| WORTH
THEIR WEIGHT?
by Peter Webster
The excellence of
a franchisor will be reflected in their system
manuals. When you become a franchisee you are
keen to get your hands on the accumulated knowledge
and experience of the franchisor, their insight,
their proven profitability, and their mistake-avoidance.
Before signing the franchise agreement, the franchisor
should make available the operational manuals.
So, how can you gauge if the manuals are any good?
Here are some things
to look for: There should be evidence that manuals
provide for updates to processes and procedures.
There should be separate books, or at least separate
sections, on the major functions of your business:
- Pre-opening Manual - Demographic analysis,
site selection, etc
- Operations Manual - The franchisor's vision
for the business, your duties, your employees'
functions, legal considerations, cash handling
systems, accounting systems, and operational
trade secrets, advice on sales, and working
with customers
- Human Resources Manual - Job descriptions,
recruitment and interviewing procedures, and
legal guidance on managing employees
- Employee Training Manual - The day-to-day
activities for each job
- Employee Human Resources Manual - Policies
and benefits for your new employees
- Marketing/Advertising Manual - How to find
customers and keep them
Digital Impact
Franchisors can easily set up an extranet featuring
interactive online tutorials. These provide on
the job training and support for upskilling. Putting
advance information about updates in electronic
format is a favoured supplement to hard-copy documents
and also provides franchisees with 24/7 access
to current information - very convenient where
a computer is within easier reach than bookshelves.
That's what franchising is all about - trading
information on the best way to do things.
And remember - Manuals are only as good as the
people updating them! And updates are only as
good as the people receiving them!
All Franchisors
In our experience it is imperative that any franchise
system has a comprehensive manual set. Manuals
have three distinct purposes:
- As a sales document the excellence
of your manuals reflect your business and directly
impact on its appeal to intending franchisees
- As the touchstone for all training
- The clarity and completeness of manuals have
a powerful influence over franchisees in their
compliance with your proven business
procedures, and will be referred to should a
disagreement situation escalate
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