BACKGROUND

Prior to 2020, Focus Brands provided support and feedback for its brands’ international franchisees through traditional in-person, third-party audits. However, its global presence also made it difficult to have full visibility across the business with in-person visits alone. This meant that, until 2020, they were only able to visit about 10 percent of the locations in any given year. The company had been considering different solutions to these challenges but hadn’t finalized a new model when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

OVERVIEW

What does it look like to unite eight iconic brands across more than 1850 locations in 60 countries? Focus Brands International, a division of Focus Brands LLC (“Focus Brands”) has used brand, safety, and quality auditing for years to maintain consistency and high standards across all locations. 

Reimagined Franchise Support and Success 

In building operational excellence best practices with franchisees, Focus Brands International sought a more collaborative approach. It was this realization that led to the creation of a coaching model for store reviews. The new system is a radical reimagining of what continuous improvement and feedback can look like. 

• Online Coaching 
• Quarterly Reviews 
• Unified Center of Excellence 

The response from franchisees has been universally positive. Advantages include:  

• Time spent per review is 65-75 percent lower than in-person reviews. 
• Cost for online coaching is a fraction of in-person reviews. 
• Clear reviews give franchisee-level operators specific, actionable feedback. 
• Coaching in the franchisee’s native language improves the effectiveness of reviews and connection between Focus Brands International and brand franchisees. 
• Locations within the same market are adopting information from each other’s reviews to progress more quickly.