Supporting franchisees has always been a key element of being a successful franchise business. In the 7-Eleven Australia model, the profit share arrangement between franchisor and franchisee means that there is a strong focus on performance for the benefit of both parties.  To achieve this, 7-Eleven has a strong business field support ecosystem to help franchisees succeed.

That support team includes retail specialists who provide store appearance, standards and compliance coaching, retail business managers who provide business coaching and dedicated operations support, and regional and state managers who coach and support both retail business managers and franchisees, and provide strategic and operational leadership in their states. 

Acting State Operations Manager, NSW, and former Regional Manager, Daniel Halaska, says one of the key parts of his role is helping franchisees see the opportunities for their business at a more strategic level.

“I am a big advocate for data driven decision making. The level of financial reporting and other data available through the 7-Eleven system is incredibly broad and deep. We track financial performance, stock and customer movements, customer satisfaction, store standards, roster effectiveness, and many other insights. By working with my team and my franchisees to increase their understanding and use of the available data, we can ensure they are focusing on the activities that are going to provide the best bang for buck for their business,” Mr Halaska says. 

Understanding his franchisees’ personal goals is an important part of ensuring the support he provides is tailored to each franchisee’s situation.

“For both franchisees that are new to the business and those that are more established, I take the time to learn about what their aspirations are. From there I can see where the gaps are to achieving those goals and help the franchisee to use the data available to plan to achieve their ambitions.”

Helping his franchisees to leverage each other’s successes to ensure the benefits of initiatives provided by 7-Eleven are maximised for their individual businesses is also key. 

“One of the key roles I have to help boost growth is by helping franchisees to activate each marketing campaign and promotion successfully across every shift in their store. Having a consistent focus on sales building activities and communicating effectively with the team provides the best results. I have been able to successfully share best practice with my team and their stores, which engages franchisees in a particular opportunity. 

“It could be as simple as sharing photos or outcomes that demonstrate the size of the prize if they were to fully support the initiative. I prefer sharing what has worked for others and where possible, I have others share their story. This often leads to some very productive conversations amongst the franchisees,” he said.

Mr Halaska says another key element of his role is acting as a conduit to share knowledge and challenges with the support office based team members.

“Problem solving and removing any roadblocks is a large part of what I do to assist our franchisees and allow them more time to focus on the customer experience. My retail business managers are the first point of contact, however they can escalate an issue or I may see a widespread challenge that needs resolving. My role in these situations is to work closely with other functions of the business to achieve the desired outcome as quickly as possible,” Mr Halaska says.

“The support office team are there to provide the programs and systems that empower stores to succeed. Ensuring they have the insight they need from the field helps to drive sustainable success across the network which benefits everyone,” he concludes.

Find out more about how 7-Eleven could help you succeed.