Advice


“It’s surprising how many franchisors don’t keep their manual up to date – leading to difficulties later on when they may wish to rein in a franchisee, or the franchisee expresses dissatisfaction with, for instance, the level of support”


A manual is an evolving document – keep yours


up to date! You would be surprised how many franchisors set up a manual but do not keep it up to date – leading to terrific difficulties later on when perhaps they wish to rein in a franchisee, or where the franchisee is expressing dissatisfaction at the level of support received from the franchisor.


A manual will help protect


your brand A question that all potential franchisors ask is: ‘How can I control what the franchisees do with my brand?’ – and this is no less a concern for master franchisees who have an obligation to maintain standards. The concern that franchisees can use the brand and operate the business without any regard for the franchisor’s wishes can best be answered by ensuring that all


franchisees are properly equipped with: franchise agreements that clearly lay out the obligations of the franchisee; and carefully constructed franchise and operations manuals that explain and amplify the terms of the agreement in operational detail. Manuals are therefore the most important document that the franchisor or master franchisee requires to train, control and, if necessary, rein in the franchisees if they go astray.


Manual function The manuals will: • Safeguard the franchisor’s intellectual property. Ideas, know-how and trade secrets will be protected by copyright


• Satisfy the franchisor’s obligation to provide a copy of the manual, on loan, for the duration of the franchise


• Strengthen the terms of the franchise agreement


• Be the basis for the franchisee training course


• Define quality standards • Provide consistency of standards across the network


• Be the point of reference in case of legal dispute


• Set the way in which KPIs and targets will be monitored


• Allow the franchisor to update systems


Manual maintenance To be fit for purpose, manuals


must be: ◆ Up to date – although the franchise agreement cannot be changed, the manuals are a constant work in progress, developing as the franchise network develops


◆ Detailed – the agreement talks about contractual obligations, the manual spells out in detail the actual way in which the obligations are to be met


◆ Specific – written for the franchise in particular, it should not be a generic one-size-fits-all handbook


◆ Readable – franchisees will use the manual as a training and reference work, therefore the layout needs to be in an easy-to-read format


◆ Clear – the franchisee needs to be in no doubt as to the requirements. Jargon should be kept to a minimum or explained, sections should be clearly labelled, and easy to find.


The Franchisor | 41


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