Visiting Angels stands out as the first UK homecare business to adopt a carer-centric approach, where carers are the most important part of the business because without them, everything else falls apart. UK CEO Dan Archer advocates for this model, stressing the importance of higher wages, better support, and recognition for caregivers. Without these elements, home-care providers suffer from high staff turnover—around 70% in the industry—which leads to inconsistent service and weak carer-client relationships.
The franchise’s top-performing offices collectively deliver a remarkable 4,000 hours of care each month. Employing nearly 300 caregivers, these offices provide top-tier homecare services that clients trust and appreciate. Franchisees are chosen based on their passion for making a difference in the social care sector, often driven by personal experiences of subpar care for loved ones or a feeling of underappreciation in previous roles. Reaching this impressive turnover milestone showcases the franchise’s commitment to their carer-centric philosophy and its positive impact on the community.
One of the most recent offices to exceed the £1 million turnover achieved its CQC registration in Spring 2022, reaching this significant milestone in just over two years. The success of these offices is a testament to the hard work of the franchisees and the adoption of best practices across the network, all underpinned by the carer-centric ethos.
“We’re beyond delighted with the success of our business. We were only the 5th Visiting Angels franchise, launching mid-pandemic in 2020 and introducing a new brand into our area. Four years later, we’re living the carer-centric ethos and seeing the benefit of this approach. We’ve won numerous awards for recruitment and retention including the Stars Of Social Care National Award. The result of our carer-centric approach is 95% retention of caregivers, enabling us to deliver a consistent quality service for our ever-growing client base,” said Lynn James, MD of Visiting Angels North Surrey.
Visiting Angels boasts a nationwide average staff turnover of 13%, with the top-performing offices maintaining turnover levels below 10%, a stark contrast to the industry average of 70%. The franchise supports caregivers through various initiatives, including a wellbeing app, which reduces absences and strengthens carer-client relationships.
“The reason for the huge success of our locations is our stable caregiver team which enables the offices to ensure our clients get the same carer each week. It also means that Visiting Angels is able to offer clients a simple choice – the choice of who they invite into their home. We are the only brand to offer Choose your Caregiver to its clients,” added Dan.
To support large franchisees in scaling their businesses, Visiting Angels has planned specialist support meetings later this year. The £100k Club will hold its first meeting this Autumn.
