5 Tips for Hiring the Right Staff for Your Service Franchise

Hiring the right people can make or break a service franchise. Since the services offered are the product being sold, having quality people to perform them is crucial.

“That's what holds [service] franchisees back — you're only as good as your labor, and it's hard to find labor,” said Dan Rowe, CEO of Fransmart.

There are several ways a franchisee can make the hiring process as smooth as possible.

Though it can be tedious, taking the time to interview using a thorough process is one of the most important things you can do during the hiring stage.

“Even before the labor issues we've had the last couple of years, people were prone to just doing what they call a ‘warm body hire’ meaning they would hire the first person who seems to sort of get it,” said Rowe. “Nowadays, you can't do that.”

Rowe noted that, if you don’t hire the right people, it can lead to chronic turnover, which can be expensive and unproductive.

“It's worth not hiring until you find the right person,” he said. “So, I would take your time interviewing and really pick people that actually are going to like doing the job.”

It may seem obvious, but one of the top ways to hire and retain the right staff in today’s market is by paying competitively.

“I really believe that if you pay better, you're gonna get better,” said Rowe. He noted that, especially because labor is short today, paying well is key. “I've seen it work a million times, where if you just pay a little bit more, you’re going to get really good people … all of a sudden you have people that are never leaving.”

In the long run, paying well will lead to a lack of turnover, providing stability will lead to a better business and more profit. “It's just so distracting having to keep onboarding new employees and keep teaching them what they're doing,” Rowe explained. “You’ll have to go run another ad. It's just a drag.”

You will also want to staff as many workers as you can afford.

“You staff for the sales you want, which always means you should over-staff and then grow into that with buyer sales,” said Rowe. “You have to staff for the kind of company you're trying to build.”

Franchises often have their own hiring materials designed to help franchisees with the hiring process. You can often save a lot of time by using hiring materials provided for franchises, such as ad templates, job descriptions, and training programs, according to Paychex Works.

Today there are plenty of recruiting tools at your disposal.

For instance, business owners can engage in social recruiting by using social media channels. People in your local community can not only be good potential hires, but can get the message out there by sharing posts on social media. Investing heavily in this type of marketing is likely to pay off.

Additionally, utilize the careers page on your franchise website. Keep it up to date with eye-catching images and information on how your organization supports employees.

Video interviewing is another great way to save time and streamline the hiring process. It can be helpful to schedule brief, 15-minute interviews via video conference as a first step, then bring potential candidates to the office that you would like to move ahead with.