, and has always come with the Community Management position at Holiday Retirement since it's inception. It is the price we pay for providing Resident Managers - living where we work, and having our customers living with us. Unlike the retail industry, we are open 24/7, 365-days per year (366-days in a leap year!)
If that is so, than I am in the wrong place. The benefits and pay do not match the sacrifice expected to do this job!
facility management is clearly not a job for everyone it never was -- even before Fortress.
But now that FIG seems to be focusing solely on the bottom line (presumably to "pretty up" the potential sale value), it appears to be even worse than it was when we left about 18 months after the sale.
I'm curious now how many CMT members from the Colson days are still on board.
Anyone know?
My guess is that you could count on your fingers and toes the CMT couples that are left throughout the entire company from the pre-2007 era. Out of the 15 communities in our region, there are only 2 couples left that are still hanging in there.
Hat's off to those two couples, they truly present the Bill Colson's "Holiday Touch".
As for FIG, Holiday Touch is only a two word phrase they only know how to spell.
How about being told you need to get back to work 3 Days after suffering a Heart Attach on the Job. IS this the Touch
Unreal...this is not hard for me to believe at all. The "Touch" as I see it only applies to our Residents. Now it seems that if we were given the Touch, it would be so much easier to pass this wonderful Touch on to our residents, and even our co-workers. I still try very hard to give all those I come in contact with, the Touch. You either have it, or you don't. It is in us all, we just need to use it. Thoughts?
I suppose after a while of becoming bitter over being treated like raw sewage all the time, it becomes increasingly difficult to give the "touch" that you never get.
My spouse and I were co-managers and then managers from 2004 until shortly after the end of the real HRC in 2007. We realized very soon after starting that we had both been in life long training for those positions. We loved it when we could practice giving, receiving and wallowing in the TOUCH. We hated it when our RD would only demand answers about census even if we were trying to explain an unsafe condition in our building.
We actually just found this blog today because we were toying with the idea of trying to go back to Holiday. After an hour of reading, we are re-thinking our plan. Is Bart Colson synonymous with Hawthorn? Does anyone know if Joe or Sherry Giambalvo are working with Bart. Any information, in a response post, would be greatly appreciated.
We still hear from some of our residents. One of them mentioned, in his Christmas email, that rumors of selling the half empty building were gathering strength. How sad. We fondly remember one trip to Salem when we all talked about how our homes were deeply covered with "TouchDust".
The sad truth is that no one from FIG can understand that or will believe that an intangible, like the touch, has any value either perceived or real. Bill Colson knew otherwise.
So, did Mr. Jack get another $1 Mil bonus this year for doing yet another bang-up job??? He must be so proud... and laughing all the way to the bank.
Sounds like the final days for HRC are here. Home office to be shut down by June. Any remaining functions to be moved to Chicago. Most buildings to be sold off. Now is the time to organize a take-over!! We need a website for interested folks to communicate and form an investment group to manage 20-25 Communities to start with. Interested?
And you know this how? You sound like a troll or a FIG lackey trying to stir up trouble. If you have facts, back them up and don't go trying to scare good people into thinking they'll soon be unemployed.
One of the reasons many Holiday residents don't like the 3 meals a day program is the timing of the meals. Some have a lifetime pattern of eating earlier or later than the 8:00, 12:30, 5:30 pattern that Holiday uses. Merrill Gardens' communities offer all-day dining so you can eat when you want to; on 'your' schedule (as they say)- not on Holiday's timeline mandated schedule.
That must cost a fortune to do so to have food ready all day long. I wonder what the monthly rents are at Merrill Gardens'. Where are they located?
Open dining, to remain financially manageable, would require a steam table buffet-only environment, higher rents, a'la carte charges or any combination of the above.
When this subject came up on facility tours, we'd counter with the "fact" that our breakfast-dinner-supper schedule meant our residents would eat healthier diets and provided a sociable environment routine, both of which are less likely with open dining. This proved to be a very effective argument.
www.merrillgardens.com
Rents are about the same as 2008/2009 Holiday prices -- basically the same amenities and programs as Holiday. Biggest difference is the open dining. Check out the website.
We have read so many of the comments on this site since discovering and writing yesterday. There are a few people that were very influential on our time at HRC. We will not state who was naughty or who was nice because that would only be our opinions and we should all be free to formulate our own opinions. I hope that we can all agree on that.
Any information on any of the following would be appreciated:
Joel Turner
Russell Davis
Joe / Sherri Giambalvo
Cynthia Stutsmann
Ricki Manganeese
We are not asking for addresses or phone numbers or any personal information. We are just curious if any of you know if any of these folks are still with HRC or still in the senior housing industry.
My spouse and I agree that we genuinely wish we had found HRC much earlier in our lives so that we could have spent more time with the Colson led HRC. However, we are not wearing blinders and freely admit that one or more of the folks listed above had FIG type managerial thoughts before Bill Colson knew what FIG was. Let's all be real and admit that while the Touch was GREAT, the old HRC had some BLS types long ago, as does any company. There will always be those that think that stepping on the worker bees is the easiest way to make honey.
Heard today from a very reliable source that Holiday let another 30 employees go last week. They also are going to move the Corp. Offices from Salem, Or to Chicago, Il. Guess who’s corp. offices are also in Chicago, Il? You got it, Brookdale.
Also understand that due to the limited number of employees left at Corp. Office in Salem, they have yet to close the books for November. My understanding also is that invoices are very late in payments. Community manager cannot get any help from Corp. employees. You can well imagine what kind of mess this is creating for accounting and vendors.
Also understand that one building in the Midwest is under quarantine and 20 residents are very very sick. That same building is losing the managers, a cook was just fired, they had 2 housekeepers of which one just resigned and all meals have to be delivered to all residents 3 times a day as no resident is allow to leave their apartments. In that same building, one resident fell in her apartment and pulled the emergency cord and no one showed up to check on her. She had to call her son to come over. This resident ended up in the hospital with a broken hip.
I not only feel bad for the residents but also very bad for the employees of that community especially because of the pressure the managers are put under by the RD to distance themselves from the residents and market the building. Then again, keep in mind, NONE of the Regional people EVER ran a community for any length of time.
Whate state?
The 30 people being let go has not trickled into our area as of yet. Nor have we heard anything about the offices being moved to Chicago.
On the grunt level, many of the buildings are dealing with pin-hole leaks in their water systems in the attics. A few weeks ago during the very cold weather, several buildings in the mid-west had pipes break causing several thousands of dolloars in water damage as well as several displaced residents. Regional Maintenance will only agree to fix the big breaks and tell building maintenance to patch the small ones or just keep an eye on them. (Buildings keep suffering small leaks that could become potential big leaks. This especially true the older the building happens to be.)
Management is not only dealing with the usual challenges but now has to deal with checking these leaks thru out the night, checking air-compressor pressure to make sure it is not off the map as well as fire alarms going off all night due to these leaks or pressure problems setting them off. Sleep deprivation is worse than ever!
Than you add the loss of employees walking because they don't want to deal with this anymore . . . Makes for unhappy remaining employees and definetely unhappy residents. The work load in some of these buildings on the employees/management that is still there is unbearable.
If I had a relative living in a building with leaks in the sprinkler system supply lines, I would contact the FD, city, media and more to let them know of the unsafe conditions. If I was a manager in such a building, I would think that such contact might help resolve the situation.
I wonder if there would be a way to make this happen while keeping my hands clean???
Of course there is but what if I am made into the scape goat? God forbid there being an actual fire with insufficient water pressure due to leaky pipes. But, if that happened, I would have to know that I did everything possible to fix the problem BEFORE the tragedy. If I got fired for trying to save lives, so be it. Please, do the right thing NOW.
LovedTheTouch - you don't need to be the whistle-blower when it comes to fire protection.
Should be that all buildings were tested monthly per NFPA-25. The Fire system alarm monitoring folks would have to know when your system was being tested, in that they would need to be notified when the system was taken off line for periodic testing.
Assuming the local fire department is doing its job, they too will know that the sprinkler an alarm system is functioning properly. If it's not, the locals can literally shut the building down. A slow leak does not bother them so long as pressure is maintained.
I once had to fire our longtime maintenance guy for having reported that he had completed the test when in fact he had not. Irrefutable proof of dereliction lay in the fact there had been neither an alarm nor a going-off-line-for-test notification over a period of two months.
I agree with you, NotMyRealName, but it sounds like Fried Fritter is in an area where the laws are not closely followed. We were in a similar situation but the fire monitoring system was in good shape. Our bottom line was always to do what was right for the residents and usually the rest of the equation fell into place.
If you have to wait for a Regional Maintenance person or Director to back any manager up in whatever maintenance issue you might have in your building, I wish you good luck.
Never in my life have I ever seen more useless overpaid people like the Regional Maintenance people. Many of them don’t know what they are doing and some of they rob your building blind of whatever materials you have in stock. Seen it happen many times over.
As for pin holes in the piping system, please remember the mold problem it becomes if those pin holes are not fixed immediately. If it is in the wet piping system, you will loose pressure. 99% of the time the elbow in the piping system needs to be replaced.
You are correct in saying that community managers are under tremendous pressure especially when a main water pipe breaks and if the water drains in multiple apartments below. Had this problem happen in a building a couple of times during the winters. It is hell when it happens. It must all be fixed right away. For Regional Maintenance to tell a community manager just to keep an eye on it is totally unacceptable. It violates every company law on the books. But I do know why they say it. THEY ARE TOO LAZY TO DO THE WORK. They to have never managed a building and they go home at the end of the day. They don’t have the worries that the community managers carry on a day to day basis. But watch your back. They will bad mouth you to the Regional Director if the Regional Maintenance person/Director does not like you or you do not do what he tells you to do due to other pressures you are under. Been there, done that. Thank God I don’t have to deal with it anymore.
Being new to the company, I am learning the hard way what the truth about what being a co-manager is.
I really have no say or power except maybe over the servers and dishwasher when I'm on the floor. The managers are the gods of the building and what they say goes.
They rarely ever help with the calls in YGL and rarely keep us in the loop as to what is happening in the building.
Now I've heard from other co's that their managers trade off the holidays. Not ours, we've worked every holiday since we started. "That's just the way it is."
The ultimate was my paycheck this week. It showed my salary pay (reduced) and then 8 hours of pay for my birthday. Interesting. The managers never bothered to tell me I could have it off or that I could even have a different day off. When I asked about it, I was told "Oh yeah, well you have to take your day off in the same pay period. But check with _ _ _ _ _ and ask that person because that person does the payroll. Then I was informed how many days the managers have given up since they started and oh well that's just the way it is.
This place and company is BULLSHIT!
It's not the place or company that is BS. It is the people who make it that way.
just found out that a 93 yr old resident died in a snow bank at white oak's y did the mgr not notice that he was missing thats the holiday touch for you
Here's the link to the article
http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2010/12/31/towns/manchester/doc4d1e0725dbe54013131933.txt
Sad!
Tragic as this is, it IS still independent living.
All I can say to that is to pose this question: Was this resident in the appropriate level of care? Obviously not! Then the question becomes, did the facility rent to him with the knowledge that the level of care offered by IL was inappropriate? None of us know, but if the managers and the company did, then the memory of this tragic death will stay with them forever! Think about it!
The Hartford Courant is reporting that the resident was apparently clearing off his car and fell. No foul play or neglect is suspected.
Here is another link to this tragic story found in yesterday's edition of The Hartford Courant:
http://bit.ly/i3k1oC
No senior has ANY business trying to clean their car off after a snow storm. If Holiday Retirement properly budgeted the communities for the hours to have the maintenance person clean the residents' cars after a snow storm, this would not have to happen!
True, it is IL, but there is an implied care and safety element. The marketing materials probably contain the words safe and secure. It is impossible to deliver complete safety to individuals, if that gentleman had driven off in his car and died in an auto accident, that certainly would not be the fault of the retirement community.
However, if the parking lot was not safe the community could be liable. Holiday had another situation like this several years ago in Lincoln Nebraska where a resident went out a side exit in the winter, the door locked behind her and a snow bank blocked her way to go around to the front, and she died.
Yes it is independent living, I agree. Truth of the matter is, the idiots that run White Oaks have been notified numerous times that the resident needed help and chose to do nothing about it but roll their eyes and turn the other way! If this happened to an animal it would be called abuse and/or neglect...how is this right!?!
Very sad happenings, sorry to read that. I was wondering, if the resident was found at 11am, what time did he leave the building to brush off his car? Did he have breakfast and went out after or did he went out the night before? It just puzzles me that it was that late in the morning when he was found. Too sad those managers did nothing, even they knew that this resident needed some special attention.
Reportedly, the resident was last seen on Wednesday and not found until Thursday. According to the newspaper report the "manager" reported that the surveillance camera observed him leaving around lunchtime. If my memory is correct and unless they changed things, that camera only watches the front door and doesn't record anything. Matter of fact, it was put there to appease the residents concerns and unless someone is sitting watching the tv in the marketing office, it is never even monitored. Makes me wonder why reference was even made to the camera that is there.
It's amazing that more people have not been either hurt or have died at White Oaks. While I was a housekeeper, I informed the management team (the little kids) of a resident that was consistently down for all meals of not being present at breakfast or dinner. I requested that the managers please check on her while we were cleaning the dining room. I then proceeded to take my half hour lunch break. As I was clocking in, I asked the manager if he had checked on her, and he responded "I was too busy on a conference call." I took it upon myself to make sure she was okay. When I entered her room, she was still in her bed. I couldn't tell if she was breathing, so I followed protocol and ran downstairs to tell my managers. After managers called 911, I later found out her blood sugar was low and was close to going into a diabetic coma. Is this really the people we want taking care of "our family"?
OH yeah, I have seen managers who could not tell the difference from the sound of the E-Call and the dishwasher, sad.
I wonder how many marriages this job has taken down? Since I started this job I have noticed an increased irritation leven when I am tired.
How many couples start attacking each other because they are tired? In pain and not able to allow things to roll off back.
I would say far too many, it would indeed be interesting to know the numbers of homes this job has caused issues with.
Divorce is a side benefit of all hotel / restaurant companies while working with your spouse or not. most hotel / restaurant people have been divorced at least once . even as a single manager at a hotel the demand of the job is never ending 7 days a week 24 hrs. a day and most of them don't live on property . I can tell you first hand its a very demanding stressful industry that most people are simply not cut out for , if your use to working a "normal" 40 hr week job then this industry is not for you. it is a life style, believe me I know after 40 yrs of it. you say in this blog that hotel people don't know what its like , to run a HRC community I can assure you we do ... most of us that come from the hotel business have no problem running one of these properties due to the intensive hands on training and years of being a abused asst. manager working a 100 + hrs a week . all im saying is it is a life style, think seriously about it before you accept the position . then when you make the commitment, do your job the best you can and stop crying about the hours . all that tells me is your not the right fit for this type of work.
Sure, you may have worked hospitality, but that does not automatically make you perfect for this work or the hours. I started my career in hospitality and later changed to working with seniors. What I learned is this job requires more than just putting in the time. And, consider the age of most of our managers. None of them should be working 100+ hours without the proper rest and the proper rate of pay. The hours are the small sacrifice in our industry. You don't come automatically equipt to do this work because you worked hotel. You have to have an innate sense of compassion, kindness, understanding, patience and a sense of fun all tied together with good business sense and an instinct for marketing with intergrity and ethics. This cannot be learned. This job is the kind of job that when you go home at night you feel a sense of accomplishment or service to others. Working so many hours like a machine makes you no better to "run these properties" than the managers to told not to crying about the hours. It's more than a lifestyle or a mantra. When you figure that out former hospitality worker, then you'll be well equipt to this industry.
We do the very best job we can and my building has a very high census, but working this many hours has many repercussions.
Any EAP will tell you working hours like these leads to many mistakes and loss of productivity. Workers comp. cases are increased when you are working this many hours.
Many of us managers have been with Holiday for many years and have continued, because we care about the residents more than our own physical condition.
This is in no way like running a hotel. We are a life line for our residents and our response to their needs can be and in many times is a matter of life or death. THAT IS NOT THE CASE IN A HOTEL!
If your not considering yourself a lifeline to your residents and not concerned about having sharp mental function at all times you are on duty, then you are not right for this type of work.
This is exactly the problem as they are being told to market, market, market and subsequently if they get in residents who need a higher level of care, they are offering a much lower price than what the assisted living facilities charge. Vicious cycle and if you can prove that they knew of a residents condition, good luck. They are very good at covering their tracks.
It's my understanding that when people tour and are interested in our facility that we do not discriminate against people.
We are to be very careful how we tell a family that's checking into our place for their mother who has dementia. Also, if you allow one dementia person to have an apartment in your building you have to let them all in. The discrimination laws can get you into a lot of trouble. Then you have upper management pushing you to market, rent, rent, rent. I agree, it's a vicious cycle.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/adult-care-facilities/-copperfield-estates/-copperfield-estates-one-of-h-7363c.htm
interesting.
I have been reading this blog for years. It's time someone has the *alls to take all the cry babies to task. If you don't like what you are being paid to do, QUIT! DL I have read your books and I hope you do not depend on them for income. Are you related to Jerry Garcia? They remind me of some 60's political nonsense. As far as Life Safety issues I have NEVER had a problem getting them corrected. It is obvious that the people that have had concerns do not know how to handle them. To those that have been released from their duties, GET OVER IT, there must have been a reason. All in all this is a great company with a vision for the future of Senior Living and making a profit for it's shareholders. That's the American way. Alway's has been, and always will be. You are either in or in the way. This comment will probably not be posted because of the bias of DL but it made me feel good to write it. Happy New Year.
Part 1 of 2
Well, you are wrong in some ways and right in order ways.
1st, DL is not bias and never has been. If you indeed have been reading this blog from the beginning you know that DL have written pro’s as well as con’s about Holiday Retirement.
2nd, In certain ways I do agree with some of your statement on this blog however I also question the way Holiday hires people these days. You are correct in stating that if you do it for the money, this is not the type of work you want to do. You either have the “passion” to serve seniors or you don’t have it.
3rd, Where you and I differ in our opinion is the vision FIG has had and still has. Yes, the American way is to make money for its investors. That is a given and anyone not understanding this should go back to school. Holiday was the Premier company in its field but FIG has dramatically changed the vision by way of hiring some people in the field who have no clue how to run a community such as many of the current community managers do for Holiday Retirement. Passion or no passion, it is a very tough job on a day-to-day basis.
4th, In certain regions, the Regional Maintenance Director (RMD)work closely with the community managers to ensure that they are fully and properly trained and have the same vision for that community as the managers do but I also have seen RMD’s that are there to stir up trouble and steel from the community/company. If they steel materials from the community and take it home for their personal use that means they steel from the company and you have to trust me on this one, I have seen it, reported it and nothing has been done about it. Those individuals are still with the company today. I know what these people are being paid and when they talk trash to the Regional Director about a community manager, it is because he does not like the community manager and the RMD will make up stories in order to get such a community manager fired. Again, heard it and seen it happen.
All in all, your opinion counts as many people employed by Holiday really need a wakeup call however it works both ways. This blog is here to vent and or seek help and I also see it as a challenge the senior management to do better not only for the stockholders and residents but also for the employees. If FIG is really serious about making Holiday the cash cow it used to be, then please hire some people that know how to work in a community and put them into leadership positions instead of hiring people from another industry and let them become Regional Directors and telling community managers what to do when they have not done a damn thing themselves. At one point old Holiday did the same thing when they hired so many “Blue Light Specials” into the company. They couldn’t make it at Kmart, what made them think they could do it at Holiday.
Part 2 of 2
Fig has and is making the same mistake.
You may not agree with this blog (for whatever reason) but it is serving a purpose and many of us are here to help as much as we can to advise the current employee’s. If a court of law finds in favor of a kitchen employee and awards him a lot of money, you know something is wrong.
Thank you for your posting and Happy New Year to you and your family as well.
Apparently Luvmyjob is so overcome with pride in his/her position that he/she neglected to tell us anything about it.
Or what his/her position is at the corporate office...
Can anyone tell US RESIDENTS when Cathy Newhouse will put her Health and Wellness Service in operation.
Lovmyjob I don't know what rock you crawled out from under, but you have missed something. I worked for Holiday for 6 years. Things have gone south for 3 years now. Our building has dropped from 100% to about 69%. They have had 4 sets of managers in the 3 years since we left. Happy New Years all
MEMO
To: Holiday World
Date: January 4, 2011
From: Jack Callison & Bob Donovan
Re: Thank You Holiday Retirement!
Happy New Year, Holiday Retirement! We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful and memorable holiday season with friends and family. As we kick off the new year, we are both energized and charged-up like never before. As we reflect on 2010, we have much to be proud of as an organization. We shared the Holiday Touch with a record 13,253 new residents in 2010, a 55% increase over the 8,545 new residents we welcomed into our family in 2009. Think about that for a moment - over 4,700 more seniors are now enjoying the wonderful independent lifestyle that only we can provide at Holiday Retirement. Thank you for all you did to welcome these wonderful new residents into our communities!
Consistent with our expectations heading into the month, December was a truly spectacular month. In fact, it was the company’s best December on record ever and our second best month in all of 2010. An amazing 1,320 residents elected to move into a Holiday Retirement community in December. That means our net occupancy grew by 339 residents or another full 1% this month. Thanks to your efforts and hard work, Holiday Retirement’s occupancy has increased by over 8% since March 1st of last year during a period of time when most of our competition has seen occupancy either remain flat or increase a mere 1-2% during that same period of time.
We continue to thrive in our efforts to share the Holiday Touch with Veterans and their surviving spouses. Over 50% of our new residents during the month of December were Veterans. These individuals bravely and unselfishly served their countries. Helping them receive the benefits they are legally entitled to is just one of the many ways we can show them how much we care about them and appreciate their service. Your efforts are making an incredible difference in their lives.
We proved once again that seasonality is just a mind game in this business as evidenced by the fact that multiple districts and regions set all time 40-year record highs in the month of December.
We proved once again that seasonality is just a mind game in this business as evidenced by the fact that multiple districts and regions set all time 40-year record highs in the month of December. The following teams set records for the highest number of gross and/or net move ins ever recorded in a single month:
Most Gross MIs Ever Recorded Most Net MIs Ever Recorded
South District 515 South District 175
Benjamson Region 67 Benjamson Region 44
Mischak Region 95 Mischak Region 52
Reichert Region 90 Reichert Region 45
Takeuchi Region 18 Boje Region 22
In addition, the following teams also set records for the most gross and/or net move ins ever recorded during the month of December:
Most Gross MIs Ever Recorded Most Net MIs Ever Recorded
South District 515 South District 173
East District 182 East District 38
Midwest District 358 Midwest District 100
West District 197 West District 33
Perras Region 55 Perras Region 22
Au Region 37 Au Region 2
Northern CA Region 33 Northern CA Region 2
Mueller Region 38 Benjamson Region 44
Benjamson Region 67 Luyt Region 27
Eliscu Region 43 Scharfenberg Region 23
Quintero Region 61 Myers Region 15
Luyt Region 85 Fair Region 24
Scharfenberg Region 57 McCracken Region 13
Myers Region 57 Mischak Region 52
Fair Region 67 Reichert Region 45
McCracken Region 56 Boje Region 22
Reed Region 56 Takeuchi Region 9
Mischak Region 95
Young Region 44
Reichert Region 90
Cook Region 32
Boje Region 52
Takeuchi Region 18
We also want to recognize our top performing communities who recorded the highest number of Veteran move-ins and Resident Referral move-ins during the month of December. These communities are doing an incredible job with their lead generation activities and we applaud their success (which is a direct function of the time they invested on the front end of their lead generation events to ensure they were well planned and thoughtfully executed):
Most Veteran MIs This Month
Most PDR/Resident Referral MIs This Month
COUNTRY SQUIRE ST JOSEPF, MO 15 ATRIUM AT GAINESVILLE GAINESVILLE, FL 6
VENTURA PLACE LUBBOCK, TX 9 HAWAII KAI HONOLULU, HI 4
WOODLANDS VILLAGE BRADENTON, FL 9 PINEGATE MACON, GA 4
ATRIUM AT GAINESVILLE GAINESVILLE, FL 9 HOLIDAY HILLS ESTATES RAPID CITY, SD 3
DESOTO BEACH CLUB SARASOTA, FL 8 MADISON SUN CITY WEST, AZ 3
BRIARCREST ESTATES BALLWIN, MO 8 VENETIAN GARDENS VENICE, FL 3
MADISON SUN CITY WEST, AZ 7 ROCK SPRING APPLE VALLEY, CA 3
WINDWARD PALMS BOYNTON BEACH, FL 7 CHARBONNEAU KENNEWICK, WA 3
MONTARA MEADOWS LAS VEGAS, NV 7 LINCOLN SQUARE GRAND RAPIDS 3
CHARBONNEAU KENNEWICK, WA 7 COUNTRY SQUIRE ST JOSEPH, MO 3
PONDER CREEK ESTATES LOUISVILLE, KY 7
LAKEVIEW PARK FENTON, MO 7
The following communities contributed the highest total number of gross and net move-ins during the month of December. Please join us in saluting these communities for the tremendous job they did sharing the Holiday Touch with new seniors!
Most Gross MIs This Month Most Net MIs This Month
DESOTO BEACH CLUB SARASOTA, FL 20 DESOTO BEACH CLUB SARASOTA, FL 16
COUNTRY SQUIRE ST JOSEPH, MO 15 COUNTRY SQUIRE ST JOSEPH, MO 10
WINDWARD PALMS BOYNTON BEACH, FL 14 LODGE AT WAKE FOREST WAKE FOREST, NC 10
HAWAII KAI HONOLULU, HI 14 VENTURA PLACE LUBBOCK, TX 10
LODGE AT WAKE FOREST WAKE FOREST, NC 14 CHERRY LAUREL TALLAHASSEE, FL 9
VENTURA PLACE LUBBOCK, TX 12 WINDWARD PALMS BOYNTON BEACH, FL 8
WOODLANDS VILLAGE BRADENTON, FL 12 HAWAII KAI HONOLULU, HI 8
ATRIUM AT GAINESVILLE GAINESVILLE, FL 12 BRIARCREST ESTATES BALLWIN, MO 8
MADISON SUN CITY WEST, AZ 11 VENETIAN GARDENS VENICE, FL 8
MADISON MEADOWS PHOENIX, AZ 11 PONDER CREEK ESTATES LOUISVILLE, KY 8
CHERRY LAUREL TALLAHASSEE, FL 11 GREELEY PLACE GREELEY, CO 8
BRIARCREST ESTATES BALLWIN, MO 11 BLUEBIRD ESTATES EAST LONGMEADOW, MA 8
PARKWOOD ESTATES FORT COLLINS, CO 8
When it comes to extending the Holiday Touch with new seniors, the year 2010 will go down in the history books as the most successful year in the organization’s 40-year history. That is something we can all be incredibly proud of. What is even more exciting is the growth trajectory Holiday Retirement is already on in 2011. Thank you again for the countless contributions you have made and continue to make for our seniors, our associates and our organization. We never cease to be amazed by the impact we are able to make in senior’s lives each and every day when we keep the Holiday Touch front and center. It’s the common bond that unites us, invigorates us and inspires us all.
Happy New Year to you and your families. We wish you all the very best in 2011!!!
Sincerely,
Jack Callison and Bob Donovan
Reading this report seems to be misleading.
MOst Holiday buildings were advertising that there would be no rent collected if moved in during the month of December. After that it was $99 for the next month and then no increase for 5 years.
If I were the regional managers, I would check each room that had a move-in for December and make sure someone is there. You could literally move a ficticous person in who paid no rent.
I know managers in one of the buildings listed above that have a reputation of
moving things around with book-keeping.
I know one person who moved into a Holiday building on December 4th. They paid no rent for the month and got the second month for $99.
58 days for $99. They are receiving 174 meals and then moviong out. If the promotion continues they want to move to another Holiday building nearby. If they get 2 more months for $99 thats a nice vacation. 4 months and 236 meals for $198.
If I was still a manager, I'd recruit some homeless people on the street and tell them to move-in for a few months to make my numbers look good.
How honestly can these buildings have 20,15 or 14 move-ins in one month.
AGAIN---THE REGIONAL MANAGERS SHOULD CHECK THESE ROOMS TO SEE IF ANYONE IS THERE ! ! !
Think about that for a moment - over 4,700 more seniors are now enjoying the wonderful independent lifestyle that only we can provide at Holiday Retirement. Thank you for all you did to welcome these wonderful new residents into our communities!
*****Just another statement that proves how out of touch Callison/Donovan and most RD's are: If they spent anytime in facilities (and when they ARE here - not on the phone or computer and actually interacted with the residents and joined at meals) they would find most Holiday facilities are much closer to assisted living than Independant living!
We never cease to be amazed by the impact we are able to make in senior’s lives each and every day when we keep the Holiday Touch front and center. It’s the common bond that unites us, invigorates us and inspires us all.
*****The Holiday Touch flew out the window when FIG took over!
There’s that VA percentage popping up again…For the past 9 months or so, Jack Callison and Bob Donavan continue praising the efforts of all employees for their consistent efforts in getting Veterans to move in under the Federal Aide and Attendance Program.
Memo from October 2010 quotes:
In fact, a stunning 52% of the 1,352 new residents who made the decision to call Holiday “home” during the month of September were wartime veterans! The success we continue to achieve in sharing the Holiday Touch with those who bravely served their country with a sense of pride and honor is truly inspiring. Holiday Retirement has quickly earned a wonderful reputation as “the place to be” for Wartime Veterans, thanks to your dedication and efforts. And again on January 4, 2011 “Over 50% of our new residents during the month of December were Veterans”.
If over 52% of Veterans are living in the facility that you work in shouldn’t the laws that apply to the federal civil service on employment rights apply to Holiday employees? Holiday is an at will employer. Holiday rule is: “Fired any one that is not a yes person or causes trouble with the upper management”.
Government rule is “All public employees are protected from any termination that violates the United States Constitution or the constitution of the state in which they work”.
If over 52% of Veterans are living in the facility that you work in shouldn’t the laws that apply to the federal civil service on employment rights apply to Holiday employees? Holiday is an at will employer. Holiday rule is: “Fired any one that is not a yes person or causes trouble with the upper management”.
Government rule is “All public employees are protected from any termination that violates the United States Constitution or the constitution of the state in which they work”.
The government also states in it’s laws that:
All public employees are protected from any termination that violates the United States Constitution or the constitution of the state in which they work. Frequently, an employee's rights to freedom of speech, association, or religion, or freedom from unlawful search and seizure are at issue when an employee is terminated. In some circumstances, a government employee may have a property interest or a liberty interest in his or her position which cannot be taken away by the government, except through due process. Due process means generally that the governmental employer must give you notice of the charges against you and an opportunity to answer those charges before you are terminated from employment. If
The reason given for your termination is one that would stigmatize you, jeopardizing future employment prospects; you have the right to a "name clearing" hearing.
My husband is a Veteran and we were both terminated for cause. We were never given a chance to defend ourselves because of their process of termination. The tactics for investigating their employees is just shy of what Hitler put all those people through. Coming in to speak to all the staff, interviewing you and your husband for hours on end. Then telling you that you are suspended and to stay in your apartment for the next 3 days was torture.
As I see it; our constitutional rights were violated in many ways.
There’s got to be more than 50% Veterans or a spouse of a Veteran working for Holiday. If it is a job requirement that you provide a service to a federal subsidized program then you should have the same rights as a federal employee. “I’m just saying”.
This is an interesting and creative approach to labor law implementation that Rightingthewrong proposes. Unfortunately, HRC's employees are no more protected by public service employee rules than the staff of a privately owned geriatric clinic that similarly derives most of its revenue from Medicare.
Keep thinking outside the box though.
I notice it's gross move ins, not net move ins. What was the move out percentage? Or did they not disclose that...
This is a given: no Social Security increases, investments tanked, interest rates at near rock-bottom lows. Result: Seniors have less and less money to cover rent. WHY then, is Holiday raising rents by percentages like 4.5? It is forcing seniors from the facilities, creating census deficits, creating a need for marketing, which is far more expensive than keeping rates reasonable and maintaining current residents. 10 filled apartments at $1500 = $15000. 7 filled at $2000 and 3 empty is = $14000. A rented apartment, even at a lower rent, is ALWAYS better than an empty one. Then there are the new incentive plans, including free months, guaranteed no increases for years--all of which are subsidized by the current residents. Is it just me, or are these practices counter-intuitive to good management practices???? Suggestion: reduce rents of ALL renters (existing as well as new), to retain current residents and encourage new renters. That would be far more fair to current residents and I believe even save Holiday some mooolah.
Thank you Yipe, I said that all along, agree with you 100%. Decrease the rent, fill the suites, save money on marketing and bluelight marketers. Make residents happy and have the best marketing strategy, word by mouth, I think.
Yes this would be very helpful and to freeze the market rent so the current residents have peace of mind about what to do about staying or leaving to a less expensive place. This has been their home and to be up rooted is very hurtful and creates fear for them. With the yearly rate increase being at 5.9 %
thats way more than they make on any investment today. We are asking the owners of Holiday Retirement to reconsiser cheating the current residents and giving away the free months and all the freebes to new residents. Why don't see the current resident are not being treated fair. All they think of is raising market rent and giving away rent to new people. They do not have a clue as to what the current residents can do for them. They will keep the building full if treated in a fair way.
I have a few residents who are looking at cheaper acomadations. Their money is running out and in my building many of my resident would not save any money and it might even cost them more to downsize. They are very unhappy that Holiday doesn't realize once their money is gone; that's it.
A&A isn't the lifesaver it's being marketed as... people are getting denied or getting a lesser benefit that they were told they would get.
Move-outs are coming because we are told to move them in even if they can't afford it without A&A or a lesser A&A benefit.
It's all very sad! No wonder many of us do not sleep well at night.
Holiday Retirement
Occupancy Tracker By Regional Director As of 12/29/2010
FULL PORTFOLIO Occupancy Analysis
Director
Unit
Cap
As of Occupancy (%)
09/30/09 12/31/09 03/31/10 06/30/10 09/30/10
Avg Occ (%)
Sep 10 Oct 10 Nov 10
Current Occupancy
Res # Units Occ %
Budget
Units Occ %
Variance
Units Occ %
Change in Units
4 wks 8 wks
Move-in/Out Activity
Current Week
Ins Outs Net
Month to Date
Ins Outs Net
PRINCE
FAIR / KEITH (13 Properties) 1,577 81.7% 78.4% 76.9% 76.2% 80.3% 78.0% 78.9% 78.8% 1,410 1,279 81.1% 1,302 82.6% (23) (1.5)% 32 40 14 (3) 11 58 (40) 18
MCCRACKEN / ALLEN (14 Properties) 1,749 78.8% 77.0% 74.7% 76.2% 78.7% 77.0% 78.5% 78.7% 1,524 1,409 80.6% 1,345 77.2% 64 3.4 % 23 41 10 (5) 5 46 (39) 7
MOYE / POWELL (13 Properties) 1,531 86.5% 83.0% 82.0% 81.5% 84.2% 82.5% 83.3% 83.6% 1,402 1,294 84.5% 1,299 84.8% (5) (0.3)% 13 24 5 (3) 2 33 (36) (3)
MYERS / GRAY (13 Properties) 1,659 80.1% 78.8% 77.2% 77.5% 81.3% 79.9% 80.6% 82.0% 1,525 1,403 84.6% 1,282 77.4% 121 7.2 % 24 53 15 (11) 4 47 (34) 13
REICHERT / BOOTH (13 Properties) 1,556 82.3% 80.6% 80.5% 82.3% 85.0% 83.3% 85.0% 86.2% 1,551 1,404 90.2% 1,286 82.7% 118 7.6 % 54 73 16 (3) 13 80 (39) 41
YOUNG / RICHARDS (14 Properties) 1,575 74.6% 74.0% 72.7% 72.4% 74.8% 73.6% 73.7% 74.9% 1,296 1,190 75.6% 1,213 77.1% (23) (1.5)% 2 10 10 (8) 2 32 (42) (10)
PRINCE Subtotal (80 Properties) 9,647 80.6% 78.6% 77.3% 77.6% 80.7% 79.0% 80.0% 80.7% 8,708 7,979 82.7% 7,728 80.2% 251 2.5 % 148 241 70 (33) 37 296 (230) 66
Total (80 Properties) 9,647 80.6% 78.6% 77.3% 77.6% 80.7% 79.0% 80.0% 80.7% 8,708 7,979 82.7% 7,728 80.2% 251 2.5 % 148 241 70 (33) 37 296 (230) 66
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl67TNDW-0Q&feature=channel
I hope it works, please watch that ally bank commercial video. Even ally knows it is wrong to treat new friends different than old friends, I think this should apply to all residents as well.
My mother is in a residence owned by Holiday. I am greatly concerned about the co-managers.
The wife is terribly rude. She is bossy and disrespectful to residents and their families and the staff. She is condescending in conversations and then dismisses anything said.
The husband has blown up a few times.
I did a brief check of their backgrounds. I found nothing on her (but do not know her maiden name) but found that he had been convicted of assault. He has also had 3 restraining orders taken out against him and he violated one.
He has been convicted of obtaining merchandise under false pretenses and writing bad checks.
Why was this man hired? Why is he still there?
I have called the resident relations line twice and have not been called back. I have emailed resident relations several times and have not been contacted. I provided links to the information I found.
My mother will be moving out soon but I fear for the other residents, those with whom my mother has made friends.
I worry about the staff.
Why would this behavior be tolerated?
Does Holiday not care?
You have hit the nail on the head ... this company does not care. This sounds very much like a couple we worked under and instead of letting them go, they were just shuffeled off to another building, pawned off by the then regional to another region. We were absolutely appauled that they were allowed to stay with the company. We heard a time later that they were once again on the move. There are many reasons why we are no longer with Holiday - but a big part of why we left is because couples like this are employed by Holiday and it is so wrong. My prayers are with you and I hope your mother's next residence will bring peace to your both.
How sad to hear that your Mother is having to move away from her home and friends. And it concerns me that through your efforts to report these people you did not even get a response. Here is a link to report this to the Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.hhs.gov/ContactUs.html
There is also an agency you can contact with complaints on Elder Abuse. http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/Index.aspx
The staff will be ok. I have learned that in the Holiday environment most employees will get out when they have had enough. And hopefully it will not be long before some governing agency will step in to see what is truly going on. Keep us up to date and thank you for sharing your experience.
Hi--I lost the other message??? We are residents who are moving out. The reason we are giving is to be 80 miles closer to our children. But we would be moving anyway. I am tired of putting walkers away for people, of laughing at the same joke every day, of reminding people what time it is. But most of all I hate having the menus dictated by people in Salem who send out untested recipes that are so poorly described with fancy names that menu names are a standing joke among residents. We read the menu and then say--"Now who knows what we will eat?" Also during the summer we see beautiful big strawberries growing in local fields, sweet corn, tomatoes and we have to be served the tasteless shipped in junk that Sysco sells. (By the way--who gets the discount Sysco is paying? We do have a good Chef--but he can only cook the quality and variety of food he gets. (There is no way that Sysco could mistakenly ship a poor grade of Peas EVERY time!)
So we are leaving before the entire place becomes assisted living. (The "gracious" has already departed.) I'm sorry to leave my friends and in particular the workers here. We have had a good "Staff Appreciation System" here for five years. (A computer program tells us how many of each size bill is needed for each workers share of the tip money. Very simple.)
I'm sorry to read that things are not better in other buildings--I hoped we were unique!
Cheers
scienceteacher
e
I would give a move out notice with the demand to receive the same ridiculous incentives that the new people are receiving.