licensed practical nurse

registered nurse

health care aide

cook

recreation aide

Retirement Concepts

If you are management and are competent - you will have constant scrutiny to find faults in your work by those above you to make them look powerful. If you are a new space holder (hired to fill the position quickly without the experience or training), you are being paid less than the previous person and will do well if you have a thick skin.

If you are union staff and are hard working and fabulous - you will get very little recognition beyond your manager.  If you are someone who skates by or is lesser performing - you will have job security due to the union protection and need for care staff.

I worked with a team of staff and managers for several years at the site. During that time I was proud to work there. However in the past 3 years the environment quickly changed for the worst. 

What caused the negative changes?  Changes in HO management lead. I witnessed a key superior from HO tear into managers with such lack of respect and professionalism.  It was done in halls, full site staff meetings, and in public area offices with doors open.  Staff genuinely felt bad for what the managers endured.  


Staff Turnover??? After the past 4 site visits by this one key superior from HO, 2-3 Managers resigned within weeks of each of the 4 visits. They moved on to other positions, some for even less pay for the purpose of being in professional positive work environment.  With site the management turnover, the staff also then leave because new managers don't know what they are doing. Now there are serious staffing issues at so many of the sites and new hires are being trained by new hires who don't know what they are doing.

If you have a strong ego, like manipulating scenarios for hidden agendas, don't give much weight to morality and professionalism, you will thrive in this company.  If you don't - beware that it is not for the faint of heart and even more so if you are in a supervisory on manager role that gets the HO public wrath.

I come to RC after working several years at another Retirement Living company. 

What I like about RC is that we are focused on providing the best care, service and home to our residents. 

Where I work, the managers make a effort to engage and support the front line staff so everyone enjoys coming to work and has a good work life balance. Caring for seniors can be very demanding and emotionally exhausting; we have to care for the ones who care for our residents. 

In this industry in particular, it's difficult to recruit employees, especially care staff, when we have to compete with local health authorities. FH naturally pays higher wages, which we can't match unless we price our seniors out of a home. This means that we rely heavily on a smaller but hard-working group of employees who are willing to work overtime and go the extra mile because they care for their residents. At the end of the day, working at a RC retirement or residential care home is NOT the same as working at a hospital; you get the satisfaction of making a difference every day and building those relationships with the people you take care of and their loved ones. Whether it's working providing personal care, or at the front desk, in the kitchen & dining room, providing housekeeping, helping with recreation programs, or working as a manager, I know we are all here for more than just a paycheque. We are here to make a difference.

I am currently involved in a project working to improve and standardize many of the administrative and other practices and policies as a company. We are moving together in the right direction and I see great things coming in the future for this company.

Also, if you are looking for a home for that special senior in your life, it doesn't get better than RC!

A typical day starts at 60 kms an hr goes nonstop until end of shift Schedule differs depending on the job.

It is rewarding to help the seniors and their families!  You quickly learn what compassion is if you don't naturally possess. You will work with some great staff!  As in any work place there were also others who it seems work against everything due to their own agendas.  It seemed those numbers were climbing,

Management: Site management teams were a mix of over qualified, qualified and underqualified.  Same with the uppers in the company.  Seemed less qualified were increasing in numbers to fill some of the empty roles to keep payroll finances down.

Workplace culture: It dramatically changed for the worst during the time I was working there. I have heard it has gotten even worse since. You had some who really try hard to make it positive and then you had others who really seemed to thrive to keep angst in place. Again this happens in most companies at some point but this one never turned around in my time.

Hardest part of the job: Knowing when you need to say enough is enough.  Many kept hoping things would improve and that we would have a positive impact to make improvements.  This was fruitless and was when most staff and management roles in all levels finally left the company. If they didn't leave they became bitter and angry which eventually added more problems before they finally left. Leave when you can't be a positive or you will be a part of the problem.

I am thankful for the opportunity I had but I would not do it again if I had known what I was in for.

A typical day used to start with a happy greeting from the site leadership team at the beginning of the shifts.  Now with all the turnover you are lucky if you are even acknowledged at shift starts.  We had a marketing mgr who was filling multiple empty mgr roles that always walked about at shift starts saying good morning/afternoon and have a good shift as staff came in to work. It made you feel that your contribution to the team mattered.

General management and the leadership team has changed at our site more than I can count on two hands in the 10 years I have worked in the kitchen.  Some really cared and work hard with the staff on the floor, others just time punched.  

The culture swings back and forth from being toxic to not bad to toxic based on who the general manager is. If the GM is never around or in office, gone early and in late the staff pick up on his commitment level to the site and staff. The staff also pick up very quickly when they have a GM who honestly cares or not or just there for a fat paycheck.

Moral is awful. Service with a smile is faked and the residents are feeling it.

The hardest part of the job is faking it to the residents that everything is okay at the site.  That we aren't dead tired from being short staffed, that we are short supplies due to ordering mistakes or staff mistakes.

The most enjoyable part is when you can make a resident happy and that they matter even if they are just a number to the company.

From utilizing nurses only licensed in Alberta to work in BC, to firing a staff member due to taking personal time off due to visit a palliative parent, the top senior leadership at Retirement Concepts and West Coast Seniors Housing is as unethical as it comes. Top leaders continue to lie to residents, family, staff, media and even various health authorities. They claim that they are understaffed due to lack of talent in various markets...the fact is, they are understaffed due to paying less than a third of the industry average in so many positions.

It is unfortunate that organizations such as Retirement Concepts/West Coast Seniors Housing operate in such an unethical way, in an industry dealing with some of our most vulnerable citizens. These business practices are, without a doubt, impacting the quality of life of those living in the communities run by Retirement Concepts/West Coast Seniors Housing.

As the saying goes, “Integrity is about doing the right thing even when no one is looking”.  The fact is, everyone is looking - from residents of these retirement homes, their families and friends, staff and many other community members. The arrogance displayed by this organization sickening and non-response to so many media inquiries is criminal.  The leaders at Retirement Concepts/West Coast Seniors Housing need to be held accountable and shut down.

Kudos to the health authorities that have taken control of some of these private retirement homes.

Shifts are extremely busy and extremely overwhelming. Often understaffed, sometimes purposefully understaffed due to the students (who can't provide direct care which is 75% of an RCA's job...) ((Students are not equal to an RCA guys.....)). Unsafe situations pop up regularly.

I learned not to go to management with an issue. If you're lucky you'll have a great LPN who will help you otherwise nothing goes anywhere.

Despite saying they were going to change, it's hard to get in contact with management at all. They don't seem to ever be there and they don't respond to emails.  I find management completely unapproachable.

Workplace culture is toxic because most staff are either regularly understaffed in their units or are working lots of overtime. Doesn't seem to be a lot of hope in the place, management don't care if you can't take breaks because of understaffing.

The hardest part is dealing with the fact that the company really doesn't care about you or your health. Working understaffed causes caregiver fatigue over time and everyone should be getting breaks. At least there should be someone in management thanking us for dealing with this constantly. 

I like working with my residents, that's the best part. 







I started my employment with Guildford Seniors Village and felt very welcomed by the leadership team, nurses, care aides and supportive services. In my role there were a lots of growth and opportunity I was able to develop. It is a stable site with wonderful workers and residents. The company has a new president and the workplace culture is great. There are tons of support from the supportive office, HR, GM peers and  Regional Director (very supportive).  The compensation is fair according to the market. A typical day at work will depend which job you do and overall it is a healthy environment to work. I have been oriented and supported at my job to perform at my best. Definitely it is fast pace learning and there are parts we are accountable for so it would not work for a person who wants to put in 70% everyday. We are encouraged to have staff engagement parties, open door policies, empowering employees to make decisions that are in the best interest of residents and the community as a whole. I love working at Guildford Seniors Village for Retirement Concepts.

A position with Retirement Concepts is only a brief stepping stone for  management roles. It is very uncommon for any community manager to last more than 3 years. Most average approx. 1.3 years.  Historically many middle managers (general managers and regional directors) quickly move on. Most seem to leave due to 'head office' dynamics from very top down. 

Learning is there if you want to do on your own time. Very little paid learning.

Growth, Integrity, Service and Trust are the PRSHM corporate values. Advice to any manager at any level - document everything.

Best part of the job - the people we care for. Hardest part of the job, lack of recognition by corporate. Site managers get no support or gratitude.  Site staff are recognised to the best of the site managers capabilities and budget.

To be successful, you need to really focus on the residents and shield yourself from the rest to feel positive about your contributions.

the chasing of profit by this company to the exclusion of almost everything else makes it a very unsatisfying place to work.  Staff are underpaid  relative to similar employees and there are constant staff shortages and staff turnover as a result.  The ability of staff to take care of the needs of the residents is hampered by lack of resources too - particularly enough staff, cleaning cloths and intermittently even food.  The food quality has deteriorated significantly in the pursuit of ease of production and cost  and the kitchen is a horror owing to the  "chef".  Residents lack variety in what they are served  and so they eat less and lose weight.   I would never  consider working for this company again.  I feel sorry for the elderly residents having so many of their needs unmet = ability to go to the bathroom in a reasonable time, ability to eat appetizing food, ability to enjoy  the last remaining days of their lives, ability to have a bath once a week even.   What a shame!  

RUN - don't walk away from this company

So much stress it's not even worth it.
Most of the call in work and cleaning is often done by the one cook on site.
Emphasis is on volume, and not quality. Many of the recipes are missing and one is chastised for improvising.
Diabetic, lactose free, and minced diets are not served to the proper tenants by the dietary and/or care aids.
Special treatment is given to some residents, and poor treatment to others.
Care aids would rather not serve residents at all in some cases, in which case it fell on the dietary aid or the cook.
Preference of foods by residents was not monitored or relayed to the kitchen, in many cases it fell on the dietary aids or the cook to make said changes.
In many cases there was an extreme emphasis on minor details when the overall production and work plan was compromised.
When a problem arose, often no help was offered.
There was little incentive to follow a guideline for which sometimes there was no inventory, recipe, or improper tools.
The list goes on and on.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Licensed practical nurse 142 salaries reported	$38.90 per hour
Registered nurse 55 salaries reported	$50.22 per hour
Health care aide 39 salaries reported	$29.60 per hour
Cook 51 salaries reported	$26.26 per hour
Recreation aide 45 salaries reported	$28.05 per hour

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