Home Instead Case Study: Royal Praise

Home instead has received the queen’s award for innovation

The UK’s number one home care franchisor, Home Instead, received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of innovation on Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.

The highest accolade for business success was granted to the company in recognition of its bespoke relationship-led care model and the exemplary support it gives to franchisees throughout their business lifecycle.

RELATIONSHIP

Its unique approach is delivered in visits that typically last a minimum of one hour, with clients and caregivers matched on backgrounds and interests, so the relationship sits at the heart of the care being delivered.

The prestigious accolade pays tribute to the blueprint the franchise business has created for dignified, quality home care. With a globally tried and tested franchise model responsible for the franchisor’s success in the UK, the business has grown to a £100 million annualised turnover. Its approach has seen the franchise network expand from the pilot office opened by Sam and Trevor Brocklebank in 2005 to a robust network of 175 offices throughout the UK.

The Home Instead network of franchisees provides five million hours of home care a year to 8,000 clients, employs 8,000 caregivers and over 700 office staff. Its franchise model has created a strong family of business owners united in the brand’s mission - to change the face of ageing.

Trevor Brocklebank, co-founder and chief executive, says: “The Queen’s Award for innovation is the pinnacle of business achievement in the UK. Receiving this prestigious accolade marks out our franchise opportunities as a best-in-class proposition, a way to run a successful business and make a difference at the same time.

Receiving royal praise, the company’s care model was realised in the UK by husband and wife team Trevor and Sam Brocklebank. Frustrated by poor quality care experienced when Trevor’s grandfather Frank needed support, the couple were driven to develop a new model of care to help answer the needs of our ageing population.

Despite having no experience in the care sector or in franchising, former IT entrepreneurs Trevor and Sam were undeterred in their passion to shape a model of best practice that delivered the best home care in the UK and provided outstanding support to franchisees.

As master franchisors and with Trevor’s masters in coaching, the couple looked for like-minded franchisees to join its mission – people who wanted to run a successful business and make a difference to society at the same time.

They didn’t want to be in the business of providing home care for seniors that aimed for minimum standards. At a time when no other care company or franchisor was operating a care model focused on the emotional needs of the clients and not the tasks, Sam and Trevor’s move into the care sector was bold and brave.

Theirs was a vision of care that passed the ‘Mum Test’, the standard of care people would want for their loved one or indeed themselves. For Sam and Trevor, it was a standard that honoured the memory of Trevor’s grandfather.

Early adopters of their vision followed, with franchises taken by Bryn and Jill Evans in Sheffield, Chris and Sue Broadbent in Chester and Catharine and Mike Chalton on the Wirral.

Like Sam and Trevor, these founding franchisees all have good hearts and a drive to run a successful business in their local communities. Fast forward the clock 10 years, there are now 175 franchises achieving exemplary standards under the Home Instead brand.

To demonstrate the quality of care being delivered across the UK, Home Instead in West Lancashire was the first home care provider in England to receive an outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission. Since then, the company has received a further three outstanding ratings in Wimbledon & Kingston, Dunham and Exeter.

DEVELOPMENT

Franchisees are supported at every step of their business journey with training and ongoing support covering care and quality standards, business development, IT, legal and marketing and with peer collaboration encouraged and networking events held.

There’s a 40-strong team at the national office, which gives a 4:1 ratio of sector-leading experts to franchisees, one of the best in the franchise industry. Trevor adds: “We have 145 Home Instead Senior Care territories still available for like-minded franchisees who want to help change the face of ageing.”