A key feature of franchising is the Operations Manual which outlines the day-to-day operations of running a franchise unit. However do you have an Operations Manual for the day-to-day operation of your Head Office?
Often when a staff member moves on they take with them a vast amount of corporate knowledge.
Depending how well processes are documented and how big your head office team is this could have a massive impact on business performance.
What would happen if a few of your key staff members moved on?
Do you have someone internally who could replace you or them, or at least ‘hold the fort’ until a new recruit is in place?
Developing your head office Operations Manual
What are some of the key functions or processes of those roles? And how well are they documented?
Waiting until a key staff member moves on may be too late. If you haven’t already, you need to create an ‘Operations Manual’ for the key functions within your team.
Developing your team in addition to an Operations Manual
It’s also a good idea to start building the capacity of other members in the team (if you have them), by arranging internal mentoring programs and/or arranging for up-and-coming staff members to shadow more experienced members with key tasks.
The Coffee Club Multi-Unit franchisee Carolyn McManus has a ‘hit by a bus’ policy, which focuses on making sure no staff member is irreplaceable, while at the same time ensuring the on-going development of each team member.