Building Engagement, Collaboration and Community

By Monique Sharland

Engaged franchise owner’s matter.

Participation, collaboration and having a sense of community is the cornerstone for business and personal happiness and success, so possessing these values is synonymous with BAN’s and any other company’s success by way of its entrenched culture of these values and active engagement by its members.

Your Decision to Join BAN’s Franchise?

A decision to join BAN’s franchise, as opposed to choosing to buy an independently branded business or starting your own accounting practice was probably important for three reasons:

First, there are world-wide statistics which support the fact that the failure rate for small businesses is reduced significantly for franchisees than those starting their own independent business because a franchise has already created tried and tested systems and built a reputable and well-known brand based on those systems that can leverage its strategy to capture market share.

Second, the decision to join our franchise system means that you have committed to learn our business model and expectations of the BAN franchisor and follow the system and manuals. A franchise creates a symbiotic relationship between the franchisee, fellow franchisees and their franchisor, each reliant on the other to perform their respective roles to achieve success.

Third, and probably the one important thing that you most likely considered and which you based your decision on when you joined our franchise system was the support that the BAN franchise system provides.

The undeniable power of support in any franchise system is from the network itself, a network of interdependent relationships all sharing the same goal by being able to tap into a pool of professional technical expertise, talent and intellectual capital and to share and exchange ideas and best practices that you would not have gotten from going it alone.

Participation:

Participating in training and forum meetings and our annual national conference (AGM) increases collaboration and allows brainstorming. As a result, more ideas are developed, knowledge is shared and efficiency improves.

Taking part in forum meetings and training is a great opportunity to bond with fellow franchisees and my head office team in an informal environment.

Participating in our social events such as our year end functions, also creates a sense of community amongst your fellow franchisees and our head office team.

Newer Franchisees Not Always Proactive in Seeking Support:

One of the great things about being in a franchise business is the support network you have from your fellow franchisees and the support of my head office team.

Throughout the year I have found that newer franchisees are not always proactive in seeking out that support. BAN’s national franchise conference and mid-year regional forum meetings and training events provides a great opportunity to spark conversations with your peers that lead to lasting friendships and to an understanding of who in the network is experienced in different areas and who will be able to give advice in the future. This means when a franchisee that is new to the franchise business needs assistance, they have a better understanding of who to get in touch with for advice from a peer.

Collaboration:

I fully believe that involving all of our franchisees together with me will make the franchise system stronger. I have gone through the process of creating and hosting regional meetings and increasing participation at our annual general meetings and our monthly training sessions.
You need to understand your role and the importance of contributing to the system as a whole.

The “ahaa” moment should come when you realise that I have provided the opportunities for collaboration — not only was it important for me to listen, but it’s what I have done from listening to the information provided from your collaboration with your fellow franchisees.

This can’t be emphasized enough—active participation and collaboration from you together with me can make or break the engagement of our franchise system.

Collaboration begins when you start to collaborate with your fellow franchisees and me, and you will find that together our ideas and suggestions will be inspiring and help the franchise system grow and prosper at a faster rate.

Defining Engagement:

Many franchisees consider themselves customers of the franchise system and believe it’s my role to get the franchisees engaged. This is the biggest franchisee myth today.

Engagement isn’t only about what you do; it’s about how you do it. It’s about having all franchisees participate with me and collaborate in finding the right solution so everyone is invested in a successful outcome.

It’s about getting positive and active participation from everyone, your peers and me, in several aspects of the business, including helping define the strategic direction of the franchise system.
Some franchisees may be thinking they are paying my franchisor company to develop and execute the strategy. To develop a strong strategy, I need to get input from all franchisees.

Great leaders don’t think they have all of the answers. They listen, seek out advice, value opinions and encourage input.

Cultivating a Culture of Engagement in BAN

The concept of engagement might seem simple. Cultivating a culture of engagement, on the other hand, is anything but. It requires dedication, focus and time to take root. The result of this labour can be profound.

I can understand the economic impact of engagement and the key factors that lead to engagement.

Some of the attributes that foster engagement include BAN promoting a clear vision and having active participation by all of its franchisees. Of course, active participation would be hard to achieve if BAN didn’t offer the mechanism or opportunities for you to participate.

When I look at the franchisees who are most engaged (the top quartile of engaged franchisees), they are 2.7 times more likely to report strong financial results than the bottom quartile.

Evidence from USA research is quite dramatic …… an engaged franchise system will fuel economic growth. Using the Ingage Barometer engagement tool, created by Ingage Consulting and Liminality Inc. to assess the level of engagement within a franchise, we can better understand the economic impact of engagement.

How do we cultivate a culture of engagement in BAN? The franchise system must provide the opportunity to improve engagement.

Does engagement matter? Definitely. I, along with many other business owners, have stressed the importance of engagement within a franchise system. And now there is global research and proof to back it up!