Traditionally known by various names (such as territory director, territory manager, area manager, franchise business coach, field coach, field consultant, operations consultant or franchisee consultant), the area manager, or network facilitator, plays a key role in any franchise network.

Contrary to what happens in many countries (including France and Australia), the importance of this role is still, unfortunately, underestimated by many North American franchisors.

Initially, the main role of a territory manager was to periodically visit the franchisees assigned to him (generally between 5 and 20 depending on the type and size of the franchised businesses) in order to ensure compliance with the franchisor's standards and rules.

Experience has shown, however, that this role is much more important than simply monitoring compliance with the franchisor's standards and rules.

Indeed, the area manager is the first and most regular point of contact between a franchisee and his franchisor. She or he is therefore the ambassador, the spokesperson and the antenna of the franchisor towards its franchisees and, to some extent, the franchisees' ambassador towards the franchisor.

Several studies conducted in the United States and Australia have clearly demonstrated that the quality of the franchisor's field support and the quantity and quality of the ongoing advice received from the franchisor have a major impact on the franchisees' level of satisfaction, their level of performance within their franchise network, their feeling of belonging to this network, their motivation to contribute positively to it, their adherence to the programs, initiatives and changes launched by the franchisor, and their intention to remain franchisees.

In this context, the role of the area manager has gradually been enriched and today, in a successful franchise network, the description of the tasks of an area manager includes the following responsibilities:

  1. Conduit for communications between each franchisee and the franchisor's management, particularly to ensure that the franchisee is fully informed of the resources the franchisor provides, the tools and programs offered by the franchisor and the best ways to communicate with the franchisor. In this role, the area manager must also encourage the provision of information by each franchisee and ensure that (a) all communications from the franchisee are conveyed promptly and appropriately to the right people within the franchisor, (b) the franchisee knows that she or he is being heard and understood by the franchisor, and (c) the franchisee has received and understood all communications from the franchisor. The area manager also follows up on suggestions, requests and complaints made by the franchisee to the franchisor until they have been resolved or, at the very least, fully answered;
  2. Business advisor to franchisees on all aspects of the management and operation of their franchised businesses;
  3. Coach to encourage each franchisee to achieve better performance and to assist them in overcoming personal, financial and business obstacles to achieving better results;
  4. Trainer to continuously improve the knowledge and skills of the franchisees. This training role does not mean that the area manager herself or himself provides initial and ongoing training to franchisees and their employees, but rather that the area manager ensures that the training is completed in a timely manner, assimilated and applied in the operation of the franchised businesses. When necessary, the area manager also identifies the training needs of franchisees or employees and ensures that the relevant training is offered and completed;
  5. Antenna in order to quickly advise the franchisor of any particular situation that merits special intervention with one or more franchisees and to keep the franchisor informed of the evolution and results, in the short, medium and long term, of any special situation or intervention. We can think, for example, of the case of a franchisee who has a major (physical or mental) health problem or who must face a personal situation that prevents her or him from maintaining effective management of her or his business (such as a messy divorce, the loss of a loved one, a state of emotional fatigue, etc.). This antenna role also includes the responsibility to keep the franchisor informed in real time of (i) the level of sense of belonging and motivation of the franchisees, (ii) any perceived problems of one or more franchisees, (iii) any opportunities or threats in the marketplace, and (iv) the actual implementation within the network of any new initiatives, programs and changes introduced by the franchisor, as well as any difficulties encountered by franchisees in the context of such implementation, and
  6. Supervisor to ensure full compliance by franchisees with the rules, standards and guidelines of the franchisor and full utilization by franchisees of programs prescribed or offered by the franchisor.

The competence and skills of the area manager(s) are a key factor in the success and sustainability of a franchise network. It is therefore important to choose them well and, equally, to train them well.

In order to adequately fulfill all of the responsibilities and tasks associated with this role, an area manager must therefore possess a higher level of competence, as well as better communication, listening and negotiation skills, than a simple supervisor whose role is limited to monitoring franchisees' compliance with the franchisor's standards and policies. As we have seen above, the skills of a true area manager go far beyond simply checking off, or noting, items on a checklist.

In fact, some franchising organizations, such as, in Québec, the Conseil québécois de la franchise, and, internationally, the Franchise Relationships Institute (Australia), have developed and offer specific training programs to help area manager acquire the skills and knowledge they need to fulfill their role.

It is also important to limit the workload of each area manager to a number of franchisees that allows her or him to properly fulfill her or his responsibilities with each one and to devote the necessary time to do so.

Many new franchisors, as well as many franchisors with only a few franchisees in their network, are asking the following question: At what point in their development should they have an area manager?

Given the importance of the role of the n, the answer to this question is that a franchisor should have an area manager as soon as the first franchise agreement is signed.

Obviously, where the network consists of only a few franchisees, the person who fills the role and assumes the responsibilities of an area manager will often be an executive of the franchisor who also has other duties and responsibilities.

However, even in this case, the person who plays the role of area manager should have the skills and abilities, and take the necessary time, to properly fulfill this role which is crucial to the quality of the franchisor-franchisee relationship and to the performance of the franchised businesses in the network.

Depending on the sector of activity of the franchise network, as well as the size, location and complexity of the operations of the franchised businesses, as soon as the network has more than 5 to 10 franchised businesses, at least one person should devote most of his or her efforts to fulfill an area manager's duties.

Fasken has all the experience and resources necessary to advise and assist you in all aspects of starting up, managing and expanding your network, including relations with your franchisees, anywhere in the world.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.