Caremark honours top franchisees at annual conference
Published: 23 February 2018
Caremark franchisees from across the UK gathered in Daventry, Northamptonshire, on 26 January to enjoy the brand's 11th annual conference.
This year's conference featured presentations from leading industry speakers, followed by a black and white-themed gala awards evening.
The event focused on building the brand, both within Caremark and externally, through strategic marketing and PR campaigns, working cohesively across the network.
One of the North East's top-performing franchisees, Charles Folkes gave a 25-minute speech on empowering leadership and how to build your team and your business while valuing each individual.
With a recent rating of outstanding from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and several industry awards to his name, Charles started 2018 well by being named Caremark Franchisee of the Year 2017.
Charles says: "2017 was without doubt a year of great achievement for Caremark Redcar and Cleveland. Starting with an outstanding CQC rating, to being a finalist in three categories of the regional Great British Care Awards and winning two of those categories, and then culminating in Franchisee of the Year.
"These achievements could not happen without the dedication, commitment and passion of our 'business family', every one of which I am so proud of.
"We continue to demonstrate that, with our culture of true human leadership where we care for everyone, there are no limits to what can be achieved."
Experiencing Caremark's main event for the first time were newly appointed key head office staff Annetta Doyle, franchise recruitment manager, Amanda Matthews and Helen Thompson, operations managers for the North and South respectively, and Tracy Tattam, regional development manager for the Central South region.
Annetta says: "It was a really interesting conference with good speakers, and some quality content covered. The event was very well organised and provided some fantastic networking opportunities – a very worthwhile day."
Helen adds: "I thought the addition of asking inspirational franchisees to speak to the network was great and it promoted much discussion during the coffee breaks. The evening was fantastic, in a beautifully decorated room, including an ice sculpture! The awards ceremony was a great celebration of all that is good in the Caremark network; I am proud to be a part of it."
There were some surprises among the national award winners this year. Young entrepreneurs Shipra Mehta and Swati Bagwe from Richmond took the Rising Star award, as well as scooping the best office for their region.
Shipra says: "We really enjoyed the conference and the gala evening event. It was a very good opportunity to get together with other Caremark franchisees and share experiences. Everybody from the head office was very welcoming.
"It felt great to get recognised for all the hard work and commitment we have put in to get here. We have come so far in just one year and I can say with confidence that this is only the beginning!"
For two of the awards, the accolade was given to two offices as both franchises demonstrated high standards. The Belfast and Sutton offices won Caremark’s Achievement award, while Woking and Bracknell, and Thanet picked up Caremark’s Special Contribution award.
The prestigious Mark of Excellence award went to Sue Hills and Sarah-Louise White from Mid-Sussex for their excellence across the board as a high-quality care provider, ambassador for the brand and for continued business growth and success.
With newer businesses laying claim to some of the top awards this year, it is clear that Caremark's franchisees are keen to show they can be both great care providers and astute business professionals from the outset.
