Are you on the shortlist? Why  community reputation can make or break referrals

With demand for residential aged care on the rise, more providers are entering the market than ever before. But in this sensitive and highly competitive sector, reputation matters – and word of mouth is everything.

While providers often focus on marketing, occupancy, and clinical outcomes, what can be overlooked is the quiet but powerful influence of hospital discharge planners, GPs, and community networks. These professionals and past families talk, and when they do, they remember who made things easy and who made things hard.

The unofficial shortlist

Many health professionals work under pressure, juggling discharges, paperwork, and complex family situations. They don’t always have time to formally escalate concerns about a provider, instead, they simply stop mentioning certain names.
If a patient or client they referred to your service had a negative experience – whether it was poor communication, unmet expectations, or administrative friction – that provider can quickly fall off the mental “shortlist” for future referrals.

And yes, discharge planners, hospital staff, and GPs share stories with one another. They know which providers are easy to deal with, which ones are responsive, and which ones leave people frustrated. They are the gatekeepers to many potential residents – and they’re not always vocal about their decisions. They just act on them.

Petpeeves from the field

Here’s what we’ve consistently heard frustrates those in referral or support roles:

1. Unreturned phone calls
Hospitals are under pressure to discharge patients quickly. When a provider doesn’t return calls – even just to say, “we’re currently full” – it sends a message that they’re not responsive or respectful of others’ time. Later, when you do have availability, they may not call back.

2. Booking teams with poor customer service
Tone matters. If the first point of contact is abrupt, dismissive, or unhelpful, it reflects poorly on the entire organisation. People assume what they hear on the phone is what their patient or client will experience in care.

3. Cumbersome paperwork
Multiple hoops to jump through just to book a tour or assess availability creates unnecessary stress. Providers who request 40+ pages of documents, repeat information already provided, or require every form to be on their own template often create barriers rather than build trust.

4. Cherry-picking based on diagnosis
Selectively declining residents based on complexity or condition (without transparency or compassion) can feel like discrimination. Referral teams understand capacity limits – but they also notice when certain types of residents are always “not quite the right fit.”

5. Overpromising and underdelivering
Telling families or professionals that a facility offers certain features or standards, then failing to follow through, breaks trust fast. Once credibility is lost, it’s very hard to regain.

Reputation is built in the admin team
It’s easy to overlook the impact of frontline and admin staff – but they are often the first impression. Delays in follow-up, confusing instructions, or a rushed tone can leave a lasting negative impression on professionals and families alike.

Remember: your referral partners are also your reputation managers. If the experience of engaging with your team feels stressful or dismissive, they’ll assume that’s how residents will be treated too.

Small actions, big impact
Building and maintaining strong referral relationships doesn’t require overhauls – just consistency:

–Return calls, even if the answer is no
–Treat every interaction as a chance to build goodwill
–Make your processes easier, not harder
–Follow through on what you promise

Feedback doesn’t always come in the form of a formal complaint. More often, it comes in the form of silence – being left off the list next time.

Final Word: Reputation isn’t just marketing – it’s relationships

The best providers don’t just deliver quality care – they earn the trust of the professionals around them. And in a system where referrals often come from experience, not advertising, those trusted relationships can make all the difference.

You don’t always know when you’ve made the shortlist. But you’ll definitely feel it when you haven’t.