Click the Links Below to be Taken to that Discipline's Article(s)
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WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES DELAY TO HEALTHCARE LAW
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Delay Provides Breathing Room for Mid-sized Businesses to Comply with Law
 The White House administration announced Monday that it will delay implementation of the new healthcare law for mid-sized businesses, those with 50 to 99 full-time equivalents (FTEs) and allow large employers with 100 or more FTEs to phase in healthcare coverage. Under the new provisions, mid-sized companies have until 2016 to offer full-time employees, those working 30 hours a week or more, affordable healthcare coverage or pay penalties. Large employers must offer 70% of full-time employees affordable healthcare coverage by 2015 and 95% by 2016 to avoid penalties.
Small companies with fewer than 50 FTEs are exempt from the law and will be able to shop for coverage in the small business health marketplace once that opens in the fall of this year. The marketplace was originally slated to open in October of last year but was delayed due to technical difficulties. For more information on the delay and the law's requirements, please see the Department of Treasury's attached announcement.
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 MARKETING |
CONSOLIDATED PRINT SERVICES UPDATE
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Check Out Materials Available from New Vendor March 3
As we announced in our last update, the transition from our current print vendors (Holmes and ThinkPatented) to our new print vendor, Standard Register, is on track, with a planned launch date of March 3. Because Standard Register operates on a proprietary platform, we will be offering numerous webinars throughout the week of March 3 to walk you through the ordering process. Please watch future updates for an announcement on the days and times of the webinars.
The materials listed below will be immediately available in the updated brand design from Standard Register on March 3.
| Core Services | Miscellaneous | Stationery | |
Core Services Brochure
(Formerly Life Matters-ICG)
Kaiser Core Services Brochure
20 Questions Brochure
20 Questions Sell Sheet
Comfort Keepers 2-Sided Sell Sheet
Comfort Keepers 1-Sided Short Summary Sell Sheet
| Transitions Brochure
B2B Rehabilitation Brochure
B2B Transitions Wheel
B2C Oversized Direct Mail Postcards
B2B Oversized Direct Mail Postcards
Door Hangers
ICG Activity Cards
Pocket Folder without Tab
Pocket Folder with Tab
| Business Cards
Letterhead
#10 Envelope
#10 Window Envelope
#9 Payment Return Envelope
Catalog Envelope | | SafetyChoice® | Private Duty Nursing | Forms | | Brochure
Statement Stuffer
Product Line Rack Card
PERS G2000 Sell Sheet
| Brochure
Statement Stuffer
B2B Brochure Insert
B2B 2-Sided Sell Sheet
| All Forms |
This will complete the first phase of the rollout of newly branded materials and the transition to Standard Register. Phase I represents the vast majority of materials purchased by franchisees. Phase II of the transition will begin very soon, but the process will take multiple months as we go through the redesign and load materials onto the Standard Register platform. We will be updating the network on the Phase II timeline very soon.
If you have an immediate need for a brochure that is not listed as part of Phase I, you do have the option of ordering that brochure from ThinkPatented. It will not reflect the new branded design, but if your business needs are so great that you must have a specific brochure, this is an option. The deadline for ordering from ThinkPatented is February 28.
If you have any questions, please contact Kimberly Epple, Senior Director Marketing and Advertising, at KimberlyEpple@Comfortkeepers.com.
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WARM UP TO SAVINGS WITH PROFORMA
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Limited Time Offers Through February 24!
 Through February 24 PROforma will be offering two special discounts to Comfort Keepers® franchisees:
- Save 50% on soft, warm, extra-long scarves (80" x 10") made of 100% anti-pill fleece, embroidered with the Comfort Keepers logo in light pink or navy.
- Get special pricing on economy ballpoint pens: 500 pens for $70.00 (normally $90.00). Each pen is personalized with your office phone number and the Comfort Keepers logo.
Visit their online catalogue to order yours today.
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| LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE |
2014 LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
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Ready, Set, Denver-Book Your Room Today!
 It is time to get ready for the annual leadership conference in Denver, Colorado, April 24 through 26, so book your room today. The Sheraton Denver Downtown is offering a discounted rate of $169 per night for Comfort Keepers® conference attendees. Conference registration will open later in February.
Think you know all there is to know about Denver? Think again. Denver is a beautiful city located just east of the Arapaho National Forest. With its mild weather (average highs in April reaching 60 degrees Fahrenheit), sunny days and low precipitation, it is a great location for a conference.
Denver offers lively nightlife, museums and galleries, botanical gardens, amusement parks, and more microbreweries than you can find anywhere else in the country. You can play a round of golf or sip a beverage at one of its many outdoor cafes. If you have some extra time before or after the conference, take one of the day trips to Pike's Peak country, Denver's Beer Triangle, or the beautiful Victorian village, Georgetown.
Learn more about the conference and the exciting attractions Denver has to offer by visiting Members>Training> Leadership Conference.
To book your room at the negotiated rate of $169 per night, click here, or
call (303) 893-3333 and ask for the Comfort Keepers' rate.
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| WEBSITE REDESIGN |
WEBSITE REDESIGN ON TRACK TO LAUNCH
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What You Need to Know Before Launch
 We are in the final stretch for the website launch, slated for February 20. We want to make this transition as smooth as possible, so we have dedicated staff to review the franchisee sites before launch, and The Shipyard, our website vendor, is conducting thorough reviews as well. Before and after the website launches, there are a few housekeeping items that will need to be addressed:
- You should be receiving your website URLs this weekend or early next week. Please take the time to review your site and document any changes that need to be addressed prior to launch.
- After the website launches, you will want to review your website again. The transition from the "staging" sites to "live" sites can sometimes cause formatting changes, so you will want to make sure that your site is formatted correctly. Please submit any changes or corrections to The Shipyard before February 20.
- The Shipyard will also have its dedicated support team available to you for two weeks post launch to help you with any other changes that may arise.
- If you notice a problem or need to make a change or revision to your site, you can contact The Shipyard at (888) 738-9750 or Support@ComfortKeepersDigital.com.
- The Shipyard will also be making one last round of outbound calls post launch to ensure you are happy with your site.
- For those of you who are interested in learning more about ongoing support from The Shipyard, there will be webinars the week of March 10 outlining available support packages. We will be publishing the schedule in next week's Friday Flash.
If you have any questions, please contact Kimberly Epple, Senior Director of Marketing and Advertising, at KimberlyEpple@ComfortKeepers.com.
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URL REQUESTS FOR WEBSITE REDESIGN
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Submission Process for Vanity URLs
When developing a business website, the naming convention of the URL plays an important role in how search engines rank the site. The higher the ranking your URL receives, the higher your business name and link appears on the search results page. Your new website URLs are designed to optimize your sites' ranking on search engines and in search queries.
However, CKFI also understands that many of you currently have or would like to have a vanity URL that is easy for clients to remember and more suitable for your marketing needs. For those of you who have a previously approved vanity URL, that URL will continue to be live and will direct traffic to your new site.
For those who would like to request a new vanity URL, we will be providing a submission form with instructions on requesting a vanity URL after the website launches; you can expect to see this in mid-March. If you have already submitted a request for a change in your URL through The Shipyard, you will need to re-submit your request through the established form. This will allow us to more easily track and respond to all requests. To ensure consistency and fairness across the system, all requests for vanity URLs will be carefully reviewed according to established guidelines.
If you have any questions, please contact Kimberly Epple, Senior Director of Marketing and Advertising, at KimberlyEpple@ComfortKeepers.com
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| OPERATIONS |
NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL (NAC) UPDATE
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 The National Advisory Council (NAC) held its first meeting of the year on January 23 and 24 to set the objectives for the upcoming year. This year the focus will be profitable, sustainable growth for the network. To better achieve this objective, the NAC has decided to limit itself to three critical initiatives and committees that will have the greatest impact: the National Branding committee; the Plan, Hire, Develop (PHD) committee; and the Develop Internal Growth (DIG) committee.
To learn more about the 2014 objectives and the committees involved, please read this message from the NAC chair, Jim Vercruyssen. You can also learn more at the April Leadership Conference during any of the two NAC breakout sessions.
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As announced last week, we would like your input on the News You Can Use (NYCU) e-newsletter as it is currently produced and thoughts on how it can better target your main audience. Your initial responses are insightful and helpful, and we would like to hear from more of you. Our plan is to make this a great, low-cost communications tool that you can use and that will bring value to your business. Please take a few moments to answer a short survey on NYCU. Your opinion matters.
The survey comprises eight questions, primarily multiple choice, and should take no more than 5 minutes. It will be open until Friday, February 21. We will use this information to incorporate changes and aid us in planning the editorial calendar and topics for upcoming issues. Please click here to take the survey, and thank you in advance for your feedback.
If you have any questions about the survey, please feel free to contact Lisa Marie Hayes, Communications Manager, at LisaMHayes@ComfortKeepers.com.
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| SALES |
NEW PROGRAM WITH LIFE CARE FUNDING
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No Fee Service Aids Seniors in Paying for Care
 CK Franchising, Inc. is pleased to announce a new relationship with Life Care Funding (LCF). LCF works with seniors to help them generate funding for services by converting life insurance policies into long-term care benefit plans. Converting these policies allows seniors access to funds to pay for care services, including those offered by Comfort Keepers®. With LCF, franchisees can offer those clients and potential clients who may not have sufficient financial means an option for paying for services. There is no fee for this service for franchisees or their clients and potential clients. To learn more about LCF, click here to read frequently asked questions and view a testimonial video or click on the links below to sign up for an information webinar.
If you have any questions, please contact David Simic, Vice President, Business Development, at DavidSimic@ComfortKeepers.com.
LCF Webinar Schedule
| Day | Date | Time | Registration | | Tuesday | February 18 | 12 p.m. EST |
| | Wednesday | February 19 | 4 p.m. EST |
| | Friday | February 21 | 2 p.m. EST |
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LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
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Free Event to Enhance Your Sales Skills!
 Time is running out for you to register for Salesapalooza, being held in Orlando, Florida on March 4 and 5. Sharpen your sales skills and those of your staff with this fast-paced, highly interactive, two-day sales training workshop, designed specifically for the Comfort Keepers® brand. This free event will offer three workshops:
Day One
- 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Salesapalooza I: This workshop is tailored for people with less than 1 year of experience with Comfort Keepers and/or who are new to sales in general.
- 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Accountable Care Organization (ACO)/Transitions: This workshop is appropriate for anyone with any level of sales experience who wants to learn more about how to maximize Comfort Keepers' transition programs with hospitals and other ACOs.
Day Two
- 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sales Intensified: We have designed this workshop for the more seasoned Comfort Keepers sales people. In order to participate in this portion, you must have more than 1 year of sales experience with Comfort Keepers.
Register here for Salesapalooza.
NOTE: When you register, you will be asked to indicate the workshops for which you wish to register.
Workshop Information:
Hotel Cost: $119 per night
When: March 4-5
Where:
Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport Hotel
7550 Augusta National Dr.
Orlando, FL 32822
Phone: (407) 240-5555
In order to receive this special rate, when you reserve your room, be sure to tell the reservationist that you are with the Comfort Keepers meeting.
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LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE AND TIME MANAGEMENT ROAD SHOW CANCELLED
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Please Adjust Your Schedules Accordingly
Due to a low number of registrants, we have had to cancel the Leadership Challenge/Time Management Workshop. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
We are, however, currently organizing a workshop for the summer; please stay tuned for more information.
-Michael West, Learning and Development Manager
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Did you miss a previous edition of the Friday Flash?
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