We are getting close to our participation goal for the Franchise Satisfaction Survey. But, if you haven't taken a few moments to complete the survey, please do so. The Franchise Satisfaction Survey is in the final stages. As of Monday, 50% of franchisees have responded. Thank you to all of you who have responded. But we have 172 franchisees who have not taken the time to have their voices heard yet. Our completion goal for the survey is to have more than 70% of the system responding. This will help make the survey a valuable tool to make improvements from your suggestions! That participation level also qualifies Comfort Keepers^® for consideration as a World Class Franchise. Will you help us get there? And remember, the survey is totally confidential.

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3740980913466802432
Dial-in available: Toll: (415) 655-0061, Code: 956-078-694
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 22 at 2:00 PM EDT - CKFI, the National Brand Committee, Empower Media Marketing and CallSource will share the media plan for the 2013 launch of our national TV advertising. You will all be excited to see the schedule and the networks where we will be advertising. As well as hear the process for routing and tracking calls. 
• 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 insights with you. And finally, we will share the two thirty-second spots and two fifteen-second spots. CKFI, the National Brand Committee and Red 212 look forward to unveiling the new spots prior to the national airdate.

If you missed the first session in the branding and advertising webinars originally presented on August 8, then you missed some amazing insight into your customers' perceptions. We recently conducted a series of focus groups and consumer interviews to gain insights on our customers' perceptions of the in-home care industry and the Comfort Keepers^® brand, as well our competitors' brands. This market intelligence provides us with the information needed to craft new marketing and advertising tools. 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. This webinar highlights what the decision-makers shared with us.

Click here and enter the password CKRESEARCH13 (case sensitive) to find all of this valuable information and insight about your potential customers. We have also posted the link to the webinar on the member's website.

Did you claim an open or unprotected zip code during the open registration period earlier in August? If not, have no worries, a second opportunity is coming for you to make such a claim. For those who either missed the first round or want to extend the zip codes they have submitted, a second round of submissions for claiming open zip codes will occur September 6-20. At that time, the submission form will be distributed to you in the Friday Flash for Sept. 6 and 13. The last day to submit entries will be at 5:00 p.m. EDT on Sept. 20.

Thank you to all those who have submitted zip codes. We had a phenomenal response.

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

The new client care manual will make a difference to your franchise! The newly revised manual is now complete and will soon replace the "Client Care Service Delivery Manual" on the member's website. The new manual is easier to navigate and easier to print and also offers up best practices. To find out more about the new manual format, changes to the required standards, and best practices for client care join Kym Clark, RN, Director of Home Care Services for an informative webinar on Monday, August 19 at 10 a.m. EDT. The webinar will provide helpful information on.

To join the meeting: http://comfortkeepers.adobeconnect.com/ccm/
Conference Number(s): Toll Free: (866) 579-8110, Passcode 603200

A repeat webinar is schedule for Monday, August 26th at 2 PM EDT. Watch for the next edition of Friday Flash for log in information for the second webinar!

If you have never attended an Adobe Connect meeting before:
Click here to test your connection.
Click here to get a quick overview.

For the past 12+ months, CKFI has been working with a vendor to update, and in many cases, rewrite, the Operations Manuals (often referred to as the Magnificent Seven). The manuals reflect your feedback and input and should be something you take great pride in. They are an incredible resource for the success of your franchise.

As we complete the manuals, we will roll-out the new information and in some cases, we will publish dates/times for educational webinars to identify the significant changes in the manuals.

Many of the changes to the manuals reflect input about your franchises as well as quality standards that are now contractual requirements and recent changes to the law. Other changes you will observe include:

• The manuals are electronic only and will be posted on the Members site under the appropriate tab.  
• The number of manuals has been reduced and includes: Human Resources, Client Care, Administrative, Sales and Marketing, HIPAA, and for new franchisees, a Start-Up manual.  
• As you log-in to access the new manuals, a Confidentiality notice will pop-up on your screen and you must agree to maintain this information as confidential in order to access the manual. The manuals are proprietary information and we are taking steps to protect our intellectual property and ensure that anyone using the manuals understands the information must remain confidential.  
• Each manual will highlight "Standards" versus "Best Practices." "Standards" are those items that are contractual requirements, i.e., live answer 24/7/365. "Best Practices" are tips, ideas, and real-life experiences accumulated over the years that are helpful to franchisees. "Best Practices" are not contractual requirements, but should be of interest to anyone trying to learn from the experiences of others.

Please watch the Friday Flash for updates on when new manuals are posted.

To promote your food drive we have created posters, bin wrappers and flyers. These are available from ThinkPantented and have been updated with the new Comfort Keepers logo.

Is hiring and retaining the best employees in the business important to you? Of course it is. Today, quality caregivers have plenty of options. And now it's harder than ever to hold onto quality employees. Did you know that a good caregiver receives more than two calls for work each week and almost 10% of those would leave a job for any increase in pay?

The special webinar will take place Tuesday, October 22 at 2:00 p.m. at this link.
Click here to access seminar.
Telephone: (800) 591-2259, Participant Code: 886411

The Affordable Care Act will soon be law and there's been a lot of discussion in the media about how it will affect small businesses. So how exactly will ACA affect you and your franchise? Join Brian Miller from McGohan Brabender, the 5th largest insurance broker in the US, for a Webinar on Wednesday, August 21 at 2 p.m. EDT. Brian will give you an update on the ACA and discuss what you need to know as a small or large employer. This webinar will help you understand this complex law. ACA updates, along with many other employment compliance updates are provided by Xpert HR, so take advantage of this new resource for your local, state and federal compliance guidance.

Click here to join webinar.
Call (800) 591-2259, participant code: 886411

Rumors of the demise of Accountable Care Organizations have been widely exaggerated. So says David Simic, Vice President, Business Development who says, "Although there has been publicity recently about nine of the original Pioneer ACOs dropping out of the program, overall ACO growth is continuing."

That's good news for you as growing ACOs mean more business opportunities for your franchise. Strong ACOs help expand your customer base. Simic said ACOs are alive and well.

Click here to see this list for the 25 most recently formed ACOs.

There's good news about Silverchair! Most of the issues with the courses have now been resolved and Silverchair is available to provide great educational opportunities for your caregivers and staff. One course is still presenting some technical glitches - Personal Care: Caregiver's Guide to Senior Nutrition. We are still working to resolve this issue and we will keep you posted of any further developments. Thank you for bearing with us and sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused.

Did you miss a previous edition of the Friday Flash?
August 9
August 2
July 26
July 19