Your “Transferable Skills”

This is perennial buzz phrase in the franchise universe. While it may feel overused, it has merit.

Transferable skills are all of the non-technical skills that you have acquired through the entirety of your career. These are the building blocks that cannot be learned on the fly if you decide to become a business owner. They mainly encompass your management skills, communication skills, and planning skills, etc. In terms of franchise ownership, these transferable skills, often referred to as “soft skills”, can be utilized in a variety of franchise systems with success.  (See list below)

Why it’s important:

While they might seem underrated and not as valuable as they actually are, the right transferable skills you possess are a main focal point that franchisors assess during the very first conversation. The fact that the same resume of skills can be ideal for a wide variety of franchise concepts should be viewed as a good problem. As long as your skills have been paired with the right grouping of franchise options to investigate, your thoughts should focus on “How to make the business successful.”  It is less of a question “Can I make it successful? “

Conclusion:

The franchisor provides formal training on their business model, systems and technology.  You provide the transferable skills. With a little training and some polish, you will be able to successfully switch career paths or start your own franchise.

List of Transferable Skills:

Basic skills:

Comprehension and Performing duties: Perhaps seemingly basic, this is an extremely important transferable skill that will determine your relationship with your bosses/leaders. This will have a significant effect on your productivity and effectiveness as part of a franchise system. You may own the business, but you still have to abide by certain rules.

Listening/Speaking: Your willingness to speak your mind and communicate your perspective is just as important as making sure to get to know other people’s perspective. Having a mutual understanding with coworkers and subordinates is key.

People skills:

Give and Accept Feedback: Your ability to give as well as receive feedback from your clients, coworkers and bosses will determine how successful you can be as part of a franchise. Often times, feedback can be a sensitive issue, but what’s more important to consider is the value that constructive feedback holds in identifying issues and problems and then promptly solving them. It is important to have an ability to handle feedback in a constructive and positive way. If someone misses the mark at work and it is time to give them feedback, you must make sure not to emphasize how irrational their actions were and give them productive feedback that helps them see where they went wrong.

Motivation: The objectives of a franchise can be reached at a much quicker pace when the resources available are being best utilized. This means that the employees must be goal-directed and hence have the motivation to hit their targets as efficiently as possible.Motivation is an integral skill to any business or franchise because it affects both mental and physical reactions. Individuals who seem highly motivated have the capacity to get their job done quickly and efficiently hence leading to an increased business productivity and more revenues. On the contrary, the employees who are not highly motivated tend to work at a relatively slow pace, have little concern for their efficiency and end up being a liability for the franchise. Making sure that not only you stay motivated, but also motivating those under you will be integral to your success.

Collaboration: This is amongst the most important aspects of your communication skills. No matter what your field or market, your job will entail working as a member of a team and collaborate with other people. Be it your coworkers or your clients, it is integral to learn to contribute your part as well being willing to listen and be passive. A team with a shared culture, mutual understanding and common objectives will be able to achieve a better outcome, deliver a higher quality work and generally do a better job than a bunch of separated individuals who have no cohesion and do not have a good understanding of the goals and objectives.

Management Skills:

Recruit/interview: This is a skill that will likely come to use if you work as part of a franchise.  Hiring the most suitable candidates will be the most important aspect of the franchise’s potential to succeed. An effective hiring and selection process will ensure you are working with the most competent and productive people. Moreover, you will have a lower turnover and have a consistent and loyal workforce to work with. Conducting interviews and background checks effectively will allow you to recruit workers who will achieve the objectives set out for them. Help them deliver the highest quality services and products to your customers.

Incentivizing: There are few skills as important as creating the right compensation structure to facilitate growth. If you can understand this hot topic, owners can grasp the motivations of individuals and will allow them to focus at set goals.  Sometimes it’s not just about revenue targets, there will be employees that seek a better work life balance.

Supervision: Effective supervision helps provide a connection between employees and management. As a supervisor, you will be given the task to supervise the work of your subordinates, give them constructive feedback and ensure that plans and objectives are fulfilled on time. The supervisor must be able to maintain direct contact with workers and make sure major conflicts, clashes and misunderstandings amongst the workers do not happen.

Planning Skills:

Budget: Budgeting is an essential skill that will help you create a plan for your capital and create a balance between your investment and your profits. It ensures that you are not spending more than what is necessary, can effectively downsize production of any product if necessary, and avoid getting into any debts.

Project Implementation: Regardless of which industry or market you are working in, business implementation is a vital skill that will allow you to execute your plan and policies and turn what’s on paper into a reality. To implement your project properly, you will have to be able to comprehend as well as communicate the goals, expectations and objectives of the franchise.

Contact us for more information on learning if franchising is right for you.