Tip 1: Maintain one source of truth
Don’t let misinformation or confusions affect the quality of service you offer. Make sure every aspect of your operating procedures and systems is well-documented and available to all staff. If you put your faith in spoken instructions, inaccuracies will definitely creep in and before you know it, everyone will be singing from their own song sheet – not yours. Having everything clearly set out in black and white also avoids any tendency towards a blame culture if things do go awry, as all policies are transparent with clear reference points.
Tip 2: Use superhero trainers
Your success ultimately rests on the quality of your people, so invest in solid training for all your staff. Look for a gifted educator who can travel between your locations delivering the best education and monitoring standards. This will ensure you keep your talent pool rich with good people who can easily move between locations with no danger of a fall in standards.
Tip 3: Get smart with the tech
Make the most of technology to monitor standards and deliver education. In the Brave New World of social networking and Google, no one bothers memorizing anything, so encourage your team to keep abreast of latest techniques and trends as well as industry and manufacturer developments on any channels that are part of their day-to-day lives, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or whatever. Make it part of the culture to refer to them constantly.
Tip 4: Offer a license to multiply
If you’re working a franchise, give your franchisees multiple licenses so they can run more than one location. By the time they have the first store open and running successfully, they will have all the skills and knowledge they need to run multiple sites. Working with 500 franchises with three locations each makes it easier to secure and monitor consistency than working with 1,500 separate franchises.
Tip 5: Verify for success
Don’t rely solely on your people on the ground to deliver everything just as you wish. Trust your team but also invest in a top tier of supervisors who can verify that documented procedures are being followed and delivered exactly as you request and expect. Too hands-off and you risk diluting your brand.