Although proud at being recognised as the leading retirement village in the group, the team at Richmond Village Northampton remain focused on their simple and straightforward philosophy – to make tomorrow a little bit better than today for everyone.
Part of Bupa, Richmond Villages runs ten retirement communities across the UK, providing a range of living options from cottages and apartments for those still able to live independently, to assisted living and care facilities depending upon the needs of the resident.
As well as being named Richmond Village of the Year 2022, Richmond Village Northampton was also a finalist in this year’s Leaders In Care Awards. But, while the awards are naturally a source of pride, Village Manager Tom Boarder is more interested in fostering a culture that empowers all members of his team to work at their very best on behalf of the village residents.
“I take my responsibilities towards my teams and towards our residents and their needs very seriously, but at the same time I want to instil a sense of fun,” he explained. “Getting an award is wonderful, but it’s not something we strive towards and what’s special about this one is that we didn’t put ourselves forwards, it’s simply recognition of the work we do, every day, and how well we do it.”
Tom has been Village Manager at Northampton for 12 months and a recent NPS score of 80, officially recognised as being in the world class bracket, with 65% of the 160-strong staff responding, is testament to his early impact.
“That’s an amazing score and shows that staff are happy to give their feedback,” he said.
“What’s important to me is that they know that my door is open, I want to be approachable and for them to know they can come and talk to me about anything they’re not happy with or anything they think we can do better. I want them to feel recognised and appreciated for their efforts, because their happiness at work is very important to the culture here and the happiness of our residents.”
As he moves into his second year at Richmond Village Northampton, Tom is looking forward to seeing community interaction increasing as the coronavirus restrictions that had to be strictly observed during and in the months after the pandemic are increasingly relaxed.
While some of the 130 or so residents still work or have their own cars so they can come and go as they please, others need higher levels of care and, while the staff of around 160 are naturally focused on that, Tom feels that there are ways to bring the community together even further.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for everyone, and we’ve had to be very careful for a long time to protect residents,” he said.
“But now that we’re coming out of that period, we’d love to see residents mixing more, whether that’s getting involved in some gardening projects or taking one of the less mobile residents out for a walk or just spending time together, it would be great to see the whole community get back to that level of interaction.”
Sharon Hobday, Senior Village Adviser, who joined Richmond Villages three months ago also speaks highly of the culture she’s found since becoming a part of the group.
“I can honestly say finding work that interests and challenges me has always been an important part of loving my job,” said Sharon.
“When you do the same tasks day after day, you can feel like you are ready for something new. I felt like this for a long time in the publishing industry but since starting my new ‘chapter’ with Richmond Villages, I can honestly say that I have never been happier. Being part of this beautiful village gives me a sense of being a part of something that has real impact, in a career that changes lives.”
To find out more, contact Richmond Village Northampton on 01604 273470 or visit the website
