Duration: 29m 22s
Right at Home franchisees come from all kinds of professional backgrounds. Some have extensive experience in business, but may be entirely new to home care. Many new franchisees have prior connections to caregiving but may be running their own business for the very first time. Countless others have ventured into home care franchising simply in search of a change and an opportunity to do something positive for their communities.
Wherever our franchisees come from, every single one gets access to the same incredible startup resources. From our Right Start orientation program to the high-touch coaching franchisees receive every step of the way, Right at Home ensures that our new franchisee have everything they need to find their footing.
We wanted to learn more about the onboarding process for new franchisees, so we welcomed Right at Home Franchisee Onboarding Specialist Michelle Poppa for a Tuesday Talk with host and Strategic Operations Officer Brady Schwab. Michelle offered an inside look at the experience you can expect when you join the Right at Home network and the type of support you’ll have access to no matter where you are on your ownership journey.
Starting Your Business Off Right
As part of the onboarding team, Michelle works alongside both brand new owners and existing owners who are looking to expand their business. But she also pulls double duty as a Right Start manager. Every single new franchisee is matched with a Right Start manager just as soon as they have been approved by corporate. This means Michelle is the very first point of contact for many new franchisees.
As Michelle explains, “we really contact the new owner right away, welcome them to Right at Home, and give them a high level overview of what this process looks like.”
That process usually lasts between six months and a year. During that time, your Right Start manager will help you do “everything that you’re required to do from beginning to end to get your Right at Home business opened,” says Michelle.
So what does that look like exactly?
“We set them up with different subject matter experts (i.e. online marketing, operational software recruiting and hiring, etc.). We have vendors that we work with as well,” says Michelle. “And we stick with owners even after, if, for example, they’re in a licensing state and they require a license.”
In short, says Michelle, “we just make sure that we hold their hand through every part of the process.”
Getting Personal With Your Support Team
As we said, every franchisee comes from a different background and level of experience. The startup process and learning curve will be a little different for everybody. That’s why Right Start offers a deeply personalized experience.
That starts with your Right at Home manager. When you’re in those beginning stages, it can be incredibly comforting to know that there’s always somebody who is just a call away. For many new franchisees, that somebody is Michelle.
“I make myself available any time, day or night. So right off the bat, they get my cell phone number. They can text me or call me with any questions,” and, says Michelle, “if I don’t know the answers, then I try to locate the team or person who does.”
In other words, with Right Start, you are tapped into an entire team of knowledgeable people who care about your success.
Plotting Out Your Project Plan
“One of the great things about buying a franchise versus starting from scratch is that you have all of the information and support you need, as long as you utilize it,” says Michelle.
That starts with your Project Plan, which is essentially the checklist of everything you need to get done in order to get your new franchise off the ground. Your Project Plan breaks down “all of the different tasks and things that franchisees have to do in order to have a legal operating Right at Home business,” says Michelle.
It’s important to note that every state is a little different and every franchise owner is a little different. That’s why Right at Home’s onboarding team remains by your side as you check off the items on your Project Plan list.
“We have an internal licensure team here at corporate as well as an external team – a vendor that really works with new owners specifically to make sure that they comply with all of the requirements for their particular state,” Michelle explains.
This is just one example of the type of in-house specialists and resources that every new franchisee has access to.
“We also have a specialty team that works just with owners on sales,” says Michelle. “These teams work with existing owners and new owners coming into the system to really educate them on how to build those relationships in their communities.”
Hitting Your Milestones
In a lot of ways, your Right Start manager is a conduit to all of the incredible people and resources at corporate. In addition to setting up weekly calls with her franchisees, Michelle explains that “I’m also setting up meetings or calls for them with experts in each of the things they need to accomplish, whether it be licensure, getting their software set up, compliance, or HR type stuff.”
Once every franchisee has completed this setup stage, they get to come to Right as Home headquarters for Residence Week. Michelle describes this experience as “a whole week of really intense learning [where franchisees] get to meet everybody in person and just get more intensive instruction in things like hiring, recruiting, selling, and just getting out there and building relationships with referral sources.”
Naturally, this experience is both enriching and energizing for our new franchisees, but there’s really no substitute for the real thing. That’s why, says Michelle, “After Residence Week, we set up office visits for franchisees. We find another owner nearby who will host them for a few days so that they can see what it’s really like in a real life office.”
This highlights another incredible resource that you gain access to once you join the Right at Home system – your fellow franchisees. As Michelle notes, “we have so many great owners in our system who are willing to mentor new owners.”
Taking Advantage of the System
Ultimately, every franchisee will complete the Right Start orientation program at their own pace. And your onboarding team will move at the same pace alongside you. As Michelle says, “we help franchisees get up and running. Then we work with the business performance coaching team to slowly move you off of our Right Start process and on to a business performance coach.”
“But that transition period really depends on the owner and where they’re at,” Michelle says..
Either way, once you get there, you aren’t alone. Quite the opposite. As part of the Right at Home network you have continuing access to an incredible bounty of support, knowledge, and resources. It’s simply up to you to take advantage of this access.
“In my experience,” says Michelle, “those who are willing to listen and embrace the system are the most successful. Those who follow our best practices, who aren’t afraid to ask questions, who aren’t afraid to network with other Right at Home owners – those are the franchisees who ultimately end up being the most successful.”
If you are interested in learning more about Right at Home’s support for franchisees, check out our blog. For a full list of available territories, visit https://rightathomefranchise.com/available-territories/.