6 March 2025
Over the past 35 years I’ve worked with hundreds of franchise networks of all shapes and sizes across 16 countries. One of the most common questions I get asked by franchisor executives is, “Why are these franchisees being so difficult, or acting so unreasonably, when we are just trying to help them?”  When you think of 2021, what are you most proud of? For us it's been a year of innovation, collaboration and determination. Last week, the FRI team came together in Melbourne to celebrate our past efforts and align our thinking for the year ahead. For two days we hung out in an Airbnb, reflected on lessons learnt, reviewed our plans, and most importantly, discussed how we can serve you better. In this Positive Franchising Update, we share an infographic with some of our proudest achievements, some fun highlights from the Retreat, and our 2022 professional development program for the franchising sector. By the way, when we look at what many of our clients and supporters have achieved this year, it makes us extremely proud to be part of this sector. Thanks for all you have done to support each other, and for the confidence you have shown in our work. We wish you and your family a peaceful new year's break and hope you return recharged and ready to rock! When the pandemic hit, we quickly adapted our popular face-to-face workshops to an online format. To be honest, we weren't sure how this would be accepted, but the feedback has been sensational. People have said the new formats, with the chunking of sessions, the mixing of global participants, and the increased interaction, have made the sessions even more useful. We are delighted these sessions have continued to grow in popularity. In 2021, an astounding 5,500 franchisor executives and franchisees from 154 brands attended an FRI educational session. Most importantly, satisfaction ratings for these sessions have been consistently rated over 90%. (Read on for our 2022 professional development program.) We also delivered over 4,000 ACE franchisee satisfaction surveys, showing that franchisors are still as keen as ever to receive feedback on how to improve the support they provide to their franchisees. Applications from new franchisees were also strong this year and we assisted nearly 100 franchisors who use our Nathan Profiler franchisee recruitment system, to process over 3,000 new franchisee applications. As we all know leaders are readers, so we were delighted to pack and deliver over 6,000 of our publications to hundreds of brands all over the world, including the popular Profitable Partnerships, which continues to be a global bestseller.In summary, we're proud to continue striving to realise our vision of being recognised globally as the 'go to' people for knowledge and tools on how to maintain healthy franchise relationships.  |
| WHO’S WHO IN THE FRANCHISING ZOO? As we are in the relationship business, an important session in our Retreat was discussing the stakeholders in the global franchising sector. A creative way to do this was to borrow a map of a Zoo, then to use the various animals to help us conceptualise who sits where in relation to each other, and how we can best support these groups. Below, we see Omega and Kelley reflecting on who goes where. And yes, if you are a client, supporter or supplier to the franchising sector, you are in here somewhere!  BLENDED DELIVERY - A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME As businesses adjust to changing Government regulations and the needs of their teams, blended meetings will be a common feature of 2022. We see no reason why these meetings can't be highly effective. We were able to make this work really well at our Retreat beaming in Ree-Anna from Queensland, (who also led some sessions), and Anneliese from the Philippines. By the way, given our extensive experience running virtual and blended meetings, we are happy to share ideas with you on how to bring your own blended conferences and meetings to life.  |
| REGISTER NOW FOR YOUR TEAM'S 2022 DEVELOPMENT If you are looking for a time and cost-effective way to educate your support office team about the franchisee reality, our public Culture of Franchising Workshop is the ideal solution. Participants love the interactive nature of the sessions, where they get to share ideas and tips with each other, across different brands. The workshop has particularly been shown to boost the morale of staff who are working under pressure in a blended home-office environment. We can also customise and run this program in-house for your team. Price: AU$193 per person. Discounts apply for bookings of 5 or more people. CFE accredited. Secure your place here PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EVERYONE We have events to suit all members of your team. We understand that franchisor teams have different learning needs depending on their role. So, rather than taking a one size fits all approach, our professional development programs are tailored to the needs of the following groups: Senior Executives responsible for creating strategy or leading divisional teams. (See Franchisor Excellence Masterclass.) Support Office Staff who interact with franchisees as part of their work. (See Culture of Franchising Workshop.) Field Managers who support franchisees to improve their businesses. (See Field Manager Bootcamps.) Franchisees also love to receive inspiration and practical tips to help them run a profitable, enjoyable business. (See Franchisee Conferences and Meetings.) Check out our Events and register for the programs of your choice. MORE INFORMATION |
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