Buying a care business
No-one could argue that buying a care business just 5 days before a global pandemic led to a national lockdown wasn’t the greatest timing in the world, but if anyone was prepared to overcome this massive obstacle, it is Joanne and Simon Ford.
That’s because before Joanne and Simon became the owners of Caremark Mansfield & Ashfield, they had spent the bulk of their careers working in the disaster management sector.
The couple met whilst employed by a company which provides disaster recovery services supporting homes and businesses affected by fire, flood, or other unexpected acts of nature.
So, whilst how to deal with a global pandemic may not have been in any disaster recovery manual, it meant Joanne and Simon were able to take a calm level-headed approach, ensuring their staff and customers were afforded the best protection possible.
Joanne had initially planned to join the business at a later date but when the Care Manager at the time left suddenly, she went back to her studies and quickly obtained her Level 5 in Leadership and Management before taking on the role herself.
They say: “We bought the business on 18th March 2020 and the first national lockdown came into place on 23rd March, so we really didn’t have any time to settle in.
“All we did then was to take the same approach as we would have if someone’s factory had burned down or home flooded and broke everything down into bitesize chunks, taking one step at a time.
“Within weeks and months and in front of the national Covid track and trace testing, we had set up a testing regime ith a local scientific lab which we used in our disaster management days and which enabled to us to test and isolate positive care staff even during mid-shift if required.
“Another example was quickly digitalising the manual processes, such as enabling staff to fill in a holiday request form online rather than having come into the office to do this.
“Minimising contact like this was crucial and thankfully we had amazing support from our carers, customers and families which saw us through, and it has actually ended up making us even stronger.”
Covid inevitably had an impact on the company, as it did to everyone involved in the care sector, but since then, Joanne and Simon have overseen a steady growth, to the point where Caremark Mansfield & Ashfield now employ just under 100 people and deliver over 2,000 hours of care each week to people in the local area.
And there are plans to increase both further in 2024.
Joanne and Simon say: “We would not have been able to achieve anything without the amazing team we have at Caremark.
“They drive everything and nothing is too much trouble when it comes to their passion of delivering outstanding, person-centred care.”
Joanne and Simon are also passionate about developing their staff – Care Manager Chloe Holmes being a perfect example.
“Chloe was working as a Field Care Supervisor when we took over the company and it was clear from an early stage that she had something in her and were keen to develop that potential,” they say.
“She is like a sponge, retaining everything you throw at her, and it’s been great to see her grow, as it is with all members of our team.”
Outside of work, Joanne and Simon enjoy spending time with their children and d travelling around the UK and Europe in their motorhome.
“We like live music and got tickets to see Coldplay in Belgium which were much cheaper than the tickets here, so we travelled to see them in the motorhome,” they say.
“It has become our happy place and we can have WiFi so it doubles as a mobile office too!!