As your franchise network grows, keeping it at the top of its game becomes increasingly complex and challenges are bound to arise. All franchisors start to see very similar problems and need to focus more and more resources on solving them: decreased performance, compliance issues, or lack of franchisee engagement.

You might start to see a number of red flags, including:

• Low adoption of new procedures or tools
• Franchisees repeatedly asking for information already provided
• Poor attendance at meetings and training
• Rogue WhatsApp or Facebook groups popping up
• Missed compliance tasks
• Inconsistent franchisee performance without clear cause
• A drop in productivity, or too many franchisees just “coasting”

All important issues which certainly need to be tackled but, in our experience of working with dozens of franchises of all different sizes and systems, these are actually symptoms, not the root cause.

9 times out of 10, the issue behind all of these challenges is much simpler: communication.

However, it can also be one of the hardest to diagnose. When communication breaks down, by definition, it becomes harder to talk about. For example, if there is a communication problem, how would you even know?

Is what you’re trying to tell your franchisees falling on deaf ears? Or not even being heard at all? Are franchisees unsure where to raise issues, or resorting to backchannels because formal ones feel unresponsive?

This disconnect can evolve into a negative feedback loop. Poor communication leads to confusion or frustration. That frustration causes disengagement or resistance, and disengaged franchisees are even less likely to communicate effectively. It can easily fall into a downward spiral over time, and everyone is left feeling like they’re just talking to a wall.

Perhaps somewhat counter-intuitively, it can be even harder when you actually have a great relationship with your franchisees. If they enjoy working with you, they can be reluctant to bring up negative feedback, or don’t want to be seen as the “moaner”. Perhaps they just don’t want to rock the boat.

You’re sitting at the top thinking everything is rosy but small problems are festering away unseen, and they can grow into bigger ones as time rolls by. Suddenly, you’re facing a crisis and are wondering why you had no warning.

So, how can you find out if communication is the issue, and how do you break the cycle?

If it seems like you can’t move forward because you’re all dealing with this from inside the problem, then bringing in a neutral third part such as the experts from our Franchise Operations Support Service could be the solution you need.

We can help you diagnose gaps, identify where information flow breaks down, and help implement simple systems that restore clarity and connection across your entire network. Perhaps most importantly, franchisees are usually much more open and honest with an outsider, allowing you to gain critical insights into what is actually happening right across your network.

Above all, we can help you find solutions. Often, they don’t need to be sweeping changes, just smart, strategic tweaks.

However, the first step is deciding what help you might need, if any at all.

We’re more than happy to lend a friendly ear to what challenges you are facing, and make some initial suggestions about how to move forward.

Click the button below if you’d like to book a chat.