Opening a new location, renovation work, or implementing a new tool⊠You know how complex project management within a franchise network can be. đ” Coordination, communication, and customization are key to ensuring the success of each project and require the right project management tools.
Every month, our clients share their development requests with us so we can create a solution 100% tailored to the realities of their franchisor business.
Here are 5 new features requested by our clients to build the ideal project management tool for franchise networks đĄ:Â
đŹ Comments on project tasks
âïž Editing project template tasks without having to generate the task
đ„ Projects and tasks assigned to a workgroup
đ€ Multi-project management for candidates
âł Project scheduling with retro-planning
1. More interactive collaboration with feedback on tasks đŹ
Communication lies at the heart of every project. To enhance collaboration among project members, weâve introduced the ability to add comments to tasks. This feature, simple yet powerful, allows all stakeholders to communicate transparently about their tasks and ensures better team coordination.
Tracking discussions related to a specific task is now much easier. This makes it simpler to maintain an accurate understanding of the overall project progress. Such transparency strengthens team collaboration, encouraging members to work together, share ideas, and exchange feedback for the continuous improvement of project quality.
2. More flexibility with task editing of a project template without generation âïž
We have redesigned project management to allow editing tasks directly from project templates without having to generate those tasks first. This feature provides full control over project customization, ensuring greater flexibility and significant time savings.
No need to recreate similar tasks for every project or generate tasks in advance just to edit them. Quickly and efficiently adjust each task to the specific needs of every project, while maintaining the core structure. This helps avoid omissions or inconsistencies by aligning tasks with the real context of the ongoing project.
3. Structured collaboration with tasks assigned to a work group đ„
Imagine this: a member of your field team or someone from a department within your network needs to communicate with your future franchisee about a new location opening project. However, ensuring continuity in task assignments becomes challenging when team members join or leave the team. So how can you maintain smooth, uninterrupted communication despite staff changes?
Indeed, team collaboration is essential to successfully complete a project. Thatâs why, within our solution, users can create dedicated workgroups. These user groups make it easier to share resources and collaborate on complex topics. For example, you can create a workgroup to coordinate the preparation of an upcoming event, or one dedicated to a specific department within the network (e.g., the Marketing Department).
With our new feature, it is now possible to assign a workgroup to a project or to a specific task within a project. This makes it easier to distribute work and enhances coordination among team members.
Assign your projects or tasks precisely to a specific workgroup to ensure long-term project continuity. This way, no task is forgotten when a team member is absent or when there are changes within your teams. This approach ensures that every aspect of the project is effectively managed and contributes to its overall success.
4. More collaboration, fewer constraints with multi-projects for candidates đ€
A project management tool designed for franchising should enable you to collaborate with your franchise candidates across multiple projects simultaneously. Itâs important to be able to segment different projects with your future franchisees based on their specific goals and contexts, whether itâs store openings, renovations, or other initiatives such as multi-franchising.You should be able to manage the opening of several locations or brands with the same franchisee, while maintaining a clear and structured overview of all ongoing projects.Â
The ideal solution is to have a dedicated candidate space , where future franchisees can access all your information in one place (documents, projects, network news). This helps attract and engage potential franchisees through a smooth application process and stronger collaboration throughout the project stages.
5. Optimal time management with retroplanning âł
This feature automatically generates a project retro-planning based on the dependencies between tasks. The goal is to provide clear visibility into the number of days each task requires, the overall project deadlines, and the total time needed to complete the project as a whole, as well as each individual task. This structured approach helps meet deadlines and ensures that every part of the project is completed on time.
Retro-planning is therefore an essential tool for anticipating and successfully managing projects. Whether itâs renovation work or the opening of a new location, projects in the franchise industry are often complex and require careful monitoring to leave nothing to chance.
This strategic method allows you to plan the key stages of a project, starting from the desired launch or completion date. It breaks down each necessary task to meet the schedule, providing a detailed chronological view. By adopting this approach, you can better manage the timing of each stage of the project. The goal? To identify critical milestones and anticipate deadlines for a successful execution.
Project management within a franchise can be a real challenge. The five new features in Cerca were developed at our clientsâ request to simplify their daily work with an intuitive interface, customization tools, and smoother communication. More than just a project management tool, our solution offers a comprehensive approach to network management, integrating key areas such as site monitoring, network development, operational life, and much more. It provides a complete overview while simplifying the management of every project. Make Cerca your trusted partner to manage your projects and your franchise in a sustainable and efficient way.
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