Franchise Package Elements – The Recruitment and Selection Package
So you have started on your Operations
Manual, but who is going to use it?
By Lindy Barbour
Recruiting and
selecting the right franchise partners is critical to the success of any franchise
operation. Perhaps the greatest mistake a brand custodian can make in the
implementation of their expansion strategy, is selecting inappropriate
owner-operators.
While we
discussed the Operations Manual in detail in the previous issue, it must be noted
that the format of the Operations Manual is heavily dependent on the profile of
your operators. If you are leaning more towards a product trade name franchise
you will require a more sophisticated operator as your Operations Manual will
be less detailed. If your franchise system is better categorized as a business
format franchise you must weigh up the depth of the materials provided with the
skills and experience of the people you choose.
By now you should
be clear on the type of business to be franchised and similarly you should establish
clear criteria and guidelines as to the profile of your ideal operator before
you begin your operator search. Your operator profile should include the skills,
education, experience, personal attributes and financial resources required. It
is also advisable to draw up a job description for your franchisees. The
comprehensive outline of the franchisee’s roles and responsibilities drawn up
during the development process should assist you in completing both the
operator profile and the job description.
Potential
franchisees must be selected with care and with due consideration given to the critical
success factors of your business. These may include elements such as:
·
Managing expectations throughout the process
·
Using the tools in the process to identify suitable franchisees
·
Careful selection of existing operators if there is a conversion
strategy
·
Managing resources to save time and money
·
Managing the risks to the franchise brand
·
Recruiting the right people for the business
·
Formalising the process to ensure a level of
professionalism
In addition to
being thorough, the recruitment and selection programme of any franchisor
should be geared towards attracting individuals who fit the culture of the
brand and who will uphold its values. To ensure your
rapport with prospective franchisees is pleasant from the initial enquiry while
also making effective use of your resources, it is important to balance the
personal elements with the formal steps of the recruitment process. With the objective of
recruiting the best operators, the recruitment process should also incorporate
an element of ‘gut’ feel.
The screening
process in a good recruitment and selection programme should provide a filter
for unsuitable applicants, effectively eliminating them in the early stages of
the process to save both time and resources. Like a pyramid, the base comprises
a pool of interested parties from which the unsuitable candidates are filtered
out by the nature of the process. This allows only the most suitable applicants
to make their way through the stages of the process and into the network. The
recruitment process is, in fact, a ‘reverse selling’
process whereby unsuitable applicants are ‘weeded out’ on a continuous basis, ultimately
leaving only the most suitable partners for selection.
Franchisors need to carefully
consider the franchise marketing methods they employ. Depending on the business,
these methods may range from expos to online franchise listings, franchise publications,
magazines and so forth. Once the marketing is in the public arena, any
enquiries received should be streamlined and channelled through the process. It
will also be helpful to keep a record of where the enquiries are being
generated from.
Your
recruitment process should ideally start with an online enquiry form on your
website, limited to key questions and basic information. The online application should be followed up with a more comprehensive
application, asking detailed questions including all the financial information required.
From this point the elements to the recruitment package may vary
significantly to suit your business model. For
candidates that pass the first round, applications should then be followed up
with one-on-one interviews that could be combined with on-the-job exposure.
Many franchisors also choose to add a psychometric test as a requirement which,
if based on your specific franchisee profile and requirements, can be helpful,
provided it is not used as a yes/no test that is cast in stone. Furthermore, a
franchisee should not be accepted until they have not drawn up a business plan,
which may be presented at the final panel interview.
The recruitment
and selection programme should also provide for the respective package elements
to be included at the appropriate times, but it is advisable to do so only
after a Confidentiality Agreement has been signed. It is also advisable to have
the applicant sign a Commitment Undertaking and pay a percentage deposit. It
must be noted that this deposit cannot be non-refundable; if the applicant is
unsuccessful it must be returned less only the direct and justifiable costs.
A
professional approach to the recruitment process requires that the applicant’s
success or failure in each step of the process be acknowledged in writing.
Remember
that any chain is only as strong as its weakest link - more important than
having franchisees choose your
business system, is that you must
choose the franchisees you allow into your network.
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