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August 2006 |
Volume 7, Issue 8, Part 2 |
Planning a successful convention is a challenge for any franchise. Now imagine there are six franchise concepts in your organization. Such is the case with The Dwyer Group. How does this world-class organization pull together dozens of meetings each year? Starting early is certainly key. So is good communication and a team dedicated to making sure franchisees understand the importance of showing up. In this issue we talk to Debbie Hood of The Dwyer Group to get her ideas on how to plan multiple meetings within a large organization.
The Dwyer Group, Inc. is one of the world's largest franchise organizations, with approximately 750 franchisees located in the U.S. and Canada. The group provides a diverse array of specialty services internationally through its 6 service-based, brand-name franchise businesses: Rainbow International, Mr. Rooter, Mr. Electric, Mr. Appliance, Glass Doctor, and Aire Serv. CAO Debbie Hood, along with her assistant and reunion committee, plans the annual reunion while executive assistants with each concept handle planning of the regional conferences and smaller meetings.
"We typically book our regional conferences and smaller meetings at least a year in advance and book our annual reunion 18 months to 2 years in advance," says Hood. "The planning goes on year round, but the really busy time typically begins 6 months before the event. It truly takes a team working together to have successful results. We have regular meetings with our reunion committee to be sure all are informed - each of our committee members is responsible for communicating with their concept/team."
Although Hood is personally involved only with the reunion and reviewing contracts for concept meetings, company wide there are 25 meetings per year. The annual reunion has attendance of around 1,300 while other meetings are smaller - in the 50 to 300 range. "These events are extremely important to keep our franchisees updated on all the latest information for their concepts. This also allows them time to network, recharge and get motivated," states Hood.
Pushing for a good turnout
"We have done studies," says Hood, "and it is clear that franchisees who participate in meetings and the annual reunion grow their businesses faster by far than those who do not. Attendees consist primarily of franchise owners, spouses, and family members, but there are also quite a few managers, technicians, and office personnel participating." The Dwyer Group surveyed its franchisees this year and found the top 3 reasons they attend the annual reunion are:
- Networking
- Learn more about growing their business (education)
- Getting motivated and recharged
 Some
franchise organizations have reported that it is a challenge to get good attendance,
but Hood asserts it is one that can be overcome. "Starting early is important
- we strive to get as many franchisees pre-registered as possible at our current
reunion for the following year. We also promote in mailings and at each conference
we hold throughout the year," says Hood. "I believe that the #1 thing that gets
franchisees to meetings is the commitment of our franchise systems managers
and home office staff to get them there and to show them how important it is
for them to be there. Until they are registered, every time there is a contact
or support call, the reunion or upcoming conference should be discussed and
promoted."
Hood says the overall goal is to continuously educate and support franchisees in growing their businesses. She adds, "We also believe it is very important to have fun in the process (which is one of our Code of Values). We all learn better when we enjoy the training that we are participating in." Very little - if any - free time is structured, but attendees are allowed time to sightsee on their own.
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The definition of a successful event
"This is going to sound strange," says Hood, "but you can feel it at the reunion - the energy, excitement, and the teamwork. Surveys are important as well. We also do 30 second critiques after each session so the attendees can provide us their feedback. Critical components are attendance, service (both the hotel service and our staff's service to our attendees), good meeting content, and having fun in the process."
Good speakers are important, too. "We have found that for our group of franchisees, speakers who have a real life story (such as Jim Morris, the baseball player whose life story the movie, 'The Rookie' was based on) are the most popular. We have had some great motivational speakers over the years that were effective, but the real life success stories are what we get the most positive feedback on." |
Hood offers some good advice for novice event planners:
- It never hurts to ask - if you feel that there would be something to help you and the overall results of your meeting, ask. The worst that can happen is that they can say no. For example, if you want to put signs up all over a hotel, ask. It doesn't cost the hotel anything and makes a great presence for your company.
- Follow up, follow up, follow up - always keep on top of each area of your meeting. If you have committees or other assistants helping you be sure to continuously meet and communicate. Stress that the meetings are an open forum and not to be afraid to speak up with suggestions and questions.
- Set up a schedule of reminders (I put a ton of reminders in Outlook so I won't overlook loose ends).
- We own most of our own AV equipment for our smaller meetings at our annual. We have found that this is much more cost effective for us. We rent a 52' semi trailer to bring our supplies, etc. to our reunion, which works very well for us. We pack everything from our booth materials, meeting materials including handouts, decorations, giveaways, etc. We also do our own centerpieces for our awards banquet which saves approximately $40 per table.
- Make sure you read your contracts thoroughly and if something is not satisfactory, ask the hotel/facility to change it to your satisfaction.
Even with experience and good advice, planning and executing a successful event is a big job. Hood says, "The biggest challenge by far is cooperation and communication of all the team members. Each person must be committed to taking care of their responsibilities. Just like any team, you need each member to do their part. Fortunately, we have an awesome team here at The Dwyer Group."
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The challenge of finding the right location
Hood says it works best to have meeting space and guest accommodations on the same property, but that can be difficult. "It narrows down our choices tremendously. However, we have found that if we can accomplish this, the meeting attendance is much better and the entire meeting is more successful."
The Dwyer group has developed a strategy to meet the challenges of meeting site selection. Here they are via Debbie Hood:
- We now alternate meetings between the western, central & eastern portions of the United States.
- Typically, we find a hotel that is no more than 20-25 minutes from a major airport to prevent inconvenience.
- We look for hotels that our attendees can bring their families to, but we do not necessarily concentrate on vacation destinations.
- The 6 concepts under the Dwyer umbrella choose different locales due to the fact that space requirements for our smaller meetings are so much different than reunion. It is rare that we have our smaller conferences in locations that we hold our reunions in.
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Contact Information:: The Dwyer Group, Inc., Debbie Hood, CAO, http://www.dwyergroup.com , (254)745-2484.
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