October 17, 2024 • 20 mins
With 10,000 people turning 65 every day, it’s estimated that the home-based care industry will need a staggering 2.5 million additional care workers over the next five years. In this episode, Todd Houghton, Brand President of Homewatch CareGivers, shares his passion for franchising and discussed how his company is enabling franchisees to meet the ever-increasing demand for home-based care services by embracing the benefits of the franchise model and deploying innovative technology. Todd shares how the franchise model provides a strong position for franchisees to grow their businesses and accelerate their entrepreneurial journey and how his company has helped franchisees recruit and retain quality employees, including programs to provide training and education to develop non-traditional caregivers.
Todd also shares details about a new, technology-driven virtual care service line launched by his company that’s proven highly impactful for enriching client experience by reducing hospital visits, combating loneliness and isolation, enhancing connectivity, and delivering higher quality care all while enhancing caregiver efficiency. Check out this episode to see how franchising and technology can converge in the future to meet the continuous demand for quality home-based care.
Episode resources:
- Blog: How home care franchises can bolster franchisee relationships
- AlayaCare for franchises
- AlayaCare for franchisee management
- Homewatch Connect – Virtual home care technology
If you liked this episode and want to learn more about all things home-based care, you can explore all our episodes at alayacare.com/homehealth360.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Todd Houghton (00:00):
In the next five years we need about 2.5 million
more care providers in theindustry.
We've also developed programsto allow our franchisees to go
out and find what might be anon-traditional caregiver and
provide them the training andthe education that they need to
become the best caregiverpossible.
We last year won the firstplace award in franchising for
(00:22):
our recruitment retentionefforts that we do and really
we're proud of that.
We're really focused on how wehelp our franchisees sleep at
night when they know they haveenough caregivers.
That's the biggest opportunityand the biggest challenge that's
faced day by day.
Erin Vallier (00:52):
Welcome to another episode of the Home Health 360
podcast, where we speak tohome-based care professionals
from around the globe.
I'm your host, Erin Valliere,and today I am joined by special
guest Todd Houghton.
Todd joined HomeWatchCaregivers in 2022 as their
brand president, bringing withhim over 20 years of franchise
experience, including severalyears in the home care sector,
with folks like Bright StarGroup Holdings and Comfort
(01:15):
Keepers.
Todd focuses on definingsuccess and developing
operational excellence,including brand growth, quality
of care and technologicaladvancements.
He graduated from IllinoisState University with a Bachelor
of Science in Economics andBusiness and now he resides in
beautiful Colorado and enjoysall the things outdoors with his
(01:38):
family and his dogs and, as afellow Coloradan, I am right
there with you on the outdoorstuff.
Welcome to the show, Todd.
Todd Houghton (01:47):
Thanks for having me, erin, I appreciate it.
Erin Vallier (01:49):
Yeah, before we dive into the topic, I'm just
real curious.
It's transitioning, fall Skiseason's going to be here.
What keeps you outdoors in thewinter?
Todd Houghton (01:58):
Skiing, absolutely skiing, yeah, yeah.
What's your favorite mountainRight now?
If it's going to be in Colorado, it's Breckenridge.
I love to go to Breckenridge,but in all honesty, I prefer to
head over to Utah and ski overthere, if I can.
Erin Vallier (02:13):
Oh, yep, I hear you.
Both good choices.
Maybe I'll see you on theslopes.
Yeah, I know I'm super excitedto talk to you about franchising
today.
I know as new entrepreneursenter the market, there's got to
be this question of do I enterinto a franchise model with all
the support and everything ithas to offer, or do I try to do
this myself?
So I'd kind of like to startthe conversation there.
(02:36):
What would you say are some keyadvantages to choosing a
franchise model like HomeWatchCaregivers over starting an
independent business from theground up?
Are there any factors thatmight sway someone one way or
the other?
Todd Houghton (02:49):
Franchise model is absolutely the way to go.
Personal note I've been infranchising since I was in the
seventh grade and fully believein the model and what it does,
because it provides a system forsomebody to walk into and tried
and true processes that helpthem really get their feet right
in the deep end and grow thebusiness quickly.
Everything from the outstandingtraining specifically with us
(03:11):
that we offer, the systems thatare available, the platforms
that are available the personthat's looking at getting into
the business models throughfranchising just allows them the
ability to escalate a lotquicker.
Erin Vallier (03:22):
Gotcha, instead of having to figure it out all by
yourself, you already haveeverything in place and you have
a group around you to supportyou.
I like that idea.
It's a little less scary.
I imagine that the relationshipbetween franchisor and
franchisees is pretty important.
What are some crucial factorsthat contribute to a strong and
productive relationship?
Todd Houghton (03:43):
There's many and I would say it's transparency,
open and honest communication,accountability are some of the
key pieces to it, and engagementis huge.
So, from the franchisorperspective, again for HomeWatch
, we've been around for overfour decades.
We have tried and trueprocesses.
We focus on engagement with ourfranchisees, as any franchise
(04:04):
system should, but it's atwo-way street when it comes to
that as well.
The franchisee needs to bewilling to engage to help grow
their success.
We have our franchise advisorycouncil and we have working
groups, so we're really doingmany things to hear the voice of
our franchisees and let themhelp influence the direction of
our organization.
Erin Vallier (04:24):
Gotcha.
So it really depends on thefranchisee's willingness to get
involved.
Do you ever struggle gettingsomebody to speak up so you can
hear their voice?
Todd Houghton (04:34):
Yes, and transparency absolutely.
And having been in franchisingas long as I had, I think you
could ask any franchisor and weall pretty much have that 80-20
rule.
So you have about 80% of thenetwork that's always engaged
and you're going to have 20%that just want to do it on their
own and it doesn't really helpthe brand because you want
everybody's collective voice tobe heard.
(04:55):
So we really try to find waysto meet them where they're at
and get that other 20%, if youwill, to be engaged in some
fashion.
They may not be 100% engaged,but at least get some engagement
so their voice can be heard aswell.
Erin Vallier (05:09):
I think it probably behooves them to do so,
because if they're not voting,if they're not there, then they
don't have any influence overdecisions.
Which is my next question,because once you enter into a
franchise agreement, you've gotthis big document that sort of
tells you how you have to runyour business and what it's
going to look like, and that'slargely dictated by the
(05:29):
decisions made at the franchiselevel, like headquarters level.
Can you talk to us about howmajor decisions are typically
made in that franchise networkand how much input do the
franchisees actually have inthose decisions?
Todd Houghton (05:43):
So in our network again, we really believe in the
voice of our franchisees.
Every year we start our planningsession, we survey our network
for priorities that they'relooking for in the next year and
their thoughts have to playinto one of our pillars.
We operate under six pillars.
It's all around owner profit,revenue, technology you're the
(06:05):
caregivers, the care, quality,delivery, marketing, just a high
level, what the pillars are.
And so their recommendations ortheir thoughts have to play
into one of the pillars.
And then, as we start to planfor the following year, we
establish working groups of ourfranchisees to help conquer some
of those initiatives, reallyallowing for their voice to be
(06:25):
heard.
So when we launch a newinitiative, if somebody is like
I don't like that or how did Inot know this was happening,
it's really about them probablynot being engaged in because
it's been out there everywhereacross the network.
We try to make sure that itcascades down and cascades back
up so that both ways of thecommunication and accepting
(06:47):
initiatives- that's prettycomforting to know that
franchisees have a goodinfluence over this.
They're out there every day andthey know what's going on, and
so we need their voices, we needto let them be heard, and I
always think, in franchising ingeneral, some of the biggest
revenue drivers that have comefor brands have come from their
franchisees.
Whether it's Home Watch,caregivers or a lot of the other
(07:09):
well-known brands out there.
Their initiatives have comefrom their franchisees.
Erin Vallier (07:13):
Fantastic.
Let's talk about something elseI know you're passionate about,
which is growth.
What does growth look like froman individual franchisee's
perspective versus the overallbrand, and do you have any
specific milestones andstrategies that you implement
with your franchisees?
Todd Houghton (07:30):
So with our franchisees, we very much focus
on their generational wealth andtheir generational growth.
Those are big buzzwords that welike to use and we're seeing a
shift in the demographics, alittle bit of owners.
We're seeing a lot youngerowners wanting to come in.
So we really talk about hey,it's time for you to think about
building that wealth for yourchildren, handing something off
(07:52):
to them as they get throughcollege and things like that.
And so we help them set theirgoals.
What are their personal goals?
Is it the revenue amount?
Is it buying that mountain homeout in Breckenridge?
Whatever it might be?
We really want to meet themwhere they're at and help them
with that.
And then we establishmilestones based on the length
(08:12):
of time that they've been openand their success is really
dictated by that revenue and intheir profitability as well.
We like to look at both thosenumbers.
We have those milestones ofbeing a million dollars, two
million dollars, three milliondollars, five million dollars.
Just keep growing theirbusiness and the opportunity is
absolutely there in our space.
We're looking at 10,000 peopleturning 65 every day.
(08:33):
We're going to approach abillion people over the age of
65 in the next 30 years.
So the opportunity is limitlessin the aging space.
And then we also have about onethird of our business that
comes from people younger than65 that have neurological
disorders and really trying tohelp families understand that
they can keep those individualsat home.
(08:55):
They don't have to put theminto institutional.
You said I was passionate aboutit.
I am passionate about it.
Growth is there.
We want our franchisees to besuccessful from each one of
their seats across the country.
Erin Vallier (09:06):
I love that you take a more holistic approach.
It isn't just about what canyou do for me today, how much
revenue are you bringing in?
You're helping these peoplereally understand how to leave a
legacy of their own Impact notjust their family, but the
geography around them andkeeping people safe in their
home.
That's fantastic.
I love that approach.
You guys have a lot ofinfluence over how people run
(09:27):
their business right, but tohave somebody have your back
that also has your best interestat heart, that feels good.
What are some of the commonchallenges that franchisees face
in the home care industry andwhat kind of support can they
expect from the franchisor?
Todd Houghton (09:43):
There's a number of things that can be challenges
.
I always like to say there areopportunities, you know.
The first one is they are goinginto business through the
franchise model, so it can bescary, even though they have all
the support they need.
But one of the things thatdefinitely keeps me awake at
night and keeps some of myfranchisees awake at night, is
the talent that they need tohelp provide the care the
caregivers.
In the next five years, we needabout 2.5 million more care
(10:06):
providers in the industry.
So we have to, as thefranchisor, hold our
responsibility to help ourfranchisees find that talent.
And what can we do to help them?
And so we're always looking forways to improve the caregiver
efficiency.
We've brought some technologyin which we can talk about a
little bit later, but that helpsimprove the efficiencies.
We've also developed programsto allow our franchisees to go
(10:29):
out and find what might be anon-traditional caregiver and
provide them the training andthe education that they need to
become the best caregiverpossible.
We last year won the firstplace award in franchising for
our recruitment retentionefforts that we do, and really
we're proud of that.
We're really focused on how wehelp our franchisees sleep at
(10:51):
night when they know they haveenough caregivers.
That's the biggest opportunityand the biggest challenge that's
faced day by day.
Absolutely no concerns aroundwhat we call the demand issue.
The population needs us, soit's really the supply issue and
making sure that they haveenough caregivers to provide the
care.
Erin Vallier (11:07):
For sure.
So what do you guys consider anon-traditional caregiver, and
how do you approach recruitingthose people?
Todd Houghton (11:15):
You know, non-traditional caregiver
there's a lot of people outthere that are in the sandwich
generation, so they're takingcare of, maybe their kids and
taking care of theirgrandparents or their parents,
and they're potentially workingat the local coffee shop and so
they could be the best barista.
They're very engaging, they'revery compassionate because your
coffee is very important to you.
But as you talk to them you getto understand like gosh,
(11:38):
they're really about 90% of whatwe do is really showing
compassion to that aging person,really being there to just
interact with them and help themfeel less lonely and less
isolated.
And so we know, like out therein the marketplace, that barista
or server at your favoriterestaurant or the other big one
too, is really looking atpreschool teachers.
They're taking care of 20children at a time and so they
(12:02):
may not want to be in thataspect of things anymore, unlike
the one-on-one approach oftaking care of a senior.
So you can absolutely take thetime, have them go through our
training program and become agreat caregiver.
Erin Vallier (12:16):
Or a summer gig.
They do have the whole summeroff Very cool.
I like the out-of-the-boxapproach there.
As we continue on down thispath, there is more demand.
There's more changes cominglegislatively and
technologically as we continueto face these ongoing challenges
.
How do you see the home carefranchising model evolving over
(12:36):
the next five to 10 years?
Todd Houghton (12:38):
It's going to continue to become a bigger part
of the healthcare continuum andthat's one of our big focuses
in our three, five and 10-yearmodel is everything that we're
doing is becoming closer tobeing part of the healthcare
ecosystem, and there's a bigfocus on hospital to home.
Hospitals should be for sickpeople.
They can recuperate at home.
Our services really help dothat.
(12:59):
That's going to be a big change.
Interoperability is becomingbigger.
Home care is going to be part ofthe interoperability aspect of
healthcare and in the next fiveyears or even less, it'll just
be part of what happens forsomebody that is coming home
from the hospital.
They'll go into home care andthat's where the demand will
continue to grow for us, notjust home watch caregivers, but
(13:21):
the home care space in general.
Change is really the technologybecoming part of the care as
well.
Recently just read a stat Ican't find the US stat, but in
Canada 92% of people over theage of 65 have a smart device at
this point in time, and I'msure it's similar in the US.
I just can't find that numberanywhere and so we know that
they're getting more and moreused to being connected through
(13:44):
technology.
So that'll become a big part ofhow home care is delivered as
well.
Erin Vallier (13:48):
Yeah, and there's no more excuses from people who
say it's an elder.
I can't get them to use thephone.
Todd Houghton (13:54):
Yeah, you can.
Erin Vallier (13:55):
And that kind of leads me to a question about
what you've got going on.
I know that you released a newtechnology in April.
It's called HomeWatch Connect.
What can you tell us about that?
Todd Houghton (14:07):
Yeah, first we went and evaluated all of our
service lines and reallyreformulated all our service
lines to have a total caresolution from end to end.
So get people in earlier thatneed care, keep them longer and
having technology helpsupplement the direct care
visits.
So HomeWatch Connect wasdeveloped as our technology
service line.
Currently we have twocomponents in our technology
(14:29):
line.
It's our smart camera.
So the smart camera operatesthrough the TV.
It provides a closed, safeenvironment for that senior.
They all know how to use theremote, they all know how to use
TV.
As you just said, there's nomore excuses of like they don't
know how to do that.
They absolutely do and they areunder that secure environment.
We're really focused on fightingthe loneliness epidemic and
(14:52):
keeping them engaged andconnected with their family,
with their loved ones, the localoffice.
So we can have virtual visitsthrough the technology with the
local office.
In the industry, most companiesand we were the same way.
Based on state regulations,reassessments had to be done
every 60 or 90 days, dependingon the states.
(15:12):
I think we all agree that an80-year-old can change daily and
so with the technology we canhave eyes on them through a
virtual visit every day ifnecessary, identify changes and
advance the care that might beneeded so they can live at home.
77% of them want to live athome, so let's help keep them at
home.
Erin Vallier (15:31):
Let's help keep them home.
So it's a device that sits ontop of their television with a
camera, and it turns it intothis giant Zoom meeting.
In essence, very cool.
Todd Houghton (15:42):
So it helps them be connected.
It also has apps that areassociated into it that allow
for exercise, that allow forvideo sharing, music for
dementia patients, clients allthat exciting stuff.
And there's a lot moreadvancements coming in the next
year with it as well, which issuper exciting.
And again, the big thing isthat it is a secure, closed
(16:03):
environment, right.
80-year-old mom or dad orgrandma and grandpa aren't
getting phished by somebody orsomebody trying to get their
financial information, which isscary, very important.
And then also what it does isit really helps us collect data
to improve outcomes as afranchisor, as a franchise
organization.
Hopefully next year we can goto payer sources like the
(16:23):
insurance companies and get themto understand why they should
be paying better reimbursementrates or paying for services in
general for their insured.
Erin Vallier (16:31):
Absolutely.
And in that vein, what kind ofbenefits are you seeing already?
Todd Houghton (16:36):
We're already seeing reductions in hospital
visits or ER visits through ourbeta testers that we had from
late last year because we'restill having them in the system.
So we've experienced on thoseindividuals that we were
monitoring, if you will.
On that We've seen about a 33%reduction in ER visits, which is
huge, and we know thattypically those frequent flyers,
(16:58):
as they're called in thehealthcare industry, are going
to the ER because they're lonely, dehydrated or maybe have a UTI
.
And being able to keep themactively engaged through the
technology sending remindersthat come across the bottom of
the screen to stay hydrated ordrink their water or whatever it
might be that helps.
Just really touching base withthem frequently helps them feel
(17:19):
less isolated, less lonely, andhydration helps reduce the UTIs
as well.
So all of that stuff plays inand helps reduce the ER visits.
Erin Vallier (17:28):
So does it?
Flash the drink your water overtheir afternoon stories.
Everybody loves soap operas.
Todd Houghton (17:34):
It scrolls just like if you're watching the news
channel.
You know how it scrolls acrossto the bottom, does the same
thing, yeah.
Erin Vallier (17:40):
We are interrupting the as the world
turns.
Is that even on still?
I'll ask my mother.
I'm pretty sure it is.
Todd Houghton (17:48):
It was a college favor.
You know, when you had to gointo the student union during
class break, you'd watch it.
Erin Vallier (17:54):
Absolutely.
I love the reduction of ERvisits.
Have you gotten any moresubjective data in terms of how
they're feeling about it?
Do they report like feelingless lonely or anything like
that?
Todd Houghton (18:06):
Yes, absolutely so.
You know, as we reach out fortestimonials because we
obviously just launched earlierthis year and so we constantly
want to get testimonials and somany of them are just great.
We had one recently.
She wrote that her grandkidslive overseas and she had not
been able to see them.
I don't know if she didn't autoFaceTime or whatever it might
have been, but as soon as shegot set up with this, she has
(18:27):
weekly conversations with hergrandkids, and so you just hear
these stories where they connect.
And then we had another onelady who she had not seen some
of her friends in several yearsand she was able to get them
connected through the technologyand visit with them, and they
visited for over an hour is whatshe said in the testimonials.
Things like that make me feelgood.
(18:47):
I hate to say it like that, butit makes me feel good when I
get to read things like thatthat come across to my email or
whatever.
And just making a difference inpeople's lives every day is
what it's all about.
Erin Vallier (18:57):
It sure is.
That's very touching, verytouching.
Oh, I love it.
And I only have one morequestion for you.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share with the audience
before we say goodbye?
About the industry, aboutHomeWatch, about franchising in
general?
Floor is yours.
What's your parting wisdom?
Todd Houghton (19:17):
Franchising is a phenomenal model for anybody
that wants to get into businessownership.
So, as we started theconversation, why do it with
franchising as opposed toyourself?
Franchising is going to helpyou grow quickly, produce that
generational wealth, thatgenerational growth.
Home care space we touched onit.
(19:38):
The demand is there.
It's going to continue to growfor many years to come.
Home Watch we're one of theleaders in the space, absolutely
looking to continue to growacross the country.
Lots of areas that we're not inyet that we want to hit.
For anybody that's looking toget into the home care space,
look out for us.
We're at homewatchcaregiverscom.
Forward, slash franchising andtake the opportunity to see what
(19:59):
we're all about.
We talked about HomeWatchConnect.
We have a video out there.
On that site.
People can see that they canlearn all about some of our
highlights from our FDD on thereas well.
So let's see what we're allabout.
Erin Vallier (20:10):
Great Thanks for sharing and thanks for sharing
your knowledge.
This was a brief but verypowerful conversation about
franchising and we really doappreciate you coming on the
show.
Todd Houghton (20:19):
I appreciate you having me, aaron.
I always love to talk aboutfranchising, my passion.
Erin Vallier (20:24):
Home Health 360 is presented by Alaya Care and
hosted by Aaron Valier.
First, we want to thank ouramazing guests and listeners.
Second, new episodes air everymonth, so be sure to subscribe
today so you don't miss anepisode.
And, last but not least, if youlike this episode and want to
learn more about all thingshome-based care, you can explore
(20:45):
all of our episodes ataliacarecom slash homehealth360
or visit us on your favoritepodcast platform.
In the next five years we need about 2.5 million
more care providers in theindustry.
We've also developed programsto allow our franchisees to go
out and find what might be anon-traditional caregiver and
provide them the training andthe education that they need to
become the best caregiverpossible.
We last year won the firstplace award in franchising for
(00:22):
our recruitment retentionefforts that we do and really
we're proud of that.
We're really focused on how wehelp our franchisees sleep at
night when they know they haveenough caregivers.
That's the biggest opportunityand the biggest challenge that's
faced day by day.
Erin Vallier (00:52):
Welcome to another episode of the Home Health 360
podcast, where we speak tohome-based care professionals
from around the globe.
I'm your host, Erin Valliere,and today I am joined by special
guest Todd Houghton.
Todd joined HomeWatchCaregivers in 2022 as their
brand president, bringing withhim over 20 years of franchise
experience, including severalyears in the home care sector,
with folks like Bright StarGroup Holdings and Comfort
(01:15):
Keepers.
Todd focuses on definingsuccess and developing
operational excellence,including brand growth, quality
of care and technologicaladvancements.
He graduated from IllinoisState University with a Bachelor
of Science in Economics andBusiness and now he resides in
beautiful Colorado and enjoysall the things outdoors with his
(01:38):
family and his dogs and, as afellow Coloradan, I am right
there with you on the outdoorstuff.
Welcome to the show, Todd.
Todd Houghton (01:47):
Thanks for having me, erin, I appreciate it.
Erin Vallier (01:49):
Yeah, before we dive into the topic, I'm just
real curious.
It's transitioning, fall Skiseason's going to be here.
What keeps you outdoors in thewinter?
Todd Houghton (01:58):
Skiing, absolutely skiing, yeah, yeah.
What's your favorite mountainRight now?
If it's going to be in Colorado, it's Breckenridge.
I love to go to Breckenridge,but in all honesty, I prefer to
head over to Utah and ski overthere, if I can.
Erin Vallier (02:13):
Oh, yep, I hear you.
Both good choices.
Maybe I'll see you on theslopes.
Yeah, I know I'm super excitedto talk to you about franchising
today.
I know as new entrepreneursenter the market, there's got to
be this question of do I enterinto a franchise model with all
the support and everything ithas to offer, or do I try to do
this myself?
So I'd kind of like to startthe conversation there.
(02:36):
What would you say are some keyadvantages to choosing a
franchise model like HomeWatchCaregivers over starting an
independent business from theground up?
Are there any factors thatmight sway someone one way or
the other?
Todd Houghton (02:49):
Franchise model is absolutely the way to go.
Personal note I've been infranchising since I was in the
seventh grade and fully believein the model and what it does,
because it provides a system forsomebody to walk into and tried
and true processes that helpthem really get their feet right
in the deep end and grow thebusiness quickly.
Everything from the outstandingtraining specifically with us
(03:11):
that we offer, the systems thatare available, the platforms
that are available the personthat's looking at getting into
the business models throughfranchising just allows them the
ability to escalate a lotquicker.
Erin Vallier (03:22):
Gotcha, instead of having to figure it out all by
yourself, you already haveeverything in place and you have
a group around you to supportyou.
I like that idea.
It's a little less scary.
I imagine that the relationshipbetween franchisor and
franchisees is pretty important.
What are some crucial factorsthat contribute to a strong and
productive relationship?
Todd Houghton (03:43):
There's many and I would say it's transparency,
open and honest communication,accountability are some of the
key pieces to it, and engagementis huge.
So, from the franchisorperspective, again for HomeWatch
, we've been around for overfour decades.
We have tried and trueprocesses.
We focus on engagement with ourfranchisees, as any franchise
(04:04):
system should, but it's atwo-way street when it comes to
that as well.
The franchisee needs to bewilling to engage to help grow
their success.
We have our franchise advisorycouncil and we have working
groups, so we're really doingmany things to hear the voice of
our franchisees and let themhelp influence the direction of
our organization.
Erin Vallier (04:24):
Gotcha.
So it really depends on thefranchisee's willingness to get
involved.
Do you ever struggle gettingsomebody to speak up so you can
hear their voice?
Todd Houghton (04:34):
Yes, and transparency absolutely.
And having been in franchisingas long as I had, I think you
could ask any franchisor and weall pretty much have that 80-20
rule.
So you have about 80% of thenetwork that's always engaged
and you're going to have 20%that just want to do it on their
own and it doesn't really helpthe brand because you want
everybody's collective voice tobe heard.
(04:55):
So we really try to find waysto meet them where they're at
and get that other 20%, if youwill, to be engaged in some
fashion.
They may not be 100% engaged,but at least get some engagement
so their voice can be heard aswell.
Erin Vallier (05:09):
I think it probably behooves them to do so,
because if they're not voting,if they're not there, then they
don't have any influence overdecisions.
Which is my next question,because once you enter into a
franchise agreement, you've gotthis big document that sort of
tells you how you have to runyour business and what it's
going to look like, and that'slargely dictated by the
(05:29):
decisions made at the franchiselevel, like headquarters level.
Can you talk to us about howmajor decisions are typically
made in that franchise networkand how much input do the
franchisees actually have inthose decisions?
Todd Houghton (05:43):
So in our network again, we really believe in the
voice of our franchisees.
Every year we start our planningsession, we survey our network
for priorities that they'relooking for in the next year and
their thoughts have to playinto one of our pillars.
We operate under six pillars.
It's all around owner profit,revenue, technology you're the
(06:05):
caregivers, the care, quality,delivery, marketing, just a high
level, what the pillars are.
And so their recommendations ortheir thoughts have to play
into one of the pillars.
And then, as we start to planfor the following year, we
establish working groups of ourfranchisees to help conquer some
of those initiatives, reallyallowing for their voice to be
(06:25):
heard.
So when we launch a newinitiative, if somebody is like
I don't like that or how did Inot know this was happening,
it's really about them probablynot being engaged in because
it's been out there everywhereacross the network.
We try to make sure that itcascades down and cascades back
up so that both ways of thecommunication and accepting
(06:47):
initiatives- that's prettycomforting to know that
franchisees have a goodinfluence over this.
They're out there every day andthey know what's going on, and
so we need their voices, we needto let them be heard, and I
always think, in franchising ingeneral, some of the biggest
revenue drivers that have comefor brands have come from their
franchisees.
Whether it's Home Watch,caregivers or a lot of the other
(07:09):
well-known brands out there.
Their initiatives have comefrom their franchisees.
Erin Vallier (07:13):
Fantastic.
Let's talk about something elseI know you're passionate about,
which is growth.
What does growth look like froman individual franchisee's
perspective versus the overallbrand, and do you have any
specific milestones andstrategies that you implement
with your franchisees?
Todd Houghton (07:30):
So with our franchisees, we very much focus
on their generational wealth andtheir generational growth.
Those are big buzzwords that welike to use and we're seeing a
shift in the demographics, alittle bit of owners.
We're seeing a lot youngerowners wanting to come in.
So we really talk about hey,it's time for you to think about
building that wealth for yourchildren, handing something off
(07:52):
to them as they get throughcollege and things like that.
And so we help them set theirgoals.
What are their personal goals?
Is it the revenue amount?
Is it buying that mountain homeout in Breckenridge?
Whatever it might be?
We really want to meet themwhere they're at and help them
with that.
And then we establishmilestones based on the length
(08:12):
of time that they've been openand their success is really
dictated by that revenue and intheir profitability as well.
We like to look at both thosenumbers.
We have those milestones ofbeing a million dollars, two
million dollars, three milliondollars, five million dollars.
Just keep growing theirbusiness and the opportunity is
absolutely there in our space.
We're looking at 10,000 peopleturning 65 every day.
(08:33):
We're going to approach abillion people over the age of
65 in the next 30 years.
So the opportunity is limitlessin the aging space.
And then we also have about onethird of our business that
comes from people younger than65 that have neurological
disorders and really trying tohelp families understand that
they can keep those individualsat home.
(08:55):
They don't have to put theminto institutional.
You said I was passionate aboutit.
I am passionate about it.
Growth is there.
We want our franchisees to besuccessful from each one of
their seats across the country.
Erin Vallier (09:06):
I love that you take a more holistic approach.
It isn't just about what canyou do for me today, how much
revenue are you bringing in?
You're helping these peoplereally understand how to leave a
legacy of their own Impact notjust their family, but the
geography around them andkeeping people safe in their
home.
That's fantastic.
I love that approach.
You guys have a lot ofinfluence over how people run
(09:27):
their business right, but tohave somebody have your back
that also has your best interestat heart, that feels good.
What are some of the commonchallenges that franchisees face
in the home care industry andwhat kind of support can they
expect from the franchisor?
Todd Houghton (09:43):
There's a number of things that can be challenges
.
I always like to say there areopportunities, you know.
The first one is they are goinginto business through the
franchise model, so it can bescary, even though they have all
the support they need.
But one of the things thatdefinitely keeps me awake at
night and keeps some of myfranchisees awake at night, is
the talent that they need tohelp provide the care the
caregivers.
In the next five years, we needabout 2.5 million more care
(10:06):
providers in the industry.
So we have to, as thefranchisor, hold our
responsibility to help ourfranchisees find that talent.
And what can we do to help them?
And so we're always looking forways to improve the caregiver
efficiency.
We've brought some technologyin which we can talk about a
little bit later, but that helpsimprove the efficiencies.
We've also developed programsto allow our franchisees to go
(10:29):
out and find what might be anon-traditional caregiver and
provide them the training andthe education that they need to
become the best caregiverpossible.
We last year won the firstplace award in franchising for
our recruitment retentionefforts that we do, and really
we're proud of that.
We're really focused on how wehelp our franchisees sleep at
(10:51):
night when they know they haveenough caregivers.
That's the biggest opportunityand the biggest challenge that's
faced day by day.
Absolutely no concerns aroundwhat we call the demand issue.
The population needs us, soit's really the supply issue and
making sure that they haveenough caregivers to provide the
care.
Erin Vallier (11:07):
For sure.
So what do you guys consider anon-traditional caregiver, and
how do you approach recruitingthose people?
Todd Houghton (11:15):
You know, non-traditional caregiver
there's a lot of people outthere that are in the sandwich
generation, so they're takingcare of, maybe their kids and
taking care of theirgrandparents or their parents,
and they're potentially workingat the local coffee shop and so
they could be the best barista.
They're very engaging, they'revery compassionate because your
coffee is very important to you.
But as you talk to them you getto understand like gosh,
(11:38):
they're really about 90% of whatwe do is really showing
compassion to that aging person,really being there to just
interact with them and help themfeel less lonely and less
isolated.
And so we know, like out therein the marketplace, that barista
or server at your favoriterestaurant or the other big one
too, is really looking atpreschool teachers.
They're taking care of 20children at a time and so they
(12:02):
may not want to be in thataspect of things anymore, unlike
the one-on-one approach oftaking care of a senior.
So you can absolutely take thetime, have them go through our
training program and become agreat caregiver.
Erin Vallier (12:16):
Or a summer gig.
They do have the whole summeroff Very cool.
I like the out-of-the-boxapproach there.
As we continue on down thispath, there is more demand.
There's more changes cominglegislatively and
technologically as we continueto face these ongoing challenges
.
How do you see the home carefranchising model evolving over
(12:36):
the next five to 10 years?
Todd Houghton (12:38):
It's going to continue to become a bigger part
of the healthcare continuum andthat's one of our big focuses
in our three, five and 10-yearmodel is everything that we're
doing is becoming closer tobeing part of the healthcare
ecosystem, and there's a bigfocus on hospital to home.
Hospitals should be for sickpeople.
They can recuperate at home.
Our services really help dothat.
(12:59):
That's going to be a big change.
Interoperability is becomingbigger.
Home care is going to be part ofthe interoperability aspect of
healthcare and in the next fiveyears or even less, it'll just
be part of what happens forsomebody that is coming home
from the hospital.
They'll go into home care andthat's where the demand will
continue to grow for us, notjust home watch caregivers, but
(13:21):
the home care space in general.
Change is really the technologybecoming part of the care as
well.
Recently just read a stat Ican't find the US stat, but in
Canada 92% of people over theage of 65 have a smart device at
this point in time, and I'msure it's similar in the US.
I just can't find that numberanywhere and so we know that
they're getting more and moreused to being connected through
(13:44):
technology.
So that'll become a big part ofhow home care is delivered as
well.
Erin Vallier (13:48):
Yeah, and there's no more excuses from people who
say it's an elder.
I can't get them to use thephone.
Todd Houghton (13:54):
Yeah, you can.
Erin Vallier (13:55):
And that kind of leads me to a question about
what you've got going on.
I know that you released a newtechnology in April.
It's called HomeWatch Connect.
What can you tell us about that?
Todd Houghton (14:07):
Yeah, first we went and evaluated all of our
service lines and reallyreformulated all our service
lines to have a total caresolution from end to end.
So get people in earlier thatneed care, keep them longer and
having technology helpsupplement the direct care
visits.
So HomeWatch Connect wasdeveloped as our technology
service line.
Currently we have twocomponents in our technology
(14:29):
line.
It's our smart camera.
So the smart camera operatesthrough the TV.
It provides a closed, safeenvironment for that senior.
They all know how to use theremote, they all know how to use
TV.
As you just said, there's nomore excuses of like they don't
know how to do that.
They absolutely do and they areunder that secure environment.
We're really focused on fightingthe loneliness epidemic and
(14:52):
keeping them engaged andconnected with their family,
with their loved ones, the localoffice.
So we can have virtual visitsthrough the technology with the
local office.
In the industry, most companiesand we were the same way.
Based on state regulations,reassessments had to be done
every 60 or 90 days, dependingon the states.
(15:12):
I think we all agree that an80-year-old can change daily and
so with the technology we canhave eyes on them through a
virtual visit every day ifnecessary, identify changes and
advance the care that might beneeded so they can live at home.
77% of them want to live athome, so let's help keep them at
home.
Erin Vallier (15:31):
Let's help keep them home.
So it's a device that sits ontop of their television with a
camera, and it turns it intothis giant Zoom meeting.
In essence, very cool.
Todd Houghton (15:42):
So it helps them be connected.
It also has apps that areassociated into it that allow
for exercise, that allow forvideo sharing, music for
dementia patients, clients allthat exciting stuff.
And there's a lot moreadvancements coming in the next
year with it as well, which issuper exciting.
And again, the big thing isthat it is a secure, closed
(16:03):
environment, right.
80-year-old mom or dad orgrandma and grandpa aren't
getting phished by somebody orsomebody trying to get their
financial information, which isscary, very important.
And then also what it does isit really helps us collect data
to improve outcomes as afranchisor, as a franchise
organization.
Hopefully next year we can goto payer sources like the
(16:23):
insurance companies and get themto understand why they should
be paying better reimbursementrates or paying for services in
general for their insured.
Erin Vallier (16:31):
Absolutely.
And in that vein, what kind ofbenefits are you seeing already?
Todd Houghton (16:36):
We're already seeing reductions in hospital
visits or ER visits through ourbeta testers that we had from
late last year because we'restill having them in the system.
So we've experienced on thoseindividuals that we were
monitoring, if you will.
On that We've seen about a 33%reduction in ER visits, which is
huge, and we know thattypically those frequent flyers,
(16:58):
as they're called in thehealthcare industry, are going
to the ER because they're lonely, dehydrated or maybe have a UTI
.
And being able to keep themactively engaged through the
technology sending remindersthat come across the bottom of
the screen to stay hydrated ordrink their water or whatever it
might be that helps.
Just really touching base withthem frequently helps them feel
(17:19):
less isolated, less lonely, andhydration helps reduce the UTIs
as well.
So all of that stuff plays inand helps reduce the ER visits.
Erin Vallier (17:28):
So does it?
Flash the drink your water overtheir afternoon stories.
Everybody loves soap operas.
Todd Houghton (17:34):
It scrolls just like if you're watching the news
channel.
You know how it scrolls acrossto the bottom, does the same
thing, yeah.
Erin Vallier (17:40):
We are interrupting the as the world
turns.
Is that even on still?
I'll ask my mother.
I'm pretty sure it is.
Todd Houghton (17:48):
It was a college favor.
You know, when you had to gointo the student union during
class break, you'd watch it.
Erin Vallier (17:54):
Absolutely.
I love the reduction of ERvisits.
Have you gotten any moresubjective data in terms of how
they're feeling about it?
Do they report like feelingless lonely or anything like
that?
Todd Houghton (18:06):
Yes, absolutely so.
You know, as we reach out fortestimonials because we
obviously just launched earlierthis year and so we constantly
want to get testimonials and somany of them are just great.
We had one recently.
She wrote that her grandkidslive overseas and she had not
been able to see them.
I don't know if she didn't autoFaceTime or whatever it might
have been, but as soon as shegot set up with this, she has
(18:27):
weekly conversations with hergrandkids, and so you just hear
these stories where they connect.
And then we had another onelady who she had not seen some
of her friends in several yearsand she was able to get them
connected through the technologyand visit with them, and they
visited for over an hour is whatshe said in the testimonials.
Things like that make me feelgood.
(18:47):
I hate to say it like that, butit makes me feel good when I
get to read things like thatthat come across to my email or
whatever.
And just making a difference inpeople's lives every day is
what it's all about.
Erin Vallier (18:57):
It sure is.
That's very touching, verytouching.
Oh, I love it.
And I only have one morequestion for you.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share with the audience
before we say goodbye?
About the industry, aboutHomeWatch, about franchising in
general?
Floor is yours.
What's your parting wisdom?
Todd Houghton (19:17):
Franchising is a phenomenal model for anybody
that wants to get into businessownership.
So, as we started theconversation, why do it with
franchising as opposed toyourself?
Franchising is going to helpyou grow quickly, produce that
generational wealth, thatgenerational growth.
Home care space we touched onit.
(19:38):
The demand is there.
It's going to continue to growfor many years to come.
Home Watch we're one of theleaders in the space, absolutely
looking to continue to growacross the country.
Lots of areas that we're not inyet that we want to hit.
For anybody that's looking toget into the home care space,
look out for us.
We're at homewatchcaregiverscom.
Forward, slash franchising andtake the opportunity to see what
(19:59):
we're all about.
We talked about HomeWatchConnect.
We have a video out there.
On that site.
People can see that they canlearn all about some of our
highlights from our FDD on thereas well.
So let's see what we're allabout.
Erin Vallier (20:10):
Great Thanks for sharing and thanks for sharing
your knowledge.
This was a brief but verypowerful conversation about
franchising and we really doappreciate you coming on the
show.
Todd Houghton (20:19):
I appreciate you having me, aaron.
I always love to talk aboutfranchising, my passion.
Erin Vallier (20:24):
Home Health 360 is presented by Alaya Care and
hosted by Aaron Valier.
First, we want to thank ouramazing guests and listeners.
Second, new episodes air everymonth, so be sure to subscribe
today so you don't miss anepisode.
And, last but not least, if youlike this episode and want to
learn more about all thingshome-based care, you can explore
(20:45):
all of our episodes ataliacarecom slash homehealth360
or visit us on your favoritepodcast platform.
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