The work-from-home revolution is a key trend for 2022. With many businesses now offering at least some type of a hybrid-working model, putting the best remote-working systems in place has never been more important for your franchise.
In fact, 70% of UK employees feel that flexible working makes a job more attractive, and 30% would prefer flexible working to a pay rise1. When you combine this with the fact that 76.4% of UK professionals are intending to look for a new job in 20222, the need for a robust and appealing work-from-home system has never been more necessary.
Since it moved to remote working at the start of the pandemic, global cost optimisation franchise Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA), has been constructing a bespoke work-from-home strategy for its 700+ global franchise partners. Here, Tim Barber-Lomax, Business Development Manager at ERA shares his insight into how to optimise your remote-working model to get the best outcomes for your franchise in 2022.
Support productivity
Productivity is one of the key buzzwords I often hear when it comes to working from home. But in my view, I sense there’s a growing disconnect among employees and employers on just how hard people are working when at home. If you have any fears that productivity levels are low between those in your team or franchise that are working remotely then you must ask yourself, “what are we doing to incentivise and support productivity?”. Forming trust is a big factor in this – as how can you communicate expectations if you do not have a positive bond with the members of your team? Acknowledging successful performance also goes a far in keeping people inspired and engaged. We have been utilising – and obtaining the benefits of – remote working since the start of the first lockdown. Instead of a drop off in productivity, we have found the opposite is true. In fact, we have seen a 40% rise in client acquisition against 2020.
Worldwide collaboration
The power of a franchise comes from the network of people who are working towards the same purpose. In my experience, encouraging collaboration is key in being successful in competitive and crowded marketplaces. As a global network, we have already experienced years of success from instilling a culture of collaboration, but we have leaned into this even more since the start of the pandemic. Our analysts have an average of 20 years of both industry and sector experience – a fantastic pool of knowledge when you consider our 700+ franchise partners globally. Many of our franchise partners do not even prospect clients, but instead, they make their living from collaborating with other members of our network. I believe permitting your franchisees to tailor their business to their individual needs gives them the freedom to be successful. In our business, some of our franchise partners choose to employ staff, while others prefer to work individually or within the network. It really is their choice on how they decide to run the business and as a franchisor, you should be there to support their journey. Think about what you can do to inspire collaboration. Events such as remote mixers really showcase different skillsets and can be brilliant when you’re trying to foster more collaboration in your network.
Dedicated support
Training is just the beginning of a franchisee’s journey – don’t be at risk of presuming that initial training is enough to set your franchisees up for success over the longer term. In a situation where, for many people, working from home can seem overwhelming, having a reassuring arm around a franchisee will make all the difference. Dedicated support allows for franchisees to have the freedom and autonomy they desire, whilst also having access to supportive systems and ongoing training as and when it’s required. It’s imperative to consider what initiatives you could put in place to better support your franchisee’s in their business. For example, we have dedicated Area Developers who help create and nurture relationships between our franchise partners in their region. This creates a sense of connection that optimises the work-from-home model in our network.
1 Forbes, Flexible Working: The Way Of The Future, 2021
2 CV Library, Recruitment Insight, 2021
