Our clients face an increasingly complex operating environment.
Revenue is constrained by competition, real estate values, and consumer confidence. Expenses, particularly increasing labor costs, strain the bottom line. Buildings and spaces show signs of age… while occupancy deficits loom. And, predicting the future of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement is no sure bet.
ARI helps our clients understand the current market realities, identify the future trends of consumer desires, and organize their purposes, people, and processes to create a preferred future.
Planning is an integral component of any successful organization. Effective planning is a complex and ongoing process of organizational change. ARI listens carefully to coordinate this process. Ultimately, we assist you in mapping out the next chapter of your story.
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning is as much about reflecting on what you are currently doing as it is in creating new behaviors for different results.
These three steps are essential for a successful and comprehensive strategic plan:
Analysis of internal and external data about the market, financial, operational, programmatic and personnel systems of your organization, both past and present. We become active partners and resources in your planning work.
Facilitate stakeholder development of a strategic vision and underlying strategic priorities.
Collaborate with stakeholders to define action steps on who, how, when, and what resources are needed to achieve your preferred future.
For many of our clients, strategic planning lays the groundwork for master planning.
Master Planning
Traditionally, master planning is driven by architectural planning, followed by the testing of financial and operating realities later in the process. As an efficient alternative, ARI helps clients and their architect address financial and operating implications simultaneously with architectural planning. Beginning with a detailed understanding of your current operations, ARI designs a model for financial scenario building that flexes real time as planning moves forward.
The process requires a comprehensive understanding of current and future operating needs, the resident life experience, existing physical spaces, and fiscal reality. The process also includes planning for outdoor and green space, recreational space, transportation solutions, and energy conservation and sustainability initiatives.
Integration of these processes shortens the time between planning and implementation. An additional benefit– client leadership is fully engaged providing continuous input into scenario building. When a final scenario is chosen for development, your leadership team has a deeper understanding of the assumptions (such as project size, financial metrics, marketing expectations, operating budget, etc.) that determine a project’s success.
Whether you're considering adding independent living residences, downsizing and/or transforming an outdated nursing home into new households, or redeveloping your entire campus, ARI can help. You bring the mission and vision and we'll partner with you to create it.
Project Coordination
Our project development coordination services include the following:
- Strategic planning as a foundation for master planning;
- Finding and negotiating your relationship with an architectural partner;
- Supporting master planning with parallel financial scenario modeling;
- Coordination of development ‘tracks’ ( typically project design, marketing, construction, financing and preparing for occupancy);
- Guidance for exploring financing alternatives, and;
- Continuous tracking and modeling of all financial aspects of your project.
ARI can customize a proposal that specifically meets your needs with any combination of these coordination services.
Our goal is to help you realize your project vision while mitigating major risks and leaving you with a clear understanding of your new business model.
Financial Modeling & Projections
Throughout the project development process, ARI meets with team members to understand the plans for the project and develop a work plan for financial modeling that is aligned with other aspects of the development process.
ARI analyzes all the information relevant to the project…whether it’s an expansion, repurposing of an existing building or a new project. As various scenarios emerge, ARI creates financial models showing the operating and financial implications of the proposed program and architectural approaches. Collaborating with staff and other planning team members, we consider possible program approaches and architectural and financial solutions. We calculate key ratios and compare the results to benchmarks, giving special attention to the uniqueness in mission and structure of our client. Because all financial assumptions and projections are created on-site as part of an interactive process, team participants are aware of the financial assumptions and implications and use that information to make better decisions.
We assist senior living organizations by evaluating operational costs and service delivery efficiencies. And, we offer strategic marketing reviews to increase market effectiveness. ARI helps you identify, quantify, and develop strategies for revenue enhancement, expense reduction, and process improvement-in all levels of the continuum.
Operations Review and Consulting
A typical operational review of your organization features our five step process:
- Preliminary discussion about scope and timeline of the engagement to clarify goals and expectations of outcomes;
- Thorough review of current documents and information about the organization including financial audits, current financial statements and budget, cash flow projections, capital projects/budget, revenue sources, census information, resident contracts, staffing, etc.
- Conduct on-site visits, tours, and interviews with key leadership staff, board members, residents and other stakeholders as appropriate;
- Analysis of information, relevant benchmarking to similar organizations and recommendations with consideration to uniqueness of your organization and mission; and,
- Oral presentation and written report.
Our review of your operations will provide you with benchmarks and best practices from hundreds of providers we have encountered over the years and across the country. This knowledge improves the effectiveness of your operating systems and increases the quality of services to your residents.
Management Assistance Program (MAP)
ARI’s unique program of management advice and support services is designed with flexibility to help your organization meet tomorrow’s challenges. The Management Advisory Program (MAP) provides ongoing strategic, financial, and operational support, similar to a full management contract, but with a more customized and tailored approach. It combines the expertise of management professionals with the leadership resources found within your own organization. ARI reports directly to the CEO and becomes part of your management team.
Each client’s MAP focuses on these four core service areas:
- Strategic Planning;
- Operational and Strategic Analysis;
- Management Coaching; and,
- Financial Benchmarking and Analysis.
Additionally, MAP assists organizations in improving or adopting management process during times of transition, in implementing “culture change”, or in repositioning an organization.
Marketing Audit
Using our unique framework, we conduct strategic marketing audits to identify gaps and possibilities in existing marketing programs. Based on current and projected market demographics we assess competitive market positioning of your community, target market, product, pricing, and market perceptions resulting in well-defined, actionable strategies. Following these reviews, we provide interactive strategic marketing planning workshops with your marketing team to craft results-oriented marketing action plans.