Gain in-depth knowledge from leading experts on franchising with Concurrent Sessions. These sessions are divided into four (4) tracks: Business Development, Legal, Management and Operations. With sessions available on both Sunday and Monday, be sure to review them all to attend the sessions you want to reach your ultimate goals!
The educational programming has been designed to help all members of your team learn and grow! Follow this legend to identify which team members can take away relevant key learnings from each session:
An in-depth look at best-in-class franchise awarding processes to ensure optimum communication of your franchise offering, discovering prospects’ goals, criteria and ability to execute the model, and how to guide the prospect through an effective mutual evaluation process. Includes specific steps, timelines, maximizing technology, videos, and more. Franchise development has evolved significantly over the past few years. With the massive shift to digital engagement and omni-channel franchise marketing strategies, franchisee acquisition costs have skyrocketed. Franchisors who effectively utilize a consistent process will engage and convert more leads; franchisors who don’t will fall far behind.
Learning Outcomes:
- Franchisors will be able to identify core elements of effective franchise awarding processes and immediately improve their own.
- Understand how and where to use available technology, data and tools to ensure FranDev staff are focusing more of their time with real buyers.
- How to get prospects more engaged, and how to use task assignments to demonstrate both interest and understanding.
Navigate the pitfalls of franchise development and operations with this session tailored for emerging franchisors. Explore common mistakes, from lacking corporate mission and vision to undercapitalization, and gain insights on essential elements such as franchisee training, management leadership, communications, operations manuals, alternate dispute resolution and risk management. Avoid setbacks and optimize your franchise system's success.
Learning Outcomes:
- Franchise System Development:
- Identify common mistakes and learn strategies to avoid pitfalls in franchise development, ensuring a comprehensive approach to corporate mission, vision, and financial planning and growth strategies.
- Effective Operations Practices:
- Understand the significance of well-prepared franchise documents, and robust franchisee training finance programs, marketing and advertising, franchisee training, and franchise advisory boards, enhancing the success and performance of franchisees.
- Strategic Leadership and Risk Management:
- Gain insights into the critical roles of leadership, effective communications, trademark protection, brand development and risk management in franchisor operations, equipping emerging franchisors to establish and sustain successful franchise systems.
Mitigating legal risks takes centre stage in this comprehensive session led by seasoned in-house counsel. Dig into the intricacies of the franchising legal landscape, uncovering strategies, best practices, and expert insights to navigate potential pitfalls. From ensuring compliance to effective contract management, gain valuable perspectives on building a robust and legally sound foundation for your franchise operations. This session is a crucial opportunity for those seeking to enhance their understanding of legal considerations in the dynamic world of franchising.
Learning Outcomes
- Strategic Risk Navigation: Participants will acquire a nuanced understanding of legal intricacies in franchising, enabling them to strategically navigate potential pitfalls through the application of tailored strategies and best practices.
- Comprehensive Compliance Mastery: Attendees will gain insights into ensuring compliance across various facets of franchising, from regulatory requirements to contract management, fostering the development of a legally sound foundation for their franchise operations.
- Expert Perspectives Integration: This session will empower participants to integrate expert perspectives into their approach to legal risk mitigation, providing them with valuable insights from seasoned in-house counsel to enhance their decision-making processes in the dynamic world of franchising.
Unlock the full potential of your franchise system with effective strategies for recruiting, leading, and inspiring women. This session, blending seasoned expertise in recruitment, coaching, and franchise development, focuses on attracting top-tier applications and fostering a diverse franchisee base. Gain practical tactics and insights for immediate implementation within your system. Learn the art of identifying, motivating, and managing top-performing women while aligning your brand messaging to attract and support female franchisees. Join this powerful session centered on women in leadership for invaluable takeaways to enhance your franchise system's success.
Learning Outcomes
- Strategic Recruitment Mastery: Participants will gain insights into proven strategies for attracting top-tier applications, with a specific emphasis on recruiting and engaging women within the franchise system.
- Effective Leadership Development: Attendees will learn practical tactics for identifying, motivating, and managing top-performing women within their franchise operations, fostering a dynamic and inclusive leadership culture.
- Brand Messaging Alignment: This session will equip participants with strategies to align brand messaging effectively, attracting and supporting a diverse group of female franchisees and promoting women in leadership roles within the franchise system.
This session, an extension of the recent Franchising Meets the Money Conference, explores the dynamics of franchisor sales, private equity, M&A, and exit strategies. Engage in a panel discussion featuring experts across disciplines who collaborated on a single deal. Gain valuable insights from opposing counsel, buyers, sellers, and advisors as they collectively share their experience, providing a comprehensive understanding of the intricate process when a franchisor decides to sell.
Learning Outcomes
- Comprehensive Deal Dynamics: Participants will gain a thorough understanding of the intricacies involved in franchisor sales, private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and exit strategies through real-world insights shared by a diverse panel of experts.
- Collaborative Decision-Making: Learn about effective collaboration and decision-making in the context of a business deal, as panelists from various disciplines, including opposing counsel, buyers, sellers, and advisors, discuss their roles and contributions in a specific deal scenario.
- Strategic Insight into Franchise Exits: Acquire strategic insights into the considerations and actions involved when a franchisor decides to sell, exploring the nuances of deal negotiation, legal aspects, buyer-seller dynamics, and the broader landscape of franchise exits.
This session explores essential elements of effective training for franchisees and staff, emphasizing emerging technologies, learning platforms, and innovative strategies. Dive into the dynamic landscape of training and its pivotal role in fostering leadership, driving operational excellence, and ensuring overall franchise success. Discover insights into the latest innovations in training methodologies and technology-driven solutions designed to empower your team. Join this insightful discussion for actionable takeaways that can transform your training approach, ensuring lasting success in the continually evolving world of franchising.
Learning Outcomes
- Strategic Training Implementation: Participants will gain insights into effective strategies for implementing training programs tailored for franchisees and staff, with a focus on emerging technologies and innovative methodologies.
- Leadership and Operational Excellence: Explore the pivotal role of training in fostering leadership skills and driving operational excellence within a franchise. Understand how well-designed training programs contribute to the overall success of the franchise.
- Technology-Empowered Team Development: Discover the latest innovations in training technologies and platforms, learning how to leverage them to empower and enhance the capabilities of your team. Acquire actionable insights for incorporating technology-driven solutions into your training approach for sustained success in the evolving franchising landscape.
We expect to continue to see changes to the labour and employment landscape as we move into 2024. This session will ensure participants are up-to-speed on the latest developments that may impact them as an employer and a franchisee or franchisor.
Session Highlights:
- Employment Standards Act, 2000 Update:
- Dive into the impact of proposed amendments under Bill 149 on hiring practices and workplace policies.
- Related Employer Caselaw:
- Explore recent case law surrounding related employer declarations.
- Discover effective strategies to minimize the risk associated with related employer declarations.
- Current Trends in Unionization:
- Analyze the impact of the current economy on unionization rates in the private sector.
- Gain insights into unionization trends and strategies, particularly within the service industry.
- Human Rights Update:
- Stay informed on recent discrimination and harassment case law specific to the franchise sector.
- Receive an update on accommodation considerations for disability and family status.
This session aims to equip participants with the knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the evolving employment landscape, ensuring compliance and informed decision-making in the complex world of franchising.
In the unique franchising business model, where franchisees are legal ‘partners’ but operate independently, building a cohesive culture remains vital to overall success. This session addresses challenges faced by franchisors, offering insights on maintaining company values during growth and innovation. Explore strategies for operationalizing culture, particularly in instances of low franchisee meeting attendance and difficulty creating a strong, cohesive culture. If you've encountered these challenges, this session is tailored for you.
Learning Outcomes
- Effective Strategies for Culture Operationalization: Participants will gain insights into practical strategies for operationalizing company culture within the unique context of franchising, ensuring alignment with brand values during scale and innovation.
- Mitigating Challenges in Franchisee Engagement: Explore solutions to challenges commonly faced by franchisors, including low attendance at franchisee meetings and difficulties in fostering a strong, unified culture. Learn how to effectively engage franchise partners and align them with the company's cultural values.
- Enhancing Leadership Skills: Understand the role of leadership in fostering a cohesive culture within a franchising model. Gain actionable skills to lead effectively, even in a decentralized structure, and foster a culture that resonates with franchise partners, contributing to the overall success of the company.
Finding the right franchisees is crucial to the growth of any franchise organization. The challenge for many systems is that constantly evolving technology and changing franchisee behaviors makes it difficult to successfully find, engage, and convert qualified franchisees.
During this informative and entertaining session we will draw on real-world data from more than 200 franchise organization to share digital trends and strategies that will impact franchise development through 2024 and beyond, including:
- How AI is impacting franchisee lead generation.
- How and where prospective franchisees are conducting online research.
- Which digital platforms are on the rise and which are in decline from a lead generation perspective.
- Which platforms deliver the best cost-per-lead, and how costs are trending.
- Strategies that forward-looking franchise systems are employing to find the best franchisees.
Discover innovative solutions and strategies to protect your profits in the competitive franchise landscape. Explore effective ways to manage risks and embrace sustainable practices in the ever-changing business environment. Gain valuable insights to guide your franchise towards long-term prosperity.
Learning Outcomes
- Innovative Profit Protection: Participants will gain insights into the latest strategies and innovative solutions for safeguarding profits in the competitive franchise landscape, enabling them to implement effective measures for lasting financial success.
- Effective Risk Management: Learn practical techniques for managing risks in the ever-changing business environment, empowering participants to identify and address potential threats to profitability with efficiency and effectiveness.
- Integration of Sustainable Practices: Explore sustainable practices that contribute to long-term success, providing participants with actionable knowledge to implement practices that protect profits while navigating the dynamic challenges of the franchise industry.
Explore the benefits of e-disclosure and contracting while efficiently ensuring compliance with provincial franchise regulations. Address common misunderstandings and gain practical advice for enhancing disclosure and contracting processes. Understand the franchisor's experience, provincial e-disclosure requirements, and tips for efficient and compliant processes. Consider legal requirements, multi-brand franchisor perspectives, and leveraging technology for streamlined practices.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the franchisor's experience and pain points in managing disclosure and contracting, particularly when dealing with multiple brands.
- Gain insights into provincial e-disclosure requirements and compliant electronic contracting in franchising.
- Learn tips and tricks for ensuring efficient and compliant electronic disclosure and signature processes, including leveraging technology for document generation and data approval.
This panel aims to provide valuable insights into leadership styles, catering specifically to Emerging Franchise Professionals. The session aims to dissect the nuances of leadership, providing tailored insights and tools that directly apply to the unique demands of leading in the franchise industry. Structured to explore both the scientific and practical dimensions of leadership, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of how to identify and develop their unique leadership style and actionable knowledge to navigate the intricacies of franchise operations, applying leadership strategies effectively in their daily work.
Key Discussion Points:
- Scientific and Practical Perspectives on Leadership Styles: Explore how different leadership styles impact franchise operations and success.
- Behavioral and Leadership Assessments: Understanding Your Style.
- Real-World Application of Leadership Tools in Franchise Recruitment and Talent Placement.
- Leadership Demand: Engaging and Developing Talent vs. Directing: Explore the unique challenges of leadership in the franchise industry, balancing engagement, development, and direction.
- Best Leadership Qualities and Attributes: People Development, Process Improvement, Change Management, Influence.
- The Leadership Gap: Impact on Teams, Retention, and Engagement.
This panel promises a rich exchange of ideas, blending scientific theory with practical application, to equip Emerging Franchise Professionals with the knowledge and tools to find and enhance their unique leadership styles. Participants can expect a thought-provoking discussion that bridges the gap between theory and practice in the dynamic field of leadership.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understanding of Leadership Styles in the Franchise Context: Gain insights into how various leadership styles directly impact franchise operations and learn to apply effective strategies in real-world scenarios.
- Self-Discovery and Style Identification in Franchising: Utilize behavioral and leadership assessments tailored for the franchise setting, enabling a precise understanding of personal leadership styles with direct applications in franchise leadership.
- Practical Application in Franchise Talent Management: Acquire real-world insights into applying leadership tools directly in franchise recruitment and talent placement, ensuring that leadership strategies align seamlessly with the unique demands of the franchise industry.
Attendees of this session will also have the exclusive opportunity to complete a complimentary High Potential Trait Indicator (HPTI) assessment! In under 10 minutes, attendees can discover how your work personality compares to world class leaders.