Can your field consultants describe how their day-to-day tasks impact your organization’s growth?
Are your field consultants tasked with tracking multiple lists and creating duplicate reports?
Are you engaging and involving your top field consultants in your operational process?
As discussed in 5 Field Operations Secrets from 600 Franchise Brands, the franchise business is a people business. As many of us have seen, the most successful commercial services franchises are engaged with their field consultants. Simply put, it’s their role that enables you – the franchisor – to create consistent performance across your network.
Mary Kennedy Thompson, COO of The Dwyer Group, shares her insights in a webinar, Crank Up Your Field Operations: 5 Proven Best Practices. The Dwyer Group is one of world’s the largest franchising companies, and as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Thompson oversees the ongoing business operations for 11 franchise brands in North America.
As a leader in multi-brand commercial services franchising, she has learned that if you want your brand to succeed, you need to first get your culture right. Then, there are key operational areas you need to master. Here are her insights and lessons learned:
Know who you are and what your values are. To bring in the right franchisees within your brand, know your culture and values. For example, one of The Dwyer Group’s core values is to speak respectfully and without profanity. This value sets the expectation for everyone within the organization, as to how they will communicate with each other.
Know your business drivers. What KPIs you focus on may vary, especially for a multi-brand commercial services franchise, but regardless of the size of your services franchise, the process is the same to get to that place of knowing what is and isn’t working. For example, what is the 20% of the work that creates 80% of the business results? What is the job average? What is the net promoter score? Provide your field consultants with not just data, but rather data with the right information.
Break down your efforts into manageable chunks. Too often, we find ourselves moving forward without taking the time to see if we are getting the desired results. Instead of doing too much at once, and in turn, getting nothing done, break down your efforts – by month, quarter, or year. Only then can you understand where you are going and what to measure.
What does – and does NOT – need to be done? It’s important that your field consultants know what to do, but it’s equally important they know what NOT to do. Are your field consultants spending time on the right tasks to move the needle? Are they having meaningful conversations to get franchisees to take the right action? It’s easy to get stuck in administrative tasks you think must get done, but be sure to take the time to dig deeper.
Test small and fast. If you wait for perfection, you will never deploy. Accept that not every new initiative will be perfect, and make sure your franchisees understand that. Instead, get regular feedback as to what is and isn’t working; then, fix and deploy. Most importantly, ensure that your field consultants understand the new program and how it will benefit franchisees. Then roll out to franchisees through multiple engagement levels, including email, webinars, and in-person meetings.
Manage the change and communicate often. Do you communicate success? If so, how do you do it and how often? Do you look for positive change during your site visits and congratulate the franchisee and field consultants? When you acknowledge and congratulate, it becomes easier for others to model the behavior. Also, how do you follow up and track progress? Don’t give your field consultants 50 items that the franchisee needs to do. Instead, focus on your top three priorities.
You want your franchisees to be the best version they can be because that makes you the best you can be. Remember, success happens together. And to get there, you need to manage the conversations and provide the right tools for consistency amongst your field operations team. For more information on what you need to do NOW to mobilize your field consultants, listen to the entire recording now.
