No matter how great of a franchise owner you may be, you need to have a stellar team of employees in place to help bring your business vision to fruition. You need the right people interacting with your guests, carrying out your operations and representing your franchise brand.
For multi-unit franchise owners, assembling the right team is essential.
Multi-unit franchise owners aren’t physically at their business every day. They don’t run the day-to-day operations. Rather, they oversee the franchise remotely, only visiting the location from time to time.
As a multi-unit franchise owner, your business will likely be considered a “manager-run franchise.” Since you will largely work remotely, you need a team you can trust running your franchise at all times.
How to Hire a Reliable Team
Hiring for any industry has its challenges. In an industry with a notoriously high turnover rate such as the restaurant industry, however, having a strong hiring process can help you find the reliable workers you need.
To make sure you hire employees who are the right fit, it’s okay to be picky during the hiring process. This starts with the interview. Use the references they provide to further investigate their commitment and work ethic. Does he or she have a history of apathetic behavior on the job? Has he or she struggled taking orders? You can get answers to questions like these from an interviewee’s past employers.
It’s also important to ask questions about the interviewee’s goals in the near future – is this simply a summer job or do they wish to stay and work their way up to manager? For franchises owned by a multi-unit owner, the title of manager carries significant weight. To many applicants, that is an attractive career milestone to work towards. It shows they have strong leadership skills and experience running the operations of an entire restaurant.
Many current franchise owners look for the “perfect worker” during the hiring process. Realistically, there is no “perfect worker.”
People are hired, trained and grow into great workers. While a franchise owner’s team may not be perfect, they likely have reliable, hard-working employees they trust. Looking internally and promoting those workers is sometimes the best way to fill crucial holes in a multi-unit franchise owner’s leadership chain.
Being an Active Multi-Unit Franchise Owner
As a multi-unit franchise owner, you’re in charge of overseeing the business of your franchise locations. While you may not be serving guests and cleaning equipment, you’re molding your franchises to fit your ultimate vision.
Most multi-unit, semi-absentee franchise owners work 10 to 15 hours a week on their franchises, often in addition to a day job or overseeing other businesses they own.
It’s important for you as a multi-unit franchise owner to use the time spent in your franchises to build relationships with your team. To get the most out of your team, they need to know you care about the business as much as you expect them to care. Developing a strong relationship with your team during your on-site visits and staying reachable when you’re off-site are two of the most crucial aspects to getting your team to feel appreciated and work harder.
