Fusion Productions - Integrating Meetings, Learning & Technology

Organization

Express Personnel Services is the nation's fourth largest temporary staffing company. The billion dollar business has more than 420 franchises in the US, Canada and South Africa. Franchise owners attended the ILC in Anaheim, California in February to learn best practices for the improvement of their individual office as well as the direction the company is taking overall for future growth.

Challenge

Franchise owners operate their individual offices under an umbrella of guidelines mandated by EPS headquarters in Oklahoma City. While they grow from the support of the home office, they also pay 40% of their revenue to it. The founders and executive staff work to gain the trust of franchisees as well as their buy-in of the company's strategy for growth.

Solution

• Fusion used the ROI process before, during and after the meeting to help EPS identify learning objectives; develop a message that would build trust in the company and provide tools for growing a successful franchise.
  
• Fusion designed a pre-conference survey to gain knowledge of the franchisees' top concerns about their business development, their leadership and the EPS Founders' strategy for expansion.
  
• Using the survey results, Fusion collaborated with key EPS management to develop a message that conveyed that what was good for the company overall was good for the individuals as well. This helped to gain franchisee support of business strategies that were outlined in a seven step plan that could be applied to individual offices.
  
• Fusion worked closely with internal and external speakers to customize content that addressed the franchisees' business concerns in the pre-conference survey.
  
• Fusion continued to seek franchisee feedback through an on-site focus group of 75 top performers and subsequent follow-up phone surveys post-conference.

Results

• A post-conference survey showed a 30% improvement in franchisee satisfaction with the ILC.
  
• 75% of the survey respondents said they understood the Founders' message and could articulate the seven steps they outlined for franchisee success.
  
• Ongoing surveys with the focus group will garner more feedback on the best ways to deliver content at the 2006 ILC to help franchisees grow their business.