Franchising in Greece: a practical guide to the operations manual

Training and goodwill alone are not enough to enable a new franchisee to replicate a successful business. You need to document what you and your experienced team already know: who does what, in what order and to what standard. For a business entering the Greek franchise market, the operations manual bridges the gap between the founder’s personal experience and the franchisee’s ability to run day-to-day operations independently.

1. Document critical tasks, not an idealised business

Start with what actually happens in your existing outlet. Observe a full working day, from taking deliveries to closing up. Pay particular attention to moments when someone asks the owner what to do. These reveal knowledge that has not yet been passed on to the team.

Draw up a list of procedures, prioritising them according to the consequences of a failure. Safety, legal compliance, product or service quality, money handling and complaints handling come first. Décor and tone of voice matter, but they cannot replace these foundations.

For each task, define:

• what triggers it,
• who is responsible for carrying it out and checking it,
• what materials or systems are needed,
• what counts as an acceptable outcome,
• when the franchisor needs to be informed.

Also distinguish mandatory standards from recommendations. Franchisees need to understand where absolute consistency is required and where they can adapt to local needs without seeking permission for every minor decision.

2. Write instructions that people can follow

“We provide excellent service” is an intention, not a procedure. A useful instruction explains the sequence of actions, any exceptions and the evidence needed to show completion. Use short sentences, photographs where helpful and template forms rather than lengthy theory.

For complaints handling, for example, describe who records the incident, what information is essential, what remedies the person in charge can offer and when the matter should be referred to the central team. Do not require unnecessary personal data to be collected simply to fill in a form.

Each procedure needs a consistent structure: purpose, person responsible, steps, checkpoints, exceptions and related records. Add a reference code, date and version number. This prevents a revised instruction from being confused with an old copy kept at the outlet.

Test the text with an employee who does not normally carry out the task. Ask them to follow it without verbal clarification. Wherever they stop, improvise or misinterpret something, the instruction needs improvement. The aim is not more pages, but less reliance on informal explanations.

3. Align the manual with the agreement and Greek law

Greece has no single, dedicated franchising law, nor a general mandatory pre-contractual disclosure regime requiring a standardised disclosure document and a specific deadline. Applicable rules include the Greek Civil Code provisions on contracts and good faith, as well as obligations arising during negotiations. Codes of ethics issued by trade associations are not legislation.

The franchise agreement should define the manual’s role in the relationship: how it is supplied, who has access, which instructions are binding and how any conflict with the agreement is resolved. Do not try to introduce new charges or material changes to agreed obligations through a simple revision to a procedure.

The manual also needs to be reviewed for compliance with Greek Law 3959/2011 on the protection of free competition and, where applicable, Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 2022/720 on vertical agreements. Standardising operations does not justify imposing fixed or minimum resale prices.

For confidential know-how, put controlled access and contractual confidentiality obligations in place. Trade secret protection is governed by Greek Law 1733/1987, as amended by Law 4605/2019. Marking something “confidential” is not enough: reasonable protective measures are needed. If employee or customer data is recorded, the General Data Protection Regulation and Greek Law 4624/2019 also apply.

4. Organise training, updates and compliance checks

Assign someone responsibility for each section and appoint a co-ordinator for the manual as a whole. Maintain a single, centrally controlled version and a change log. When a significant change is made, explain what is changing, why, when it takes effect and whether further training or new equipment is required.

Acknowledging receipt does not demonstrate understanding. Support critical procedures with practical demonstrations and observation of staff carrying them out. During checks, record specific departures from the procedures and agree corrective actions, who is responsible and when a follow-up check will take place.

Give franchisees a way to suggest improvements. A well-run franchise network learns from its members’ day-to-day experience without allowing uncontrolled variations of the system to develop.

Practical takeaway: before handing the manual to your first franchisee, make sure the critical instructions can be followed without you being there, have been legally reviewed and are supported by a clear revision process.