Noodle Metrics

There are numerous traits that a business franchisor must try to identify in a prospective franchisee. Franchisee assessment, the process for finding potential top performers, is an important task for any successful business franchisor.

Among the traits that must be evaluated during the franchisee assessment process are honesty, commitment to customer service and customer focus, motivation, likeable personality, strong management skills, ability to learn and adapt quickly, ability to follow instructions, confidence, authority, and compatibility with the franchise organization. The successful use of franchisee assessment tests and tools are vital during this process.

Here are some specific issues that a good franchisee assessment tool must address. First, does the prospect have the right realistic reasons for wanting to be a franchisee? Being one's own boss requires long hours of hard work, and the financial payoff in a franchise business is often not immediate.

The prospect must be highly motivated. This is a character trait that will help the person remain steady and focused on the goals when conditions are rough.

Further, the franchisee must enjoy being their own boss. A strong sense of self-reliance is necessary in order for the prospect to be able to handle all of the details of the daily business.

A strong work ethic must be identified by the assessment tools. Patience and the ability to keep pursuing the business goals even without the benefit of immediate financial payoff are important traits.

There are some financial risks involved in business franchises and the franchisee must feel comfortable with this knowledge. Also, a positive outlook on business and the franchise world is an important trait and must be identified.

Further, the prospect must exhibit good people skills. Communication skills and likeability are vital characteristics for top performers in franchise businesses to possess.

One of the strengths of a franchise business is that a proven business model and system are already in place. A strong prospect will be one who is able to follow the franchisor's system confidently. Further, the prospect must be able to teach the system to others and to coach others to be successful.

A franchisor has the choice of either developing their own franchisee assessment tests and tools or utilizing the resources of others who have become expert at identifying potential top performers. Highly effective assessment tests and tools can be developed with patience, skill, and experience. However a franchisor that lacks the luxury of being able to develop their own assessment tools can easily outsource the task to a support company whose business is to provide the tests and tools and to give service to the franchise industry.

All franchise businesses require some kind of sales. For a company to flourish in this sagging economy, it is imperative that everyone, from the owner to the newbie clerk, has the same sales attitude and that the sales attitude on the local scene match the same sales attitude of the parent company.

Sales styles and one's aptitude for selling vary greatly and different types of business franchises require various types of selling styles. A franchise should always exactly what type of selling style their particular business requires before even looking for a new franchisee. One type of selling style will certainly not meet all business requirements and the approach can change greatly with the different services and products of each franchise.

Most successful franchise businesses recognize that sales and work style management is all about organization, planning and recognizing the strengths and weaknesses along with the sales style of your prospective franchisee. The very basis of sales and public relations is to relate to people on their own terms. Therefore making intelligent decisions in finding the top performing franchisee for your business is imperative.

Top performer candidates exhibit 3 traits - a high energy level, tenacity and competitiveness. Successfully hiring the perfect strong franchise who matches your sales style is a delicate balance between science and art. Finding that person who understands and is compatible with your business needs and process should be your company's highest priority.

During the initial overture from a potential franchisee, it is often difficult if not almost impossible to ascertain if that candidate will compliment your particular franchise. What is needed is an assessment tool that will give the edge to the franchise business to determine if from the get-go if this is a path that both the franchise business and the potential franchisee wish to pursue. Within the franchise business, I just recently heard of a company, where this is one of the areas that they access.

Being able to have these assessments made ahead of time could save your franchise both valuable time and money and make a very positive difference in your bottom line.

Finding the right person to be a franchisee for your business should be a simple thing. Someone says "Boy, I'd love to be a member of your team. Where do I sign up?" and voila! You have a new franchisee all set to make their mark with your brand and bring you mega profits and wonderful exposure along the way. Unfortunately, life and making that just right match are not necessarily all that simple. Your business is a complex entity with many aspects that must be carefully considered and matched with a prospective franchisee so that both your company and the franchisee can profit from the arrangement. It's rather like two cogs that are attempting to mesh. If the individual cog -or aspect- does not fit well into the space on the reciprocal wheel, then someone is in for a bumpy ride.

So how does one locate the perfect potential? Actually one of the first steps should be an assessment of your company's "lifestyle"- those things that make your company what it is. We are talking about such things as management style, leadership style, and how your company motivates its employees and franchisees. Once you know where your company stands on such things, then it is going to be easier to make sure your potential franchisee fits, that his or her 'cogs' mesh well with the company's wheel.

Let's take a look at just one cog: motivation. Motivation is that thing that prompts us to move in a certain way. And it is our personal value system that sets the stage for the motivation. What we value pushes us in our decisions regarding what we spend our time, energy and money on and what experiences we seek, in other words, our buyer motives. You have probably heard it said that you can tell what is important to a person by looking at their checkbook stubs. If we update that, then it's their debit and charge card statements, and their PDAs. The part of this that is important here is that what is motivation for one person is not necessarily the same for everyone else. Therefore, it follows that as a franchise business it makes good sense, good business sense, that a potential franchisee's motivations which are based on a personal value system, be in accordance with a franchise business's motivations and business value systems. Those seeking to become a franchisee should be seeking an experience that mirrors the same type of value system they have. And those who are looking for a franchisee should ensure that there is a mesh between them and their new partner.

Motivation is only one of the cogs in franchise assessment or franchise profiling to make sure that you are getting the top performers, the ones that are going to be the voila! in your franchise business.

For more information on other aspects of assessing the compatibility of potential franchisees, check out http://www.noodlemetrics.com/Noodle-Metrics-Dimensions-of-Compatibility.html.

For any franchise business to operate effectively, it is imperative that clear and concise communication be a priority. Therefore, communication between people where each is speaking from their own separate style of communication can lead to misunderstandings, hurt feelings and problems that affect the desired out come. Each individual's own style is determined from his or her own values, experiences, perceptions, insights and feelings.

When selecting a person to be a franchisee for your business you obviously want the top performer, the one who knows how to communicate effectively with their employees and who also "speaks' in the same communication style as your business. Consistency in communication is part and parcel of your branding.

Most misunderstandings can be avoided by learning how people communicate. Franchisee assessments should include an understanding of a person's style and approach to a problem, for misunderstandings can lead to serious consequences. Knowing what causes communication misunderstandings and how to prevent them, gives both the franchisee and the franchise business power in doing the best possible job.

In communicating, it is important to know just how a person processes information. Experience can affect how a comment is interpreted. Research regarding people's communication styles shows that different personalities have different languages and different ways of communicating with others.

Richard Heyman wrote about the effects of misunderstanding in "Why Didn't You Say That in the First Place?"

*Misunderstanding wastes time and money by causing reworking and reworking.
*Misunderstanding consumes valuable time, which can make projects go over budget.
*Employees who don't understand their job responsibilities waste their time and the company's time.
*Attendees who don't understand a meeting's purpose cost time and money.
*Written documents, such as policy statements or even emails that are misunderstood cost time and money to fix.

When a franchise business knows the different styles and categories of the way people communicate, they can then not only hire the people who best fit into the necessary categories for that particular franchise but also offer on-going education and training for employees. Understanding one's own style as well others in the work place can be liberating and unlock previously closed doors to resolving problems.

It is important for any franchisee assessment to understand the various communication styles. A company that accesses this area in franchisee profiling, is NoodleMetrics. Being able to have these assessments made ahead of time could save your franchise both valuable time and money and make a very positive difference to your bottom line.

Wise franchise business decisions are based upon the good, clear information that is readily available. However, the available information must be sorted and processed by the decision maker based upon the core beliefs and values that he has learned during his lifetime. The decision making process is influenced by the largely unconscious filtering pattern or program that has been learned through past experience.

The phrase that has been developed to describe this sorting process is "meta programs." Meta programs are the strategies that help to guide or manage specific mental processes. While a person is consciously working through a specific process he will be guided by unconscious meta programs that help determine which facts and ideas receive his attention.

In the franchise business environment, conscious mental processes may include the selection of staff, and the training, motivation, and evaluation of staff members. Other processes include the selection of and administration of customer oriented activities, selection and presentation of products, and the promotion of products.

The meta programs that a business person uses while administering their tasks are personality traits that they are largely unaware of in most situations. Identification of the underlying meta programs of key staff members will be valuable to the franchise business owners who can use the information to help predict future success of their staff.

Here are several examples of meta program types that can be identified in individuals in business situations. For one, individuals may filter their decisions according to formal procedures or according to a list of options. This meta program is commonly called a task attitude. Some people prefer to administer their tasks according to an understandable set of procedures. Others may prefer to structure their tasks according to an understanding of different options that are available.

Another common meta program involves task orientation. Some people are comfortable with big chunks of information. That is, they can understand how all aspects of the task fit into a bigger picture, a larger overview. On the other hand, some people are more comfortable handling the small chunks, the important details of the tasks involved.

One of the decision making meta programs involves the fact that some people are comfortable making decisions with external references while others are more heavily guided in their decision making by internal references. For example, decisions that result in good customer service require the top performer decision maker to handle input from customers, supervisors, and peers. A top performer who prefers to make decisions according to an internal reference may prefer to be left alone while doing their tasks or may find it necessary to filter out certain types of external information as they make their business decisions.

An action oriented meta program is one which distinguishes between goals and problem solving. A sales job, for example, is one which focuses on goal achievement. A different type of job would be one which focuses on overcoming obstacles and solving problems. Individuals may be motivated in a similar manner. Some people excel at being able to focus on goals, while others function well in a problem oriented work environment.

These are the more common meta programs that can be easily identified, and there are many more. Almost any habitual behavior pattern can be thought of as a meta program, but that would lead to a very long list. Prominent authors in the field of personality assessment have identified between 20 and 60 different meta programs.

For franchise business purposes the listing can be pared down to those most appropriate for that business .In researching this material, I came across a business that specializes in these tests to screen perspective key employees according to the needs of the specific franchise. http://www.noodlemetrics.com/Noodle-Metrics-Dimensions-of-Compatibility.html. Having this information enables the business to pursue their business strategies while staffed with key employees who will be best suited to administer the overall plan of the business.

Being able to have these assessments made ahead of time could save your franchise both valuable time and money and make a very positive difference in your bottom line.