How to Improve Brand and Operations Compliance with Cloud Based Franchise Software

How do you define success in your franchise organization? Many organizations that run efficient operations constantly study their key performance indicators, KPIs, to measure the quality of performance on a store by store basis. That can be very helpful in understanding root causes of problems and fixing them. Another critical component in the world of franchising is the level of brand and operations compliance that is be achieved. If manuals and processes are not followed, your franchise quality will not be consistent on a store by store basis. If you operate in a multi-unit environment, you will know that franchise compliance can be incredibly difficult. In my plus two decades in the franchise world, I have seen what happens when too liberal interpretations of operations manuals are applied – or if manuals are not followed at all. Here are some of the risks of running a non-compliant franchise operation

• Meals not being prepared to exact specifications
• Restaurant signage not compliant with franchise identity standards
• Vendor discounts not achieved because staff don’t follow procurement procedures
• Staff not following sanity procedures = unhealthy and germ infested operations
• Marketing campaigns don’t look anything like your brand
• Staff not informed about promotions rolling out = customers frustrated

It comes down to your operations, procedures and manuals. If you are running more than one store/unit, I am certain that you are already writing operations manuals and provide your staff with identity standards. And we all know they are a significant undertaking to maintain and update. The question is – how easy do you make those manuals to work with on a daily basis?

• Do you provide your stores with printed manuals and binders?
• Do you provide them with PDFs via e-mail,
• Do you perhaps even share the on a Sharepoint Directory?

I can promise you that none of those methods are effective enough. There is a better solution: Franchise Software. Role based, located in the cloud, and built to make life easier for you, and your staff. At Chainformation we equip franchise operations with franchise software, so that important manuals, documents and trainings can be made available directly to staff in your store. More than just providing manuals as a PDF (which is just taking a paper on pushing it to a monitor), we have built intelligent interface that lets your staff quickly get to the root of a problem, and understanding how an operation is performed. Our method is faster, more effective and smarter. What franchise software means for your operations:

• Immediate access to manuals and instructions in easy to read format
• Quicker updating of information to your store locations: the right information to the right person
• Ability to provide e-learning to your staff
• Ability to roll out campaigns centrally, or provide templates and image banks so that local store can compose their own brand compliant campaigns
• Distribution of news and important updates, by role and geography

These are just some of the immediate benefits by implementing central franchise software. Entirely based in the cloud, franchise software can significantly boost the efficiency and compliance of your franchise operations. I am not talking without merit. For over 15 years we have been building franchise software uniquely customized for the franchise and retail industry. We have been privileged to work with some of the most demanding customers in Scandinavian franchising, including O’Learys, Icebar by Icehotel, and Wayne’s Coffee over the years. I am convinced when I say this: Each of them have significantly benefited from our solution.