Recently, I have been asked to prepare a paper and present a half-day workshop on how to create and best utilize collaborative franchisee associations. This is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart, as someone who represents dozens of franchisee associations and frequently strives to get those associations into a position where they are closely collaborating with their franchisor. Unfortunately, that task is made much more difficult than it should be by franchisors who do not understand the role they play in setting franchisee association agendas and political dynamics.
For the uninitiated, a franchisee association is much like a union—a group of franchisees who get together to form an alliance primarily aimed at dealing with their relationship with the franchisor on issues of system-wide interest. While having no rights of a union, they are similar in their dynamics and desire to put their members in a better position than they otherwise would be by dealing with the franchisor as a group, instead of dealing with them on their own.
