RiverMead’s new chief executive director wants to meet residents and staff where they are.
Since his first day on July 1, Eric Piekarz said he’s focused on spreading the “contagious” joy of the hospitality business with staff and making each day special for residents.
“Our responsibility, our challenge, our joy is to do things for the residents, not to the residents,” he said. “A super important distinction.”
The industry isn’t without challenges. As one of Peterborough’s largest employers, with about 300 staff members, Piekarz recognizes the need to attract workers and keep them at RiverMead.
“In a town where we’re in an area of the state where we’re a large employer, but we don’t have a huge pool to draw from,” he said, “one of our challenges is meeting people where they want to work today.”
With an aging population in Peterborough and the surrounding towns, and a lack of housing options for workers, Piekarz said he’s accommodated schedules ranging from eight-hour days to five-hour shifts for those who prefer them. He credits the pandemic and an overall transformation in workplace environments for this need for change.
He also said RiverMead renewed its health insurance plans for 2027 at the same premiums, recognizing the burden on staff.
“Those prices, they’re gonna go up for us, but we’re not gonna let them go up for the staff,” Piekarz said.
In the coming weeks, RiverMead will celebrate 16 new staff members having worked there for five years or more, a milestone Piekarz said he’s ecstatic about. He said 96 staff members, nearly one-third of RiverMead employees, have worked there for over five years.
Another change at RiverMead comes from Piekarz encouraging staff participation in resident events and celebrations, including roles usually considered non-resident-facing. From human resources or landscaping, Piekarz wants company-wide involvement.
“As far as I’m concerned, everybody is resident-facing,” he said. “The residents want to know who you are. Don’t tell me you’re just in accounting. You’re not ‘just’ in anything. Come on to the party.”
With more than a decade of experience in senior living management, Piekarz said he’s learned the mindset staff and residents hold can be essential to building a strong community.
His management style relies on residents’ opinions. Whether the question concerns the menu, housekeeping, transportation or the wallpaper in a certain room, Piekarz said he wants to hear what residents have to say.
“I only worry when you stop talking to me, ’cause then you’ve given up on me. Then you’ve checked out … and that’s the nightmare scenario,” he said.
By building trust, Piekarz hopes staff will feel backed in hard situations.
“The worst thing you can do is nothing,” he said. “That’s super important for the staff to understand, that they are in the hospitality business. Every little bit matters.”
One of Piekarz’s overarching goals is to continue RiverMead’s legacy and make the community stand out to future applicants and staff.
“I want to be everybody’s first choice,” he said. “If you want to come here and live with a capital ‘L,’ let’s do that all day long.”
‘Small-town New England guy’
Raised in Connecticut, Piekarz started working in retirement communities with Brookdale Senior Living in his home state as executive director in 2016.
After several years as an executive director, he built his own retirement community in North Haven, Connecticut, with Leisure Care.
Before joining the team at RiverMead, Piekarz served as general manager of Leisure Care and Merrill Gardens senior living communities in Seattle for over five years.
As a new Peterborough resident, Piekarz said he’s explored the Monadnock region and found a home again in the Northeast.
“I’m a small-town New England guy,” Piekarz said. “I felt a real alignment with the RiverMead community and the Monadnock community.”
Now, he hopes to apply his industry experience at RiverMead.