“Frontline Recruitment Group was recently listed as one of Australia’s Best Places to Work by the leading authority on workplace culture Great Places to Work. Its listing in the top 30 mid-sized companies puts it in good company, alongside brands such as Uber, Mastercard and Adobe.
It is the only franchise in Australia awarded Great Place To Work status across the support office and franchisees.
So what’s the key to this achievement?
Arthur McColl, CEO of the Frontline Recruitment Group [pictured above right] says there is a culture of mutual respect across the network.
“Franchisees and the franchisor have to win each other’s trust,” he says. “Franchisees have to see the vision, that they are buying into a sustainable brand that’s got a strong future. It is crucial they can see what we’re doing to add value for the franchise fee.
“They’ve got to make a decent return on their investment, and so do we. That’s how we succeed.
Frontline’s workplace culture leads to success
“Our success came from building better business owners. A big part of what we do is help them recruit and build leadership skill sets as owners.
“It’s like Formula 1 driving. A talented driver needs a phenomenal car. They need each other; there is harmony in alignment,” he says.
Securing a Great Places to Work acknowledgement is a boost for the brand, he says.
“We are in the people business and the recognition of a strong workplace culture clearly demonstrates this to clients and candidates. It adds credibility,” says Arthur.
He says constructive candour is crucial to the group’s success, whether that’s supporting under-performing franchisees or addressing non-compliant business owners.
“Owners get frustrated with franchisors not dealing with non-performing franchisees. Accountability is key to our culture.”
Recognition of success is crucial too, whether that’s a newsletter shout-out, winning an annual award, or a holiday to reward top performers.
“We’ve arranged trips to Hamilton Island and Fiji for our owners and also run an annual rewards trip for their top performing employees, most recently to Queenstown NZ and Port Douglas.
Celebrating success is part of Frontline’s culture
Recognition of good performance flows through to franchisee level. When his team hits budget Frontline Recruitment consultant-turned-franchisee Rory Manwaring [pictured above, centre] organises a celebratory activity such as an escape room or bridge climb.
Rory owns the Frontline Retail Regional QLD and NT business, and has recently become a multi-unit franchisee in partnership, buying the South Australian territory. Rory’s Regional QLD and NT business, was awarded Agency of the Year in August based on overall high performance across sales, marketing, people, continuous improvement and customer experience.
Rory in turn emulates Frontline’s high-performance, people focused culture by empowering his consultants to run their desks as their own businesses and acts as a mentor and manager.
“There is a lot of mentorship. Consultants who have been with me a long time love to train and develop, and share their knowledge to ensure everyone succeeds.”
That synergistic approach echoes franchisee cooperation, which sees business owners sharing best practice.
“Frontline really invests in training and development too,” says Rory. “As a business we are embracing new technology and that helps us to attract talent. Good staff want to be with a cutting edge business.”
A case in point is the current nine week AI technology course conducted live online. It was fully subscribed in a week and there are 90 consultants participating.
It points to a culture where people want to learn, says Arthur. And the learning is across the business.
“A lot of innovation in the business comes from the network via a number of franchisee advisory groups,” he says. “We’re happy to own our mistakes and learn from the field.
“Franchisees are in business development at the coal face, we’re continually improving and adapting the business.”
Franchisee engagement important
The three formal franchise advisory groups involve franchisees in: people and culture, marketing, and IT.
“The marketing group was heavily involved in the new branding,” says Arthur. “We hold the cards, but we genuinely care about franchisees’ feedback.”
Rory says as a franchisor Frontline has worked at understanding what drives and motivates franchisees and individual staff members.
“We’ve got a really inclusive culture. They want the consultant to be an individual, to be true to themselves and how they operate.”
Once a candidate successfully placed by Frontline, Rory joined the Queensland retail agency as a consultant before buying his franchise.
People are key to Frontline’s high-performance model
He knows how important the people element is to the business, and to Frontline’s culture of success.
“We are not selling a house or a product perfectly merchandised. We are bringing client and candidate together. There is a whole process that leads up to placing candidates in jobs; we work hard and play hard,” says Rory.
“This is a high performance, KPI-driven business model, and we’re a competitive bunch. Our awards gala dinner just cements the good work we are doing, and shows that we are operating a well-oiled franchise model.
“We celebrate success at every level. We celebrate changing lives, that’s how we measure people’s results. How many placements have we achieved, how many families have we helped? Ultimately that is what pays the bills, that’s our final measure.”
For Frontline high performance isn’t just about revenue.
“Success is now embedded in our people first, results driven approach. How we think, and how we talk, and we see direct results in the business.
“Everyone is here to succeed, to make money, but our byproduct is helping people.”