Creating the mark of excellent care
Published: 01 June 2018
Think of a company that invests substantially in its internal culture. One that selfscrutinises with award-winning management consultants and secures top industry talent to enhance its team. Do you instantly think of a care business? Well, now you should.
Widely recognised as a leading homecare provider and franchisor, Caremark’s bold and ambitious strategy is designed to secure the company’s place as the brand of choice in both sectors as it embarks on its expansion into North West England.
At its annual conference in January, Caremark unveiled a new internal culture campaign, which, after 12 months in the making, is set to revolutionise the brand from the inside out. The aptly named 'Creating the Mark of Excellent Care' focuses on key areas of business that are vital for operational, regulatory and financial success: greater job satisfaction and reduced stress, performance and pride, recruitment, retention and loyalty. Perhaps most impressively is that at the heart of these plans sit not the board of directors, but individual members of staff – the army of careworkers who support clients day in, day out.
“That’s because it’s here,” says franchise director David Glover, “that we find some of our most valuable assets – those who are out there every day, caring for people and changing lives. And it’s through their pride, satisfaction and desire to be the best that we ensure the success of our individual franchisees and our network as a whole. This is a really exciting time for us and we’re so proud to see months of eff ort come to fruition and be received with such enthusiasm."
Culture and values aren’t new concepts – people have been talking about them since the 1980s. What is new is the recognition and importance that leading brands now place on these once intangible assets. For Caremark, this means harnessing the collective power of its 5,400-strong care team by ensuring they feel part of a business they can be proud of. It means helping franchisees, head office staff and the franchise support team to feel connected to, and valued by, each other and the head office management team. And it means that each and every person in the business is ultimately committed to being one team with one goal: creating the mark of excellent care.
It's a message that already resonates with prospects, drawing in professionals from all walks of life who crave to be a part of something ‘more’. For these people, Caremark off ers the best of both worlds: enabling its franchisees to build a business with impressive profi ts while fulfi lling personal desires of ‘doing good’ and making a diff erence that so often eluded them in corporate life.
After completing her two-week initial franchisee training course at the brand’s head offi ce in Worthing, new franchisee Priyah Desai said: “I’m so excited to be a part of such a diverse and ambitious brand – it’s one of the things that attracted us the most. Now that we’re here, we understand even more that the strength of the Caremark brand is in the people and the network and these values we all share for the vision for Caremark.”
Fellow new business owner Sareet Shah adds: “The Caremark network is like a big family; everyone shares the same values for providing the highest standard of care and support, and achieve this in a variety of ways. I’m excited to learn more and hope to be in a position where my team and I can provide new franchisees with a similar level of support in the future.”
Over the course of the next 12 months, the internal culture campaign brings together the very best of what the company has to off er and fuses it with exciting new resources, new team members and investments in new expert partnerships – most notably with external PR and digital agencies Rev PR and Impact. Their work with both franchise and consumer media is already raising awareness, showcasing business achievements and celebrating careworkers in their local areas – all of which forms part of the grand plan to be the numberone homecare provider, employer and franchisor in the UK.
And, make no mistake, that grand plan is not one of whimsical ambition, it’s a carefully crafted strategy with key deliverables, as David Glover explains: “It’s no secret that we’ve invested signifi cant time, money and resource into our culture campaign because we believe so passionately in what we stand for. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“As a management team, we wanted to strip away barriers and streamline our structure so that we can truly communicate with everyone in the business, no matter who they are or where they are. We bought in Menzies in 2017 and they worked closely with us on everything from personality profi ling to skillset analysis to ensure that, as a management team, we’re doing the best job we can for the business, for our franchisees and for our careworkers. Because all of that means we’re doing the best we possibly can for our clients, too.”
Alongside the culture campaign, in early 2018 came the announcement of three major appointments: Helen Thompson, Annetta Doyle and Tracy Tattam. Adding to the already impressive head offi ce team, the trio brought with them over 60 years’ combined experience in the care and franchise industries.
Managing director Anne O’Rourke says: “We couldn’t be more pleased to have Helen, Annetta and Tracy on the team. As a business, our combined strength, knowledge and drive to succeed is at its peak. We’re dedicated to creating the mark of excellence in care, in franchising and in each and every franchisee’s business. We’re incredibly proud of all that we’ve achieved so far, but the next few years are going to be ones for the record books.”
With over 100 offi ces nationwide, and recently ranked in the top three UK care franchises, Caremark is the largest privately owned care franchise in the UK. Thanks to the support of a passionate, energetic and innovative franchisor, and with a strong internal culture, franchisees continue to thrive.
Caremark business owners across the UK passionately support the elderly and the vulnerable in their local communities while building substantial businesses with an impressive return on investment. For those looking to join them, you need ask yourself just one question: do you believe in creating the mark of excellent care?
