The Secret to Boosting Senior Living Staff Productivity by 18% | The AgeTech Podcast S4E14

Keren Etkin: Abbie, welcome to the show.

Abbie Richie: Thank you so much, Karen. It is an honor to be here. I’ve been following you for years. We’ve talked before. I’ve had you on my podcast. And so it’s just an absolute honor to be here with you today.

Keren Etkin: Thank you. Thank you so much. So you just got back from CES and you’ve had loads of experiences there. Do you want to share some key takeaways maybe?

Abbie Richie: Yes, absolutely. I’m fresh off of CES and like everyone says, when you go there, you should bring your lip balm. You should bring some protein bars. You should wear the most comfortable shoes. And in the past couple of years, I’ve completely followed that this year. For some reason, I thought I got this and I forgot some key things, but but the experience is always just so exciting.

I can literally spend days and days walking around the digital healtAgeTech, healtAgeTech. at the Venetian.

Keren Etkin: And you got to do some interviews, didn’t you?

Abbie Richie: I did. I did. So I had the honor of interviewing the entrepreneurs and in the innovation showcase with AgeTech Atlanta. I was so excited to do this and there were about 12 different companies that were featured there and I got to meet Jeffrey Gray in person. It was our first in person meeting and I was Going through interviews with the entrepreneurs.

And when I’m interviewing these people, it’s particularly exciting. It’s refreshing because as a fourth generation entrepreneur, I feel their passion, I feel their struggles, and I want to do whatever I can to further their mission.

Keren Etkin: That is really remarkable. What are some of the technologies that really stood out to you as you were walking the exhibit hall at CES.

Abbie Richie: Yeah, and going back to AgeTech Atlanta, there are several of them that I’m seeing trending and are so vital. So one is, has to do with hashtag Death Tech. That is a real thing, Death Tech. And it’s something that I’ve been talking to my clients for years about, and that’s preparing for their death. preparing for that experience. I know that when my grandparents passed away, and this was now 20 years ago, even though they were so organized and they had put all of their information into a file cabinet so that my mom and my uncle had everything in one place, there were still so many mysteries to unravel from that experience. And there is something so loving. about setting your family up for success during their grieving process. Like I think that is the most loving thing. So it’s talking to the founders of dead book and that they had created a way for you to make sure that all of your information, your paperwork and the deeds and your, your The way you want things handled in your absence, it’s all in one place and so many of these founders, they created these companies because they had first hand experience this on their own.

I love that about entrepreneurs, especially in this particular space. I found that so many of them struggled with this particular problem and they were so either angered and passionate about it that they had to start their own companies.

Keren Etkin: And I love these types of companies just like you, I love this thing about our ecosystem in general, that like 99 percent of the founders have a personal experience that made them start the company versus what in other industries, maybe like B2B SaaS, where people have had an experience in the workplace.

And they go and build a startup to solve this issue, but they’re not emotionally connected or they haven’t been personally impacted by the problem.

Abbie Richie: A hundred percent. And probably like you, I interview many people and I always ask for their backstory or ask for their why. More often than not I’m hearing that, their mom or their grandmother or their dad experienced this particular thing. And this is why they started that company. So there are many instances just like that.

When I was interviewing AgeTech Atlanta, where people had experienced this, whether it was a low blood sugar or was a way to make sure that when you’re traveling, you have the assistance that you need. All of these experiences come from a. Deep seated route to make sure that no one else experiences what you experienced in that situation.

Keren Etkin: Yeah, and we’ve had this category on the AgeTech market map, we like to call it end of life planning but maybe we’ll rename it to deatAgeTech because it may be something that is more obvious to people what is actually going to happen.

Abbie Richie: exactly. Like I’m hearing it more and more. I didn’t make it up. Hashtag Death Tag.

Keren Etkin: Yes, and it came up in my, came up in my conversation with Max Zamkow from Third Act Ventures earlier this season. And he actually told me about a company that turns ashes into diamonds or something like that, which I thought was really cool. And, or diamonds or trees. Something better than having an urn.

So looking at all of the. Really fascinating innovations at CES. One thing that stood out to me is that obviously there’s a lot of emphasis on hardware because it’s, it is a consumer electronics show. But there were also a lot of robots. And each and every year more and more robots designed specifically for older adults.

So I’m wondering what are some of the categories that you were particularly excited about this year?

Abbie Richie: Yeah, one thing I saw a lot of that sort of really impressed me was the robot that we’ve seen. more than any other, which is like the Roomba, right? But this year the Roomba had an arm on it, which means that it could do all the things you want it to do, vacuum and mop, but it also had an arm so it could pick up socks and other stray things in the way and not just get stuck inside your Roomba, it’s helping you circumnavigate that situation.

I absolutely love that. I also saw ones that. were elevated. So it’s not just that they’re like on their flat and going around the floor, but they can also be lifted up so they can transport things like a laundry basket. And I love the fact that the technology in that way is totally innovating. It got so much attention.

The other thing that I saw a lot of this year that I did not see in the previous years was over the counter hearing aids. And I really I’m really excited about this because the more older adult, let’s just say any person can help themselves in a non process, like getting fitted for hearing aids.

Maybe you’re in a rural area. Maybe you don’t have access to an audiologist. The more that you can do this with using an audiologist approved AI app, for instance in a hearing aid, better you’re going to able to live and independently. So I was surprised when I was looking around. I was like, Oh my gosh, there’s another OTC hearing aid.

There’s another one. There’s another one. Cause I did not see that last year.

Keren Etkin: I love that. And I love that, first of all, the FDA allows that to happen because I think, with so many people with hearing loss, it is a game changer, just having the option to go online and just buy an hearing aid And there’s really no reason not to allow that. And I also, I don’t know if Apple had their new AirPods at CES this year, but they recently were the first software that got approved as an OTC hearing aid, which I thought, again, was huge because so many people have them anyway.

Why not? And I bet that so many people who have the AirPods just tried on this feature and suddenly realized, hey, I actually do need some aid with my hearing.

Abbie Richie: Absolutely.

Keren Etkin: So I see you’ve got the Smarter Service logo behind you. And I think that the first time that we met, you had the Senior Savvy logo in the background.

Do you want to tell us a little bit about that transition? Cause I bet that there are still some people who are wondering about the origin story of that.

Abbie Richie: Absolutely. Year in March of 2024, Senior Savvy was acquired by the Smarter Service. And I started Senior Savvy in 2018. And one thing for me as a founder and a solopreneur was I, one thing that was a huge struggle was scaling this business. And. though I was really passionate about Senior Savvy, which is a company that helps older adults with their technology, primarily those living within senior living communities. I was so passionate about it, but having to manage a staff and do payroll was such a drain on my creative abilities and my drive. And when I started talking with the Smarter Service almost a year previous and realizing, you know what, their mission, And my mission are rather similar. And we started this discussion and about how we could merge, how we can continue this and they truly have the infrastructure in place with all of the right directors, the COO, and the team. CFO and the HR person, the hiring person to take this to the next level. And when I saw that they could do this much better than I ever could, it really and truly became a matter of, yes, let’s move forward. Let’s do this. And I’m so thankful, as a solopreneur, like you get so accustomed to doing everything.

Everything on your own and just getting it done. But since I joined this murder service, it’s they are concerned with getting it done the right way. And because of that, we’ve seen exponential growth and so many senior living markets.

Keren Etkin: That is amazing. So speaking of digital literacy, what’s your take on where this industry because it is industry in and of itself. Where is that going in 2025? We have multiple organizations providing digital literacy services both to consumers and to organizations like senior living.

Some of them are nonprofits like older adults technology services, and some of them are private companies. How do you view this industry and where it’s going?

Abbie Richie: Yeah, so I view this as a hidden discussion. This is a discussion that people don’t have enough. And the more that we can talk about digital literacy, the more awareness we bring to it. Because the fact of the matter is that we’re all experiencing it. Whether you’re helping a grandmother or a parent with their devices, or you’re with, within a senior living community and you want to provide instruction and education is happening and it is present whether you realize it and you want to accept it or not.

So part of a digital literacy advocate, We are with the smarter service. We are intent on providing these services in senior living communities, both on an education level, but also is on a one to one basis. We find that a lot of people start with a fix or something is broken mode. So When you’re working with an older adult, their first request is that you would help them fix something with their device.

It could be as simple as an app, no longer working. And what I’ve found from working with older adults is that when they have a basic knowledge and foundation about how to use their devices, even turning it on and off, when they understand how to use it, they go from this fix mode to a discovery mode, where then they’re like, Oh, okay. Now that this has worked out, how can I start doing this next process? And maybe it is, using the grid in the photos app to do painting or whatever the case is, they go from that very basic fixed mode to discovery mode and then they start personalizing their technology to fit their needs. And it’s not just that it’s also taking the burden off of the adult, right? Child who’s more often helping their parent with their technology and not wanting to be in that position at all. Sure, we can all do it. But do we have the patience? Often? No. Do we have the compassion? Often? No. Do we have the time? not. And so this is the piece that, we’ll love for people to start realizing this and really owning up to it.

Yeah, you can help your parents with their technology, but is it really the role want to be in every single time you see them?

Keren Etkin: Absolutely. And I love that you were able to see this pattern going from fix it mode to discovery mode. And I think the moment I realized that you had to be a professional in order to provide these types of services was when I tried to help my mother in law with something. And I like, I was doing it remotely and I put a lot of effort in it.

I like, I took a screen video of my own computer doing it and I sent it to her and I was like, I was so proud of myself that I did it the right way and she texted me back saying that was not helpful at all.

Abbie Richie: My gosh,

Keren Etkin: I was like, I’m sorry, I’ll help you fix it whenever. Next time we’re in the same room together, which luckily was like a few days later.

So she didn’t have to wait that long. But yeah, you definitely have to know what you’re doing. And like you said, to have the patience and the compassion and to be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes in order to do that properly.

Abbie Richie: 100%. And if we’re thinking about the senior living community at the SmarterService, we are constantly keeping data on every single touch point that we have with an older adult at within a senior living community. So that’s how we were able to extract that information that it always starts with a fix it and it goes on to discovery. And Additionally, an older adult is typically going to want to learn how to do this type of mode in person, right? Because so much is lost when you’re doing it remotely. They really and truly want to have someone right there to help them. Especially with the discovery, when it comes to a fixed situation, they’re like, just fix it as quickly as possible.

But when they start wanting to learn how to use their technology for their own personal hobbies and needs, it’s so much more helpful to have, instance, a tech concierge at the community. On a regular basis, instead of a resident, for instance, seeing a maintenance person who most likely does not have the patience or the emotional ability to really be patient, scale it back, a bit so that the person that they’re helping can learn about the technology.

Keren Etkin: Absolutely. Do you feel, since you’ve been doing this for multiple years now, do you feel that senior living communities are more open to getting this type of service for the residents in 2024 2025 versus 2019, for example?

Abbie Richie: 100%. They are, but there’s also this big part of that divide that’s still there. It’s like they’re hoping, some communities are hoping the front desk can handle it, or they’re hoping that the activity director can handle it, or they’re hoping that their IT department can handle it. Is going to be able to handle it. And a lot of times that I T department, for instance, is already so far behind in meeting their initiatives, typically six months behind in meeting their own initiatives, and they keep getting interrupted with resident tech support. So it’s like a lot of these communities have applied a different band aid to this problem.

Maybe they find volunteers, maybe they have a resident tech council, but they’re really and truly not putting the budget and the time into fixing this. And all of those other solutions, whether it’s a resident or a resident tech council or volunteers, they can be helpful, but they’re not being vetted And they’re not specifically designed to help other residents with passwords and security, for instance.

The more we could talk about this, and thankfully, I’ve had the opportunity of speaking about this at several conferences, the more that we could talk about this, the more we let people know, hey, this exists, and it’s only going to increase, right? Go ahead. Residents are typically moving in with anywhere from five to seven devices on average, and it could be as much as seven to nine if you really start counting down everything that you’re moving in with, and it’s just going to grow with the boomers.

Keren Etkin: Yeah, and I really feel like it’s unfair to expect Your staff, whether it’s someone at the front desk or someone at I T to provide tech support on top of what they’re already doing for their full time job,

and unless it’s the I T department. And some of the staff might not even know how to provide tech support. They might even for themselves, have these same questions that residents have, but they just don’t have the time to go and educate themselves about ChatGPT or the new Mac OS or whatever type of fix it situations that residents encounter on a daily basis.

Abbie Richie: Yeah, so we found that overall staff regained 18 percent of their time when they’re no longer providing residents with tech support.

Keren Etkin: So staff regains 18 percent of their time back when they’re no longer providing residents tech support. Wow that sounds if you’re trying to quantify it to dollars and cents, it sounds like it’s worth a lot for a community.

Abbie Richie: huge ROI.

Keren Etkin: Wow that is quite remarkable and it must be a really great selling point.

Abbie Richie: It is. The other thing too, is for a lot of these communities is that having a tech concierge, On staff is a differentiator. So in the past, like you might think of, having these tech education classes as a nice thing, right? It’s a nice thing. We put it on our calendar and it’s an activity and we’ve got this person who comes in once a month or maybe once a week.

It teaches this class. Maybe they do it remotely or in person and it’s a nice thing, but it’s truly. a differentiator. If you’re looking at the community down the street and your community, and if you’re providing this type of tech concierge service, which the families love, by the way, and anytime that, we’ve been on campus and the families come in for the tours, they’re like, Oh my gosh, this is saving.

This is going to save us so much headaches, so much time, so much effort. When they see that a community has this differentiator that supports sales. It supports maintenance. It supports activity. It supports your front desk. It’s truly the kind of thing that we just want to bring more attention to because it’s going to overall completely support your community. And

Keren Etkin: Absolutely.

Abbie Richie: is not an activity or a nice thing. Like this is something that residents are asking for. They’re asking for this because if you think that you’re not, If you’re not supporting a resident with this, then you’re often sending them outside the community to get their need met.

Keren Etkin: Exactly. And the whole point of senior living community is to have everything your residents need under your own roof and not have them. Have to go outside to look for it. And like you said, it is a differentiator because residents move in with multiple devices and witAgeTechnology advancing so fast They need to have tech support on the premises And I think it’s also Something that does enrich your life.

Not just using technology, but also be on like this discovery journey of What does my device know how to do now?

do they come to you with this question that, Hey, I saw my device got a software update, what’s new?

Abbie Richie: They do. They come to us with those questions all the time. And when it comes to software updates, it’s more a matter of keeping your device secure than it is the new features. The new features may not even interest anyone. there are always security patches in those software updates. And. The more you just lean into the software updates, even though you might just like any of the changes, the longer your device is going to work efficiently and securely. So we really teach people to lean into that, and that goes right along with being secure online, in the past year, the Smarter Service has been bringing more education and more awareness to the fact of fraud older adults are particularly susceptible to frauds and scams. And so we’ve been doing a fraud alert video pretty much every week that gets streamed into senior living communities across the world. Because we know that these fraud trends are going to continue to come up. They never go away. In fact, just this week, I started doing a video series on how to protect yourself when you’re donating to the California wildfire victims. anytime there’s a crisis, There’s a scam associated with that. So we just continue to put these videos out there so that more people are protected.

Keren Etkin: You are really doing God’s work. It is so important to let people know about these things because, scammers are so creative and so reactive. Like you said, I never would have thought that someone would take advantage of the wildfires to scam people, but that’s what scammers do, and it’s so important to let people know about it.

So is there anything else that we didn’t talk about today that you would like to add?

Abbie Richie: I would there’s something else I’d like to talk about. It’s about the entrepreneur. It’s about the age tech innovator. And we mentioned, talked about this earlier about meeting with them at CES and, I have such a heart and I know you do too, for someone who starts a company that they are passionate about.

And I always want to guide someone in that position towards networking and towards support. Port as much as possible. So when you join an incubator or you join, for instance, something like age Tech Atlanta or the A. T. C. The age Tech collaborative with AARP more. You can get around and get within a network and an ecosystem to get the support you need.

The faster you’re gonna bring your innovation to market. The other thing too is just having that collective to talk with other people about your innovation. Not only that, but also tapping into test bets so that you can continue to refine your prototype. And I’ve worked with several tech companies like this where I’ve helped them gain access to different senior living communities so that they can refine their prototype make sure that it’s. Ready to go to market. And the more that you can get in there and understand how your avatar, how your ideal client is going to use your innovation, the better it’s going to be in the longer it’s going to last and the more people it will serve.

Keren Etkin: Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more, especially for entrepreneurs who don’t have a background in aging and don’t have access to test beds, joining a network or accelerator program or just reaching out to fellow founders. And this ecosystem could really go a long way towards helping you make sure that you are building something people actually want.

And that’s what you want to do at the end of the day.

Abbie Richie: You really do. And the other thing I want to say to you, Keren, is thank you for continuing this discussion. This is a discussion that I’m very passionate about. It’s about AgeTech innovation. And the more that we can continue this discussion, the more that we allow people to know that there is. a huge demographic that needs the solutions that we are talking about. And I’m sure this has happened to you. Maybe you’ve been in a conference or you come into contact with other people and they thank you for having this discussion because more people need to be aware that the older adult is in need of these type of innovation. So I just want to thank you for your, your passion behind this and for your ability in continuing this discussion.

Keren Etkin: Thank you so much for your kind words, Abbie. And thank you for the work that you’re doing to spread the word. I see you as an AgeTech evangelist using your platform and shouting from the virtual rooftops about how amazing this ecosystem is and how older adults actually want to use technology.

And we just need to make an effort to build the right things for them.

Abbie Richie: You got it. You’re so welcome.

Keren Etkin: So thank you so much for joining me on the show today, Abbie. It was an absolute pleasure chatting with you as always.

Abbie Richie: Thank you. And if anyone wants to connect with me, please slide into my DMs on LinkedIn or head to our website at thesmarterservice.com.