Staff selection, training and management is one of the most crucial aspects of a successful and profitable franchise in today’s economy, according to Franchise Partners of leading Australian tile retailer, Beaumont Tiles.
The partners – whose backgrounds span from sports management to agriculture – attribute their business success to the people-focused business model and systems developed by Beaumont Tiles.
One of the central elements of Beaumont Tiles’ Franchise Partner business model is the training and tools provided to assist with recruitment, support professional development of staff and build their leadership capabilities.
Andy Young who owns Beaumont Tiles at Erina in NSW said the choice and management of staff has been crucial to his business success.
“I believe it’s really important to build a team of professionals who you can trust, that can go and do the job that you need done. You can’t do it all by yourself,” Mr Young said.
“Through my partnership with Beaumont Tiles, I have come to appreciate getting staff selection and training right translates directly to building the business.”
Beaumont Tiles’ recruitment specialists use an online recruitment tool provided by Expr3ss to assist franchise partners with advertising, sourcing, interviewing, selecting and hiring the staff that have the right cultural fit with both the company and the individual franchise.
This approach to recruitment enables the Franchise Partners to focus on running their business as opposed to spending valuable time managing the recruitment process and has reduced the days to hire staff to an average of 15, as well as increased staff retention and performance across the business.
Marnie Elsley, the Retail Manager for two NSW Beaumont stores owned by Franchise Partners that have delivered revenue growth of 70% in the past four years, said Beaumont’s training was crucial to their business success.
“Beaumonts is very good in the way of staff-training and offering product knowledge and help. The company definitely supports the franchisee in a lot of steps along the way,” Ms Elsey says.
“They also ensure the products are always on trend and staff are educated on how best to help customers with their choices. Beaumont’s designers go overseas and do research on the emerging trends and bring those back to us. I don’t think there’s anybody else like them at the level they are with their purchasing.”
Invaluable skills to grow the business
Neil Gilroy who owns four Beaumont stores in Victoria, the first of which has grown turnover from $700,000 to more than $3 million, said Beaumont Tiles had provided him with invaluable skills in recruitment, training and creating a positive culture.
“I’ve learned that listening, learning and looking after my staff is vital. It makes for a positive, proactive work environment which is reflected in our interaction with customers,” Mr Gilroy said.
As part of the Beaumont Franchise Partnership, partners take part in the Beaumont Tiles Leadership Development program, which was recognised by the Australian Institute of Training and Development Awards in 2016.
Learning and Development Manager for Beaumont Tiles, Abigail Sutton, said the company as a whole had a strong passion for learning and continues to invest in improving how it supports the development of its people, including the Franchise Partners.
“We run an Induction Program for all new franchise partners where they visit our Beaumont Tiles Academy in Adelaide for a week, meet all key departments and learn all aspects of running a successful franchise business,” Ms Sutton said.
“We also provide in-store training when they take on a new business and this is not only to support the business partners, but their staff too.
“This is coupled with regular product communication, e-learning content that is constantly refreshed and tailored training programs to support not only the business strategic goals but those of the franchise partners too.”
Beaumont Tiles, which now has approximately half of its 113 stores operated by Franchise Partners, opened its first franchise store 30 years ago with a model based on the success of its company owned stores.