Let Your Franchisees Teach Your Franchisees

We hear it time and time again: Franchisees learn better from each other. So, when a franchisor has a best practice to share, an improvement to make, or a new process to implement, they get better results when the news is delivered by franchisees.

It makes sense. People often take news (especially bad news) better from their peers than from a person of authority. I see this in action with my kids. When I remind my 2-year-old of a house rule, I’ll get a blank stare or an emphatic “NO!” But when my 4-year-old delivers the news, #2 is all ears (plus, big bro tends to follow the rule better because he feels so important setting the example).

I recently participated in a networking event where franchisors shared some of their best practices for working with franchisees. One executive shared how she has twice-monthly videoconferences with franchisees to touch base about what’s going on in the industry and in their stores and to train franchisees on better business practices. Who does most of the talking? The franchisees. Rather than tell franchisees what others are doing, she lets the franchisees do the talking—sharing their successes and their failures, and even breaking “bad” news to the group.

So, if you’re struggling with compliance on a particular issue, try putting your franchisees on the phone with an owner who has implemented the practice and is having success. Let him pass it down to your franchisees. Franchisees are more receptive to learning when it comes from a high-performing franchisee. You’ll get a break from talking and have even better results.