By Monique Sharland<\/p>\n
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\u2019s more than that. Mention \u201ccompany culture\u201d or \u201cfranchise culture\u201d and people\u2019s minds immediately jump to \u201ccasual dress Friday\u2019s\u201d, wine and beers socializing after work and the annual \u201cyear-end party\u201d. However, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The culture of the franchise is what should keep the franchise team together as just that \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 people who are aligned to the same core values and goals and who are going to be a great \u201cfit\u201d for the existing franchise network.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s corporate culture.<\/p>\n
This is relatively easy to do if both I, representing the franchisor, and franchisees have strong, positive cultures throughout our respective businesses. Then, it\u2019s just a matter of extending the franchise\u2019s culture into your individual business.<\/p>\n
How I\u2019m Establishing Good Business Culture in our Franchise<\/strong><\/p>\n Establishing a good franchise culture starts with me and the BAN Exco team, the leadership.<\/p>\n Recruitment of New Franchisees<\/strong><\/p>\n We will vet potential franchisees to see if they fit into BAN\u2019s 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\u2019s vision and mission statements. As mentioned previously, I together with BAN\u2019s 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\u2019s future depends on consistent leadership and proper decision making that creates confidence throughout the organization.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s in the Head Office or at the area practices or the single-operator practices.<\/p>\n Participation and Collaboration<\/strong><\/p>\n One key focus I have is vehemently supporting BAN\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Communication and Forum Meetings<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019ll be there to rally you all together and encourage you to stay engaged and work out the problems together.<\/p>\n Consistent, Replicable Standards Across the Franchise<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve all heard the adage \u201ca chain is only as strong as its weakest link\u201d. The same applies to franchises and their \u201clinks\u201d: the franchisee. A franchisee running their business sub-optimally and does not fit into the franchise culture will not only damage the franchise\u2019s 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\u2019s quality control process to highlight franchisees areas of weakness so that Head Office may facilitate further training.<\/p>\n Attitude is More Important than Aptitude <\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s a power we all have.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The key is to realize it\u2019s not what happens to you that matters; it\u2019s how you choose to respond.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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\u2019s more than that. Mention \u201ccompany culture\u201d or \u201cfranchise culture\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\n
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\nLeadership<\/strong><\/p>\n