How To Teach Core Values To Franchisees And Why It's Important For Building A Brand

Every company claims they have the perfect core values to inspire its employees, but very few actually know how to truly live and breathe them.

To help define the culture of his own company, Josh York, GYMGUYZ CEO, decided an acronym was the best strategy for his mobile gym personal training and fitness company. He believed that having something that was easy to remember could be the constant reminder needed for employees and franchisees to stay motivated and on track with company goals. What he came up with was a concept that has since kept franchisees on the road to success—and it’s called “D.R.I.V.E.”

Determination: We are determined to make dreams a reality; through hard work, dedication and self-discipline. With effort and commitment, anything is possible.

Respect: We treat others how we want to be treated.

Integrity: We are sincere and uncompromising in our commitment to doing the right thing.

Versatility: We adapt to an ever-changing environment while moving forward with a vision for the future.

Excellence: We strive to be the best by putting our customers first with exceptional service.

It’s no surprise that in franchising, every location can have differences in operations. For this reason, a set of core values to guide franchisees can be extremely imperative for widespread success and can help with consistency across the brand and across locations. Franchisees are the best advocates when it comes to development for emerging and established brands alike, and if they are armed with meaningful core values, that message will fuel the entire franchise system as it continues to grow.  

“When an employee believes in the company, they will engage in each other’s ideas and strive to make it the best company it can be. I always want my company to set this example,” York said. “Having franchisees buy in to your core values will only benefit their business and the franchise system as a whole.”

Over the years, York’s D.R.I.V.E. concept has helped set GYMGUYZ apart from other fitness brands. For example, “Making dreams a reality” can certainly give customers a clear vision of what they can accomplish with their personal trainer and what each GYMGUYZ employee utilizes in their day to day work.

Internally or externally, core values also help explain what the brand is trying to accomplish, how they plan to do it, and what the business believes in. When making difficult decisions, franchisees can refer back to the values that have been created to help them determine if they are making the right choices.

Step two is implementing and reinforcing said values, York said. It starts with practicing what you preach. If your company’s CEO is the only person following the company core values, then you have a problem. Every franchisee and employee throughout the franchise system should be able to explain the core values and should be exemplifying them on a regular basis. The values must also be reinforced to have a lasting effect. Anyone in marketing can attest to the ideas that a message must be presented a number of times in multiple ways before it can actually stick with a person. Core values should be present in every aspect of the company, including hiring.

“In order to succeed, it's important to recruit a team that has priorities that match the company's mission and works well with others,” York said.

Set it and forget it is not a mentality you can have with core values. Once a system is in place, setting up regular check-ins with franchisees will be key to keeping everyone engaged. Whether it’s monthly meetings, quarterly retreats, or group workouts like the GYMGUYZ team organizes, your team will need to regroup. Together, they can then decide what is working and what is not—and for an emerging brand like GYMGUYZ, that kind of teamwork can go a long way.