In any business, your franchise staff can make your business work or cause it crumble. They are at the front line, providing great (hopefully!) customer service, exposing your brand and your company values. Your franchise will get one opportunity to impress customers, and if your frontline staff can’t or won’t do it then you rarely get a second chance and all the discounting and service in the world won’t fix a first bad impression.
Like anything, you need to be totally clear about your core values and the core reason why you have chosen to go down this path of Franchising. Once you have defined this, you will be able to select people that compliment your core values, not compete with it. The people you select need to reflect these core values so that, when you are not there, you can be confident that your values are being articulated to your customers in the way that you expect and that grows the business.
Selecting staff and ensuring they perform, and then if necessary, getting them out of your organisation are some of the issues that business owners find the most difficult. One of the reason is that this area is a legal and litigious minefield, and many Franchisors would rather “just not go there”. If this area is not handled correctly the result could be very expensive, both financially and also in terms of Public Relations. Like most relationships the best course of action is to exercise care when getting into the relationship and so that you don’t have to exit on less than desirable terms.
Start by writing a job description and a list of what you would see as being the ideal candidate. Keep to the facts and don’t deviate from your list – even by someone who looks good or by someone that tells you they can do the job. Check their job history, references, past projects and track record. Don’t take the first candidate.
But in saying all of this, be as realistic as you can. You’re not offering the best job in the world on the highest remuneration package with all the perks in the world. You will get what you pay for. You will need to make an investment in this person, not only in terms of paying them a salary or commission, but in support and training. Don’t underestimate this cost as it can be significant.
The other option that exists is to get a professional firm in to handle this whole process for you. This will cost you money but may be better than handing a task yourself that you don’t feel comfortable with or feel that, even though this will cost you more, it will lead to a better outcome and better choices.
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