Apple, Starbucks – they both began with a great idea. Starting with something special, the right people at the right time helped bring the idea to fruition. While the launching of any business begins with the human factor, the ongoing success of that business depends on a whole lot more.
Of course, a great product helps – an iPhone or a Mocha Frappuccino. But if the organizations behind these products didn’t provide the quality control, customer service and support needed, the lines would grow short at both Starbucks and the Apple store.
If a home care agency sent out wonderful caregivers but allowed phone calls to the office to go unanswered, mailed out inaccurate billing statements, and ignored insurance and compliance issues, it wouldn’t matter how wonderful the caregivers were, they would quickly be out of business.
The customer experience should feel easy and comfortable. The customer should leave feeling that they made the right choice. But getting too easy and natural means a lot of hard work behind the scenes. Everything an organization does makes a difference, from the way it answers its phones, to the timeliness of keeping promises, the high quality of services or product, and the follow-up. Family Resource pays attention to hundreds of details that our wonderful clients don’t necessarily see, but that makes us a better home care agency.
Sometimes people make the mistake of equating the size of a company with how well-run it is, thinking that small = personal = well-run, and large = impersonal. This assumption is simply not true for most successful companies, including Family Resource. We are by far the largest private duty home care agency in Washington State. Indeed, it is our focus on being a really well-run company with well-thought-through policies and systems that have allowed us to grow, and become even better well-run.
We know that we have the best caregivers in the business. They are loyal, skilled, patient, and kind. But if that’s all we had, our mission to provide the best in-home care would fail. Behind the clients and caregivers, there is an organization that keeps the wheels not only turning, but advancing.
