Recruiting franchisees: how to assess your first candidates

Your first franchisee should not simply be the first person willing to pay. When you expand an existing business into a franchise network, you are choosing entrepreneurs who will manage outlets independently and help shape your brand’s reputation. Before you start recruiting, develop a consistent process for assessing candidates. It should test not only their access to capital, but also their skills, availability and understanding of the responsibilities of running their own business.

1. Build a candidate profile based on your own outlet

Start by listing the decisions you actually make as the owner of an operating business. Do you draw up staff rotas, resolve disputes, check stock and speak to customers every day? These tasks reveal the skills your future partner will need. Do not replace this analysis with a vague requirement for a “passion for the brand”.

Divide your criteria into three groups:

• Essential requirements: for example, personal involvement, the ability to fund the outlet’s launch and ongoing operations, and any qualifications or licences legally required of the person running that type of business.
• Skills that can be developed: using the point-of-sale system, understanding the product range or following specific procedures.
• Additional strengths: experience of managing a team, knowledge of the local market or a background in customer service.

Decide how you will assess each requirement. “Can manage people” is too vague. A description of a situation in which the candidate resolved a staffing problem or trained a new employee provides better evidence.

Also decide whether you are looking for an owner-operator working in the outlet or an investor who will employ a manager. Do not treat these models as interchangeable if you have tested your own business under only one of them. Capital is no substitute for operational involvement, and a stated commitment is no substitute for funding.

2. Use a consistent interview format and a practical exercise

Prepare a standard set of questions for all candidates. This makes it easier to compare answers and reduces the influence of a good first impression. Ask about specific actions and decisions, rather than relying on statements of intent.

During the interview, explore:

• how much time the candidate can realistically devote to the outlet and what other work commitments they have;
• how they respond to the requirement to follow shared standards;
• which decisions they want to make independently and what they expect from head office;
• how they have dealt with a difficult customer, an employee’s mistake or falling sales;
• how they intend to cover costs before the outlet generates enough income to cover its operating expenses.

Next, set a short exercise based on the realities of your business. You could present a hypothetical situation: before the day begins, a member of staff is absent, a delivery is incomplete and a customer reports a problem. Ask the candidate to prioritise their actions and identify which issues require contact with head office.

Assess their thinking, not their knowledge of a manual they have not yet seen. The candidate should recognise risks, set priorities and acknowledge the limits of their own knowledge. The exercise should not amount to unpaid work for your business. If you arrange an observation visit to an outlet, ensure confidentiality and protect information about customers and employees.

3. Verify financial capacity lawfully

A statement such as “I have the funds” is not enough, but that does not justify collecting any documents you choose. First, explain the categories of expenditure involved in opening and running the outlet. Then establish which funds are available, which depend on loan approval and which are expected from a business partner. Distinguish confirmed funding from plans.

If you request proof of funds, explain why and allow the candidate to redact information that is not needed for the assessment. You do not need a full record of their personal spending. For candidates already running a business in Poland, check the relevant register: CEIDG, the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity, or KRS, the National Court Register. This should include checking who is authorised to represent the business. Registration alone, however, does not establish solvency or management quality.

Poland has no separate law comprehensively regulating franchising, no specific requirement to register franchise agreements and no statutory, standardised disclosure document exclusively for franchises. A franchise agreement remains an unnamed contract — one not defined as a distinct contract type in legislation — based on the principle of freedom of contract under Article 353¹ of the Polish Civil Code. This does not mean recruitment is unrestricted.

Relevant rules include the Civil Code provisions on negotiations, the GDPR when processing personal data, and Poland’s Act on Combating Unfair Competition, including its provisions on protecting trade secrets. Establish the legal basis, purpose and retention period for candidates’ data, and provide the required privacy information. Set separate rules for contacting candidates about future recruitment opportunities; do not keep documents indefinitely “just in case”.

4. Make evidence-based decisions

After each stage, complete a short assessment form recording the criterion, the evidence gathered, any concerns and the next step. Rather than writing “excellent candidate”, record the specific experience or answer that supports working together. Where possible, ask the person who will later be responsible for supporting the franchisee to review the assessment too.

Distinguish between three outcomes: ready for further discussions, further information required, and rejection. Do not lower your standards simply because you want to open the first outlet quickly. Also record your reasons for putting the process on hold, such as unconfirmed funding or an expectation of guaranteed income.

Recruitment should work both ways. Give candidates room to ask questions and make an informed decision to withdraw. A franchise network needs partners who understand both the benefits of working together and the business risks they bear themselves.

Practical takeaway: before publishing your first recruitment advert, prepare a candidate profile, an interview guide, one scenario-based exercise and a decision form. Use them consistently before making commitments to a prospective partner.