Franchises have been in the news quite a bit lately, and some of the stories are related to staffing. For example, the Service Employees International Union has organized walk-offs among restaurant workers, primarily at fast-food franchises, demanding $15.00 an hour. Home health care aides, working in another industry that includes a high proportion of franchises, are making the same demands. And the National Labor Relations Board recently decided that McDonald’s is a “joint employer” with McDonald’s franchisees, and therefore can be held jointly responsible for treatment of workers, even though the franchise doesn’t have control over day to day operations or hiring at franchise locations.
Fewer than 3% of all U.S. workers earn minimum wage, and about half of the minimum wage recipients work in food service and other hospitality jobs.The median wage for American workers is $16.71, so a $15 minimum wage may not become the norm soon, but whichever way the legal decisions go, a highly-publicized movement to double fast-food workers’ wages is likely to affect the level of satisfaction among fast food workers.
That’s the franchise employee topic that has been in the news most, but it’s not the only issue related to employees. If you have employees, your business will have more complex tax and safety regulations than if you don’t. You also have to recruit, hire, train, and supervise employees, and as their employer you will be responsible for their work, and ultimately responsible for their mistakes.
For some people, employee issues are an expected, neutral part of the job, and don’t create stress. For others, working with people is part of the fun of the job, and sending a valued employee on to a better job elsewhere is a source of satisfaction. But there are also people who find it frustrating to supervise other people, and who dislike having to recruit and train new workers.
As with so many other parts of the franchise decision, you have to know yourself.
Which franchise business opportunity should you choose to minimize employee issues?
- There are franchises that don’t require employees. Cafe2U and Lil’ Angels are just two examples of franchise businesses that can be run by an individual or partnership.
- Some franchises offer more help and support with hiring and training of employees than others. If the franchise you’re considering trains your workers and helps you recruit them, you are less likely to have problems than if you — as a new franchisee — have to do it all yourself.
- Franchises with highly skilled, well paid workers with future opportunities for advancement have less turnover than those providing casual jobs for high school kids at minimum wage. If you don’t want to deal with high turnover, choose a business model that offers more desirable jobs.
- Ask other franchisees about their experiences with employees. If they’ve been able to create happy, supportive teams, you can probably do the same. If they find that 40% of their work time goes to coping with staffing issues, decide whether you would be happy with that or not.
Franchises provide millions of jobs across the nation, and being able to offer work to people in your community may be one of your favorite things about owning your own business. Just be sure you have realistic expectations.
