As the founder of Uplifting Leadership, I've seen firsthand how critical it is to create buy-in, especially when dealing with franchisees. Creating buy-in means securing the support, commitment, and enthusiasm of all stakeholders involved in a project or initiative. In the restaurant business, this often involves aligning franchisees with new company-wide strategies or operational changes.
Let me share a recent example of how we advised a client to get buy-in from their franchisees:
Last year, a national fast-casual restaurant chain approached us with a challenge. They wanted to implement a new customer loyalty program across all their locations, but were facing resistance from many of their franchisees. The corporate team was convinced of the program's potential to increase customer retention and boost sales, but the franchisees were concerned about the implementation costs and potential disruption to their operations.
Here's how we guided them through the process of creating buy-in:
1. Open Dialogue: We advised the corporate team to host a series of regional meetings with franchisees. These meetings provided a safe space for franchisees to voice their concerns and obstacles. By embracing early pushback, we were able to identify key issues and refine the loyalty program implementation plan.
2. Spend Time on the Front End: We emphasized the importance of investing time in individual conversations with influential franchisees. This approach helped us understand specific concerns unique to different markets and restaurant sizes. While it was time-consuming, this upfront investment prevented larger conflicts down the line.
3. Record and Address Concerns: During these meetings and conversations, we meticulously documented every issue raised. Some concerns, like training costs, were addressed immediately by offering corporate-sponsored training sessions. For other issues, like potential short-term revenue dips during the transition, we acknowledged the risks and developed mitigation strategies.
4. Foster a Shared Vision: We helped the corporate team articulate a compelling vision for the loyalty program, highlighting how it would benefit both the brand and individual franchisees in the long run. By involving franchisees in refining the program features, we created a sense of ownership that increased their commitment to its success.
5. Creative Strategies for Large Groups: Given the large number of franchisees, we developed a tiered approach to gather feedback. We created an online portal where all franchisees could submit their concerns and suggestions. We then held focused group discussions with representatives from different regions and restaurant sizes to delve deeper into the most common issues.
The result of this process was remarkable. What started as a contentious proposal transformed into a collaborative effort. By the time the loyalty program was ready for rollout, over 90% of franchisees were on board, eagerly anticipating its implementation.
This experience reinforced a crucial lesson: in the restaurant industry, where success often hinges on consistent execution across numerous locations, creating buy-in is not just beneficial—it's essential. When franchisees feel heard and see their input reflected in the final plan, they become active advocates rather than reluctant participants.
Creating buy-in in this manner not only ensured a smoother rollout of the loyalty program but also strengthened the relationship between the corporate team and franchisees. This improved trust and communication paved the way for future initiatives and contributed to a more cohesive and resilient restaurant brand.
Whether you're implementing a new menu, changing operational procedures, or rolling out a brand-wide initiative, taking the time to create buy-in among all stakeholders—especially franchisees—is crucial in the restaurant industry. It may require more effort upfront, but it leads to more successful outcomes and a stronger, more unified restaurant organization in the long run.
Uplifting Leadership is a leadership training and consulting firm that specializes in empowering organizations and teams to reach new heights. With a focus on transformative leadership development, Uplifting Leadership guides clients in building cohesive, motivated, and high-performing workforces. Uplifting Leadership has partnered with Opus to provide off-the-shelf leadership courses that train aspiring hospitality managers.
