FranConnect works with 700 franchisors, and many are facing the same dilemma:
- Franchise Business Coaches (FBCs) can no longer travel due to governmental restrictions.
- There are fewer FBCs to support the network overall.
Virtual visits have been helping franchisors meet this challenge. In this post, we will go through some options for the virtual visit and how it can benefit your franchise system.
Rethinking the Field Audit
With FranConnect’s field audits tool, FBCs can go through the compliance checklist that you’ve developed and identify your system-wide weaknesses. For example, you could discover that “suggesting promo items” is a weakness across the entire system. As a result, you can coach your network more effectively as a whole and train them on upselling skills to address the global weakness.
In the new environment, franchisors can use these compliance checklists in a different way — to create coaching-driven questionnaires that can be easily executed remotely. For example, franchisors can have a check to see if franchisees have completed a specific training or are following through on a particular marketing campaign. With this kind of audit, the FBCs do not need to be in the field and, if applicable, franchisees can upload relevant pictures.
Franchisee-Driven Actions
For compliance specifically, franchisors can train franchisees on self-assessments, which allow franchisees to audit themselves. If a franchisee uploads pictures, such as physical distancing signage, franchisors can use the picture feed feature to easily browse photos all at once.
The challenge with self-assessments, however, is that they are passive in nature, in that the franchisor must wait on individual units to launch an audit. With polling, on the other hand, you can say, “Have this questionnaire filled out by everybody.” The system then pushes out the survey. The franchisees and crew don’t need to be logged into the platform to fill it out, and you can track who’s filled it out and who has not.
Data-Based Decisions
The information above helps with the compliance aspect of the FBCs’ work, but there is an ongoing trend toward coaching. All coaches know that you need to inspect what you expect. FranConnect’s franchisee scorecard helps franchisees make data-driven decisions. You can measure elements such as:
- Sales
- Percentage of online orders
- NPS scores
- Google reviews
- Labor costs
- Food costs
Franchisors define these indicators, and they can develop leaderboards and coach franchisees where they are struggling. By looking at the holistic view of the health of that unit, you can develop an action plan.
Adapting to the New Operating Environment
To pivot to the new operating environment, some franchisors are creating business plans. For example, maybe you want to define a plan with franchisees that includes the goal of keeping labor costs under 20%. Together, you define relevant initiatives at the start of the quarter or year. On your future calls or during virtual visits, go in and perform a check-in. This allows you to reference that plan, so you can say, “Okay, we need to pivot to the new operating environment. Here are the things we said you would do. Did you implement the new workflows?” This is a straightforward example, but it can be as simple or sophisticated as you want it to be.
FranConnect has a suite of tools that help with both compliance and coaching while performing virtual visits. Ready to learn more? Contact FranConnect to discuss the best set of modules for you and your unique environment.
