Starting Off Right with Right at Home | 5.16.23
Duration: 31m 18s
Description:
Starting Off Right means Right at Home will help you as a new franchise owner from the moment you sign your franchise agreement, through opening your doors, as well as everything that happens in between.
Listen as Shannon Mitchell, Director of Operational Excellence, and Jen Chaney, VP of Franchise Development, discuss how Right at Home steps their franchisees through the opening process to “Start Off Right”.
Intro & Background
Shannon Mitchell and her team from Corporate help the franchisees operate better businesses every day and discover new ways to improve the business model.
The First Step as a Franchise Owner
You’ve just signed the franchise agreement and want to know what to expect. Right at Home is going to call and welcome you to the family. Then we schedule a call to introduce you to your RightStart Onboarding Schedule. This is essentially a task list or SmartSheet that is used to help you open your office. The timeline for this is primarily dependent upon state or non-state licensure, which could range between 3-6 months.
Setting Up Your Financial Basics and Office
Next, we’re going to start talking about setting up your financial basics – tracking your startup expenses, establishing your business entity, and working through compliance. Compliance can include applying for state licensure, outlining brand standards, and establishing your brand, as well as office space and where your office is located. We’ll also help with setting up your scheduling and operating software, QuickBooks, and applicant tracking systems. If your office is in a Licensure state, you will be required to have your license before attending Residence Week.
Residence Week
Residence Week is a culmination of all the operational work. You receive all the tools needed to recruit clients and caregivers to your brand, focusing on executing the client and employee journey.
License Application
A partnership is in place with legal counsel who has put together some state-specific tools for licensure to help through execution. We also have our own government affairs specialists that help franchise owners in establishing their entity, office space brand presence, etc.
Subject Matter Experts (SME)
All new franchisees have a formal project manager who helps through the entire lifecycle of the onboarding plan. Franchisees will also have an Online Marketing Specialist (OMS), State Licensure Specialist, Business Technology Specialist, Performance Coach, and Organizational Learning Specialist. Right at Home has between 15-20 SMEs that you’ll talk with throughout the onboarding process.
Going to Market
Following Residence Week, we are going to start marketing your business. We notify other franchise owners in the area that they’re going to start seeing you marketing and selling soon. Your website will launch. A shadow/visit to an existing nearby franchisee for a day or so is scheduled to see operations and best practices in action.
QuickBooks Integration
Right at Home will support and work with you on setting up your QuickBooks, providing a mandated full chart of accounts.
Mandated Software
Right at Home doesn’t mandate a lot of things, but does require every franchisee to use their operating software, WellSky.
First Hire
Following Residence Week and In-Market visit, guidance is provided around qualifications for the first hire, based on talent and motivations. It is recommended to have one office staff and two caregivers before you have a client. You’ll review how to conduct orientations and provide information on caregivers’ paperwork.
Regulations & Legislation
Right at Home has a team dedicated to monitoring legislation and healthcare issues, as well as providing newsletters on recent updates. Corporate schedules weekly communication opportunities with franchisees every Tuesday, where relevant information is disseminated or issues addressed.
The Franchise is Open
The transition from before opening to now will include working with a Performance Coach and all the supporting people. The franchisee has met their performance coach on SME calls before Residence Week, as they helped build core values, and cultural foundations, and recruit the office staff. You’ll normally meet with your coach once a week on Zoom, plus text and send emails back and forth.
Performance Groups
You’ll need about one year of experience with financials and operations to join a performance group; it’s necessary in order to be able to have peer-to-peer collaborations.
Challenges to Hiring and Retention
All caregivers have to be employed to be bonded, insured and effectively trained; they cannot be independent contractors.
Licensing Process
Licensing can take 30 days to 120 days but depends on the state. It is timed early in the onboarding process so all the milestones can be met without derailing your goal open date.
NEXT SCHEDULED TALK:
May 30, 2pm CST, Executive Update with Margaret Haynes
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Right at Home family, submit the form below.
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