Franchise Ops is an executive summit hosted by Ingage Consulting and is one of the best events I have been able to attend.
The format of the summit is incredibly conductive to transparency and learning so both the attendees and experts were able to take a lot of value from the event. Plus, the franchise industry is full of great people and fun, recognizable brands.
From my perspective as a partner, it was incredible to see how leaders at various franchise systems are focusing on consistently improving operations. Franchising is a tough business and in order to be successful, the best must focus on driving consistently great operations. It can mean the difference between flourishing and floundering.
While there were plenty of insights from the two day event, there were two main themes that I heard over and over: increased measurement and more effective training.
Increased Measurement
The most effective tool in measuring any business is solid data. It was surprising to hear that many franchisors are still struggling with using their data to empower decisions. They find themselves at the mercy of what their systems can provide instead of enabled to get the answers they need. With the pace of change and need to constantly keep a finger on the pulse of their businesses, they are actively seeking ways to better measure their execution.
Better Training
Franchisors face the challenge of having independent operators that sometimes want to have a large degree of freedom to operate. While that kind of proactive behavior can be a great thing, it can also often go in a totally different direction causing disasters for the franchise system. The better training that the franchisee can provide, the higher the likelihood that their formula will be executed as planned.
The Meta Theme
Both of these themes also speak to one meta theme: better execution. Whether it is because the business is growing too fast to track everything or franchisees are beginning to fall into the rut of an easy routine, everyone has better execution on the mind. After all, that is truly what matters most.
