Recruitment is one of the key challenges for any expanding franchise operation. You may have nailed the marketing and be attracting volumes of applicants but sifting through the candidates to assess who will be best to represent your brand cannot be underestimated as one of the most important tasks any franchisor can focus their effort on.
New franchisees need to fit with your brand values, they need to be driven, ambitious, be able to work on their own and be capable of running a business. Many of them will have never had previous experience before so how do you asses who will work out and who won’t?
I’ll be honest, it’s not an easy task!! I’ve worked in franchise recruitment for many years and have seen things go wrong. For this reason it’s imperative the recruitment process is detailed and honed to avoid costly mistakes for both the franchisor and the franchisee. Information needs to be gathered and assessed objectively. Use the opinions of your colleagues and listen to your gut instincts too!
Franchisees need to be able to demonstrate the personal attributes needed for success even if they have not had many years’ experience managing their own business. Some organisations use psychometric testing, but I know successful franchisees can come from all walks of life and can have very different personalities. Therefore, I believe spending time with them and learning what makes them tick is probably one of the best ways to find out if they’ve got what it takes.
Think of it as a two-way fact-finding mission! The potential franchisee needs to get to know you and your operation, and you need to find out how they react and perform in different circumstances. Learn what drives them, what are their values, how do they interact with others? Will they ‘follow the manual’ and be happy to accept franchisor help and guidance when needed? How responsive are they, do they do what they said they would? Ask questions, ask many questions and then ask some more!
Draw up a list of the key attributes necessary to succeed when running your franchise. A check list can help to see how the potential franchisee stands up and scores against certain points. This can also identify any gaps which training can overcome. It will ensure franchisees who are selected to become your brand ambassadors are more likely to succeed.
Getting them to produce a business plan can also be revealing. It can show their grasp of the numbers and indicate their plans for the future.
At Burger & Sauce our processes have been developed so it’s easy to run one of our restaurants. We are big on tech to make life easy! So anyone with a great work ethic, excellent staff management skills and the desire to succeed is likely to do well. But we are still fussy who we work with. We are in this game for the long haul and so getting along with our franchisees and seeing eye-to-eye is also important.
Franchisors should not be prepared to expand at any cost, because mistakes with recruiting the wrong franchise may cost them dearly further down the line. By selecting only the best candidates, as a franchisor it is possible to support, train and help nurture their business development goals to help them capitalise on the opportunities our business model offers, creating a situation where everyone benefits, and the brand grows more smoothly and successfully. Trust me, the investment in time and effort really getting to know potential franchisees will be worthwhile!
For further information on the Burger & Sauce franchise opportunity please see: www.burgerandsauce.com
