Published in "Franchise New Zealand" magazine in the summer 1999/2000 issue

The biggest factor affecting a franchisee’s performance is their location – right? Wrong – experienced franchisors know that the biggest factor affecting franchisee performance is the franchisee themselves. That’s why selecting the right people is the most crucial factor in a franchise’s growth. And that’s where Dynamic Performance Systems comes in.

The company provides franchisors with a tool to identify whether a potential franchisee has the right attitudes and core values to be successful. It also identifies any areas of weakness where additional training would be beneficial. And according to company president Fred Berni, experience gained over ten years enables Dynamic to predict a franchise candidate’s eventual performance with a remarkable 93% accuracy.

“We entered franchising in 1988 offering personality profiles to franchisors. However, it became clear that while personality profiles work well for hiring staff, they do not work very well when it comes to predicting how successful a franchise candidate will be.

“If you were to ask someone to interview your top ten franchisees and tell you what characteristics they have in common, they will invariably tell you that there are no common characteristics – each franchisee has their own unique personality. So what makes them succeed?”

Fred decided to find out. He hired two psychologists who asked what franchisors considered important in a successful franchisee and how each franchisee in their systems was performing. They then profiled hundreds of existing franchisees and compared their performance.

“What we found is that the common bond between successful franchisees is not personality but rather their beliefs and core values. We were able to identify seven critical characteristics that all successful franchisees have in common no matter what system they are in.”

Since then, Dynamic Performance System’s FranchiZe Profile has been used by franchisors around the world with remarkable accuracy, whether they are in retail, food, service or the automotive industries. “The seven characteristics are universal,” Fred says.

Here’s how it works. Franchisors provide candidates with a questionnaire either on paper or which can be completed over the internet at Dynamic’s own website. It comprises 132 questions, but generally requires less than 30 minutes to complete. Dynamic then analyses the candidate’s responses and generates an 18 page report for the franchisor. This report compares the candidate to other successful franchisees in Dynamic’s database and predicts whether a candidate will perform at an above average, average or below average level.

Not only is the candidate’s score shown but there is also a summary of his or her attitudes in each area. The service goes further: included in the report are training recommendations, and a set of supplemental interviewing questions (along with suggested good and bad answers) to help bring consistency to the interviewing process. There is even a mini report to give to the candidate so they receive feedback too.

The total report can be produced and returned to the franchisor within 36 hours, or it can be scored on the website for immediate viewing. Franchisors are able to follow up with unlimited telephone consultation.

But does it work? According to Girts Steinhards of Country Style Donuts, which has used the system since 1993, “I am truly amazed at the accuracy of Dynamic Performance’s predictions and would recommend using their FranchiZe Profile to any franchisor interested in selecting quality franchisees.”

The company is based in Canada, but has never found distance an obstacle, says Fred. “We do everything electronically and it works well. In fact, our selection system is so easy to get started with and use that I have never even met the majority of our clients!” More information is available on the company’s comprehensive website at www.dynamicperformancesystems.com.

And he concludes with a basic truth. “If you ask franchisors which one thing they would change if they could start again, most say they would pay more attention to which candidates they allowed into their system. Franchisees who are successful stay in the system longer, require less individual support and generate more revenue.

“Using our profiles, franchisors stand a much better chance of choosing the right people – every time.”