The Great Resignation and its Impacts on Franchise Organizations

In this article published on FranchiseWire.com, iFranchise Group CEO and expert franchise consultant Mark Siebert discusses the opportunities and challenges that franchisors will face as the current employment market trend, commonly referred to as The Great Resignation, shows few signs of waning.

With tens of millions of people voluntarily quitting their jobs since the pandemic first took hold, this can mean increasing opportunities for franchisors, but it can also present challenges, both of which need to be addressed appropriately. 

Siebert raises the question about whether franchisors should allow or encourage internal employees (who, along with many others, may be looking to exit their jobs) to buy a franchise of their own brand. He reviews the pros and cons of different approaches, and presents some some caveats for franchisors to consider when considering awarding franchises to current employees.

He discusses the importance of having well-developed, forward-focused systems in place, while maintaining a “personal touch,” both for the cultivation and retention of in-house talent and for franchise sales and development.

He stresses that the overall goal of any franchisor, or anyone with an interest in how to franchise a business, should be to effectively manage people and resources on both sides of the equation (employee retention and franchise sales). If done properly, he predicts even greater success across the entire organization.