You buy a franchise, get stuck into the business then find out you are pregnant. You couldn’t possibly take time off for maternity leave. Could you?
As a woman in business with a young family, the sentiment that women can’t have it all is something that Ella Bache CEO Pippa Hallas has never prescribed too, but she does strongly believe you can’t do it all, and that the need for the right support structures are critical.
“As the CEO of, a business comprised of 90 percent women, most of whom run their own franchise salons, it is impossible for me to share this attitude, but it wasn’t until I had my son two years ago that I came to realise how untrue this statement really was. The process I underwent in planning for maternity leave resulted in an outcome I didn’t expect. I became a better leader because of it,” she said.
“Extended leave is a particularly viable option for women in franchising, as a franchise network provides features such as an in built support network, advice channels that are always open and an extended franchise family who know the structure of the business as well as you do. Successful franchises value the importance of family and the need to create a business that provides the opportunity for a sustainable work-life balance.”
“When it is time to start a family the important thing to do is plan.”
Pippa’s top tips
TELL YOUR FRANCHISOR
When it comes to planning for maternity leave, the longer you have to prepare the better, so inform your franchisor as soon as you are able to. They will be able to assist you in immediately beginning to prepare.
ROLE ASSESSMENT
Examine everything you and your employees (if you have them) do within the business. Create a full list of the different roles within the business and the jobs that each role entails.
You will need to change your perspective on delegation but this won’t be achieved to its maximum requirement unless each and every operational process is revealed. You will need to know what each person does and what their capabilities and skills are in order to assess who can take on which jobs. You may be surprised by how much you are currently doing that could be delegated. It also allows people the opportunity to step up and empower themselves, removing any co-dependency.
PEOPLE AND ROLES
Before you leave, you must ensure you have the right people, structure and roles. This may mean you need to review structure, roles and fit the right people to them.
Every franchise is different. For one or two person teams, it is worth discussing the possibility of a neighbouring franchisee taking on some/all of your clients with your franchisor.
Another option for one or two person teams is outsourcing some of the more time consuming parts of the business, such as the administration and bookwork, and completing the more specialised work from home.
Business owners with multiple employees should focus on having the right staff. Loyalty is wonderful, but only keep those who will be productive team members while you’re absent. For some, loyalty bonuses will assist with retaining key staff but make sure the benefits are tied to performance or else you may have people hanging in just for the money.
If you know your team will need additional management without you, hire someone sooner rather than later to ensure they will be the right fit and can be trained accordingly. Make sure you involve the current staff in the employment process though, as you won’t have time to deal with a poor culture fit.
CLIENTS
Tell your clients. They will love to feel part of your personal journey, especially in an industry such as ours which is built on intimate relationships. It will also give them time to get to know your team more and therefore feel a lot more comfortable with you not being there for an extended period. We know that one of the biggest reason for clients leaving a business, is when a Therapist or owner moves on. If your leave is well managed client retention won’t be an issue.
PLANNING
It is worthwhile talking to your business development manager (BDM) or field support manager and develop a list of your aims and goals for the time that you will be away. Once these have been identified you can decide how they will be managed and achieved.
To keep on top of performance with minimal effort, implement a range of measurement tools prior to leaving.
Many companies already have general key performance indicators (KPIs) the company is working towards but this doesn’t transfer to per role within the organisation. Every role should have KPIs relevant to the ways in which they contribute to the overall goals. The focus needs to be on outcome measurement. Numbers never lie and to be a good remote manager you need easy to assess performance indicators.
COMMUNICATION
Figure out the best communication options for you and your business, and ensure the infrastructure is in place before you leave. It might be telephone conferences, skype video calls, daily e-mails; whichever works best for your team.
Schedule regular check-ins with your manager and staff to determine how the team is going and whether goals are still being reached. This practice in itself will generally ensure that they are.
TRUST
Ultimately, maternity leave will give both yourself and your team an opportunity to grow and step up, allowing for fresh perspectives.
In your absence your staff may operate a little differently, which is to be expected, but as long as your shared outcomes and goals are being achieved this is not a negative thing.
By trusting your team you are empowering them, and showing them that you believe that they are capable, which will lead to a stronger, more adept team and better results.
PRACTICE
A month or two before any official leave date run the business as though you have already left putting into place all new roles and processes. This is the best way to test how things will work and how the team will cope but allows time to make changes if necessary.
As a franchise owner you have a distinct advantage, as support is built in guaranteeing you will not go through the experience alone. The processes outlined are simple but I have experienced firsthand the results as most franchisees have never taken the time to examine their business so thoroughly, until pushed by something like parental leave. The result is a heightened level of leadership, better focus, and more confidant franchisees as they often feel more in control of their business than before.
The franchisee’s tale
Katie Mills, an Ella Bach franchisee and recent first time mum, can vouch for the success of these processes, which she recently used within her salon in the lead up to her maternity leave.
“Having the franchise to rely on throughout my maternity leave simplified the experience. I was able to plan ahead with the help of my franchisors and my Business Development Manager, who gave me guidance on how to set up my business to carry on without me in store every day, and helped me put those practices into action.
“I have been able to keep up with the week to week activities of the staff thanks to regular check ins with my manager, and stay on top of the financial and administrative sides of the business through weekly reports. I am now five months into my maternity leave, and business has continued as usual in my absence, leaving me free to concentrate on being a new mum.”