Don’t focus on the details
When Shin is working with a new franchisee, the first thing he teaches them is not how to make a Philly Cheesesteak, an order of Cheddar, Ranch & Bacon Fries or a kiwi lemonade.
“That will come, but that is not the most important thing,” Shin says. “We want to teach them about why you are in business. I think a story works better than anything else. We just share how we do our daily business or our daily life. We tell them how we operate and how we work.”
You should be working with the leaders of your business units to develop their skills managing the people they’ll be hiring to lead.
If you’re worrying about whether the person can handle some aspect of what your business does, whether it’s making a sandwich or producing a part in the machine shop, you probably haven’t chosen the right person.
“What I need to do is start training the basics of my philosophy,” Shin says. “Why is it important to serve people? Why is it important to bring your employees in as part of the family? We just start teaching from there.”
You need to make sure this person can handle problems on his or her team. You also need to have confidence that this team will be led in a way similar to how you would do it if you were there running things on your own. It’s why you focus so much on the person and his or her personality in the interview process.
“That’s where the expectation really needs to come,” Shin says. “Without a clear set of guidelines of what it is they need to do and … the jobs they need to perform, just the feeling of love and family doesn’t cut it.”
A leader’s skills at managing people are just as important, if not more important than his or her skill at whatever it is your company does.
“Facing a problem is just one of those things that makes a leader a leader,” Shin says.
Make sure you’ve communicated your expectations to the individual about all the job entails and given him or her an opportunity to express concerns or ask questions. If you’re having trouble with a leader at this stage, it’s probably another sign you made a bad choice.
“I don’t believe we can change a person,” Shin says. “They come as they are. I think I could have a great impact changing people, but I don’t want to fool myself. If they have certain traits, that’s the way they are going to be.”
Expect a few problems
Shin likes the leadership training program he has developed over the years for Charley’s. He takes the approach that training gradually is the best way to go.
“If we’re trying to download a lot of information in a short period of time, the brain only has so much capability for what it can absorb,” Shin says. “It will absorb a certain amount of data and the rest will just stray.”
Perhaps that explains why even great leaders typically have a few hiccups along the road to that greatness.
“Real expertise will not really come until they are fully spending lots of time at the store,” Shin says. “Then they start to get a better grasp. … People forget what they are taught in the training time. It’s not rare to see our team go into a franchise store to give them a shot in the arm.”
You’re fighting human nature and that’s a pretty tough opponent to defeat. Most people, especially the ones with the leadership gene, like to believe that they can do it on their own. It doesn’t really matter what the “it” is.
“Struggling franchisees typically think they can do something better than they are taught,” Shin says. “They are trying to find their way of solving the problem or they start to deviate from the protocol. When the systems are not fully utilized, a problem starts to crop up. I think it’s just human nature by some people.”
So how do you work through the problem quickly? Start out by sharing examples of how doing things the way they were taught lead to successful outcomes.
“They just have to see the standards and how much better the standard is,” Shin says.
And you just have to remain patient.
“I am here not for my own good only, but I’m here for the good of the person in front of me,” Shin says. “That has to be conveyed.”
How to reach: Charley’s Grilled Subs, (800) 437-8325 or www.charleys.com
