The Challenges and Solutions of Franchise Management

Are you ready to turn your business into a franchise?



For many business owners, this is a huge and exciting step. It means your dream has grown and expanded into something you think will be profitable in other locations.

But more stores also means greater management complications. You have to make sure your chain is still maintaining the brand image and delivering excellent customer service. This can be complicated

So how do you go about franchise management?

Below, we go into key challenges and solutions franchise managers face. Keep reading to learn more!

1. You Don't Have as Much Brand Control

Do you love being able to have control over your brand? 

Many people love being able to build their brand from the ground up. They want to make sure that everything goes just how they envisioned it, and the thought of losing this control sometimes seems frightening.

Yet, if you want to franchise your brand, you might run into instances in which employees or franchise owners do things off-brand. What should you do in this case?

First, make sure you are personally holding your brand to the highest quality standards. Many customers are willing to forgive one-off bad experiences with certain locations if their other experiences have been positive. Second, if the problem persists, consider closing the stores for a half-day of mandatory training.

Many brands do this anyway to make sure their employees are up-to-date on anti-sexual harassment protocols and other safety measures.

2. Increased Regulations

When you first opened your business, you likely had to get permits from the local government and adhere to local laws.

The same applies to stores in locations other than you home city. Some places have different rules and laws regulating working hours and other aspects you'll need to consider. 

To make sure you stay compliant with local laws, keep in close communication with people managing your specific branches. This person should be familiar with the regulations in their city or willing to learn about them. Many franchisors use workweek scheduling software in order to ensure they remain in compliance with any relevant laws.

3. Loss of Ability to Innovate in Individual Stores

When you own your own, non-franchised business, you ahve the ability to innovate within your store to a degree in which you can't if you franchise.

Think of it this way: when people go to a McDonald's, they know the kind of food they can get. They expect the quality and menu at one McDonald's to be the same as what they get at every other McDonald's. The only exceptions come about when they travel to McDonald's in different countries.

Because of this, a McDonald's franchisee can't change the menu or experience at just one McDonald's. Otherwise, customers may become dissatisfied and frustrated. 

If you are becoming a franchise, you can get around that by being selective about what you release and do in your stores. Make sure everything is tested, and allow franchisees to make suggestions. That way, you keep everyone's creative urges satiated and end up with a great end product.

4. Using an Unproven System

Many people want to use their same order of operations and just expand them to include franchises. This is often a mistake since running a franchise differs from running a single-store business.

Because this business is likely a large part of your livelihood, you can't afford to make unwise risks. As such, you should study how other successful franchises made the transition from smaller company to franchise and learn from what they did. That way, you can avoid their mistakes while implementing what worked. 

5. Hiring New Employees

Behind every great company exists a great team. 

If you've had a successful career with your business, you know the value of good workers. You've likely built a team that works well for you, and you know what kind of people you'd like to hire in the future.

Yet, when you have different stores in different locations, you may not always have direct control over the people your franchise owners hire. This could cause you some worries. After all, a poor hire negatively impacts the company and may even destroy trust between some customers and the brand.

If you're worried about hiring, talk to the people hiring in each of your branches and ensure they know what type of person they need in each role. Make your job descriptions standard across the board and don't let franchise owners create new roles without company approval. 

Once you have a team in place, resist the temptation to micromanage, as this destroys morale.

6. Managing Issues at Individual Stores

If you worry about poor hires creating a negative impression on your company, remember that how you react often catches the attention of a wide variety of people.

For instance, in cases in which an employee discriminates against or harasses customers or other workers, swift and decisive penalties, coupled with a public response, communicates that one person's action doesn't represent your brand. 

As mentioned above, you can also ask your stores to go through trainings in order to ensure such incidents do not occur. You should make it clear in these trainings that your company has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment or discrimination at any of its stores.

Emulate Your Franchise Management Policies from the Top Down

Don't just set franchise management policies and then fail to follow them yourself.

The best way to lead is by example. You'll be better at franchise brand management if you set the tone for your entire company.

Ready to Franchise Your Business?

Are you ready to get into franchise management for your business?

Franchising your business can be an exciting endeavor. You have the ability to pilot your company in an entirely new direction. Yet, franchisee management can be difficult. By following the advice above, you're more likely to start out the right way!

Ready to develop your franchise? We're here to help. Our franchise professionals can work you through every step of the process. Contact us today to learn more!