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GREENWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES

www.greenwoodrc.com

SERVICES

GREENWOOD RETIREMENT COMMUNITIESCompassionate Living with an Independent Spirit

5SERVICES » Greenwood Retirement Communities FEBRUARY 2017 « The Canadian Business Journal

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experience in the management and marketing of

residential communities, condominium and com-

mercial properties, and retirement communities.

Greenwood is a non-age-restricted retire-

ment community, which opened its first

residence in 2008. Ironically, the path taken

by the company was not one that was origi-

nally intended. “We started out not planning to

be retirement residence operators. The own-

ers expected us to be investing in real estate

but we found ourselves investing in retirement

homes. We believe in a hands-on approach and

the more we got engaged the more it became

apparent to us that if we do our own manage-

ment we will do better than any third party and

that’s how Greenwood was formed to manage

our own retirement home portfolio,” begins

Hadas Koller.

Greenwood currently owns eight residences

in six different cities: Lindsay, Peterborough,

Brampton and Oshawa with two each in Toronto

and Hamilton. A second residence is now in the

works for Oshawa with construction slated to

begin in about a year and be open for housing

tenants in two years.

Each location is headed by an executive

director, with the exception of Hamilton where

the ED runs both residences, which are just five

minutes apart by car. Each executive director

has a group of managers working with them

including the chef, the director of care, activities

manager and a marketing director.

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The natural progression of life dictates that a time comes when many people reach a point when it is no longer in their best interests to maintain an independent home. Throughout every stage of life, humans yearn to have their house to feel like a home and for that reason it is essential for those moving into a retirement living community that they find an environment that makes them feel comfortable as they move onto the next chapter of their life.

IN LESS THAN a decade Greenwood Retirement

Communities has earned itself an outstanding

reputation throughout southern Ontario for

being a preeminent leader in providing a positive,

vibrant and caring community for citizens who

require that extra special care and compassion.

The Canadian Business Journal recently

spoke with Greenwood Retirement Communities

President Miri Hadas Koller about her company’s

tremendous success as it enters its ninth year in

operation. Hadas Koller has been with the orga-

nization since its inception and is personally

equipped with more than 20 years of first-hand

7SERVICES » Greenwood Retirement Communities FEBRUARY 2017 « The Canadian Business Journal

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In addition to providing the very best in

residential care, Greenwood takes great pride in

being a company that people enjoy working with.

“We give the Executive Directors a lot of

room to do things their own way,” adds Hadas

Koller. “We trust that they know their market,

their clients, their team and their building

better than we do, and that they will make the

right choices.”

The more open business approach attracts

independent thinkers, who thrive on the imple-

mentation of creative ideas. It also brings with it

the responsibility to be accountable for the deci-

sions that are made.

Currently there are about 450 staff members,

many of whom are part-time employees who

will typically come in for a three-hour shift

serving in the dining room or assisting other

staff with their core responsibilities. Staffing

requirements at an individual residence can

range from 50 to 70 employees depending on

the size of the residence. Currently, the smallest

residence has 92 suites and the largest has 206,

with an expansion now in the works.

During the overnight hours there are always

at least two staff members working to ensure the

needs of the residents are met.

“It is much busier during the day with all

the managers, nurses, servers, housekeepers

and maintenance personnel. The staffing can

fluctuate from a high of about 15 during the day,

down to two overnight,” notes Hadas Koller.

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9SERVICES » Greenwood Retirement Communities FEBRUARY 2017 « The Canadian Business Journal

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unique characteristics are due to a number of

factors including the population of the market-

place as well as the setup of the residence that

fosters either more or less independence.

“We have two residences in Hamilton. One

of them has bigger suites with full kitchens and

the residents are much more independent with

meals that are served buffet style. It’s very dif-

ferent in our other Hamilton residence just five

minutes away, which has smaller suites, and

not all of them have kitchenettes – and so it

attracts a different segment of the population,”

says Hadas Koller.

At Greenwood there is a firm commitment

to providing the types of social activities that are

most popular with the residents, with numer-

ous interactive activities available on a daily

basis. Some residents like to mingle, while oth-

ers prefer to spend the bulk of their time alone.

“There are exercise classes, games classes

and art classes and we bring in entertainment.

Sometimes we take residents out to the mall, a

show or a baseball game,” says Hadas Koller.

Oftentimes retirees only have the chance

to see family members once a week or perhaps

once a month but at Greenwood they have the

option of being around friendly people when-

ever they so choose. There is no minimum

age requirement but moving into a retirement

residence is most often borne out of neces-

sity. As example, a person may find they can

no longer adequately cook, shop or clear the

snow from their sidewalks and driveways. From

the residents’ perspective they are immersed in

a wonderful culture that is exceptionally caring

and compassionate. It also provides an excel-

lent outlet to make new friends at the age of

90 and beyond.

Appreciation for the Team The Greenwood Education Fund was initiated

several years ago and provides up to $2,500 to

10 to 15 employees or their family members

towards college or university education. “We

really believe in investing in the team and there

is nothing like education to get you further in

life. We love spending our money on furthering

people’s opportunities in life,” says Hadas Koller.

Upon the advent of summer, Greenwood

Industry LeadersIt is Greenwood’s ambition to be a leader in the

retirement home industry and as such Hadas

Koller and her executive team have developed a

well-defined approach, which has served them

well as the company continues to expand. “Our

mission statement is something I really believe

in and I repeat it whenever I can, and that is to

treat our residents as we would like to be treated

ourselves and by extension, treat our staff as we

would like to be treated,” she says.

The executive management team at

Greenwood is always open to suggestions

from its employees, fostering an inclusive

workplace that allows everyone to feel as if

they can make a difference in an environment

that is agile, smooth and free-flowing. It is the

ingrained corporate belief that if someone

devises a potentially better approach, then it

will be further explored.

“In some of the bigger companies the

menus, activities and marketing materials are

all set by head office, which is not the case at

Greenwood. We give freedom to the people on

the ground because they know better; they live

it,” states Hadas Koller.

Managers at Greenwood are granted the

authority to implement programs and services

as they deem best for the residents whom

they serve. This policy is quite unique with the

industry and goes a long way in attracting more

experienced executive personnel who want to

contribute to the company’s success. By exten-

sion it is the residents who reap the rewards

of having decisions made far more quickly by

trained personnel who best know their wants

and needs as opposed to being implemented by

outsiders. It also cuts down the bureaucratic red

tape that often happens in a more rigid corpo-

rate structure where committees can often take

weeks, if not months, to finalize their agendas.

Greenwood embraces a culture whereby the

residents are in control of how they define their

life’s activities, while having access to the very

best professional services.

Each of the eight residences has its own

unique style and characteristics due in large part

to the communities where they are located. The

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Specializing in the Design of Enviroments

for Seniors

Miri Hadas Koller, President, Greenwood Retirement Communities

11SERVICES » Greenwood Retirement Communities FEBRUARY 2017 « The Canadian Business Journal

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always has something special on the calendar

for the employees and their family members –

such as an all-expense paid visit to the Toronto

Zoo or Canada’s Wonderland. The initiative

began when the company was much smaller but

Hadas Koller says it’s important to keep it going

because it boosts the moral of employees, who

are so integral to the success of the retirement

communities. Many of the staff members have

been loyal workers for a number of years and the

cost of taking an entire family to a place such

as Canada’s Wonderland is often prohibitive for

some of them to do on their own.

“The fact we can arrange a day for them to

spend with their families is a great way to show

our appreciation of them,” says Hadas Koller. “I

love my job and I love Greenwood. When you

work for a company where the managers and

employees love their jobs then they pay you back

by doing the best job they can.”

In addition to the new residence in Oshawa,

Greenwood has other projects in the pipeline,

including the expansion of current locations.

One thing Hadas Koller is very mindful about is

not to grow so quickly that there is a loss of that

personal touch.

Greenwood is always looking for great

people to join their dedicated and loyal staff.

Employees must be caring and nurturing indi-

viduals, which is what Hadas Koller looks for in

all new hires. “It is not age – it is attitude. We

put them through the interview process and then

there are a lot of information tutorials we feed

into them and teach them.”

“It’s not me – it’s the great people who work

alongside me,” concludes Hadas Koller. CBJ

www.greenwoodrc.com

AS SEEN IN THE FEBRUARY 2017 ISSUE OF THE CANADIAN BUSINESS JOURNAL

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