This week, the Jackson Spalding team presented the results of the communication research CKFI asked them to complete. This included an audit of all existing communication channels, a franchisee survey delivered by Survey Monkey, and finally, a focus group of 8 franchisees conducted at the Jackson Spalding offices. I would personally like to thank all of you who took the time to participate in the survey and the focus group. This is very valuable, honest, and constructive feedback that allows us to take action.

Some of the suggestions can be addressed in the short-term, but other suggestions are longer term and require resource allocation. In the next several weeks, I will provide to you the priorities identified by the participating franchisees, along with an action plan. Thank you again for your feedback - it is this type of information sharing and our working together that makes us better!

Sincerely,

We are getting closer and closer to the launch of the national advertising. The National Branding committee has received questions from franchisees on the topic of how calls generated from the national advertising will be routed to local offices. Following an RFP process, the committee recommended CallSource, a call routing organization that caters to franchises, or other business models that have highly dispersed locations.

"Open," or unprotected zip codes, will be handled slightly differently. Because the advertising will be national, it will undoubtedly generate phone calls for care in open zip codes. We want to optimize that opportunity and provide a care solution to as many families as possible. If you believe you can serve clients in an unprotected zip code, we will work with CallSource to manage the call routing.

If you are unsure if a zip code is protected, go to ComfortKeepers.com and search on the zip code in question. If you land directly on a franchisee's site, the zip code is protected and you may not submit the zip code. But if you are given the option of multiple office locations, the zip code is not protected and you may submit for the opportunity to service.

Please complete the online form by Thursday, August 8, 2013, 5:00 PM EDT to include these unprotected zips in the first phase. Click here to access the from.

If you have questions, contact Kimberly Epple, Sr. Director of Marketing and Advertising at KimberlyEpple@ComfortKeepers.com.

The first webinar is Thursday, August 8, 2013 at 2:00 PM EDT. We recently conducted a series of focus groups and consumer interviews to gain insights on consumers' perceptions of the in-home care industry, the Comfort Keepers brand, as well as competitors' brands. This market intelligence is the basis upon which the new marketing and advertising tools were designed. Some of the research will be validation and some of it offers new and actionable insights, but there's nothing like taking it to the consumer to "keep it real" and keep us grounded on the realities of consumers' perceptions and behaviors. Join us to hear what decision-makers shared with us.

Click here to access the log-in and call information. NOTE - log in about 10 minutes early to make sure you can access the visual component of the webinar.

Mark your calendars for the remaining topics:

• Thursday, August, 15 at 2:00 PM EDT - Tune in to view the refreshed logo, new collateral and marketing materials designs, and new style of photography. Using the consumer insights from the research, we are refining our messaging to be shorter, sweeter, and more compelling.
• Thursday, August 22 at 2:00 PM EDT - CKFI and Empower will share the media plan for the 2013 launch of the National Advertising. You will all be excited to see the weeks we will be advertising and the networks where we will be advertising.
• Thursday, August 29 at 2:00 PM EDT - Preview Comfort Keepers new TV spots! Prior to producing, we consumer-tested the spots and we will share those consumer insights with you. And finally, we will share the two thirty second spots and two fifteen second spots

Congratulations to the selected franchisees on this outstanding achievement! To learn more about this prestigious award, please visit www.bestofhomecare.com/awards.

• Comfort Keepers 2013 Best of Home Care-Employer of Choice Winners:
• Livermore, CA- Kara Leong & John & Cynthia Gustafson
• Marysville, CA- Neil & Jennifer Goforth
• Southbay, CA- Richard Berryman & Mary Granger
• Shelton, CT- Kenneth Gurin
• Gainesville, FL- Lynn Domenech & Jocelyn Holt
• Coeur D'Alene, ID- Jim & Kathryn Vercruyssen
• Grayslake, IL- David Eggering
• LaPorte, IN- Charles and Susan Moore
• Lexington, KY-Helen Rades
• Somserset, KY- Sarah Short & Mary Perkins
• Beverly, MA- Warren & Kathryn Goodwin
• Greater Philadelphia, NJ- Jennifer Butler - General Manager
• Haddonfield, NJ- Michael & Bethan Gri
• Marietta, OH- David & Joanie Yeomans
• Tulsa, OK- David & Chuck Wurth
• Springfield, PA- Clark & Sallie Bongaardt
• West Lawn, PA- David Kendall, Russ & Beverly Hinnershitz and Linda Clark
• Florence, SC- David Coker
• Jackson, TN- Leslee Bib
• Houston, TX - Shelby Clark
• San Antonio, TX- Adrian Garza - & Margarita Gonzalez
• Black Hills, SD- Lezlie Snozzy-Kaitfors & Michael Kaitfors
• Fairfax, VA- Michael & Laura Pierce

Find out how coming next week!

Don't miss out on this opportunity to have your voice be heard! The Annual Franchise Satisfaction Survey is in full swing. While 27% of franchisees have responded to the survey, we still need to hear from many of you! Please take a few minutes to complete the survey so that we can better serve the needs of your franchise. The survey is totally confidential and should only take around 10 minutes to complete.

If you have any questions or can't find the email with the link to the survey, please contact Aftyn Jorgensen Aftyn@franchiseresearchinstitute.com. She will be happy to resend the survey to you.

Don't miss out on your last opportunity to register and onboard to the PRISM Data Warehouse in this calendar year. More than 100 franchise owners are already connected or in the process of connecting. What's stopping you? Once the August on-boarding window closes, the PRISM Development Team will shift its focus to providing customer support, quality control, data validation, education, and assisting you in aligning your business processes to reap the maximum benefits from the PRISM Data Warehouse.
 
New Enhancements Coming Soon
Current subscribers have access to the new Executive Tab that will now features partial month measures for sales calls, inquiries, home visits, and new clients.

PRISM Executive Scorecard: New Feature Showing Partial Month Data

The last quarter of the year includes a GM Report designed specifically for your General Manager, and the roll out of a new and improved interactive dashboard that is conveniently located on your Members Home Page.
 
Live Demo Webcasts and Registration
To get on board or see a demo, register for one of the live webcasts each Tuesday thru Thursday in August at 11 am EDT by clicking on the date below:

Tuesday, August 6
Wednesday, August 7
Thursday,  August  8

Tuesday,  August 13
Wednesday, August 14
Thursday, August 15

Tuesday, August 20
Wednesday, August 21
Thursday, August 22

Tuesday, August 27
Wednesday, August 28
Thursday,  August 29

Email Prism@ComfortKeepers.com to request an onboarding package. Contact Dan Dobbs, CKFI Director Of Information Systems if you have questions. Don't miss out in 2013 on the opportunity to enhance your business performance with PRISM.

The Comfort Keepers^® email system will undergo server maintenance Saturday evening. Maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, August 3 at 8:00 pm EDT through Sunday, August 4 at 8:00 am EDT. Email servers typically retry delivery several times, so there may be a delay during the upgrade period, but delivery should be completed once the maintenance is finished. Every effort will be made to minimize any possible disruption.

Silverchair Learning has joined the Relias Learning family of companies to provide you with the best solution in online training. This merger will not only give more depth and breadth to the courses you and your staff take, but also you will experience a more user-friendly learning management system. Over the coming weeks, you will begin to see the Silverchair Learning brand become Relias Learning, this includes e-mail communication, company updates, and more. Please watch the Friday Flash for updates of how this will benefit you.

Learning & Development needs your help in identifying topics for next year's schedule of MasterMind calls.  This is your opportunity to have your voice heard! If you have a topic you're interested in or would like to know more about, please send your suggestions to Michael West, Learning & Development Specialist, at MichaelWest@ComfortKeepers.com.

Click here to register.

Recognition is more powerful than any motivator. Research shows that, more often than not, cash bonuses get spent on bills, and perks are quickly forgotten. Recognition is known to build high performing teams and can be a fantastic motivator.  Being recognized for their efforts becomes a memory that is relived time and again by your employees. Click here for 50 low cost/no cost recognition ideas to help your franchise boost morale and improve employee satisfaction.

Did you miss a previous edition of the Friday Flash?
July 26
July 19
July 12
July 5