The news is filled with stories about record employment. I was at a wedding this past weekend, and the small business owners at my table filled the air with chatter about how difficult it has been to find employees. I smiled and listened, and then I jumped in with a challenge – it doesn’t have to be this tough.
I’m not suggesting that the franchise industry has a “silver bullet”, but I am here to say that there can be more effective systems for recruitment when the local business owner isn’t going it alone. Here are a few tailwinds that I am seeing in franchising that are making recruitment less of a burden for the local franchise owner:
- FRANCHISORS AS RECRUITER: While franchisors can’t make the hire for you, many are staffing a recruitment function at the franchisor headquarters to support recruitment efforts. This can be a time and money saver for franchisees in hiring mode, because the franchisor is bringing you a short list of candidates that are interested and match the criteria for the role that you are trying to fill.
- PEER LEARNING: Franchise systems have the unique advantage of having a closed loop of learning from within the franchise system. Simply by asking other franchisees in your system about their most successful systems for hiring can accelerate your results. Often times, franchise systems have the tools in place for franchisee-to-franchisee Q&A, or maybe the franchisees have started a members-only Facebook group. Makes the ask.
- CAREER vs. JOB: Franchise systems can be attractive to candidates because of the potential growth opportunities that the employer has to offer. In a small business, it’s easier to make yourself standout to the decision makers, and vie for those next-level opportunities. I often encourage franchisees to be sure that they are sharing their long-term vision with candidates at the interview, so the candidate can start to see the potential opportunity as more than just the role they are being considered for today.
- REFERRAL BONUSES: Current employees can often be your best source for attracting the next hire. If you’re in “bulk hiring” mode, consider holding a Discovery Day hiring event, and encourage (maybe even reward?) your employees for bringing along a friend/candidate to learn more about the business and its employment opportunities. Think about how you can include your best employees in the hiring event itself – they’ll be your best advertisement to the candidates who show up.
What are your ideas and suggestions? Please drop me a reply at [email protected] if you have another insight to share, or if I can be helping you in any way.