The Role Franchise Advisory Councils Should Play During the Coronavirus Crisis

A franchise brand would be nothing without its local owners. That’s why there comes a point in every franchisor’s lifecycle when a franchise advisory council is created. Historically, these groups of franchisees have served as a resource for brands, as well as a voice for owners within the system to ensure that their ideas, suggestions and concerns are heard. Now more than ever, this forum is essential for franchisors.

According to Justin Waltz, vice president of operations for Big Blue Swim School*, right now is a crucial time to utilize the franchise advisory council. 

“If you don’t have a franchise advisory council or a coronavirus committee, I’d start one now so that franchisees are a part of the decision-making process,” he said.

Waltz emphasized that franchise advisory councils need to have one major focus right now: communication. “The only thing we can do right now is to communicate until we know what the future will hold. Utilizing a franchise advisory council right now allows franchisors to add in an additional layer of support and another voice.”

Danessa Itaya, president of Property Management Inc.*/u>. agrees, adding that franchise advisory councils serve as a great tool at a time when the lines of communication between a brand and its owners need to be wide open.

“We recently had a call with our franchise advisory council to discuss what we can be doing to help franchisees. We want to make sure we’re keeping them engaged and keeping our communication strong,” Itaya said. “During this crisis, we need to be transparent throughout the entire process. Together with our franchise advisory council, we’re creating clear processes and procedures so we’re all on the same page and not wasting anyone’s time.”

Even if a franchise advisory council is young or created out of this crisis, there’s still a lot of value that it can bring to the table. For example, it gives franchisees the opportunity to collaborate and brainstorm ways to resurface stronger on the other side of the economic downturn.

“Our franchise advisory council is very young — it’s a year and a half old. They’re still trying to find their place and figure out what they can put their name on,” said Itaya. “One of the things they want to help us with is coordinating national partners and vendors, and then communicating that to our network. They’re checking in with franchisees to see if there are any partnerships that are being used locally that could turn into bigger relationships to help generate referral and lead sources.”

By creating a place for franchisees to have these types of conversations — especially as they relate to getting ahead and boosting business on the other side of the crisis — the more success franchisors will experience in the future. 

As Waltz said, “The more we communicate to franchisees, the better we’re going to be.”