Regular Action Planning – Best Practice #14

Franchise systems are complex organisations where active Action Planning throughout is much needed, and for many reasons.   Not least, franchisors and franchisees have obligations and performance standards relating to one another – that need to be met.

Franchise systems are the perfect environment where there is a need to get a whole lot of stuff done, involving multiple people, departments and entities.  Consider franchisees with their objectives, the franchisor, field managers, suppliers and so on.  Plus, everyone needs to be coordinated – and in franchise systems there can be a cascade of tasks up, down and across the overall system in order to deliver needed products/services, information, growth and changes, to mention a few areas.

Action Plans, most certainly, need to be at the centre of the franchisor-franchisee relationship, documenting key actions needed on both sides. Both parties need to prioritise and make sure that important things that need to get done do get done.

For franchisors working with franchisees there can also be an important performance element to Action Planning – whereby the franchisee may be formally obligated to complete any agreed Action Plan tasks.

This is invariably the case as mutual commitments are typically vital so that both parties can achieve their greater individual [yet also to a large degree still mutual] objectives.

It is good practice to always think about what actions are needed to achieve a goal or objective, and then to specify:

• The action (and sometimes outcomes / deliverables)
• Who’s responsible
• Commencement and due date
• Resources required
• Status / notes

Action Plans, of course, need to be regularly reviewed to be useful and its often very good practice for the franchisor / field manager to follow-up.

Franchisees will vary in the level of Action Plan detail needed. Clearly, the greater understanding, or familiarity, the higher level of actions that can be documented.

Action planning is clearly also very important for the franchisor, who has multiple competing priorities – but overall objectives that need to be met.

About the Franchising Best Practice 500 Series

This is part of a series of franchising best practices. Franchize Consultants is sharing and publishing these best practices weekly for the betterment of franchising. We know that better knowledge and execution of franchising best practices leads to bigger and more valuable franchisor and franchisee businesses.