For many franchisees, running a business might mean employing staff for the first time. The good news is franchisors are often able to assist in this process and that’s certainly the case at Pizza Capers.

Damien Davies at Pizza Capers says the franchisor will draft an ad for staff for the franchisee. Pizza Capers will go through the recruitment program for in-store staff as well as discuss the relevant industry bodies that franchisees should refer to for advice.

“We don’t employ them, we go through the interview technique, and how to attract the right staff members,” he says. That’s important, with up to 100 applications for each role.”

“It’s like working in a surf shop, people want to work for a classy brand. It’s about working out where people are right for each role. Franchisees could be employing between 20 to 30 new staff members across the roles in the business and it’s necessary to be able to judge which role suits.”

Getting the financials right involves the correct ratio of staff and the human resources department at Pizza Capers can assist with the staff roster.

“We have 16 corporate stores so we know how the business runs, and we’re pretty accurate about turnover,” says Damien Davies. “The BDMs [business development managers] are out all year round, in each shop every two months. They can see what’s happening or not happening. Franchisees need to keep labour costs in check, and the BDMs take sales, cost of goods, labour into account.”

Training at the pizza franchise is not yet conducted online, but this will change, says Davies.

Depending on the location of the store, there could be 15 staff members covering back of house, front end/customer facing, delivery drivers and management. While some stores have dining, the set up overall is an equal split between pick-up and delivery.

• The Pizza Capers business was recently acquired by Retail Food Group, franchisor of brands such as Brumby’s Bakeries, Donut King and Michel’s Patisserie.