Proving the ROI of Senior Living Technology to Stakeholders and Investors

For the aging population, moving into a senior living or independent living community is an enormous investment. Because of this, it’s increasingly important to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) for older adults and their families when marketing to prospective residents. 

But what about internal marketing? There may be a time when you’ll need backing from leadership and stakeholders within your community (financial decision-makers, facility operators, etc.) in order to invest precious funds in your cause.

That’s the case for many senior living operators looking to upgrade their tech stack and implement an integrated software solution. While there’s a growing demand, demonstrating the ROI of this type of technology adoption on a large scale is a major challenge. We’ll look at why it’s so difficult to quantify, how you can prove it's worth, and how to communicate with different stakeholder demographics. Invest in reading this article, and we can promise you the return will be worth your while.

Common Barriers of Demonstrating ROI

One of the first questions we get asked by senior living operators that are considering adopting our software is this: What is your ROI? That can be a pretty loaded question, and there isn’t an easy answer. If you’re considering proposing new technology at your senior living community, you’re probably already expecting to be asked this very question. Why is it so difficult to answer? Here are some of the main barriers when proving return on investment:

- Overall resistance to change, or shifting the “way things have always been done”
- Lean budgets and limited funds for unproven or uncertain expenses
- The belief that the existing technology is “good enough”
- Aversion to making the collaborative effort needed across teams to demonstrate ROI
- Exclusive focus on short-term goals rather than long-term planning
- Inaccurate or misaligned metrics tracking, or gaps in data analytics to understand what changes are needed
- Reluctance to add one more vendor or partner relationship to the mix

Step-by-Step: How Eldermark Proves ROI

We’ve got good news and bad news for you. First, the good news: an end-to-end senior software solution like Eldermark NEXT will help you clearly and easily demonstrate ROI. The not-as-great news? First, you have to get stakeholder buy-in to make it happen. We’ll get to that part momentarily, but first, let’s take a closer look at how the right technology can help show the return you’re getting on your investment.

Tangible Financial Gains

We’ve got proven ROI that can be demonstrated well before any paperwork is signed. With Eldermark, we’ve seen that our users average more than $1,000 per resident in increased revenue each month. Here’s how:

- Our powerful industry-tailored CRM helps keep occupancy rates at optimum levels
- Our integrated ePay system streamlines billing and ensures money is never left on the table
- We offer smart marketing features that pinpoint what efforts are most effective (and which ones aren’t)
- Our proprietary ElderSmarts analytics is built into every package so you can spot gaps and make cost-saving informed decisions in minutes
- Features like Eldermark engage can provide meaningful enrichment for residents while saving valuable time and resources, like it did for Ebenezer Senior Living

Cost Savings From Efficiency

We understand how critical workplace efficiency is, especially in times like these, when inflation and staff shortages are at an all-time high. That’s why we’re proud to demonstrate that using Eldermark software solutions can improve your community’s efficiency for leaner, smoother, more effective operations. Here’s how:

- Use our E-MEDIA digital marketing to attract and retain top talent while saving up to $5,000 in recruiting fees
- Manage your workforce to ensure you are always appropriately staffed for your residents’ care needs
- Improve staff satisfaction rates and reduce the damages of heavy turnover, like the team at Waters Senior Living did
- Minimize the time and expenditures needed to maintain regulatory compliance with an integrated software that keeps errors at a minimum and saves dozens of administrative hours

Improved Employee Productivity

Your staff is the lifeblood of your senior living or assisted living community. Stakeholders want to know that any technology you adopt will support them in effectively and efficiently performing their roles. Here’s how it can be done with Eldermark:

- Save critical staff hours by using an integrated solution that minimizes errors and improves accuracy
- Eliminate excessive onboarding and training time, saving up to $2,000 in training fees per employee by streamlining your technology into an all-in-one platform
- Reduce burnout and actively work toward the health and happiness of employees with stable staffing practices
- Protect residents’ health and well-being by reducing medication errors and tracking incidents accurately and quickly
- Optimize retention and lower turnover so you can maximize occupancy and keep top talent

Long-Term Value Through Data

Data is a powerful tool, but harnessing it can be tricky. You already have vast amounts of data that your community is generating — but how do you collect it and put it to use? With Eldermark, you can:

- Aggregate all of your data across locations from all sources to get a big picture view of your performance
- Monitor your performance against clinical and census goals and change strategy when needed
- Uncover unrealized revenue streams and diversify for the future
- Connect your financial practices to resident outcomes so you can improve and measure ROI
- Leverage this data to improve outcomes and expand your health services and level of care

Showing the ROI of Technology for Different Stakeholder Perspectives

You have a lot of stakeholders across your organization, and they aren’t all alike when it comes to what they value, what worries them, and what equals success when it comes to ROI. That means you’re going to need to tailor your demonstration of ROI to each audience for maximum impact. Here’s how to do that:

Financial Stakeholders

These are the leaders in your organization who hold the purse strings and call the financial shots. They care about health policy, regulatory oversight, and the state of the industry as a whole. They are often most concerned with revenue and profitability, which is an easily measurable return. Financial stakeholders want to see how actionable analytics, like those you’ll find in Eldermark NEXT, can build your community’s bottom line. These individuals appreciate data and want to see how it can be analyzed and used to predict future strategic moves and track the efficacy of any investments. They will typically want to see a financial plan. They will likely want to hear about how Eldermark can use the data you already have to boost occupancy, streamline workflows, mitigate risks, and reduce revenue leakage.

Operators

Successful senior living operators are primarily focused on efficiency. They want to know how technology can support them in increasing service revenue, adding new programming, streamlining their workforce, and maintaining visibility over a complex system of employees and residents. The centralization that Eldermark NEXT provides is typically seen as an enormous benefit, as it reduces administrative tasks and allows employees to focus on their biggest priorities. Our affiliations and partnerships with other service providers in the senior living space allow you to integrate for even greater efficiency. All of these factors lead to improved resident satisfaction, high occupancy, and boosted revenue.

Senior Housing Residents and Families

Don’t forget that residents and their loved ones are your stakeholders as well. In fact, they’re some of the most important stakeholders because without them, you wouldn’t be able to do what you do. First and foremost, residents and their family caregivers are concerned about the quality of care. They want to know that any product or service you invest in will ultimately support the healthcare and services they receive, from their providers and from your staff. They may be most interested in hearing about how Eldermark can integrate EHR and eMAR for their safety and wellness, improve communications, and empower programs and policies that increase their quality of life.

Demonstrate Substantial ROI With Eldermark

You might wonder if it’s even possible to measure the full impact of a comprehensive software solution like Eldermark NEXT for long-term care providers, nursing homes, and other senior living communities. It’s possible, but it certainly isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve done a lot of the work for you. Check out our client testimonials to find out how we’ve proven our ROI to senior living communities just like yours. Then, when you’re ready, schedule a free demo (and invite some of those stakeholders) to see that ROI in action.