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THE NEED FOR A STRATEGIC REVIEW

  1. Franchising is continuing to grow in the UK. It is more visible and its problems are attracting more media and political attention.
  2. Bad news stories for franchising increase franchisee recruitment costs for even the best franchisors and increase the likelihood of legislation on franchising with the prospect of substantial compliance costs.
  3. Franchisee recruitment is one of the most difficult and expensive aspects of running successful franchised businesses. Franchising as a career option has to be promoted more widely and more effectively if the brand promotion activity of individual franchisors is to be more cost effective.
  4. To be effective in promoting and protecting franchising the bfa must speak with the authority of British franchising and it must do so with the resources to make its voice heard.
  5. The British Franchise Association is the largest and most successful franchise association in Europe - and its operations compare favourably with the American Association. There are nonetheless many inside and outside the bfa who believe that the Association does not speak with the voice of the whole industry and neither does it have the resources to do the work of promoting and protecting franchising as that work could be done. 6. This Strategic Review responds to these issues and proposes a new vision and objectives for the future.

ONE VISION 2008 : bfa Strategic Review Questions

This questionnaire is an Annex to the bfa’s 2008 Strategic Review consultative document One Vision 2008 which you should read before answering these 22 questions. Sometimes you may not want to give more than a one word answer; sometimes a few sentences even when the question seems only to call for a “yes” or “no”. Whatever answer you want to give is what the bfa needs to hear. Thank you for your time.

You may download a copy of the One Vision document by clicking here (PDF format).

When you have completed the form please press the SEND FORM button at the end of the page. The bfa will not use you email address for any purpose other than communicating with you about the One Vision process.

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Question 1.

Do stakeholders in the ethical franchise community agree that the bfa should seek to represent all of the groups that make up the community, in particular franchisees and professional advisors, as well as franchisors?

Question 2.

Should the representation of each stakeholder group have each of the principles of accreditation, taxation, benefits and governance as its foundation?

Question 3.

Is a standards base necessary for effective representation?

Question 4.

Should the standards for franchisors be set by franchisors alone or should they be agreed by the whole of the ethical franchise community including accredited franchisees and professional advisors?

Question 5.

Should the standards for accrediting professional advisors be more rigorous and more rigorously applied?

Question 6.

Should franchisees be accredited to standards that recognise their competence as the owner/manager of a unit franchise?

Question 7.

Should the standards for franchisees and professional advisors be determined by those groups alone or should they be agreed by the whole of the ethical franchise community?

Question 8.

Do you agree that one realistic route to a public awareness campaign for franchising lies in promoting to consumers the benefits of using franchised outlets?

Question 9.

Should the franchise sector ensure that its own workforce has a positive image of franchising and the information to promote that image with customers, suppliers and others outside the franchise community?

Question 10.

Should the bfa invest to keep itself at the forefront of web based franchise promotion consistent with the maintenance of its reputation?

Question 11.

Is the bfa’s role in quality control in franchise exhibitions an important contribution to the development of the public reputation of franchising?

Question 12.

Do the Awards Schemes make a significant contribution to franchise promotion?

Question 13.

Should the bfa continue to work with government agencies on publicly funded projects for franchising, or should the priority be on direct bfa activity even though that may mean government bodies delivering low quality programmes with ill-informed advisors?

Question 14.

Should the bfa invest in a further attempt to develop a group of MP’s with an interest in franchising, or at least identify one useful franchise champion amongst MPs?

Question 15.

Should the bfa fund an annual research programme to engage business schools directly with franchising and the bfa?

Question 16.

Do franchisees have a role to play in the promotion of franchising locally?

Question 17.

One of the bfa’s main objectives is the promotion of franchising. Does this demand both internal management and action and an external PR resource?

Question 18.

Is the bfa right to maintain its investment in the European Franchise Federation and the World Franchise Council?

Question 19.

If the bfa decided to remain as a primarily franchisor body, should it also retain its current governing structure or is change required?

Question 20.

If there is a move to a broader membership, do you have any initial preference for an inclusive approach, the “separate boards” approach, or the mix of trade association and professional body?

Question 21.

If there is a move to a broader membership, should there be consultation with franchisees on a broad front as well as this current consultation with franchisors and professional advisors? If so, should the bfa consult Members’ franchisees directly, or through their Franchisor?

Question 22.

Whether or not the Association takes on a broader membership, should the current structure of flat rate fees for franchisors be reconsidered with alternative safeguards for the equity of governance?

British Franchise Association
British Franchise Association, Centurion Court, 85f Milton Park, Abingdon, OX14 4RY
Tel: 01235 820 470 Fax: 01235 832 158 Email: Click here
Registered Number - 1341267; Place of Registration - England