The Leadership Conference, our biggest event of the year, is being held in sunny Denver, Colorado April 24 through 26. We asked conference goers why they want to attend, and we received  the following top ten reasons:

10. recharge and re-energize both myself and my staff

9.   enjoy the optional activities on Friday night

8.   learn from new subject matter experts

7.   attend breakout and roundtable sessions

6.   build relationships

5.   meet new vendors at the vendor expo

4.   enjoy the Saturday awards-Comfort Keeper^® of the Year 

      and the annual awards

3.   generate new ideas from franchisees on how to grow my business

2.   hear from keynote speaker, Lee Cockerell, "retired and inspired" Executive Vice President 

      of Walt Disney World Resorts^® 

1.   network with other franchisees

At this year's Leadership Conference in Denver, we will have third-party subject matter experts, Hildebrand and Associates, host breakout sessions on "Strategic Organizational Design Based on Growing Your Business." These innovative sessions will feature discussions on organizational design and strategy and provide franchisees with a hands-on opportunity to create organizational charts for their businesses. Hildebrand and Associates intend to tailor these discussions to Comfort Keepers^®. To provide them with the background they need to customize the discussions, they are asking for your input. 

Please take a moment to answer the Strategic Organizational Design Survey. The survey takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete, and your responses will help shape the discussions at the conference to make them as beneficial as possible. Denver is just around the corner, and we look forward to seeing you there!  

Thank you to all who participated in the recent News You Can Use (NYCU) survey. As a result of the excellent feedback, we are making some changes to this resource to make it more useful for you and relevant for your main audience. For those of you who are not familiar with NYCU, this is a newsletter produced by CKFI that franchisees can use as a marketing and branding tool in their communities. It is designed to present to referral sources and position Comfort Keepers^® as an expert in the in-home senior care industry.

The survey results revealed the following areas of opportunity that we are addressing:

Article content and focus: Respondents indicated that they would like to see articles more aligned with their main audience, their referral sources. Beginning immediately, articles will be more substantial with topics of interest to the referral sources and information on how in-home care can help their patients or clients. These will be referenced articles on a wide variety of topics. We have developed a 12-month NYCU editorial calendar that you can access here. You can also find this on Members > CK Brand > PR.

Information and education: Respondents expressed a desire for more information on how to use this resource and where to find the latest issue and recommended better communication when the new issues are released. We are currently devising a communication plan of upcoming changes and education. We are also redesigning the delivery system to be more user friendly as well as refreshing the newsletter design to reflect the new branding. Additionally, we are discontinuing the pitch packages as these do not reflect current trends in publishing. 

As we move forward with this project, we will be providing regular communication via the Friday Flash, so watch for updates, tips, and opportunities for training.

As many of you know from previous announcements, CKFI is preparing to enter into a pilot program with Medline Industries. Medline Industries is the largest, privately owned medical supplier in the U.S. Through Medline, Comfort Keepers^® franchise owners will have access to more than 100,000 products, and since Medline is a manufacturer, they offer manufacturer advantages in pricing.

CKFI and Medline have almost completed the Comfort Keepers co-branded catalogue, which is now in regulatory review, and we expect that to be ready in time for the pilot program's official launch date of April 1. The Medline representatives should be delivering these catalogues, along with sales scripts for referral source presentations, to the pilot participants during the last week of March. They will also train franchise management staff and caregivers on program execution during the last week in March.

We are also pleased to announce that Medline will be offering garments, such as scrubs and lab coats embroidered with the Comfort Keepers logo, at competitive prices. Franchisees will be able to preview these garments at the Leadership Conference. Ordering will be made simple through a Comfort Keepers co-branded website, which should be online by conference time.

Medline, in coordination with Lisa Ripley, Vice President of Strategic Relations at CKFI, will be interacting with franchisees at the conference via an exhibit booth and a roundtable session. This will be a great opportunity to learn about Medline and get some preliminary results from the pilot program. We will also continue to provide updates in Friday Flash articles.

If you have any questions in the interim, please contact Judi Collins, RN, Manager of Home Care Services, at JudiCollins@ComfortKeepers.com.

Remember to vote for Comfort Keeper^® of the Year. This is the opportunity to honor six outstanding Comfort Keepers^® caregivers, and we need your help in selecting and honoring them at this year's Leadership Conference. Take a moment to cast your vote now through midnight on Sunday, March 16. 

Please note that only one vote per territory owned is allowed, and multiple votes from a single territory will eliminate the territory's entire vote. Franchisees owning multiple territories will need to return to the voting website to enter and submit each eligible vote. The 2014 Comfort Keepers of the Year will be announced next week.

Home Care Pulse^® has extended the fifth annual Private Duty Benchmarking Study survey deadline. Due to repetitive weather-related issues across the United States over the past few weeks, Home Care Pulse has received numerous calls from home care agencies asking for additional time to gather their information and complete this year's fifth annual Private Duty Benchmarking Study survey. To accommodate these requests, they are extending the participation deadline through Sunday, March 23.

This Private Duty Benchmarking study is the largest, most comprehensive study of the private duty industry in the United States. Participating in the study provides you with industry benchmarks on finance, sales, marketing, operations, and more, which enables you to assess your agency's performance relative to others. Take a moment to complete the survey and receive these great benefits:

• NEW-A free invitation to the 2014 VANTAGE Online Leadership Summit to be held May 21-22, 2014 ($399 value). This Leadership Summit will consist of six online webinar presentations by industry experts, focused on a variety of hot topics designed to help you reach your professional goals. 
• Your free 2014 Personalized Report, with an analysis of your business' key performance indicators, based on your survey responses.
• A 40% discount ($120 savings) when you pre-order the 2014 Private Duty Benchmarking Study.

Join hundreds of other agencies and become part of this important home care industry survey. If you have not yet participated, please visit www.benchmarking.homecarepulse.com to download the prep worksheet and take the survey. If you have already participated, thank you! You will, of course, receive all three benefits listed above.   

If you have any questions about completing the survey, please contact Home Care Pulse at 

(877) 307-8573 or Study@HomeCarePulse.com. 

Silverchair learning system allows you to streamline much of the training required and/or expected of your employees, including orientation and onboarding (O&O). However, there is often confusion as to which Silverchair courses or paths to assign employees in order to ensure that you are compliant with the CKFI O&O Standard requirements. To clear up this confusion, we have created a handy guide to assigning the General O&O Complete Path in Silverchair.

This path is comprehensive and includes all appropriate courses for O&O Standard requirements. We hope this makes it easier for you to schedule training for your employees and remain compliant with the CKFI O&O Standard.

If you have any questions with regards to this or any other Silverchair issues, please contact Michael West, Learning and Development Manager, at (937) 665-1321 or  MichaelWest@ComfortKeepers.com.