telcoinabox

In each edition of engaged we catch up with key people from within our supply base.  This month we thought we’d eschew the usual telco people and focus instead on Debb Lowe, Director of Operations for the Franchise Relationships Institute.  Here’s what Debb had to say.

Engaged: Debb, thanks for taking the time to speak with us.  Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and your background and how long you’ve been working at the Franchise Relationships Institute (FRI)?
Debb: I spent 13 years with McDonalds in operations, training and senior people development roles including Professor of McDonald’s Hamburger University (I am not joking, there are 6 around the world) I have also held senior people development roles with Foodco (franchisor for Muffin Break and Jamaica Blue) and Krispy Kreme. Greg and I met when I was working at Foodco 5 years ago. I was very passionate about developing effective field manager training for our team and he ran a session for our team That was 5 years ago. I started working at FRI 18 months ago.

Engaged: Can you tell us a bit more about what the FRI does?  Do you have a mission or purpose?
Debb: Our mission is to help franchisees and franchisors create profitable partnerships.   We have been in business for 17 years helping franchise companies to better manage their people issues. We have developed specialised publications, tools and processes for the franchising sector.   Everything we do is aimed at helping franchisees and franchisors to work together constructively so they can create happy customers, build brand value, make a reasonable profit and enjoy their work. We believe these to be worthwhile goals of a franchise system.

Engaged: We met your managing director Greg Nathan at one of our conferences and he seemed like an interesting person to work with.  How would you describe the culture at  FRI?
Debb: Some of our core values include being creative, sensitive, making a contribution, having courage and never giving up.  We also like to stay grounded and keep our sense of humour.   Our business is about helping to develop more confident, caring and competent people — franchisors; franchisees and our own team. 

Engaged: And what kinds of things have you been working on with Telcoinabox?
Debb: Telcoinabox uses our scientific Franchisee Selection tool, the Nathan Profiler and we are in the process of conducting a Franchisee Satisfaction Survey which helps us understand the health of the culture, and will inform the Telcoinabox management team of the areas that are working well and areas of opportunity for improvement.

Engaged: You’ve worked quite closely with Telcoinabox for a couple of years now.  What would you say are some of Telcoinabox’s strengths?
Debb: The leadership and vision of the senior management team, the determination to ensure that they have the best system and processes to ensure the franchise system is successful and the genuine commitment to be the best (and I wasn’t bribed to say these things!).

Engaged: And on the flipside are there any areas you feel Telcoinabox should be focusing on to make improvements?
Debb: While I don’t really know the business well enough to comment on specifics I’m sure that any areas for improvement will be highlighted in the results of the latest FRI survey that we have completed for Telcoinabox. On a positive note, I think it’s good that Telcoinabox is open about that the fact that they’re not perfect and actively seeks feedback on areas for improvement.

Engaged:  What trends are you seeing in the franchise industry and are there any other franchise systems that you think are setting a really high benchmark?
Debb: Those franchise systems that have a genuine interest in franchisee profitability and the health of the culture are the franchise systems that do well in the long term.

Engaged: You work with lots of franchise businesses.  What’s the FRI’s view on the outlook for franchising in the current economic climate?
Debb: Our recent research survey suggests that the franchising sector is in good shape, this is where the power of franchising really kicks in;  collaboration, the sharing of ideas and knowledge and a genuine interest in helping each other.

Engaged: And if you could give one piece of advice to our franchisees to help them maximize their opportunities in the current economic climate what would it be?
Debb: Focus on the basics and keep your eye on the game… share your ideas and knowledge, keep your passion alive. 

Thanks Debb, can’t wait for the survey results to be published this year to see how we’ve fared.  For more information on the Franchise Relationships Institute visit www.franchiserelationships.com

 

 

 

 

Author: Paul Line
Email: paul@telcoinabox.com