Bluebird Care Hosts Awards Night to Reflect and Celebrate a Year of Success

The Covid-19 global pandemic, and the government restrictions that came with it, meant that Bluebird Care could not celebrate 2020, and the achievements that came with it, in their usual manner. 

Fast forward 12 months, and their popular Franchise Business Awards made a come-back. To mark the occasion, subsequent efforts were undertaken to deliver a digital ceremony, and make it more valued, more impactful and more rewarding for the franchises and the hardworking staff of Bluebird Care.

Bluebird Care’s franchises provide home care directly to their customers. The home care visits cover a variety of services, from personal care and companionship, to home help, 24-hour Live-in Care and highly personalised care plans.

The national home care provider marked the successes of 2021 with six business awards, presented virtually at the ceremony. These included: Small Business Award, Spirit Award, Medium Business Award, National Marketing Fund (NMF) Digital Marketing Award, Large Business Award and Franchise of the Year. Each award was generously sponsored, and awarded with metrics to ensure validity and parity.

The ‘Small Business Award’, given to franchises demonstrating exceptional growth rates over 12 months, reflected in their turnover accounts. Bluebird Care Sunderland won, having tripled turnover in the last year, whilst maintaining a sustained high level of quality and compliance.

Bluebird Care West Berkshire/North Hampshire won the ‘Spirit Award’, for demonstrating commitment to the brand and devotion to their staff and customers. The franchise’s staff turnover rate is especially low, whilst they remain committed to positive employment practices.

The ‘Medium Business Award’ and ‘Large Business Award’ were won by Bluebird Care South Gloucestershire and Bluebird Care Carlow, Kilkenny & Waterford respectively. The awards are allocated to the franchises demonstrating growth, staff retention, customer acquisition, quality and compliance, relative to their size.

The ‘NMF Digital Marketing Award’, newly introduced for 2021, looks at a franchise’s reputation score, engagement in National Marketing Funds (NMF), and overall local marketing activity. The winners, Bluebird Care Peterborough & Rutland, had the highest Reputation score - based on reviews, directories, social media and website updates - across the whole Bluebird Care business.

Finally, Bluebird Care Winchester, Eastleigh & Petersfield were worthy recipients of the ‘Franchise of the Year Award’. The winner is awarded based on a complex criterion, based on metrics from financial performance, engagement benchmarks and customer feedback. The Winchester, Eastleigh & Petersfield brand enjoyed expansive growth over the past 12 months and has led by example throughout the pandemic.

Hannah Banfield, Marketing and Communications Director at Bluebird Care, commented:

“After a particularly difficult 2020, it was great to be able to celebrate our excellent franchises with an element of normality to proceedings. Despite being carried out digitally this year, the ceremony itself is among one of the most rewarding occasions for a business like ours, because it provides a great opportunity to reflect on the previous year, to address all of our valued franchise owners and their dedicated and hardworking staff, and share the success and achievements of some of the most deserving businesses. Congratulations to all of the winners.”