You're overseeing franchise operations. How can you foster innovation without sacrificing quality?

Franchising relies on standards, processes, and scalability, often perceived as conflicting with R&D, innovation, and experimentation. The challenge is in scaling or standardizing early-stage ideas while ensuring operational consistency. However, innovation is essential for growth, and successful companies approach it with the same rigor as any process - through structured research, development, experimentation, piloting, and gradual implementation. While innovation may seem chaotic, it’s a process that demands even more precision and standardization. By carefully testing, assessing, and integrating new ideas step by step, you ensure a smooth transition that maintains quality while driving innovation.

In my experience, documenting and reflecting on operational points of friction is the backbone of innovation. It is done well when it is done routinely and the solutions implimented initially as a pilot and then distributed once the improvement is confirmed. Necessity is the mother of invention!

Change, by far, is the most difficult thing to manage. As others have mentioned, establishing sustainable process or baseline is key to really achieving any measurable innovation. I train teams to take it as a journey- know where you are at, and look for different paths forward. Assess risk and move. Take the wins and understand the “not wins”. Don’t be discouraged. Most importantly, follow a leader you trust. I strive to support my teams, and cherish the people that trust me.

Adapting to change is vital when guiding your franchise toward groundbreaking practices. Begin by cultivating a culture that prizes ingenuity and recognizes proactive efforts. Urge franchisees to contribute insights from their firsthand customer interactions, as these often inspire valuable innovations in products or services. By being receptive to feedback and demonstrating flexibility, you nurture an environment where innovation flourishes. Still, it’s crucial to harmonize fresh ideas with the established systems that underpin your brand’s success, ensuring that excellence remains intact.

I would add first learn the processes in place and what they were enacted to do. If you STEER without knowing if the direction has obstacles you need to steer around, all will know you are dooming them to failure, just to have your name on "the change".

Setting clear requirements and expectations combined with ethical and patient/user first behaviors lead to high standards in all processes that will deliver the best outputs, keeps costs under control in a transparent and timely fashion.

In franchising, setting robust standards is crucial to maintaining quality while allowing room for innovation. Clearly defined standards for customer service and product consistency ensure that all franchisees uphold the brand's core values. Encouraging innovation is essential, but it's equally important that franchisees grasp the non-negotiable elements that define the brand. Regular training sessions play a pivotal role in reinforcing these standards, equipping franchisees with the tools to innovate effectively without drifting from the brand's essence. How do you balance maintaining standards with fostering innovation in your franchise?

Monitor Closely Closely monitoring the impact of any new initiative is essential to maintain quality. Implement systems that allow you to track performance metrics and customer feedback across all franchises. This data-driven approach will enable you to identify whether innovations are enhancing the customer experience or if they're leading to unintended consequences. Regular audits and assessments can help ensure that while your franchisees are experimenting with new ideas, they're not inadvertently compromising the brand's reputation for quality.

Avant de mettre officiellement un produit ou un service sur le marché, nous réalisons un test grandeur nature. Cette étape cruciale nous permet de valider l'excellence opérationnelle et de perfectionner l'expérience client. Nous évaluons le produit ou service dans des conditions réelles, recueillons des retours détaillés des utilisateurs et ajustons les aspects nécessaires pour optimiser la performance. Ce processus nous assure que chaque détail est peaufiné et que nous offrons une expérience utilisateur qui répond aux attentes élevées des clients. Ce test préalable est essentiel pour garantir un lancement réussi et une satisfaction client maximale.

Autre point supplémentaire : les collaborations avec des partenaires locaux. Nous avons pour culture de poursuivre l'innovation en établissant des partenariats avec des fournisseurs et producteurs locaux. Cela s'inscrit dans notre promesse d'être un acteur engagé qui soutient l'économie locale. En collaborant étroitement avec ces partenaires, nous intégrons des solutions innovantes tout en valorisant les ressources et le savoir-faire de notre région. Ce modèle de partenariat renforce notre ancrage local, contribue à la croissance économique de la communauté, et garantit que nos produits et services reflètent les valeurs et la qualité de notre environnement.

Collaboration and actively listening in a franchise network is key. Listening and sharing in the franchisee’s experience is as important to the future and future strategy of any franchise network. Most often new innovation in term of product or technology can be driven by franchisees as they are at the cold face of the business every day.

Nous avons trois temps forts dans l'année où l'innovation est au c?ur de nos réflexions. Ces moments privilégiés nous permettent de recueillir les retours et les expériences de chaque collaborateur. Lors de ces sessions, nous encourageons l'expression d'idées nouvelles, analysons les enseignements tirés des initiatives passées, et identifions les opportunités d'amélioration. Ensuite, nous établissons une liste des idées les plus prometteuses et les priorisons en fonction de leur impact potentiel et de leur faisabilité. Cette démarche collaborative nous permet de rester à la pointe de l'innovation et d'assurer la mise en ?uvre de projets stratégiques qui renforcent notre compétitivité et notre engagement envers l'excellence.