A franchise involves being part of a network of similar businesses, operating under the same brand and offering the same products and services. The network is owned by the franchisor, who will have set up systems and procedures for all the franchisees to follow. Each franchisee is paying to use the franchisor’s corporate trademark, logo, systems and services, but remains responsible for running their own branch or office (often with help and support from the franchisor).
Putting your systems and procedures in place
As a franchisee, you’ll effectively be starting your own business. However, the franchisor will have developed a range of systems and procedures to help you to do this. These will include a proven business model; various operational policies (such as health and safety, regulatory compliance, employment criteria, safeguarding and troubleshooting); and related documents, resources and checklists.
As a new franchisee, a franchisor such as Home Instead will help you to understand these systems and how they relate to your business – and will also provide initial training to help you get up and running. One example is the New Owner Induction course we run. As an added help, we produce a franchise agreement that details your main responsibilities when you become a franchisee.
Because you’ll be given procedures that have already been tried and tested, this removes a lot of the risk involved in setting up your business and will save you a lot of time and trouble developing your own policies. It also ensures that you can start providing a higher quality of service to your clients more rapidly. It will help you to run your business more efficiently, with your operations remaining consistent with those of other franchisees in the network.
It is therefore in your interest to read the operation manuals provided by the franchisor and to understand the regulations relating to home care. However, you’ll still have a degree of freedom in how you actually run your business, including the hours you work and the people you recruit. Ultimately, it will be your drive, enthusiasm and positivity that will make all the difference to the relative success of your new franchise.
Providing training and support
The great thing about a home care franchise is that help should be there whenever you need it. A good franchisor will provide comprehensive training – not only when you launch your business but also as you continue to grow. For instance, Home Instead holds a range of conferences, networking events (where you can discuss issues with other franchisees) and training sessions.
Training is important both for you and your employees: the Care Quality Commission (CQC), specifies the skills and expertise that all home care professionals should have. And it’s important that any training is reviewed and updated regularly.
The franchisor should also provide you with different levels of support. At Home Instead, this includes help and advice from our National Office to ensure that your franchise is successful. Our team, sometimes with help from external partners, will help you with issues such as IT, training, PR, marketing, HR, accounting, legislation and care quality. As your business grows, our Business Development Consultant will guide you through the opportunities available. We also provide various events and online forums to encourage peer-to-peer support, where you can discuss various new initiatives, programmes and developments with other franchisees.
Managing your franchise
The way in which you manage your franchise on a day-to-day basis will ultimately affect the success of your new business. You not only need to be a good manager – you also need to be a good ‘people person’. And you’ll also need to appoint an effective Care Manager. A strong business needs employees who are keen, motivated and enjoy their work. You can make a positive difference here by your enthusiasm, encouragement and leadership.
You also need to lead by example: make sure you know the rules and regulations and follow them carefully. For instance, if you put health and safety as a high priority, your employees are more likely to do so as well. Conduct regular one-to-one check-ins with your care professionals so that any issues can be dealt with quickly. And don’t forget that their continuing safety is your responsibility. Make sure you carry out regular risk assessments and audits, keep accurate records in accordance with home care legislation, and maintain an accurate inventory.
Think carefully about the daily running of your business – such as when and how you’ll need to review the level and type of care provided to clients; ensuring the right care professionals are scheduled to care for clients at the right time; and making sure your policies and procedures are followed, and reviewed and updated regularly. You’ll also want to allocate some time to thinking about any current issues that need to be resolved and the future plans you have for the development of your business.
Another issue you’ll need to plan carefully is the provision of supplies – whether those are general products (such as cleaning items) or medical supplies. The advantage of being a franchisee within a large organisation is that you’ll be able to tap into the buying power of your franchisor, which will help to reduce your costs.
Finance and technology
As a franchisee, you’re responsible for making sure that all of the financial aspects of your business operations are carefully managed. This includes budgeting and keeping detailed accounts and financial reports. Your franchisor should also be able to help you with specific aspects of accounting. Home Instead works with expert partners to provide this type of support. We’ll also provide tools and resources that will help you to manage your cash flow and maintain your profitability.
Technology can make a real difference to the efficiency and effectiveness of your franchise. For instance, Home Instead provides technology platforms that will help to make your operations management, scheduling and billing easier and more accurate. We also provide you with integrated software solutions that simplify a range of daily operations, saving you both time and money.
One particular innovation that we’ve introduced for our franchisees is the Birdie home healthcare technology platform. This is designed to streamline a lot of administrative and regulatory tasks. It enables the company to bring all aspects of the care process together in one place – including care assessment, shift scheduling, employee payroll management, billing and analytics. However, we never forget that although technology is there to help, it will never replace the personal touch provided by care professionals.
Caring for your clients
A key element of an effective franchise business model is excellent customer service. This is particularly important in a people-focused business like home care. It’s therefore vital that you recruit – and retain – qualified employees who really care about care. And then you need to ensure they can deliver the level of service you require. This means attention to detail and developing close working relationships with both your care professionals and their clients.
Customer feedback is important, as this enables you to identify any weak areas and continually improve your service. Other aspects that will help in this area include clear and accurate task scheduling and an emphasis on regular training and refresher courses, conflict resolution and performance evaluations for your care professionals.
To ensure that our franchise network is operating as it should, Home Instead commissions an annual, anonymous Pursuing Excellence by Advancing Quality (PEAQ) survey of our clients and care professionals by WorkBuzz. This measures both client satisfaction and the engagement of our care professionals and helps to inform our future strategy.
Growing your business
As your franchise becomes profitable, you’ll want to capitalise on this and explore ways of growing your business. Initially, the most obvious way of doing this is by careful and targeted marketing and advertising. If people don’t know about your franchise, they’re not likely to use it! Home Instead’s National Office develops marketing campaigns at a national level, but you’ll have the main responsibility for more local marketing – including community engagement and promotions through local events.
As your franchise becomes even more successful, another potential way of growing your business is to buy further franchises, which will involve managing multiple locations.One example of this is Suhail Rehman. a Home Instead franchise owner who bought his first office in Glasgow North in 2013. His business has since grown and he now owns several territories in Scotland.
This is just one example of the potential of becoming a franchisee. With the right commitment and the right business model, teamed with determination and a lot of hard work, your new home care franchise should soon start to thrive and grow.
What’s the first step?
Our Franchise Development Manager Luke Spellman is here to discuss franchise opportunities with you. Book a call with him here.