March 27, 2008 – Home health care agency requires an upgraded infrastructure, management training, and a strategic plan
for growth. 

INNOVATIVE HOME HEALTH CARE AGENCY FACES CRISIS

Company

A five-year old in home care agency with two locations needed an outside perspective for an internal examination. Today, this company is the fifth largest company in the fourth largest home care franchise in the nation.  Home care companies are cash intensive businesses.

Problem

In their own words, “Our decision to bring in an outside consultant to ‘look in’ was made out of necessity, rather than careful planning.”

“In Q4, 2006, we knew that we had cash flow problems, service line mix problems, management problems, and employee problems; and we felt that we had grown our business as far as we could—though we knew that there were greater places to grow.”

“We felt that our ‘crisis’ situation showed our biggest weakness to be lack of planning. Our entrepreneurial spirit still had to be present, but we needed to use our energy and money in ways that we knew would benefit the growth of our business.”

Solution

January 2007   

Hired Ducks in a Row Consulting

To tackle the issues in two phases, we:

Phase I

• Examined and recommended changes to the company’s financial practices
• Examined the service line mix of private and state contracts
• Deconstructed the existing infrastructure—positions and job descriptions—to determine the positions needed and the skills required to assume those positions
• Examined employee management practices
• Determined which “business survival tactics” that once served the business well had begun to hurt the business

Phase II

• Conducted strategic planning and developed a three-year growth plan

Results

Q1, 2007

• Increased cash flow

Mid 2007

“By mid-2007, our business had changed immensely. We had better cash flow, better managed employees and we could grow the business while maintaining the growth.”

Q4, 2007

• 22% increase in annual revenue

• 24% increase in weekly billable hours
  

If you would like to increase your revenue and profitability and fix operational problems that have become obstacles to your success, please contact us at 978-463-2264 or ruth@ducksinarowconsulting.com.