A Franchise Event: Shifting Hierarchical Relationships

In many parts of the world, respect for age and authority often interrupts clear communication and prevents people from sharing the information that would allow them to improve their results and evolve their company. It was just this sort of situation – where mid-career women were asked to manage people older, richer, and more experienced than themselves – that caused our global client to ask for insight and possible solutions.

Our first step was to do some research and see if we could segment the population of franchise holders, much as we might segment a consumer market. We applied tried and true market research methods; we created groups of franchise holders and started to outline their preferences and needs. We also did a deep dive to identify the frustrations, successes and hopes of the franchisee “managers”.

What emerged was clear and distinct groups of franchise holders; this information gave us a place to start designing an event to shift communication patterns and apply potential new approaches to franchisee management for the company to consider.

We created an event that would shift hierarchical relationships just slightly, so that more person:person conversations could take place and to identify instances where that shift would be unlikely – requiring other communication interventions. To achieve this aim and maintain “face” we designed the event to be fun, light and self-facilitated.

Did it work? Well, one of the frustrations of being a consultant is that you don’t always get to know which of your suggestions has been adopted, what worked and what didn’t. What we do know is that the company has expanded globally and increased in revenue and profitability.