By Sarah Stowe Sarah Stowe heads up the editorial in the Inside Franchise Business group…

Franchise Culture as a Foundation for Franchise Success
By Monique Sharland
For those of you that know me, which is most of you, you know that the topic of franchise culture is very dear to me. Creating a franchise culture is unique to every brand and is certainly important for franchisee satisfaction, but it’s more than that. Mention “company culture” or “franchise culture” and people’s minds immediately jump to “casual dress Friday’s”, wine and beers socializing after work and the annual “year-end party”. However, it’s the brand values, way of working, integrity and ethics, policies and processes, behaviour and language, procedures and relationships that really define the culture of a franchise.
And it’s that individual culture of any franchise business and brand that will make or break it – it can be the difference between happy and unhappy franchisees, satisfied and disgruntled clients and the reputation of the franchise overall! It goes almost without saying that a positive business culture increases productivity and profitability.
Moving into the franchise world, a clear culture is essential to the long-term success of a franchise brand. The culture of a franchise brand goes beyond what’s written down in the Franchise Service and Operations Manuals. It’s goes beyond just the brand vision and mission statements. It’s those things and more. It’s a set of, very often at least, partially unwritten rules about how franchisor and franchisee, the team and the franchise network work together as a whole to deliver what’s written down, how they communicate with each other, how they support each other, inter- relate and behave with each other and what’s expected of them individually and overall.
The culture of the franchise is what should keep the franchise team together as just that – a team, and as in BAN, working disparately in different geographical locations but with a vital need to be held together, a joint sense of belonging and purpose.
And further on the flip side, having a clear culture will aid me in steering the business forward and in identifying the right people to take on board to grow the team – people who are aligned to the same core values and goals and who are going to be a great “fit” for the existing franchise network.
Business or corporate culture in franchises is a bit more complicated than in independent businesses because there is the added layer of the parent or franchisor company. However, franchisees need to promote strong corporate culture within their own individual businesses while also staying true to the franchisor’s corporate culture.
This is relatively easy to do if both I, representing the franchisor, and franchisees have strong, positive cultures throughout our respective businesses. Then, it’s just a matter of extending the franchise’s culture into your individual business.
How I’m Establishing Good Business Culture in our Franchise
Establishing a good franchise culture starts with me and the BAN Exco team, the leadership.
Recruitment of New Franchisees
We will vet potential franchisees to see if they fit into BAN’s overall core values and brand culture. We also provide initial training to all new franchisees to adhere to that overall culture and to embrace both the franchisees and the franchisor’s vision and mission statements.
Leadership
As mentioned previously, I together with BAN’s Exco must lead by example and set the tone for the culture of the franchise. How we treat franchisees and clients reflects in how franchisees and their employees treat clients and each other. I understand that the franchise’s future depends on consistent leadership and proper decision making that creates confidence throughout the organization.
I also understand that for the franchise to operate as a team, it needs the dedication of every person throughout the network. Integrity and competence fosters loyalty, whether it’s in the Head Office or at the area practices or the single-operator practices.
Participation and Collaboration
One key focus I have is vehemently supporting BAN’s culture to its inclusive approach to problem-solving, planning and strategy. Although there is a wealth of experience and knowledge at the Head Office, it should always be moderated with the input from franchisees. This should be done through the BAN Franchise Advisory Committee which was set up in January and which meets periodically to discuss all types of issues. I am very interested in what franchisees have to say and take all feedback into consideration. Commendably, over the past 19 years, the experience of our franchisees has helped with the creation and execution of new strategic plans.
Communication and Forum Meetings
I am committed to the continued open-lines of communication in our franchise-franchisee relationship that we all benefit from. If an initiative is working, our franchisees will be the first to know. Likewise, when something is not going well, I will make sure that franchisees are aware of the issues and that the Head Office is seeking to resolve the problem.
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) together with our mid-year regional forum meeting is a great place to openly discuss planning and strategies. And when something is not going well, I’ll be there to rally you all together and encourage you to stay engaged and work out the problems together.
Consistent, Replicable Standards Across the Franchise
We’ve all heard the adage “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. The same applies to franchises and their “links”: the franchisee. A franchisee running their business sub-optimally and does not fit into the franchise culture will not only damage the franchise’s reputation but will bring the rest of their franchisees down with them. Strong and decisive leadership must deal with the individual as soon as this situation becomes apparent. However, one crucial way to avoid this situation is to ensure good training, learning systems and technical support are in place. I do not expect franchisees to already possess all of the skills required to run their business, but I do expect a positive approach to learning and BAN’s quality control process to highlight franchisees areas of weakness so that Head Office may facilitate further training.
Attitude is More Important than Aptitude
It’s easier to train aptitude than attitude. When franchisees have the right attitude, they are both motivated and adaptable which makes them more open to learning new skills. With the right attitude and enough effort most new skills can be mastered quickly.
One of the most important steps Head Office and franchisees can take toward achieving our greatest potential in business is to learn to monitor our attitude and its impact on our work performance, relationships and everyone around us.
We all have a choice. We can choose an inner dialogue of self-encouragement and self-motivation, or we can choose one of self-defeat and self-pity. It’s a power we all have.
Being in business is very similar to going on a roller coaster ride, there will be plenty of ups and downs. We will all encounter hard times, heartache, success, failure etc.
The key is to realize it’s not what happens to you that matters; it’s how you choose to respond.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the best franchise organizations are characterized by leadership that has realistic goals and objectives, a “team” environment, and a respect for franchisees and clients.