A few weeks ago I commented on a colleague’s Facebook post agreeing with his argument to encourage franchisors to create and implement Social Media Policies and Procedures.  A franchisee of an unidentified brand also made a comment enraged at the original posting and at my agreement with it. Her argument was that franchisors should worry more about support than about policies and procedures. In her mind she saw the two totally different and she seem to see the issue as an ‘either/or’. I can understand her point of view and her anger as I have worked with and known of many franchisors whose only or main objective is the enforcement of the agreement or policies, whether or not they make sense or add to the success of the franchise network.

To me, policies and procedures are not about compliance as much as they are about the support of all franchisees. Franchise procedures are simply step by step explanations or directions of how to operate the business successfully. Franchise polices are guidelines of conduct that allow franchisees to communicate and relate with each other, their customers and the franchisor. These policies protect the brand and therefore the franchisees’ investments. Can policies and procedures be used for compliance purposes? Of course they can; and, in the appropriate circumstances, they should.

True, there are some franchisors who see policies and procedures as a way to control the behavior of franchisees; and, in some cases, just for the sake of this type of control. But successful franchisors learn that policies and procedures are tools to guide franchisees and the entire organization to success. They are not all about compliance, or enforcement, or control; they are about guiding and supporting franchisees; and, as the situation dictates, they provide the legal grounds to protect the brand and the franchise system.

Franchising is all about policies and procedures and successful franchisors use these tools to train and support franchisees. As new technology or methodologies are created such as for example the social media explosion, franchisors must update their franchise policies and procedures to guide franchisees about the best way to incorporate the new technology into their businesses. It is not only the franchisor’s right to do so; it is his or her obligation.

Related posts:

1. My franchisees are using Social Media already. What do I do?
2. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 1
3. Social Media: Too much to learn…How do I keep up?

Open Box’s Franchise Success is a web-based software that has three distinctive and stand alone modules: Operations Manual, Marketing and Branding, and Automatic Accountability. The Operations Manual Module was the one to catch my attention when I first heard about Open Box. The thought of a world where franchisees couldn’t complain about not being able to find information in the manual was just enticing enough for me to take the next step and contact Open Box. Yet, I was not prepared to find the many benefits the modules offer. The ability to search the document is a great feature but it is almost dwarfed by the many others this product offers.  In this post, I focus on the Operations Manual Module . I will cover the other two modules in the near future.

What it does:

It’s quite a simple application. It basically reformats your Operation Manuals into a fully indexed digital version which in layman terms it means a secure online web-based document that is fully searchable.

Bells, Whistles and Benefits :

• The web-based version allows franchisees to make comments and asks questions. It’s like a blog that permits comments. Your manual is divided into sections and subsection, so each subsection will be what Open Box terms “an article” allowing franchisees to comment and ask questions. As I went through the demo I thought of the most effective ways of formatting information and how this new format provides a great opportunity for breaking down concepts and even creating short quizzes to aid understanding and retention. My head was spinning.
• As the franchisor, you can decide to share the franchisee’s comments with others in the system, moderate comments before they are shared, or simply decide whether or not modifications to the content are needed. You are also able to answer questions franchisees have in a prompt and efficient manner. These questions are now compiled in one place and can help you improve your training programs or offer additional sessions.
• I don’t know about you, but regardless of the number of times I proofed my manuals there were always typos for a new franchisee to find during initial training. I was always thankful for their input, but  many times the corrections did not get made because during class my attention was on training and not on editing the manuals. This tool allows you to engage franchisees in helping you improve your manuals and make the necessary corrections easily and quickly.
• Have you ever been afraid that someone is going to copy your manual and give it your competitor? Having a web-based manual will drastically reduce this possibility. A person that has that intention will have to print each and every section which will take time and effort.
• Do you need to get a policy change out to the field quickly? Today you are probably placing the changes in your Intranet library, if you have one; if not, you are probably emailing these changes or mailing them to your franchisees. This tool allows you to distribute the changes immediately to all your franchisees with the click of a button. It also advises them via email that a change is waiting for them to be read and it sends reminders when they have ignored the first message.
• How many franchisees are reading your policy changes? How do you know? Well, most of us don’t know. As franchisors we hope franchisees are engaged in their businesses enough that they want to read the changes we make to our processes; unfortunately this is not always the case. Yes, franchisees are supposed to read these changes but the truth is that the majority don’t. Today we don’t have a way to track who is actually reading these updates and who isn’t. However, this module does the tracking for you and provides a report you can use proactively to approach franchisees who are not reading them.
• Are your manuals out of date? I know this is a big problem of many franchisors who justify their lax behavior by saying that franchisees don’t read it, so what’s the use? Well, your Operations Manuals are extensions of your franchise agreements and it is your responsibility as a franchisor to keep them up to date. The beauty of this solution is that updates are easy to do and to distribute. There is no more room for excuses as you can track who is and who isn’t reading them; and take necessary action to engage the franchisees who aren’t. It is my belief that this product will effortlessly create the discipline required to maintain the OPS Manual as the living, breathing document it must be.
• Do you have portions of the manual that you want employees of your franchisees to read? What about a location manager? Doing this is easy as this product enables you to assign users and restrict certain portions to the appropriate users.
• Do you have pre-training or pre-opening manuals and want your new franchisee to be exposed only to certain information before they attend training? A challenge for me has always been what I need to include in these initial manuals and how much of that information I need to repeat in the OPS Manual. Open Box makes it easy with the user restrictions and permission levels which allow you to do this in a snap. Assign the user only the sections you want them to read prior to training.
• Is your franchise concept complex? Do you have a lot of information to convey to new franchisees? Well, this tool allows you to share the information bit by bit through the user restrictions; and you can create a step-by-step control training environment so you won’t overwhelm your new franchisees.
• Other obvious benefits are the saving in printing costs as well as the staff time to print and put the manuals together and in some cases, the mailing costs. I remember spending many long nights at the copying room with the 2 other staff members the weekend before training started.

Can I say more? Are performance tools important in franchising? I think so. If our Operations Manuals record our business system and processes then this is module is a critical tool for franchisee success. I am sure that if I worked with this product I could find many other benefits but for now, I think this is a no brainer. I will be recommending this product to my clients not only for all the benefits listed above, but I would love to see them start with the infrastructure of the future which will put them light years ahead of the competition.

Stay tuned for my review of the other two modules coming soon!

For more information contact:

Ambrose Merrell, Director of Business Development ambrose@openboxinc.com 604-708-0116

*Disclaimer: At this time Open Box is not a client of mine and I am not a of theirs. I have not been compensated for this review in any way.

Related posts:

1. Are Your Franchise Operations Manuals up to Snuff?
2. Franchisee Success – Could it be all in the numbers?
3. 5 Tips to Creating an Effective Franchise Operations Manual

General Guidelines

• NEVER give a personal opinion that can be construed as judgmental. DO NOT talk about politics or religion. Stay away from causes. KEEP it all about the business and the type of information that adds VALUE.
• KEEP all your communications POSITIVE.
• NEVER engage a customer’s complaint with an argument. Say you are sorry, and as quickly as possible, contact the customer AWAY from the Social Media vehicle and handle the problem according to the franchise customer complaint guidelines.
• Engage in conversation with customers and prospective ones. Social Media is NOT a vehicle to sell and sell; instead it exists to communicate and to build value.
• DO use social media to send coupons and offers from time to time. But always maintain balance. That is, your communications should not be only about sending coupons or sharing offers.
• Never share anything you wouldn’t say to all parties involved.
• Do not post or link to any materials that are defamatory, harassing or indecent.
• Be respectful ALWAYS!
• Do not post any confidential or proprietary information in regards to the franchise or your clients.
• If you are upset at the franchisor or at other franchisee talk directly with us; never use Social Media to vent your displeasure.
• Be careful of whose and what messages you repost. Sometimes you can be judged by the company you keep.
• Make sure that you always associate with people online the same way you do offline.
• If a negative post or comment is found online about you, the company, or your business, do NOT counter with another negative post. Instead, publicly offer to remedy the situation through positive action. Seek help from us (the franchisor) immediately.
• Engage in Social Media efforts for at least 15 minutes every day and no more than 1 hour per day.
• Proactively seek connections only within your franchise marketing area and territory.
• LISTEN, don’t just talk. Seek first to understand your contacts.
• Be proactive, get involved and stay involved with your communities.
• Never criticize your competitors.
• Don’t share your disagreement with what others post or say.
• IF you have nothing nice to say, then say NOTHING.

Facebook

(1)     Option 1 — Franchisor creates a company Facebook Fan Page. Franchisees contribute to this page OR Option 2 – Franchisor creates a company Facebook Fan Page and Franchisees create their own store/location Fan Page. Franchisor and franchisee contribute content to each other’s pages.

(2)     Franchisees must use the link to the Facebook Fan Page in all correspondence and marketing materials.

(3)     Franchisees should post comments following the above General Guidelines.

(4)     Keep the Fan Page for business contacts ONLY, personal contacts should be left for your individual page, if you have or  must have one.

LINKEDIN

(1)     Franchisor has a company LinkedIn Profile.

(2)     Franchisor senior management should also have a personal profile.

(3)     Franchisees should also create their individual profiles if they do not have one already.

(4)     Franchisees should choose the current experience’s company as it is listed in the company profile you created.

(5)     Franchisees should choose the proper title such as “Franchise Owner” or “Consultant” or other similar pre-approved title.

(6)     Franchisees should describe their position following the franchisor guidelines for such description.

(7)     Franchisees should be encouraged to fully participate in building a network of connections from their past relationships as well as from local potential customers. Participating in face-to-face networking events provides the opportunity to grow the network of LinkedIn contacts. Further, participation in relevant groups such as the city’s LinkedIn group of franchisees will also allow them to grow their connections.

(8)     Franchisees must use the link to their LINKEDIN profile in all correspondence and marketing materials. They should keep their profiles complete and up to date.

(9)     Franchisees must connect with franchisor’s senior management.

(10)  Franchisees should be encouraged to seek recommendations and LinkedIn endorsements from clients.

(11)   Franchisees should update their status on a weekly basis by sharing short insights about the business and what they have been up to. Examples include:

• Has started working on a new client.
• Has finished a major project on…..
• Has attended the national conference.
• Was a speaker at _____
• Just finished reading _________ a great about _____ (keep it business)

TWITTER

(1)     Franchisor Management must have a Twitter account and follow all franchisees.

(2)     Franchisees must follow franchisor management.

(3)     Franchisor provides franchisee with an Avatar to use for Twitter which displays the company name or logo and the picture of franchisee.

(4)     Franchisor provides the Twitter background to be used by all franchisees.

(5)     Franchisees to use their own names as their Twitter Handles.

(6)     Franchisees MUST use the hash # sign with all tweets they post #_______ your company name.

(7)     Franchisees should use TweetDeck, Seesmic or similar Twitter platforms to manage their Twitter accounts. They should keep a search for _____ (company name) to follow what’s been said about the franchise and be able to alert the franchisor and/or react accordingly.

(8)     Franchisees MUST follow the general guidelines above.

(9)     Franchisees should use www.localchirps.com to actively find people to follow within their territory. Never follow more than 10 people at a time.

(10)   Listen before your speak. Get to know what people are saying. Use the search features and hear the conversation and only then join in.

(11)    Tweet company videos from the franchisor’s YouTube channel.

(12)    Tweet company blog posts.

(13)     Tweet Flickr pictures from your business or products.

(14)     Keep it business related but add your personal touch. Let people get to know you. BE POSITIVE, ALWAYS.

(15)     Always follow back unless it is a spammer or indecent follower.

(16)     Always thank people for following you.

(17)     Always thank people who Re-Tweet your tweets.

(18)     ALWAYS pause, think and rethink before pressing sending.

(19)     Check your spelling (TweetDeck checks your spelling automatically)

(20)     Re-Tweet posts from franchisor and other franchisees.

The next post in this series will provide a list of resources you can use to improve your Social Media participation.

________

You are welcome to use the information on this post; all I ask is that you give credit and provide a link to this post or the blog front page. Thank you.

Related posts:

1. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 1
2. Franchisors: Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 2
3. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 4

Facebook is not a good medium for a B2B type of business and YouTube can be useful depending on the product or service you offer. On the other hand a blog added to your website will not only improve your SEO ranking but also provide useful information to your targeted customers.

Following are some pointers to consider if you have a B2B franchise.

LinkedIn –

1. As the franchisor you should create a company profile.
2. Franchisees should also create their individual profiles if they do not have one already.
3. Franchisees should choose the current experience with the company as listed in the company profile you established.
4. Franchisees need to choose a proper title such as “Franchise Owner” or “Consultant” or other similar pre-approved title.
5. Franchisees should describe their position following the franchisor guidelines for such description. You should provide these guidelines in your Operations Manual.
6. Franchisees should be encouraged to fully participate in building a network of connections of their past relationships as well as potential customers. Participating in face-to-face networking events provides the opportunity to grow LinkedIn contacts. Further, participation in relevant LinkedIn groups such as the franchisees’ city LinkedIn group will also allow them to grow their connections.
7. Franchisees should be encouraged to seek LinkedIn recommendations (endorsements) from current and past clients and to fully complete their profiles.
8. Franchisees should update their status on a weekly basis by sharing short insights about the business and any events in which they have participated. Examples include:

• Has started working with a new client.
• Has finished a major project on…..
• Has attended the national conference.
• Was a speaker at _____
• Was recognized as _____
• Just finished reading _________ a great about _____ (keep it business)

Twitter –

This very popular Social Media vehicle can be quite an effective brand builder. It can also have great results for B2B franchises offering products to small business owners. The rule of thumb is that the more general the use of the product or service you offer, the better results you will get from Twitter. The time and effort that Twitter requires may make it impractical if the services or products offered by your franchisees are targeted to a small focused market.

As mentioned before, Twitter is also a great tool for building brand awareness and this is one of the main jobs of a Franchisor, so you should use Twitter regularly even if it is not practical for your franchisees to participate. Building brand recognition is always important. You can also us this vehicle to market the franchise opportunity; again, depending on your offering Twitter can be quite productive.

On the other hand, if your franchise is a B2C type of business, most social media vehicles will work well. Social media is designed to relate to individuals so it is a perfect addition to the traditional marketing strategy of franchisees and franchisors whose customers are individuals. B2C franchisors have to decide how to handle this participation. Essentially there are three choices:

• The franchisor is responsible for ALL participation
• Franchisee is responsible for ALL participation
• Franchisor and Franchisee both participate in Social Media

 Like with anything in life, each choice has its advantages and disadvantages.

The franchisor is responsible for ALL participation

      Pros

• Total control over what and how the message is conveyed
• Consistency of communication and message
• Control over frequency
• Better ability to track results
• Saves the franchisee time and effort

       Cons

• Requires the time and effort of the franchisor
• It may require a part time and eventually a full time position to handle all Social Media efforts
• Requires coordination with franchisees to get local flavor
• Limits personal interaction with customers at franchisee level
• Franchisees are unable to personally connect with and respond to customers in a timely basis

Suggested Policies: When you do not allow the participation of franchisees in Social Media your policies are simple and basically state the fact that you are not allowing them to participate. For example:

(1)     Franchisees are not to participate in any social media (Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, YouTube, blogs etc.) using the name of the franchisor or their businesses.

(2)     Franchisees cannot open a Social Media account using the name of the franchisor or names similar to the franchise business.

Franchisees are responsible for ALL participation

        Pros

• Social Media provides a great vehicle for personal interaction and relationship building with customers at franchisee level
• Franchisees are able to connect with and respond to customers in a timely manner
• Franchisees can measure results directly

      Cons

• Franchisor loses control over what it is said and how it is said
• May lead to a lack of consistency of message
• Franchisees may not participate frequently enough to produce results
• Franchisors have to monitor franchisees’ participation to ensure they are following guidelines

 Franchisor and Franchisees both participate in Social Media

       Pros

• It allows personal interaction and relationship building with customers at franchisee level while still providing a level of control to the franchisor as long as guidelines are implemented.
• It may lessen the time spent by both parties as duties are shared.
• Franchisees are able to personally connect with and respond to customers in a timely basis.

       Cons

• It requires coordination between franchisees and franchisors.

In my opinion, both franchisor and franchisees should participate in Social Media. Not doing so leaves them behind the times as more and more consumers expect the businesses they frequent to have a strong Social Media presence. Part 3 of this topic will provide specific suggestions of policies to be included when both franchisee and franchisor participate in Social Media.

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You are welcome to use the information on this post; all I ask is that you give credit and provide a link to this post or the blog front page. Thank you.

Related posts:

1. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 1
2. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 3
3. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 4

This is a multi-part blog entry. In this section, Part 1, I cover the first step of integrating Social Media in your overall marketing strategy. Part 2 includes pointers to consider for B2B and B2C franchises. Part 3 provides some specific suggestions for the types of policies you may want to include in your Manuals policies; and, Part 4 provides a list of resources you should be aware of, check out, and when appropriate, share with franchisees.

Your Social Media policies should reflect your Social Media Strategy including:

• Your objectives,
• The Social Media vehicles of your choice,
• The frequency,
• The message(s),
• The participants, and
• The measurements.

The first step in creating Social Media Policies is to answer the following questions which will assist you in developing your strategy.

1. Is your business B2B or B2C? That is, are your customers other businesses or are they individuals?
2. What are your objectives for using Social Media? For example, you may want to
   • Create or build brand awareness,
   • Increase demand for your products or services,
   • Improve communications with customers,
   • Market your franchise opportunity, or
   • Other.
3. What are the most appropriate Social Media vehicles for your company?
   • Facebook
   • Twitter
   • LinkedIn
   • YouTube
   • Other (for more info. be in the look out for Part 4 of this topic).
4. Who should be doing the actual posting on those sites: franchisor, franchisees or both?
5. Do you want to spend the time and energy to participate on Social Media on behalf of all of your franchisees?
6. Do you want to spend the time and energy to monitor the Social Media participation of your franchisees?

Once you have answered these questions, you will have defined a basic Social Media Strategy and not you need to draft a set of policies and include them in the Operations Manual.

If you decide to allow your franchisees to participate in Social Medial and to encourage such participation, provide them with specific guidelines and ensure they understand these policies. Include a session on Social Media in your training program and review your guidelines regularly.

Watch out for Part 2 of this topic. It will be coming soon and it will include pointers for the incorporation of Social Media in B2B and B2C franchises.

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You are welcomed to use the information on this pos; all I ask is that you give credit and provide a link to http://www.expansionexperts.com/blog. Thank you!

Related posts:

1. Franchisors: Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 2
2. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 3
3. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 4

There are 5 key guidelines to creating an effective operations manual.

 1.     Document everything that is critical, and nothing that isn’t.

Documenting too much is as problematic as documenting too little. Operations manuals have a “tipping point,” where the information becomes too cumbersome and overwhelming for the user. The key to a usable manual is to focus on what’s important. Spend time thinking about those parts of the business that you need to control in order to maintain your franchise identity. Does the facility/office require a certain look? If so, then document the requirements.  Are your franchisees and their employees expected to dress a certain way? If it matters, then document it. If not, then don’t address it.

An effective operations manual will thoroughly describe those aspects of the business that make you unique, the processes that make the business successful, as well as those aspects that you wish to control. These include:

• The products or services offered
• How services are performed, or how product is prepared
• Company philosophy and approach
• Sales and marketing strategies
• Staffing and employee requirements
• Company image

In most cases, a franchise operations manual should not document standard business practices, or those activities common to all businesses, such as accounts payable; if needed, these topics can be addressed through reference materials.

2.     Include the appropriate level of detail.

This is often a big stumbling block for business owners who are trying to document their businesses. With almost every activity, there is the potential to “drill down” to the minutia of the tasks. The risk here is twofold: (1) Too much detail can overwhelm the franchisee. (2) The more detail you include, the bigger the job of keeping the manual up-to-date. The rule-of-thumb is to keep it simple and to focus on the franchisee’s need to know. When documenting an activity, ask yourself: does the franchisee need more information than this? are the details self-evident? would not doing it my way prevent the franchisee’s success?  For example, suppose your franchise is a health spa and you are documenting cleaning procedures. You specify that all mirrors in the weight room must be cleaned every day. How much detail should you include? Only the details that you care about. If you believe mirrors should be cleaned at the end of the day, or using a certain product that has a specific scent, then document that. If your only concern is that they are cleaned daily, then avoid additional detail.

3.     Know your audience.

This is a difficult concept for most franchisors because the audience is always the franchisee and not the employees of the franchisee. You might wonder why this matters. Well, it does. In fact, it matters a lot. The operations manual specifies what you expect of franchisees. It is their responsibility to convey those expectations and standards to their employees. Make sure your Operations Manual is talking directly to the franchisee. In some instances, you may benefit from creating an employee training manual; but this is not needed in all instances.

4.     Document the big picture.

One of the most common oversights in many operations manuals is the need for the big picture. For example, let’s say you’ve carefully documented the four major functions within your business. Does your documentation show how these functions fit together? Your franchisees will need to know the how-to detail, but they also need to understand the work flow. You need to connect the dots. What does a typical day look like? Which activities have priority? By providing the big picture, you help your franchisee visualize a smooth day-to-day operation. It also conveys the message that “this is doable!” —even if your business is fairly complicated. 

5.     Put yourself in the franchisee’s shoes.

Because you know your operation inside and out, you may have the tendency to leave out critical information, to make assumptions about the franchisee’s knowledge or understanding. This is natural. Unlike point #2 (where you are putting in too much information), here you are skimming over details because the activity seems obvious to you. Always put yourself in the franchisee’s shoes. Try to imagine coming into a new business without any knowledge of its operation. What would you need to know? Remember to keep the language simple and strive for clarity. Don’t use a lot of inside terminology unless you provide definitions.

If you follow these five guidelines, you are well on your way to producing an effective operations manual that will help ensure the success of your franchise. Do you want to know how you should document a specific portion of your business in your operations manual? Ask and we’ll answer.

Related posts:

1. Are Your Franchise Operations Manuals up to Snuff?
2. Are your Franchise Prospects Thieves?
3. Franchisors, Have You Added Social Media Policies to Your OPS Manual? Part 1