Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves advises on the importance of adapting to change…
As the challenges of 2020 continue, it has never been more important for a franchisor to adopt a flexible approach to business. Increasing and adapting the levels of support and communication offered to business owners is vital to help everyone stay safe, motivated and successful.
During lockdown, all offices within the Belvoir Group were closed for two months, and I am delighted to report that we did not lose a single franchisee to Covid-19 during this period – either for health reasons, or for business reasons. Another remarkable achievement is that our franchisees, who all went above and beyond the call of duty during lockdown, actually managed to maintain business growth throughout this period. One of the main reasons for this lockdown success is the nature of the business – the vast majority of franchisee income comes from residential lettings, and despite lockdown and the impact of the pandemic, this recurring income resulted in our franchisees retaining 90% of that income. Another reason for success was due to a massive commitment to flexible working, by the franchisor and our franchisees.
In order to support our franchisees, Belvoir poured further resources into the franchise support team, adapting our working patterns to become much more flexible and able to react as quickly as possible to a very fast changing situation. The Government had a habit of announcing some very major changes after 6pm and our Franchise Support Team was primed to receive this information, understand it, research it and formulate a business advisory position that could then be efficiently communicated to the network as clearly and specifically as possible so that it could be followed with immediate effect. This level of franchise support became, and remains, a major priority for the team, as we recognise just how important it is to offer enhanced advice and training to franchisees, via group emails, webinars and virtual network group meetings. We also called on industry experts to offer further advice on many topics, including the mental wellbeing of franchisees and their staff, as we recognised this was extremely important during periods of extreme stress.
Feedback about the levels of communication we provided to franchisees across the Group has been very positive. The feeling of not having to cope with everything alone, and having extra support from the franchisor and other franchisees within the network made the situation much more manageable and solution focused.
At present the Franchise Support Team is following the spirit of the Government advice and are working from home where possible. Our Central Office remains open, with staff operating a rota, spending one to two days each week in the office in a Covid-safe way. This level of home working is likely to continue until at least the end of the year, but daily Zoom calls have proved invaluable in helping everyone to retain a sense of being part of a team. I have actually seen and talked to my team more in recent months than ever before, which has been refreshing and inspiring.
As the furlough scheme draws to a close, the Government is introducing new initiatives to support businesses. Some of these are well documented, others less so. One of the less well known, but very worthwhile schemes that franchises might like to consider is the Kickstart scheme. The £2billion Kickstart Scheme is currently open, and the Government will pay six months of minimum wage, national insurance and pension contributions for a maximum of 25 hours a week for 16 to 24-year-olds who are claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. The Belvoir Group has offered to hire 45 youngsters in these roles, and also to act as an account manager for all of these roles. Every franchisee who takes on a youngster under the Kickstart scheme receives £1500 per person to help with training, support and additional costs, but importantly the Kickstart scheme gives valuable work experience and skills to youngsters who deserve a chance. At the end of the six months, franchisees may find that they have a very enthusiastic young trainee with lots of potential, who they would be happy to offer a permanent role.
For more information on the Government Kickstart scheme visit: https:/www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-schem
