The Six-step Process to Hire the Right People for your Franchise

Nowadays, it is critical not only to have your franchise units with a complete staff but also to have the right people in the correct positions.

• Think of your business as a ship. To have it successfully go from one place to another and get to its destination on time, you require the right number of people working for you, but also the best people playing the correct roles. 

For example: a captain who runs the ship and inspires the sailors, strong mariners to keep the ship moving consistently and safely, and someone with excellent navigation skills and an agile mind to solve problems.

If these three conditions are not fulfilled, you risk going in circles, traveling too slowly, not getting anywhere, or worse, sinking the ship.

To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, in this blog post we’ll go over the six-step process to hire the people who, after a structured interview process, will be the ones who will help you get your business to success.

But first, subscribe to our YouTube channel and our podcast and follow us on all social platforms!

Step #1: Detailed employee profile

The first step in finding the right people and assigning them to the right roles is to clearly define who you are looking for.

• The more detailed you can be, the better! It might take longer, but this will help you find the correct people and build the right team.

Write a list of the characteristics, skills, and experience they require. Include salary expectations, time availability, how flexible the working hours can be, and the non-negotiables of the role.

For example, if your best days of sales are Friday nights, your employees should accept working on those days and hours. On the other hand, you may have a not-tattoo policy, but be willing to give in if the right candidate can cover their tattoos while wearing a long-sleeved shirt.

Make sure you have a detailed profile for each position you need to fill. Unless you have a very large operation, consider that your team members are likely to hold multiple roles and everyone would have to learn how to do everything. This will give you greater flexibility and lower your labor costs.

• It is important to never discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender or gender expression, age, nationality, disabilities, marital status, sexual orientation, or military work.

You may like: The key parts of the district manager's job description

Step #2: Recruiting

Aside from social media, you can use your stores to post job ads and hiring opportunities in the lobby or cashier area. 

Also, let your people know you are looking for new employees because friends like to work with friends. So, if you implement an incentive program for employee referrals, you'll get more employees like the ones you already have. 

• If you have great people, that's a win. But, if your team isn't already where you want it to be, wait until it is to offer such a program. 

You can also use online recruitment sites that aren’t very expensive and have a lot of reach.

But before posting any online vacancy, it is important to clearly explain what the job implies, what are the expectations, and the profile you're looking for. It is best to pay a little extra to have enough space to describe exactly what you want. 

This will increase the quality of candidates who respond and will make the time you spend on interviews much more efficient. 

Also, you have to make sure the application form is as complete as possible because the more you know about who the candidate is before the interview, the faster you’ll determine if they are qualified for your organization.

Additionally, I recommend that you include a test section on basic math, customer service, and teamwork in this step.

Step #3: Interviewing

Interviewing is an art because the applicant will always show their best behavior, and do and say everything they can to make sure they make a positive impression. So it's up to you to identify if the person is truly qualified for the position as well as their positive and negative characteristics, values, reliability, motivations, and if they work well as a team.

One of the best ways to discover this information is through a behavioral interview, which makes the applicant provide real examples to demonstrate if they possess the skills and competencies you are looking for.

For example, if you want to discover the person’s strengths, instead of saying “Tell me what are your strengths?”, use the behavioral method and ask “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a customer complaint. What happened? What did you do? How was the result? What would you do differently now?” 

Minitip: What's behavioral interviewing?

As you conduct the interviews, write as many notes as possible so you remember the applicant's answers and compare them with those of other candidates to make the right hiring. 

As part of this step, you must always do a background check, with previous permission from the prospect. Never skip this part of the process and, before you make an offer, review the person's references on performance and background. 

This will be an additional investment of money and time, but you'll be surprised at how much you'll learn from the individual if you execute this. 

Step #4: Hiring

Once you've completed the interview stage and believe you've found the right candidate for the right position, make an offer, preferably in person, or submit the offer in writing.

This letter should detail:

• The position and the salary you are offering.
• The expected working hours.
• The expectation of a standard basic uniform.
• Any other relevant element that will help the applicant decide whether or not to accept the offer.

Give the applicant at least 24 hours to give you an answer. Once they accept, the now-employee must complete all the required legal documentation to make the hiring official.

Then, you should give them written instructions detailing the date of their first day of work, the person to whom they should report, and the entry time. When it is possible, include the first week's itinerary so the new employee knows what to expect.

Step #5: Orientation

This part of the hiring process is where most businesses do the worst. Often, the newly hired employee shows up to work only to find out that no one knew they were coming and no one was ready to receive them. This translates to disappointment and questioning if joining the company was in fact a good idea. 

Don’t let it happen to you! Creating a great first impression can be quite simple and it is the first step in retaining a new employee. 

 Keep learning: Why Onboarding Matters More Than You Think

Here's a list of what orientation should look like for the new employee:

• The manager is informed and waiting for the new member to arrive.
• The uniform is ready (ask about the size at the hiring meeting).
• Introduction to the team and assignment to a partner.
• Provide a training schedule and a schedule for the first week, if you didn't get it the day they accepted the offer.
• Local tour of the store.
• Company and brand guidance.
• Product sample. 
• Review the product, service, image, and safety standards.
• Go over the employee handbook and request their signature.
• Question and answer time. 
• If you really want to make a good impression, give a small welcome gift.

Step #6: Training

The last step in getting the right people in the right positions is to train the new employee. If you do this properly, the person will feel capable of doing the job they were hired to do, which contributes to a positive experience at work. 

• Feeling this way, especially with a great leader, is the best guarantee of increasing staff retention among the team.

One last piece of advice: don't rush training to save time. Your franchisor will provide all the tools you need to do an excellent job. Use those tools, follow their plan, and the process will be easy.

Don't miss: Training is expensive! But lack of it costs more

Beware: following these six steps won't guarantee that all your staff problems will go away. You need to follow the process with extreme discipline to increase your chances of success over time.

Also, you must understand that hiring shouldn’t be done only when you're understaffed. The secret is to find great people as a routine or a daily activity, even when your staff is complete.

• Think about it! If you're always looking for good people, you'll never miss an opportunity to make a good hire.

If you would like to learn more about the hiring process and how you and your leaders can get the right people for your franchise and have them perform their best in the right positions, explore the training and development programs the American Franchise Academy has to offer.

We have training programs for unit managers, district managers, and for developing multi-unit franchisees and we can support them in your journey of achieving their highest potential.

Learn more about these programs here!

Reflections:

• Do you have the right people in the correct positions?
• How much time, money, and focus are you dedicating to the hiring process?
• Are you permanently looking for new employees or only when needed?
• How can you improve the new employee’s first-day experience?