ActionCOACH, Puddle Ducks, Right At Home and TaxAssist Accountants have all been awarded at the Best Franchise Awards for top satisfaction scores every single year since the Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark programme was launched a decade ago by WorkBuzz.
From left: Suki Dehal (head of franchising at Lloyds Bank), Ian Christelow (founder of ActionCOACH UK), Jo Stone, Lucy Campbell, Richard Chatten-Hague and Sharon Weston (head of franchising at WorkBuzz).
“It’s an unbelievable achievement from all four of them,” said Steven Frost, chief executive of WorkBuzz. “The effort they’ve put into maintaining the highest levels of franchisee satisfaction for 10 consecutive years – throughout all the challenges the world has thrown at us all during that time – should act as inspiration for franchisors nationwide.”
WorkBuzz said that its 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction is awarded to franchisors that score above industry average in all five key areas: Training and Support, the Franchise System, Culture & Relationships, Leadership, and overall General Satisfaction. There were 27 franchisors awarded this year, but only four hit the mark so consistently.
Award winners’ comments
Julie Wagstaff, UK managing director of ActionCOACH, said: “It means the world to have achieved 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction every year since the anonymous survey of franchise networks was launched 10 years ago.
“It’s a critical scorecard. If you don’t know the score, you can’t play the game of franchising. It’s a catalyst to make our franchise better every year in areas which are the most important to our franchise partners.
“And when you get your franchise strong in all areas, the recognition helps attract and compel a high calibre of individual who is looking to own the best franchise available in the sector that appeals the most to them.”
Jo Stone, managing director of Puddle Ducks, said: “It’s a huge accolade for the wonderful work our amazing HQ team do in supporting our fantastic franchisees to achieve success.
“Honesty, integrity and high standards run throughout our network, and we listen to and address our franchisee needs – and 10 years running proves that we have our network’s success at the heart of everything we do.
“All awards give us an additional level of credibility for potential franchisees, and is a great way of getting our brand name out there. It’s also a core part of our feedback loop, listening to the issues that are important to our network.”
Lucy Campbell, chief executive of Right At Home UK, said: “Achieving 5-star satisfaction holds huge importance to us because it means our valued network and wider stakeholders have received the support and structure they need and very much deserve. Importantly, it means we’ve once again stayed true to our values and culture whilst never once compromising on quality.
“To hold this for 10 consecutive years means we’ve managed to maintain these incredible standards through some immensely challenging times and climate changes – which makes this recognition all the more meaningful. Ultimately, this gives us and our network confidence that, together, we can truly achieve great things.”
Richard Chatten-Hague, head of group global support at TaxAssist Accountants, said: “Achieving this award for 10 straight years highlights the value franchisees place on the support we provide. It’s particularly special because it’s based on feedback from franchisees themselves and reflects so positively on the diligence and effectiveness of our entire support centre team.
“It’s great to receive honest, anonymous feedback, which you may not otherwise get from your network – and enables us to really listen and take on board all levels of feedback and identify any trends. It’s also a powerful way to show our franchise network and prospective franchisees that as a franchisor we care, we listen, and we adapt.”
WorkBuzz’s Best Franchise Awards, sponsored by Lloyds Bank, are based on feedback from franchisees about their franchise ownership experience. To be considered for the annual awards, franchisors must have taken part in the Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark programme.
Franchisees of the franchisors participating in the programme are asked to complete a confidential online survey of 32 questions rating their franchisor and whether they would recommend the franchise to a prospective franchisee. The top-performing franchisors are then put forward as finalists in the Best Franchise Awards.
To enter the Best Franchise Awards 2023 and for more information visit www.bestfranchiseawards.co.uk or email sharon.weston@workbuzz.com.
Posted: 7th December, 2022