Q & A with Shelly Sun
Shelly Sun is the CEO and Founder of BrightStar Care ® and the 2017 Chairperson of the IFA Board of Directors .
How important is franchisee satisfaction to you ? I don ’ t know of any franchise executive who doesn ’ t focus on franchisee satisfaction . I obsess over it ! You ’ ve got to know what ’ s working and what ’ s not so you can course-correct if necessary .
Do you believe that franchisees begin with an expectation of success , and are looking to their franchisor for leadership in order to maximize their success ? Every franchisee gets into business to succeed , but it ’ s not enough to achieve great sales or profit – you want to feel satisfied about what you ’ re doing . For success and satisfaction , yes , franchisees look to us for leadership . I have a mantra , “ Listen , Learn , Lead .” I need the first two in order to do the third .
Some franchisees will tell you what they think you want to know , and others will withhold negative feedback . How can you be sure that you are making strategic decisions based on real metrics ? Confidential surveys are important because they ’ re quantitative ( we can measure and benchmark scores to specific programs ) and they ’ re qualitative where we ask open-ended questions . Franchisees who are generally reticent will often open up if the survey is anonymous . These surveys allow us to engage franchisees at a higher level . We compare these numbers with all of our conversations to get a picture of what ’ s going on . Our goal is to use all available tools to get a clear picture .
Recruiting high-quality candidates is crucial for long-term sustainable brand growth , and this is more challenging than ever before . How important is postive validation from existing franchisees in your sales and development process ? Incredibly important . Our CMO says personal testimonials have always been the most effective advertising – always will be – and that applies to franchise development . If we “ listen , learn and lead ” then validation will be more positive . Being certified as a World-Class Franchise ® allows us to showcase our high franchisee satisfaction ( through independent , third-party research ) and this has proven critical to attracting and closing deals with high-caliber candidates .
In your book , you write about a “ culture of shared success ”; can you expound on this ? It ’ s very simple : we succeed if franchisees succeed , and vice versa . For example , we look closely at our weekly sales reports and jump right in if there ’ s a decline somewhere . A franchisee has invested her own money to succeed with our brand , and we want that bet to pay off .
For the last decade you have engaged the Franchise Research Institute to perform a confidential “ deep dive ” into your franchisee ’ s opinions . How have you used the research results to prioritize corporate efforts in order to maximize “ shared success ” for BrightStar Care ? We use the data provided by FRI as our annual physical . A comprehensive ( last year 73 % of our franchisees participated ) and confidential opportunity for everyone to speak their mind ... and believe me they do ! We are unusual in that our FAC has direct input into prioritizing our corporate efforts . For example , they asked for a better way to recruit and retain caregivers , and the very same year we delivered a solution they could implement locally . Not surprisingly , the same need showed up in our surveys with FRI . It reassured all of us that we were doing the right things .
2017 marks FRI ' s 15th anniversary as the originator of franchisee satisfaction surveys . We are honored to provide research and recognition for many leading franchise companies . Founder and CEO Jeff Johnson has been immersed in franchising for over 30 years ; first as a franchisee , next as a multi-unit franchisee , then as an area developer for a national QSR franchise .
Jeff @ FranSurvey . com 1.800.410.5205
The Franchise Research Institute ® is the original auditor of franchisee satisfaction and it ’ s focus is solely on research and recognition . FRI does not sell advertising or leads . © 2017 Franchise Research Institute ®. All rights reserved .