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Mayfield Watford, the first Mayfield retirement village, opens in Hertfordshire in September this year and as such will need a strong leader at the helm. Nick Vincent is ready for the challenge and very much looking forward to opening the doors to new owners and guests visiting the village.
Nick has been a long standing General Manager at Watford’s sister village Audley Chalfont Dene, the luxury retirement village in Buckinghamshire.
We spoke to Nick to find out why he's making the move to Mayfield Watford and what makes him tick...
What do you love most about working in the retirement living sector?
Creating memories. During my time at Mayfield’s sister village, Audley Chalfont Dene, we were known within the Audley Group for creating the biggest events including our hilarious Faulty Towers evenings and spectacular firework night; it’s driving home not just from these events but each day knowing you’ve made a difference to an owner’s day. It’s the smaller events too for those owners who either don’t feel comfortable attending the larger scale events or aren’t able to. It’s engaging them in ways that work for them e.g. book clubs, chef demonstrations or just joining them for a coffee in the bistro.
I’ve already got lots of ideas for events at Mayfield Watford, especially with the village hall on our doorstep – I can’t wait to get started!
In this video some of our owners talk about what it means to move to a retirement village.
Nick, what inspired you to make the move to our Watford retirement village?
From a personal point of view, to be involved in Audley’s venture into a new brand is a huge goal and achievement, I want to take the best things I’ve learnt from my time at Audley and put it into Mayfield. I’m also really looking forward to putting my stamp on the village.
What are you looking for as you recruit your new team?
Recruiting staff for a retirement village is completely different from just hiring waiting staff or a receptionist as all the staff need to be more than just their job title. Yes, every member of staff will have their own expertise, but they are also often the first responder so it’s essential they are engaged with our owners and our owners are engaged with them.
One thing that I would like to continue from the Covid-19 lockdowns is that everyone helped where they could. We even had gardeners helping to deliver food. For me there really is no ‘I’ in team, I’ll be looking for multi-skilled individuals who will be happy to jump in and become part of one team.
How do your family feel about the move?
My wife Paula is my biggest supporter, we are both very career driven and it’s important for us to enjoy what we do; especially as we juggle working full time with being parents to our daughter, Summer aged nine, who plays professional football and attends training at Oxford FC every week, and looking after our four-year old son Ralphie.
I’m a firm believer when you do something you are passionate about you can excel in it if you have the right support. Not only have my family been really supportive but Audley Group has always uplifted me, supporting me whether it’s through extra-curricular activities or taking additional qualifications to advance my skills and expertise.
How is Waffle? Will he be joining you at Mayfield Watford from time to time?
Our Goldendoodle Waffle joined the family just before lockdown, he’s incredible with the children and a massive part of the family. He’s now waist height, but on his back paws he’s taller than me! I’m hoping to bring him at our first family fun day at Mayfield Watford.
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How would you describe your vision for the lifestyle at Mayfield Watford?
All-encompassing and ensuring every owner and staff member are felt included as Mayfield is about something for everyone. For me there’s no better feedback to receive than from the owners themselves so they can tell me what they want, and they can be involved in shaping the village. It’s important to me that everyone feels like they are a part of something. The owners at Audley Chalfont Dene feel like they are part of something bigger, they care about the village and they are surrounded by 149 friends.
That’s something I want to create again at Mayfield Watford. All our owners are like-minded people and they’ve worked hard to be where they are today. Being retired is when life starts again. It’s about having fun and I look forward to being part of a new owners’ journey coming to Mayfield and experiencing that fun.
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