Case Study – The Beehive
Situation
This franchise operation was founded overseas in 1997. With a UK presence for the past 6 years, it has grown at a rapid pace and currently has over 150 franchise partners nationally. Continued success in a franchise business stems from a solid long-term relationship between the franchisor and franchisee that is based on mutual agreement. A notable increase in franchisee staff turnover and feedback gathered during a recent employee opinion survey compelled the franchisor to improve the long-term relationship between franchisor/franchisee and the franchisees themselves. To secure continued success and a future in the UK market, communication, consultation and sharing of winning strategies on a regular basis were seen as critical factors. Historically, time and cost and a developing culture of “if it’s not broken – don’t fix it” had prevented franchisees from meeting regularly. This needed to urgently change and a flexible solution was required.
Solution
The franchisor believed that DPI’s suite of Solutions would provide enough flexibility to convince every franchisee to ‘buy-in’ to the practice of strengthening the franchisor/franchisee relationship to ensure the continued success of the brand.
DPI provided the following solution:
- DPI partnered with the franchisor and regional managers to identify the key discussion topics.
- The Solution bundle was licensed to the franchisor for a 12 month period.
- DPI Partners carried out “Train the Trainer” sessions with the franchisor’s 15 regional managers.
- The 150 franchisees were emailed a link and clear instructions that enabled them to download the DPI Solutions apps via iTunes onto their iPads. The BYOD (bring your own device) approach helped to reduce the cost of the initiative.
- Multiple sessions of around 10 participants were run across the UK, facilitated by each regional manager during a three-week period. Some franchisees connected remotely with Skype but were able to participate fully using the DPI apps.
- All results were aggregated and fed back within 48 hours of the last workshops.
Outcome
The franchisor believed that DPI’s suite of Solutions would provide enough flexibility to convince every franchisee to ‘buy-in’ to the practice of strengthening the franchisor/franchisee relationship to ensure the continued success of the brand.
DPI provided the following solution:
- DPI partnered with the franchisor and regional managers to identify the key discussion topics.
- The Solution bundle was licensed to the franchisor for a 12 month period.
- DPI Partners carried out “Train the Trainer” sessions with the franchisor’s 15 regional managers.
- The 150 franchisees were emailed a link and clear instructions that enabled them to download the DPI Solutions apps via iTunes onto their iPads. The BYOD (bring your own device) approach helped to reduce the cost of the initiative.
- Multiple sessions of around 10 participants were run across the UK, facilitated by each regional manager during a three-week period. Some franchisees connected remotely with Skype but were able to participate fully using the DPI apps.
- All results were aggregated and fed back within 48 hours of the last workshops.