Crisis Management

By Shawn Saraga

It is often said that in times of crisis, cooler heads prevail. This statement is easy to make before disaster strikes—but how do you actually keep a cool head when an emergency pops up? As a new franchisee, you will inevitably encounter difficult predicaments. These can vary from personal crises (e.g. losing a loved one) to business emergencies (e.g. fire, floods, robberies, etc.).

As a franchisee you are in business for yourself, but you are never alone. A good franchisor will support you during good times and bad, offering resources, advice and guidance. Here are five questions to ask a franchisor to verify steps are in place to support during times of crisis.

1. What kind of crisis management training do I get?

As a business owner, one of your responsibilities is to plan for the worst while working for the best. As a franchisee, you are being trained by the franchisor on how to manage your business under all sorts of different circumstances. As such, a portion of time should be set aside to address dealing with various forms of crisis.

A more experienced and established franchisor will have a more extensive crises management training program, as they have experienced more crises firsthand. A newer company, on the other hand, may still be making up rules as they go along. In any case, a good franchisor will still have some sort of system in place to support you.

In addition to asking the franchisor whether this support will be provided, you can also verify if the training exists with new franchisees in the system. Ask them how much of their training focused on crisis management, and whether, if confronted with an emergency, they feel confident about how to proceed. Positive responses to these questions should help you feel comfortable that the franchisor is equipped to deal with the problem.

2. Who can I contact during a crisis?

In response to this question, a good franchisor should provide you with key contacts you can reach out to in different scenarios. Whether they are insurance agents, police officers or operations support staff, having the right people ready to deal with various crisis situations is important. Franchisees should not be left to deal with crises on their own.

If the answer to all your problems is simply, “Call the president. He’ll deal with it,” then you may be dealing with a system that is not equipped to deal with crisis. After all, the president of the company can’t deal with every problem that arises in a growing franchise system. A detailed list of names and contact information, organized according to the various situations you call on them to handle, indicates your prospective franchisor has assembled a team of professionals to support you in worst-case scenarios.

3. Where can a crisis take place?

A good franchisor will acknowledge that a crisis can take place in any part of your business. If you are in the food-service industry, the kitchen is just as likely a place for a crisis as a slippery dining room floor. In the printing industry, a delivery driver’s car can be just as hazardous as a poorly maintained piece of equipment.

Ultimately, your franchisor should be able to provide advice on how to avoid possible incidents before they happen. Top franchisors provide detailed training on operations help you better understand how to maintain a safe and secure working environment. If you follow this blueprint, you can sidestep 99 per cent of possible crises.

Of course, there are some crises that are beyond your control, like acts of god and criminal activities. You need to accept these situations may occur an prepare accordingly; while it may not be any less painful, it will much easier to manage them. Look for a franchisor that pledges support and sympathy during these situations.

4. When does a crisis typically happen?

The average crisis is often not a result of one thing going wrong, but several compounded occurrences. Take, for example, restaurant employees who forget to check the fire extinguisher for several months. One day, while a new trainee is being trained in the kitchen, he is left unsupervised while his trainer runs to the back to accept a delivery. The new trainee, still unfamiliar with the stove, starts a fire that could have been contained had the extinguisher been properly inspected. As result of several factors, a situation that could have been manageable snowballs into a crisis. Again, a good franchisor will help you avoid these situations by providing a detailed operations manual and, in some cases, regular inspections of your unit.

5. How do I deal with the crisis?

When asking this question of a franchisor, look for responses that encourage you to be proactive about solving any problems that may arise. The franchisor should again be ready to offer support, such as helping you re-launch or re-open your franchise after a major crisis.

Also look for a positive attitude on the franchisor’s behalf, as this will encourage you to take the same approach. Staying upbeat in the face of crisis is difficult, but doing so will determine how your staff, customers, support network and franchisor reacts when emergencies arise. Ultimately, any good franchisor wants to see you succeed through a crisis. With the right attitude, people will find it easy to continually offer you support. With the wrong attitude, it will be very difficult to maintain that long-term support.