1 year ago, we (Greendot) made the decision to embark on our franchising journey to grow our business and more importantly to find like minded and capable people to join our team. There were many objections and question marks, such as the food quality control issues, sharing of our know hows to others, and also meeting franchisees who are only profit driven. No doubt all these issues are highly possible, but there was also a voice in our head, telling us that if we can overcome all these challenges, we can grow Greendot even further and bring even more value to our customers, our stakeholders and the society.
The selection process was arduous yet enriching. We met up with the potential franchisees many times and during most of the meetings, the conversation was not about the business but rather understanding their values in life. To take a step further, we also requested to meet their family members over lunch or coffee. Some franchise owners may find it very unnecessary but to us, it is absolutely essential. In order for both parties to work together, there shouldn’t just a monetary transaction but rather an exchange of values and understanding of their lifestyle and attitude in life. It is quite similar to choosing a lifelong partner. We firmly believe in finding partners with the right values and mindsets.
3 Key Factors To Have Long Lasting Partnerships
In order to have a long lasting working relationship, these 3 key factors must be fulfilled.
- Both partners must have similar values and lifestyle habits in life. For example, if one partner rises very early everyday, whereas the other partner parties at night and sleep in late everyday, I think it will be very challenging for the partnership to last long.
- The partners must know what they are supposed to do and focus on doing it well. For example, if your role as a franchisee is to run an outlet well and manage and grow your people, you have to focus on doing that well first. If you lose focus on this priority and become unclear of your roles, misunderstandings might happen.
- The most important factor is to grow together as a team. Both franchisor and franchisee should go for courses together, or at least have a monthly meeting to communicate and learn from one another. Different people have different strength and a good partnership is about how we can tap on one another strength and grow together.
The Key Secret In Franchising
The past 6 months have been very challenging for us. Due to the constraints of the Singapore F&B industry, manpower is definitely a huge worry for us. Finding people to work in F&B is already a challenge in Singapore, and to the RIGHT people for your team is even more challenging. We firmly believe that success of franchise does not only lie in how rigorous your standard operating procedures (SOPs) are, how fantastic your product and services are or how capable your team is but rather how well you can pass on the beliefs and values of the brand to everyone in the team (all the way to the dish washer or the part timers). SOPs can help your staff to do things right but the right values will help your staff to do the right thing. Doing the right thing is more important doing things the right way. The best organizations in the world are not guided just by SOPs but rather guided by their culture and values. And I believe, with the right team and values, we can conttinue to grow and bring more value to the people around us.
**PS: If you believe in what we do and hope to join our team, do leave a message below and we can meet up for a cup of coffee!