Recruitment tech
Don’t fear the rise of the
recruitment machines Investing in the right technology can boost your franchisee recruitment, whilst leaving the competition shrinking in your rearview mirror BY ERIC JOHANSSON
F
inding the right talent can mean the difference between launching a business into the stratosphere or dooming it to the graveyard of forgotten enterprises. And that’s especially important when it comes to franchise recruitment, as franchisees are effectively the face of your business. Given that 7-Eleven recently had to face multi-million dollar charges after some franchise owners were caught underpaying staff, it’s safe to say franchises cannot afford recruitment boo-boos. Certainly the analogue tools franchises once relied on for recruitment – such as placing ads in newspapers and following up on leads by telephone – weren’t the most effective ways of securing new franchisees. “At least 70% of the time, when I called people back I ended up going straight to voicemail,” says Dugan Aylen, director and founder of Franchise Recruitment Services, the franchise recruitment solutions company. And even when Aylen did manage to get through, the
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fact someone had responded to a franchise ad didn’t necessarily mean that they were particularly engaged. “Often when they answered, they didn’t want to talk to me and just asked me to send them information,” he says. “I felt like I was cold calling and bothering people.” Ultimately, any franchise that spends more time than it needs to following up on leads and managing talent risks slowing to a crawl, something it cannot afford in this fast-paced era. “The biggest risk franchisors run by not investing in recruitment technology is wasting time,” says Aylen. Without Fortunately, the digital tech, you age has provided franchise risk missing recruitment professionals with creative ways to opportunities boost their ability to Dan Archer, Promedica 24 source talent. Now 91% of recruiters use some kind of recruitment technology, according to a survey from Software Advice, an online reviewer of recruiting technology. “We are in the midst of
elitefranchise | October 2016
Technology.indd 1
05/10/2016 15:53