Write the manager role before hiring the manager

Start with decisions and responsibilities

Describe the hours, tasks, people and customer situations the manager is expected to handle. Identify decisions they can make alone, decisions needing approval and issues requiring immediate escalation. Match the role to the franchise agreement and any required qualifications.

Separate essential skills from preferences. A broad request for a strong leader does not explain whether the person needs technical credentials, scheduling experience or responsibility for stock and cash controls. Write the actual work in terms a candidate can assess.

Plan the employment process properly

Consult appropriate advisers about pay, working arrangements, screening, documentation and applicable employment requirements. Use a consistent selection process focused on the role. Do not ask candidates to disclose unnecessary sensitive information or rely on informal assumptions about availability.

Explain training, supervision and how performance will be reviewed. Identify who covers absences and who supports the manager during unusual problems. Hiring one person is not a complete continuity plan.

Keep the owner role visible

List responsibilities that remain with ownership, including financial oversight and contractual commitments. A manager can take on substantial work without removing the owner’s accountability. Before promising yourself a particular schedule, examine whether the proposed staffing and supervision arrangement can deliver it.

Put it on paper

• Define decision authority and escalation.
• Use role-related, consistent hiring criteria.
• Document owner duties that remain.

Continue with the franchise research checklist, our FDD guide, and the research directory.