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134 Business View Australia - November-December 2015
of partnerships with organisations that
provide similar services where they
complement each other.
“We tend to stick to the same suppliers
and build on those relationships as we
grow ourselves. If we have an idea for a
software, where we see an opportunity
to improve, we actually call the people
that we deal with and ask what their
possibilities are and whether they could
to provide us with a suitable design.
“There are certain nursing agencies
and maintenance contractors that we
deal with who have been providing us
with excellent service. There are also
other community services or service
providers within the aged care industry
that we deal with on a regular basis.”
Workforce
A critical factor for aged care service
providers and retirement homes is the
quality of its workforce. In this respect,
DutchCare has invested great efforts
and as a result has a stable and highly
competent set of staff members.
A large number of its employees have
been with the organisation for many
years. One factor which encourages
staff to stay with the organisation is the
stated policy of promoting employees
to the position of managers from within
the organisation. DutchCare also has a
strong family focus, encouraging staff
to bring their kids to work so that they
become a part of the community.
There is also an extensive educational
programme for staff members and they
are expected to continually expand their
skills and keep developing themselves.
The focus on staff, and the results that
this has shown, is a key differentiator
for DutchCare, establishing it as one of
the very well-managed organisations in
the aged care industry.
Eden philosophy
Petra Neeleman says, “We consider
it very important to keep in mind that
every decision that we make should
result in a benefit to our client and
that is a mind-set that has been built
throughout the company, regardless of
which department you are in, whether it
is IT or maintenance or direct care.
“We have adopted the Eden Alternative
many years ago, which is a philosophy
based on the principle of listening to
the elder and doing what they want. It
is knowing that how you treat your staff
is the way they treat our elders. It’s all
about fairness towards each other and
treating each other the way you would
want to be treated or the way you want
our elders to be treated.”
HEALTHCARE