Franchise owners need to provide their franchisees with all the information and tools needed to run the franchise well. One of these tools is a comprehensive franchise operations manual. Many modern franchises disregard its importance and don’t provide a physical handbook to their franchisees. They add all the required information on their website and believe that a full manual isn’t needed. That’s simply not enough because:
A franchise manual will have all required information in one place. For example, it will have rules of customer service, guidelines on how to deal with customer complaints, and how to interact with them on the phone in once place. If franchise employees need any information, they can quickly refer to the franchise manual and don’t need to contact the franchise owner for answers.
Franchise manuals can be used as training guides as well. These manuals include all the basic information that franchisees and their employees need to know. You can ask them to read the manual and make a note of any questions and concerns they might have. The manual would function as a reference text throughout the training period and will help ensure your franchisees and their employees have mastered all the basics.
The best franchise operations manuals are very detailed and comprehensive. They’ll have all the information a franchisee might need, including:
You can mention details about your business, branding, and your company goals in this section of the manual. The introduction should contain basic information about your company and a welcome note for your franchisees. You should also include an index of contents so your employees know which page to turn to when they want particular bits of information.
This section should include details about the administration process and a description of day-to-day operation procedures. This helps newly established businesses that are still learning the how to run their business.
Companies need to comply with certain government rules and regulations. You need to mention all of this information in the manual to ensure your franchisees don’t make mistakes and get your company into any legal trouble.
Your franchisees need to have ready information about all products and services offered by your franchise. This would help them plan their services and train any new employees.
Every company has its own distinct customer service style and procedure. Your franchisees and employees need to know everything from how they should greet customers to how they should handle customer complaints. The manual will include all of that information.
Franchise branches need to handle their own local marketing and you need to provide guidelines for the process to ensure your brand is represented properly.
You also have to include information on the points listed below. The information should be precise and thoroughly and written in simple language so it’s easy for everyone to understand.
If you want to know more about franchise operations manual, or want some advice, feel free to get in touch with us at The Franchise Institute. You can call us on 1300 855 435 or fill in this contact us form and we’ll reply as soon as we can.
Thanks for reading,
The Franchise Institute Team
1300 855 435
