How a Coalition of Live-in Care Companies Make a Bigger Impact

In 2012 some of the leading live-in care providers across the UK formed a partnership. Each individual provider was committed to improving the standards of care for elderly people. They wanted to give seniors options to continue to lead as full a life as possible in their later years.

This attitude is something of a small revolution. This is especially true in a country that traditionally considers residential care homes the best places for those people who are too frail to look after themselves. But these committed companies needed help in raising awareness of their vision. They needed a bigger voice.

 

 

Now a Well Established Group

The Live-In Care Hub, as the group of partner companies became known, is now well established. They continue to work toward raising awareness of live-in care (or in-home care) as a life-enhancing alternative to residential care homes for the elderly. By combining their joint forces they have been able to achieve what each individual company could not have achieved alone.

Combining their experience and expertise, more than a dozen companies came together to develop a hub resource. Here, elderly people and their families can find impartial advice and information as they consider care options.

The coalition has also commissioned a range of research studies, conducted by OnePoll and CensusWide, that highlight why live-in care is a better alternative than a residential care home. On the strength of these reports, they have been able to gain media exposure in the UK. The reports show how quality of life for elderly people significantly improves when they receive care in their own homes.

Each individual company has been well established as a live-in care provider for many years. Therefore, their combined strength increases their reach and credibility among the general public and the media.

 

The Live-In Care Hub Coalition: Stronger Together

Coalitions have been proven to increase influence on the general public and within the media. In the case of the Live-In Care Hub, the individual companies have come together in order to achieve a common objective. Their intention is to improve elderly care by raising awareness of live-in care as an alternative to a residential care home.

Companies with similar values and goals have formed the Hub in order to combine their resources and expertise. They thereby become more influential than they could each be alone.

 

Benefits of Coalitions

There are significant advantages to forming a coalition in all types of industry sectors. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will enjoy the benefit of increased power and influence for a common initiative. But such groups can also make each individual member company more effective in other areas as well. This is because they learn from being part of a larger organization. This is true of the larger companies in the coalition as well as the smaller companies.

For a coalition to be successful in the way the Live-In Care Hub has been, it needs members who have similar objectives. Clearly, they need to get buy-in from each separate company. Therefore, members must see that the benefits of being a member outweigh the costs involved.

 

Key Advantages of Coalitions

Some of the key advantages of such a strategic alliance are:

• A coalition can be more successful in achieving a common goal. That’s because many companies are speaking with one voice.
• Wider expertise is available for complex matters. Some companies in the coalition who already have expertise in a particular area can pass that on to other member companies.
• Smaller companies benefit from increased exposure in their marketplace.
• Individual companies can expand their network of business relationships easily. They do this by sharing contacts among the coalition members
• With their combined resources, the coalition is able to conduct more research. Additionally, they can augment existing research to make it more substantial.
• A coalition can help avoid duplication of effort while working towards their common goal.
• A coalition tends to receive more media attention. This therefore helps to raise individual members’ profiles and credibility.

 

Disadvantages of Coalitions

As in any partnership there will be disadvantages as well as advantages. These can include:

• The coalition can find it difficult to come to agreement about important issues. That’s because more people are involved in meetings and the decision-making process.
• Individual members can veto group decisions.
• The level of contributions to the coalition may vary among members, leading to resentment among the most active members.
• Members may struggle to find enough resources for the coalition as well as for the main business.
• All members share failures as well as successes.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW CAN A SMALL COMPANY DIFFERENTIATE ITSELF IN A CROWDED INDUSTRY?

 

Conclusion

Forming a coalition is a time-consuming operation that almost always requires some form of compromise. Further, they can put pressure on organizational resources. However, the advantages in terms of increased profile and credibility, as well as combined expertise, will usually outweigh any disadvantages.

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