Open communication for strong management

A strong management system is one of the seven systems required to successfully roll out a business.

In a previous article we explored the need for a clear direction for the organization, goal clarity and staff career path certainty.

We continue exploring other elements that form a strong management system that in turn, among others, seeks to define the franchising culture of the organization.

Fourth, teamwork. One of my favorite team building games is the lap sit. I ask participants to form a circle all facing the back of the person ahead.

Moving close to the circle’s center closes the gaps between them. With hands on the shoulders of the person ahead and without thinking twice, they lower their buttocks to sit on the lap of the person behind.

This position holds for as long as you wish because the weight of the individual participant is distributed across all participating laps. The hold breaks when a weak point appears along the circle of the seated participants.

In your organization, all staff members need to identify as members of one team working together to achieve the organization’s goals.

Everything should be done for the benefit of the organization and regardless of personality differences/diversity on your teams, different teams should recognize the need to work along together.

Apathy dampens the team spirit. To work effectively, all staff should understand and execute their own roles, that’s the only way the lap sit holds.

Fifth, communication. Channels within the organization should be clear and open to all. Haphazard and irregular communication breeds confusion and a breakdown of communication.

Open and regular communication, on the other hand, builds an environment conducive for staff to innovate and contribute to the organization’s desired goals.

Sixth, Initiative. To stay ahead of competition requires a lot of creativity, most of which comes from your staff.

They should always know the areas in which they can act without referring to anybody else, allowing them to develop good ideas and fresh approaches to their work without worrying that they will get into trouble for using their initiative. Tapping into this creativity will develop quick responsiveness to market needs, which is key to staying ahead of competition during your franchise roll out.

Seventh, Recognition. The system you build should notice staff for their good work and encourage them to do better, not to notice them for their mistakes. Mistakes are a vital part of learning. A system of rewards and recognition that gives credit to people who work hard should be part of your management system.

Eighth, appraisals. An objective system of appraising your staff is one that removes human biases during appraisals.

In fact, staff appraisal should be a process, not a one-time annual event. A well-laid down procedure for regular employee appraisals is one that moves from performance appraisals to performance management, where throughout the year, superiors help their reports to achieve their appraisal targets.

Every staff should be involved in setting their performance targets then regularly appraise themselves and discusses with their manager before meeting in a formal appraisal session. Areas needing development should be clearly identified.

Last, personal contact. This defines how staff relate to one another at personal level. While this may be difficult to achieve there should be, as much as possible, a close similarity of personal beliefs and feelings between staff.

A warm and harmonious working atmosphere breeds understanding of the need for people to express their true feelings and respect others’ opinions. Staff are more able to listen to one another, averting the “Tower of Babel” scenario. In summary, a strong management system or lack of it will set your franchise operation apart.

The writer is the Lead Franchise Consultant at Africa Franchising Accelerator Project that helps indigenous African brands to franchise, turns around struggling indigenous franchise brands to franchise cross-border, settles international franchise brands into Africa to build a well-balanced franchise sector and creates a franchise-friendly business environment with African governments for quicker African integration.

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