Setting the tone

Ben Ashton, co-founder of home care franchise Good Oaks, discusses the importance of company values to vibrant, forward looking businesses

Company values can either be the stuff of long forgotten webpages and dusty posters or they can work much harder, underpinning every decision a business takes.

Many companies haven’t got a set of defined values or even a mission statement. They might not think about it, being too busy with day-to-day operations to think about something as seemingly esoteric as what the company stands for.

They’ll be unaware of the opportunities to shape their company that communicating, using and demonstrating company values can bring.

What can company values do?

A company’s values are important for setting the tone of a company and their influence stretches into all the different aspects of your company. Used effectively, your values are:

• Your USP.
• How you hire.
• How you change (or reward) behaviour.
• What attracts, enthuses and retains your staff.
• What drives your business growth.
• What maintains your quality.
• What guides business decisions.

Pride in Good Oaks

At Good Oaks, our five Pride Values help give our franchise network a distinctive, cohesive culture. We expect client care to be in line with these values and staff are managed and rewarded based on them. They are:

Professionalism.

In every interaction, we are professional towards our clients and colleagues. Respect. We show consideration for each other and recognise and appreciate peoples’ different needs and priorities.

Integrity.

We do the right thing. We are transparent and own up to our mistakes so we can improve.

Dedication.

We are committed to providing a quality service that actively improves the lives of others.

Empathy.

We put ourselves in the shoes of our clients to ensure our service meets their needs.

We work with our franchisees in a way that is consistent with these values. Our professional team understand what a commitment starting a business is. And because we’ve been in that exact situation, we know the hard work and dedication that is needed to succeed.

Because we’ve been where you are, thinking of making the leap into starting your own business, we know what it’s like. Our aim is to make our franchisees’ working lives easier and more rewarding, both professionally and personally.

We work with our franchisees as we’d want to be worked with - with the professionalism and respect they deserve, the dedication they need and the integrity and empathy they’d want to support their push for growth and quality.

Established in 2011, Good Oaks provides premium care for older people. We are proud of our reputation for quality, which is built on the value we place on each and every member of our team and our commitment to realise their full potential.

We are creating the next generation home care franchise. It’s built on partnership, innovation and a deeply held commitment to transform the lives of families across the UK.