EZ CERT Shoulders a Burden for Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids

With salons in more than 50 markets throughout the U.S., U.K., and Canada, Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids has established itself as one of the largest kids’ haircut operations in the world. Overseeing the expansive organization is the company’s founder and namesake, Scott Sharkey. For a franchise with as many locations as Sharkey’s, even the corporate team cannot keep up with the near-constant work of store-level insurance compliance, which is why Sharkey enlisted the help of EZ CERT Management last year.

“We are opening new stores all the time, and insurance compliance is an issue we always need to be on top of,” said Sharkey. “That used to be a full-time job. Now I give EZ CERT a list of all our franchisees and a copy of our disclosure document, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s it. They take it from there.”

With that information, EZ CERT is able to track and measure insurance certificates for every franchisee, ensuring that small noncompliance issues do not snowball into larger problems for the brand. Any individual franchisee that is underinsured or otherwise noncompliant puts the entire organization at risk of litigation, so EZ CERT monitors compliance store-by-store, making sure that nothing falls through the cracks.

Most importantly for Sharkey, EZ CERT does not require constant coordination with the franchise’s corporate team.

“We let them know when we bring on a new franchisee, and EZ CERT stays on top of it,” said Sharkey. “It’s extremely low-maintenance.”

While some franchisors work closely with EZ CERT to educate themselves on insurance and compliance issues, Sharkey has opted for a hands-off approach, tasking the insurance experts with taking the issue of compliance off of his plate entirely.

“I am inundated with phone calls and emails every day,” Sharkey said. “EZ CERT has made my life so much easier by not adding to that. I know they are doing great work, and they do it quietly, without asking me for new documents every week.”

Equally seamless was the initial process of outsourcing to EZ CERT, which Sharkey said was done quickly after connecting with the business at an annual salon franchise convention.

“I met EZ CERT at the conference, and we figured it out right there,” said Sharkey. “They told me what they offered, I told them what I needed, and it was a great fit. We set up a meeting after the conference and signed a contract. It's been a pleasure working with them. They take care of the things I need them to take care of, and we’ve never had a hiccup.”

EZ CERT’s flexibility in how they coordinate with franchisors has made them one of the most popular vendors in the industry. The management company prides themselves on their ability to provide outstanding communication to their clients, but for Sharkey, their ability to work without constant communication is just as important.