Welcome to Kirsty meets!
Each month I meet key stake holders and business leaders in the social care sector. This month I met Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO at Walfinch. Walfinch is a home care franchise that provides elderly care, home health care, personal care, Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease care for people nationwide.
I caught up with Amrit to discuss the care recruitment crisis, franchising, and elevating the role of carer in society.
So Amrit, can you tell us a little about the care recruitment crisis and how this issue plays out in the sector?
Most people know that there is a shortage of carers – but fewer realise the extent and effect of the problem. There are 100,000 vacancies in care, vacancy rates for carers are 12 %, up 5% in just a year (see Skills for Care) and 34% of care sector workers leave their jobs annually.
Demand for home care is huge and growing. This looks like good news for the home care industry, but in fact many care services are having to turn away clients because we have not got enough carers. This is heartbreaking for the client and their loved ones but also for home care providers – because we are not just in it for the money. We really care about supporting people in need – it’s the most rewarding business that I know of.
The solution is to attract more carers, but I believe that will take a total re-evaluation of the carer role. We don’t just need to clap for carers, but to totally transform their status in our society.
“We don’t just need to clap for carers, but to totally transform their status in our society.”
Walfinch’s franchise scheme was launched in response to these challenges, but how does the programme work?
Home care is a hugely rewarding sector but it’s very difficult to start a homecare business on your own. Having been a successful home care franchisee myself, I am convinced that starting with a franchise is the best way. Hence the Walfinch franchise, which enables franchisees to make a meaningful contribution to their community, while running a profitable business.
In care sector franchising, investors (franchisees) provide the enthusiasm, commitment and energy while the franchisor provides everything they need to set up the business, including training, support with registration, recruitment, and business systems, and, vital in our sector, meeting regulatory requirements and achieving successful inspections.
This support means that you don’t need to be a homecare expert to start a Walfinch home care franchise – but you do need the right attitude and business savvy. Not that we turn away prospective franchises who have care sector experience – far from it: quite a few of our franchisees, including our
most successful, come from a care background.
How does this ‘business in a box’ scheme benefit carers specifically?
We are working to elevate the role of carer to a more professional and valued status. One of our initiatives is to offer Walfinch carers a steppingstone to business ownership – at a massively discounted rate. Staff who stay are eligible for our scheme enabling them to become franchisees by reducing the £27,000+VAT initial franchise investment fee by 10% for each year of service. By year five the investment will have dropped to £13,500 – a 50% reduction.
In what other ways is Walfinch encouraging the elevation of the carer role and why is it important to do so?
Within Walfinch we’re encouraging more carers to take NVQ qualifications, and looking at ways to help fund these courses. Carers who stick with us can rise through the ranks, ultimately becoming care managers – a role where the typical annual salary in the UK is £47,580, ranging from £31,000 to £69,500.
Care is a rewarding career with good prospects – and you need no formal qualifications to get in, because training is provided. Not many careers today offer that.
How does the franchise scheme fit in with your wider vision for Walfinch?
We see Walfinch as a force for transforming the UK homecare sector. We plan to have 200 franchised Walfinch branches across the country, all offering high-quality care, and changing the image of care from something to be ashamed of to something to shout about.
And finally, where can we find more information about Walfinch and the franchise scheme?
Find out about the franchise here; to join us as a carer check out our careers page.