By Phil Gaffer, Papa John’s Franchise Sales and Business Development Manager
-
Tell us about Papa John’s background
There are now more than 350 Papa John’s in the UK and over 5,000 stores in more than 40 international markets. Papa John's is one of the largest pizza companies in the world and is actively recruiting for new franchisees. The company provides world-class training and all the assistance needed to set up, including help with location selection and full turn-key opening of the store. Papa John’s has a globally-established brand and the Company’s: ‘BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA.’ concept continues to grow in popularity as more stores open.
How Does Papa John’s Attract the Best Franchisees?
Papa John’s has been incredibly successful at recruiting high calibre franchisees who are passionate about running and growing their portfolio of franchised stores. We are also proud to be full members of the British Franchise Association (BFA) and adhere to the code of ethics, ensuring transparency is embedded in everything we do.
Papa John’s has also focused on a creating a clear and well-honed recruitment process for franchisees. This guarantees the strongest candidates apply and can quickly understand the benefits of managing a Papa John’s franchise. We award the franchise to the most able and committed individuals and turn down more than we say yes to! Successful franchisees are then guided carefully through a comprehensive training programme to ensure, once up and running, their teams can deliver the product quality and service expected by our loyal customer base.
What is the Recruitment Process?
Papa John’s is about far more than pizza – it’s about people. The talent is our team and franchise network. We invest in our people, just as they invest in us. Therefore, we start a discovery meeting which is an initial face-to-face discussion which is either 121 or in a small group. For these meetings we come to you, visiting locations around the UK on a set date each month.
We are looking for potential franchisees who are energetic and aligned with our core values which include: focus, accountability, quality and a positive mind-set. The initial discussion is all about the franchise and their questions, pus it allows us to understand aspirations and objectives.
If we both wish to progress to the next stage, potential franchisees are then invited to an in-store experience day at our Quality Control Centre in Milton Keynes. This is where we manufacture our fresh dough and a tour offers an invaluable insight into our world-class operation. We are passionate about giving prospects the opportunity to witness first hand a Papa John’s store. The visit will include all aspects of running a successful operation plus the best bit is slapping the dough and making a pizza!
What About Business Planning?
The next stage of a franchisee’s application would be to develop a viable business plan. We provide support and a template but this is essentially the franchisee’s work. It will demonstrate their due diligence and market research and the plan is presented at an open and transparent meeting. Providing everyone is happy, the next stage is that Papa John’s helps the franchisee find a site or recommends a re-sale store!
What Training do Franchisees Receive?
Franchisee training is thorough. It is six weeks in total: divided into three weeks at Milton Keynes and a further three weeks in a store, learning all the hands-on aspects of running the franchise.
How are Staff Trained?
Naturally, even once a store is established, staff training is an on-going task. Therefore, we enable franchise owners and store personnel access to a bespoke system called ULearn. It offers a blended learning approach to allowing staff to be trained in every essential aspect of the business. This is particularly helpful for some of our multi-store franchisees who are managing multiple teams.
What Happens Next?
Once the franchisee and new team are trained, a date is set and support is provided to launch the store opening. It is in our interests that franchisees do well! They are now part of the Papa John’s family and so our whole team, from our franchise business development managers to our local marketing managers and brand excellence managers, are all dedicated to assist in the overall success of the franchise. Our launch programme support is provided in the form of local marketing and experienced head office staff are also deployed on-site for the first week’s trading to help get the new store off to a flying start.
Papa John’s is a global brand which has experienced phenomenal success over the years. However, the key to this success is our culture and the positive attitude of the people that make up the DNA of our Papa John’s family. If you think you’ve got what it takes to become a successful Papa John’s franchisee then please see our website to start your journey to a better future: Click Here
