A business cannot work without good working relationships between all involved.
This is especially true in franchising. So, how do you maintain healthy business relationships between you and your franchisees? When you’re just starting a franchise, these are some of the most important things you need to practise:
Right from the start, your company’s goals and objectives must be made clear even before each franchisee is accepted into the business. The entire business can only move together towards growth if they are on the same page. It is important that the franchisees also understand the image the business is trying to portray and the culture that they are aiming to imbibe within the organisation.
When you franchise your business, all the ideas should not just come from you. It is also important to hear what the franchisees have to say, especially if they have identified some specific needs in their branch or location. With the entire business in your hands you may be thinking on a bigger scale, so it’s possible to miss little details. Franchisees, on the other hand, have their focus on a much smaller scale so they can quickly identify these. It’s important to listen to their suggestions and look into their needs, then carefully assess which ones need to be addressed immediately.
In business, disagreements are inevitable. The important thing here is not to let these disagreements destroy your professional relationship. For this to happen, you should handle them early on and not wait for them to fester and build up over time. You should also handle them effectively, making sure everything is talked about in a professional and civilised manner.
The most important thing to practise to maintain good business relationships is good communication. All the parties involved must always be open and easily approachable. Having this culture will help your business easily move forward and not get stuck solving disputes or disagreements. To foster this culture within your franchise, it should start with you. Then you can encourage others to follow suit.
To set up a franchise that will be successful, first you must learn how to maintain good working relationships between all of your business partners – the franchisees. Follow the guidelines above to accomplish this.
Thanks for reading,
The Franchise Institute Team
1300 855 435
