Can you feel the heat!
We live in a V.I.C.A. world (Volatile, Irresolute, Complex and Ambiguous). Franchisors are facing increasing challenges in developing their network and ensuring the survival of their franchisees.
Are you frustrated by the inertia of your franchisees, by their skittish commitment towards your initiatives, by the need to always push them so that things move forward?
Here are 3 reasons why your franchisees don’t respond to your initiatives, making your life difficult and frustrating.
1. The “we” is missing from your corporate culture
Gone are the days of “them” (the franchisees) and “I” (the franchisor). It is up to you to break this mould and develop the culture of “we” (together).
How?
By refocusing actions around the client-franchisee-franchisor trio rather than the franchisor-client-franchisee trio. You need to face the obvious, without your franchisees you simply will not succeed.
2. The franchisor does not know where they are going
Often, our franchisor clients know what they want to do, but their vision is neither clear nor complete and above all, it is not or poorly communicated to franchisees. They then interpret all the actions you take through a filter of mistrust or misunderstanding.
WHAT TO DO
The franchisor must ensure that this vision is:
1) Heard
2) Understood
3) 3) Put into action, and
4) 4) Valued by ALL the franchise world.
Remember
People believe you after 5 similar messages. So, you must repeat often and regularly.
3. The franchisor is perceived as incompetent
This feeling is extremely prevalent within franchisee networks. And the franchisor is totally responsible for this. Indeed, each franchisee has different needs. However, the franchisor often acts as if they were similar. It is therefore fundamental to consider the uniqueness of each one to respond to the challenges in a targeted manner.
How?
First, you must recognize that your franchisees have different needs. For example: start up franchisees need more supervision and guidance than more mature franchisees. And the needs of mature franchisees are turned towards profitability, succession, etc. Putting everyone in the same boat is a fundamental mistake that only perpetuates the franchisor’s sense of incompetence.
Conclusion
The lack of commitment of franchisees in the franchisor’s initiatives is notorious. But, instead of giving up and playing the franchise agreement game to get things done, why not use leadership. This is the franchisor’s commitment to its franchisees!
Okay, agree or disagree, let me know! (Comment, this feed is a live debate.)
And if you encounter issues that you would like to discuss with an expert who knows your reality since I have lived it as a CEO, I would be more than happy to do so.
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