Global Franchise 10.3

“At UFG we are clear that we have one customer: our franchisee. When they are successful, we are successful,” he adds. So what happens when a franchise owner isn’t successful? UFG is privately held and family- run – Ray’s three sons are all in the business, as are three of his nephews – with a culture authentically shaped by long tenure and close personal relationships. “The franchisee is a human being, who has things going on in their life like we all do,” observes Ray. “Those might be health issues, or other insurmountable challenges that will stop them being successful; in those cases, we are like an insurance policy, because we’ll come in, helping them sell the business and get on with their life. But there will also be a small percentage of people who aren’t following the system, or haven’t hired the staff they need, or who just aren’t working hard enough. We will work with them to try and get to the root of the problem – but you know, there’s a reason they get 94% and we get 6%.We’re not a 50% partner, and we’re not going to do half the work!” Ray firmly believes that strong, meaningful relationships are at the heart of operational excellence. “I get my greatest pleasure out of seeing the franchisees become successful,” he grins. “We’ve got to do what’s right for the company, but it’s got to be right for the franchise owners first. “We don’t make decisions in a conference room inWest Palm Beach – we make them based on feedback and input from the people on the front line. However big you get, you must never lose track of that. Everything has to start with the franchisee.” MICHAEL SEID Founder & MD, MSAWorldwide When it comes to excellence in franchising, the inimitable Michael Seid quite literally wrote the book – his many credits include Franchising for Dummies and Franchise Management for Dummies, co-authored with the late Dave Thomas, founder ofWendy’s International, and Joyce Mazero, partner at Polsinelli, respectively. With over 30 years’ international experience in the sector, he also holds the distinction of being the longest-serving board member of the International Franchise Association (19 years and counting – he keeps trying to take a break, he says, but they always ask him back). “I can tell the difference between a great franchisor and a wannabe by asking one question,” he insists. “And it’s this: ‘How’s business now?’ If the response is, ‘We sold x franchises last month’, then I knowwhere their head is at. Great franchisors, on the other hand, are focused on five things first: consistency, sustainability, replication, communications and culture. Get those fundamentals right – do themwith integrity, like they mean as much to you as anything else on the planet – and people will recognise that. They’ll flock to you, wanting to be part of your system – and growth will happen. That’s why it’s so important to have field consultants who are trained to work with franchisees on those five things, rather than coming in like cops.” For Michael, the reality of unit economics is about picking up behavioural signals, not spreadsheet exercises. “The goal is for the franchisee to be so happy, they 42 GLOBAL FRANCHISE Issue 10.3