How to Simplify Operations Using Franchise Management Software

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Any growing brand will face a time when it lacks the resources to run processes with consistency, so lay the technology rails down early.

By George Duffield
You’re growing. How do you ensure consistency across all locations? Wouldn’t it be great to focus on expanding your business rather than running it?
 
Onboarding new franchisees, centralizing operations, communicating with franchisees, training employees and protecting brand standards is hard. Technology can make your life much easier, but you have to be “all in.”  
We’ve all seen the cartoon of a cowboy trying to herd cats. This image mirrors the challenges of the franchisor who has multiple locations with minimal processes or technology in place. Cobbled-together solutions, legacy systems that are not supported, or shooting from the hip will exponentially stress franchise executives. There is truly no need for that to happen. The combination of technology and process will set you free.
After the honeymoon
The Global Positioning System is one of the most amazing technologies of the century. Having that “set it and forget it” capability reduces the stress of vehicle drivers across this nation. Offering this same type of guidance to your new franchisees will go a long way towards creating the true beginning of what is hopefully a long and profitable journey. Providing a roadmap and being chaperoned with a step-by-step, templated process will assist with a successful transition from post-signing to a grand opening that is on time and under budget. This piece of the process will be the true first impression that your new franchisee has of you after the initial honeymoon. You must nail it.
One source of truth
Imagine having one reliable place to send both corporate and franchise employees to find up-to-date operations manuals, support, documents specific to each location, approved marketing collateral, sales and royalty numbers, and detailed information on current and upcoming locations and ownership. And, make it mobile-centric.
 
Furthermore, think of the convenience of a dashboard that bubbles up important information specific to the individual user of the software. Compliance departments can easily see data such as upcoming location renewals, lease agreements and insurance expirations. Help desks can see the number of outstanding tickets by region or specific location and flag any consistent issues across multiple locations. Finance departments can see total sales by region, store and specific product lines. The information you need now is at your fingertips.
The founder’s mentality: Engage your franchisees
Phone calls, emails, texts, social media and Skype — there are many ways to communicate with a franchisee. But how do you quickly get your hands on something important with all of those options to search? It is imperative for the franchisee to realize that communication is encouraged and a two-way street. It is also important that you both have one place to go — one source of truth — to see notes on all communications.
The book, The Founders Mentality by Chris Zook and James Allen, touches on how that mentality overcomes the chaos of high growth. Opening lines of communication, celebrating and rewarding front-line heroes, making constant improvement (kaizen) a focus and codifying best practices will help engage your franchisees and drive consistency across all locations.
Protect what’s yours
You’re proud of your concept. Your intellectual property is valuable, and you must protect it. Whether it’s a process specific to your business, or a secret sauce, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you don’t give someone else your hard work with one easy click of a button. It’s important not to see your training videos on YouTube. Protect your property in the cloud, and reserve the right to lock the training down to a particular address. There is plenty of turnover out there and you don’t want your IP going across the street. Technology is key to your protection.
Trust, but verify
Why not allow your franchisees to self-audit? Think about it. You trust them with your cash register, but you wouldn’t trust them to answer a few questions, take some time stamped photos and agree to cure established follow-ups?  
 
You may be visiting your stores every 90 to 180 days, or even annually. A lot can go sideways between visits. Why not ask your franchisees to conduct a simple quality assurance review on a monthly basis? This may not replace your visits, but rather will augment your reviews and give you much more data. It will also give your franchisees a sense of pride and show that you trust them to protect your brand standards.
 
Take it a step further. Share that data across all locations and allow the franchisees to be a part of the process. They all have a vested interest in how each location looks, so why not flip the script and allow them to be the protector of brand standards — the auditor — and not feel so much like the audited. Healthy peer pressure can go a long way to keep them honest, and will keep you from always having to wear the black hat.
You’ve gotta commit!
Nobody likes change. But who likes stress? Do you remember the first time that you tried to use GPS navigation? Chances are at some point you were directed through someone’s backyard. But you stuck with the technology. Why? Because reading maps or notes on the back of an envelope, relying on sheer memory or depending on a stressed-out passenger is simply not the way to go. 
 
At the recent Southeast Franchise Forum, I listened to a chief development officer of a popular smoothie concept saying how nice it is to approach a successful franchisee and ask: “So, you’re having fun. You’re making money. Do you want to do it again?” Leveraging technology to guide your franchisees through your various processes will significantly increase their chances of success and your chances of having a similar conversation.
 
There’s a lot of great technology available today, and you owe it to yourself to at least investigate the options. If you do, chances are excellent that you will soon be traveling a business path that is well-constructed and clearly marked, leaving much of your stress in your rear-view mirror. Enjoy your journey! 
 
George Duffield is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Naranga, a provider of franchise management software. Prior to Naranga, he was the Vice President of Channel and Strategic Alliances, North America for Lincor Solutions, where he assisted the initial launch of the company’s market presence in the U.S. and Canada.

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