New Report: Senior Care Franchise Sector Continues to Stand Out
by Franchise Business Review
Franchise Business Review Report Looks at Home Care Opportunity, Franchisee Satisfaction
PORTSMOUTH, NH—The home care industry has quickly emerged as one of the top sectors for franchising in the past two years, both in terms of profitability and franchisee satisfaction, according to a new report released today by market research firm Franchise Business Review.
The report—Senior Care Franchises—looks at the fast-growing, multi-billion dollar home care industry to assess the franchise investment opportunity. Franchise Business Review took its first close look at senior care in 2010 when the industry was just emerging as a promising franchise sector. Since then, the industry has only grown in popularity and in stability.
“What two years ago may have looked like a ‘safe’ industry in a down economy is today one of the hottest sectors, offering some of the best franchise opportunities,” writes Franchise Business Review.
To compile the report, researchers at Franchise Business Review looked at more than 35 senior care franchise companies, interviewed CEOs at some of the leading franchise brands, and surveyed 1,348 franchisees.
Franchisees were asked to rank their franchise systems in the areas of financial opportunity, training and support, leadership, operations and product development, core values (e.g., honesty and integrity of franchisor), general satisfaction, and the franchisee community. Franchisees also answered questions about their market area, demographics, business lifestyle, overall enjoyment running their franchise, and role in the franchisee community.
Using this survey data, Franchise Business Review identified the top senior care companies (those with above average franchisee satisfaction). That list includes Home Instead Senior Care, Visiting Angels, Homewatch CareGivers, Right at Home, BrightStar, FirstLight HomeCare, Caring Senior Service, Home Care Assistance, Nurse Next Door, and CarePatrol.
“In the past two years, the number of senior care companies on our annual list of top franchises has increased, and franchisee satisfaction in the sector as a whole just continues to go up,” said Franchise Business Review president Michelle Rowan.
Franchise Business Review reports that, in 2012, senior care franchisees rated their satisfaction higher than the benchmark in every category of their annual survey (Training & Support, Franchise System, Leadership, Financial Opportunity, Core Values, and Franchise Community), and overall satisfaction in the senior care space was 11% higher than FBR’s benchmark.
Interestingly, senior care franchisees also ranked their “work-life balance” lower than franchisees in all sectors. According to FBR’s research, franchisees in senior care work more hours (including more nights and weekends) than franchisees in other business sectors.
Lisa Ganem, a Home Instead franchisee for the past 10 years, told Franchise Business Review that she works approximately 60 hours a week, trying to mentor and cultivate her team and constantly reach out to consumers. Despite the time investment, Ganem said she’s “probably never felt this fulfilled before.”
From a demographic perspective, the franchisees surveyed for Franchise Business Review’s report had some similar characteristics: Most had fairly new businesses (76% had been in business for less than five years) and were in big markets (57% were in markets with a population of at least 250,000 people). The majority of franchisees (more than 65%) were over the age of 45, and 86% were Caucasian. There tend to be more female franchisees in the senior care sector than in other sectors, and they tend to be better educated (74% with at least a bachelor’s degree vs. 57% in all of franchising).
Franchise Business Review, a market research company, looks at franchise opportunities from the perspective of a franchisee candidate using both detailed company and industry research applied consistently across all franchises. While the success of any franchise investment is highly dependent on the actions and performance of the individual franchise operator, Franchise Business Review's research focuses on key metrics collected from FDDs, management interviews, industry and competitor information, and Franchise Business Review’s own proprietary analysis.