Jubilations for Caremark franchisees at their 15th annual conference
Published: 06 May 2022
Spirits were high on the last Friday in January this year when close to 120 franchisees gathered at the Marriott Hotel and Country Club in the Forest of Arden for their annual conference and gala awards evening. This year was particularly poignant for Caremark because it was the first conference and network gathering since the company’s founder and former CEO Kevin Lewis unexpectedly passed away last September. 
In addition, it was the first time in two very difficult years franchisees have been able to meet and mingle since the outbreak of the pandemic. Seeing familiar faces and meeting newcomers to the network, as well as discussing current issues and successes was a reason to feel happy again.
A large percentage of Caremark’s business owners from across their UK network were reunited again and enjoyed valuable and inspirational content from thought leaders across the business and care world, with plenty of takeaways and food for thought.
Mark Thompson, Director of Franchise Recruitment said: “I can wholeheartedly say that this was the best conference I have ever attended. “Caring for people is at the centre of everything we do and reaches right across the board, from our clients, through to our franchisees, to all their staff and to our own regional support team.
“It was so encouraging to hear truly inspirational stories and accounts from franchisees, care managers, care and support workers and of course, our clients." There were presentations from expert speakers from the legal and financial sector; updates and an important Q & A session with the Minister of State for Care and Mental Health, Gillian Keegan and from Jane Townson, CEO of the Homecare Association, both of which prompted lively interaction within the room.
An afternoon of inspirational and thought-provoking material started with the world-leading expert in carer recruitment, American specialist Leigh Davis of Davis+Delany, self-named the Mad Scientist of Home Care. With so many offices having to cope with the ongoing stresses of sourcing care staff and then keeping them, Davis’ presentation was of particular interest.
Davis is renowned for his success in tackling the difficulties of employing high value care workers and combatting the continuing churn rate which has afflicted the care sector for so long. Understandably, the news that he is to work exclusively within the UK Caremark team was very welcome and well received, particularly as his results in the USA have been nothing short of extraordinary.
Through his bespoke coaching methods used in his own home care company in the USA, he saw his churn rate drop to an impressive 17%. This was recorded as the lowest industry turnover in the American home care sector. “This appointment is such good news for our network,” Thompson continued, “because until now we have had a one-size-fits-all approach to the issue and yet we know that not all our franchised regions experience recruitment and retention difficulties in the same way.
“Now we have a fresh pair of eyes looking at the problem and a new strategy to help our network build good quality, loyal care teams, wherever they are located and whatever their social demographic.”
To follow on from this inspiring presentation, Ellis Watson the keynote speaker of the afternoon delivered a motivating summary on how the franchisees can take their businesses to the next level of performance with Caremark’s guidance and support.
With the daytime business ending, David Glover, Caremark’s new Joint CEO spoke about the company’s clear vision and strategy for the future. Reflecting on the event, Glover said: “The feedback from franchisees was excellent and they really enjoyed getting back and meeting face to face.
“They were particularly excited by the plans we shared to elevate the brand through a planned national advertising and marketing strategy.
“There was a real sense of connection between us all and a mutual feeling of being up for the challenges facing us, particularly in respect of carer recruitment and retention.
“Also, being able to interact with one another and see the head office team again was important.
“After the loss of Kevin last year, I felt the franchisees took great comfort in knowing that the business is moving forwards and that it has a clear vision and strategy for the future.”
The awards ceremony was particularly meaningful because of the enormous difficulties the network had faced during COVID-19. Despite this, network turnover increased to almost £110 million during 2020/21 which was reason enough to celebrate. All in all, eight regional awards were given out, with two of the younger businesses named as winners.
Following on came Caremark’s top five awards honouring businesses which showed great promise, excellence in care, exceptional achievement, contribution to the brand and network, and of course the top crown – Franchisee of the Year.
This year there were several two-time winners, with Caremark (North Down, Ards & Belfast) scooping Franchisee of the Year for the second year running. The Northern Ireland franchisees also received the Kevin Lewis Cup in memory of Caremark’s late founder and CEO.
Conference 2022 is without doubt one to remember and marks an important turning point in the franchisor’s direction and development.
There were positive comments from franchisees as well:
“What a fantastic conference!”
“Full of great messages and the feeling of being part of a network was definitely back”
“I came away feeling really optimistic about the future. Well done everyone at Caremark!”
Under the new leadership of David Glover and Lisa Fyfe as Joint CEO, together with their refined vision for the growth and direction of the company, Caremark and its franchisees have much to look forward to and certainly an exciting year ahead.
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