Multi-Unit Franchisee Insight - Hiring, Firing, Training, & Retaining Employees Part 2

We talk to successful multi-unit operators regularly here at Franchise Update Media. These busy on-the-go people share great insight and wisdom with us through our profile stories in Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine. Here, from our archives, are some insightful responses from some of these franchisees.

How do you hire and fire?
Most of the people we hire we have had a relationship with, either through parents or church. We rely heavily on referrals. We haven’t really had to fire anyone. For the one or two individuals who have left, it was more a mutual agreement because we could tell the job wasn’t fulfilling for them anymore.

How do you train and retain?
New Kona employees go through a week-long training process with our more seasoned employees. They help with any upcoming events we have so they can get hands-on experience. They also go through some driver training to make sure they are being safe when operating the Kona Ice truck. For retaining, we hire with a degree of flexibility and allow employees to work when it fits their schedule. Most of our employees are college students.

How do you deal with problem employees?
We’ve been lucky in the sense that we haven’t really had to deal with problem employees. If we do have a problem employee, we address it head-on and as quickly as possible. If an employee seems to be having personal issues, we allow them to take some time to figure it out.
 Matt Fultz, multi-unit franchisee of Kona Ice

How do you hire and fire?
A lot of our best employees have been found and hired through word of mouth. Firing on the other hand is never easy, nor is it ever our first choice. We put a lot of thought into that decision and give a lot of second chances before we decide to terminate an employee.

How do you train and retain?
We do the best we can to accommodate schedules. The fitness space can sometimes be a bit tricky, as some of our employees are students and eventually will graduate and move into their own full-time careers.

How do you deal with problem employees?
The most important thing we try to do is remain consistent. We’ll give them a few chances, but if they continue to fall short in the same area over and over or simply don’t have respect for us and the business, we sometimes have to part ways.
 Craig Brazell (with wife Lanie), multi-unit franchisees of Club Pilates