A day in the life of a Scheme Manager
Our Scheme Manager, Emilio, takes us through a typical day at Larch Grove:
The best thing about my job is the variety. I really don’t know what is going to happen next. So, it is really hard to write a typical day!
At 8.30am I arrive at the office and immediately catch up with anything that may have happened overnight. The LifeLine control centre will let me know if there have been any calls through the alarm system that all residents have in their homes. If there have been, I will follow up on those to ensure everyone is well, and if not, I will plan my day.
At around 9am I will start my visits, and this can take all morning. Don’t worry, I know which residents are early risers, and those who prefer a more relaxed start to the day! As well as the regular welfare and support visits I carry out, I’m also completing annual tenancy visits for my scheme, ensuring I’m checking the details and support needs of all residents, and addressing any issues with the condition of their homes.
Through the visits I get a real feel for how residents are and how they are coping with things. I like to chat with all the residents as it allows them to open up to me about things that may be bothering them. For some residents, my Monday call may be the first person they have seen all weekend. Although retirement housing makes it easier to socialise as much or as little as you like, some people prefer the peace and quiet of their own company.
Once my visits are complete I report any repairs that have come up, either in residents homes or in the communal areas. And then I follow up on any queries residents have raised with me. These can range from financial queries, especially about benefits, to residents needing help to access medical support or any manner of daily life niggles that we could all so with an extra pair of hands to resolve.
This can take up much of my afternoon. Some of the challenges residents face can be quite involved, especially when it comes to sorting benefit and pension queries. Fortunately, I have a lot of support from my colleagues across CKH, and I know I can call on anyone in the business for expert advice and help. This is probably the most supportive team I have ever worked with.
In the afternoons we have a team catch up. This enables us to share our problems, pick each others brains and off load some of the more emotionally taxing cases we may be dealing with.
And, of course, our residents organise social events five days a week, so this is a good chance for me to catch up with some of the residents who don’t need so much support with daily life. At Larch Grove we have a lunch club, bingo, coffee mornings and Saturday evening entertainment, keep fit classes, raffles and charity fund raisers to name but a few, so, there is something for everyone, and I encourage all residents to come along and join in.
My days are always busy, but it is an incredibly rewarding job. Being able to lift the anxiety from residents who often feel confused and frightened when faced with bureaucracy or medical concerns is a really good feeling. The key skills you need to be a Scheme Manager are patience, respect and the ability to really listen as well as being organised, flexible and adaptable to an ever-changing environment. But the most important thing for me is to treat residents how we would want our own loved ones to be treated.
I feel very lucky to be in this role and to be able to make a positive difference to a resident and lucky to be working with an amazing team and such a forward-thinking organisation.