the operating guidelines for your franchise. ⢠Training on all our software such as the CRM system, accounting softwar
YOUR FRANCHISE PROSPECTUS Quest Consulting Services
Contents
2
Introduction
3
The opportunity
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Business Support
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Marketing Support
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Document Library
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Accounts Support
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Application Process
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Introduction
Thankyou... ...for taking an interest in my business and I hope this will be your first step towards taking the same amazing journey I have from starting a new business 10 years ago to managing my own thriving business which has given me the choices and flexibility I never had whilst employed. My journey has been a learning curve over the last ten years which brings me to the position I am in today, being able to offer the same opportunity to likeminded people who can avoid the mistakes and pitfalls I have encountered and step into a tried and tested business. What makes a successful Consultant is simple – hard work, focus, ambition and being passionate about what you do and your clients. I am lucky that I don’t feel like I go to work as I love what I do and if I can help make that happen for you then that is another great achievement. This information pack is designed to give you a flavour of the help and support you would receive by being part of Quest and will hopefully give you an insight into the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to help our Consultant build successful businesses. I hope you have lots of questions which I will be happy to answer and you can request an informal meeting to talk through your questions via our website or by calling 0844 8797286.
Sarah Birkenshaw (Founder)
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Why join us
The opportunity
As a HR professional you may be looking for a fresh challenge and so Consultancy work may appeal as this gives you a great varied workload, the flexibility to focus on the type of work you love all whilst building your own business to give you an opportunity to really build your career in the way you choose. Being great at what you do is only a part of building a successful business and so working with us gives you the support, guidance and confidence you need to develop a profitable business whilst keeping your time focussed on your area of expertise as a HR professional. We have worked hard to build a solid brand which is based on giving a personal and cost effective service to local businesses. Our clients tell us time and time again that this way of conducting business suit them far more than the bigger national suppliers who have remote, call centre based services. In short, we give you all the foundations you need to build your own successful business ad help you to reach your own personal and professional goals. How does it work? When you join us you will have a region in which to operate. We will clearly set out your region and provide information and statistics to help you with your business plans. There is some flexibility operated if you are personally referred to a business outside your region however you cannot actively market or network outside your own region. We explain how this work in more detail in the induction process. We provide you with a successful business model and through our induction programme you will be trained in every aspect of what is needed to get your business off to the most profitable start. A huge amount of expense when setting up a new business is in developing your own brand, website, marketing, sales process, accounting systems etc… the list could go on! What you don’t know is if any
Being great at what you do is only a part of building a successful business
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of these areas will be successful, within our network we have already tried and tested the processed and systems so you can be reassured we are helping you build your business successfully from day 1. You will pay an initial franchise fee to purchase your area which will be discussed on your application and we keep our costs completely transparent by operating with a fixed annual service fee each year not a % of your earnings. You can opt to pay service fees annually, quarterly or monthly. This means you can budget more effectively but also retain your profits as you earn more and more each year. Time is money In Consultancy then your time literally is money and so you want to be focussed on spending your time in providing chargeable advice and developing your business. Being part of our team means you have administration support, marketing support, we help to ensure your clients pay on time and we even give you cover to let you kick back and relax on holiday without your clients being left with no support. We simply give you the means to work as efficiently and profitably as possible so you can build great relationships with your clients and deliver the great personal service our clients have come to expect from us.
Business Support
Starter Pack
Training
When you join our team then we want to give you as much support as possible to get your business working for you as quickly as possible.
Upon joining us you will be provided with an induction training programme to help you get off to the most profitable start for your business.
The first step towards this is the provision of our starter pack which gives you everything you need to get started such as:
This covers:
• Business Process Manuals – the essentials to help you run your business.
• Training on all our software such as the CRM system, accounting software, website back office and HR software.
• Access to all software and systems.
• Introduction to the business model and brand and the operating guidelines for your franchise.
• Marketing Support including social media, website and an overview of the marketing programmes which are centrally managed.
• 250 Business cards • Pack of company letter headed paper • Business email address
• Review all the resources available to you such as the document library etc…
• 10 Company handbook branded folders. • Pack of any printed marketing collateral.
• Overview of our product, services and pricing guidelines.
• 50 Client visit reports
• Sales training. • Business Planning. • Business Development. Employment Law Changes We will provide you with updates on all relevant changes to legislation and you will be invited to attend seminars on these topics delivered by our Employment Law partners, Crooks Commercial Solicitors. All relevant resources needed to implement any changes to legislation are automatically provided. Software You will be given licences to operate all the software needed for your business including: • Office 365 – this includes the full MS Office suite of software such as Word, Excel etc… • Zoho CRM • Time tracking software • My HR Toolkit HR Software
We will provide you with updates on all relevant changes to legislation
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Advice & Guidance We understand that as a HR Consultant you cannot be an expert at every aspect of HR and so you have access to our helpline to confirm any advice before you provide this to clients or simply just to get a second opinion.
Business Support
Administration Support Your clients can ring the main office number which is manned throughout business hours, ensuring you have a professional telephone answering service. Our main office address can be used for the receipt of any documentation returned from clients such as signed employee contracts or correspondence. You have access to administrative support for you or your clients which is often used for issuing documents on the behalf of clients such as employee contracts, correspondence or updates. This allows you to focus on spending your own time on the more profitable elements of your business such as delivering advice or networking to grow your business. How you use your administrative support is flexible and we will provide guidance on this during the induction process. Holiday Cover We provide you with 3 weeks per annum holiday cover where your clients can access advice in your absence directly from our Leeds office. Should you require cover over and above this then that is a chargeable service available for you to utilise as needed.
Mentoring Support You will receive a quarterly support call from Sarah Birkenshaw to review the business plans you will create in the induction process and to provide and guidance in developing your business. In addition to this then there will be regular business partner events where you will get the opportunity to meet, network and share your experiences with fellow franchisees and business partners. Additional Business Services We have developed relationships with 3rd party providers to assist you in accessing help and support as you need it for your business. We do not insist that you use our preferred suppliers and would encourage you to develop your own local links with businesses. We can assist you with: • Business Mobile phone • IT hardware and software • Commercial Legal advice • Accountancy services • Book keeping services • Plus much more
IT Support Should you have any IT issues which can be both disruptive and expensive then you can access IT support to help you get back up and running as quickly as possible. We provide guidance with the type of IT hardware you may want to work on but the choice of your IT equipment is entirely down to you.
You have access to administrative support for you or your clients
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LinkedIn
You will benefit from a centrally managed marketing strategy which covers a wide mix of marketing for the best possible results. We appreciate some elements of marketing, such as social media, are only effective when consistently managed and so we take away the mystery and time needed to ensure our brand and your business is well represented.
We maintain both a central group and company page which has regular updates and news.
Marketing Support
Marketing Support
We provide you with guidance on how to use your own personal LinkedIn profile to best effect. We also manage any LinkedIn advertising based on our central strategy to ensure each of our regions are effectively represented. Website You will automatically receive your own web page which is focused on you and your geographical region. We manage the main website with all content and search engine optimisation.
Twitter Central feed which has regular tweets and industry relevant news. We actively engage in relevant industry discussions and encourage our twitter followers to engage with us to retweet, share or comment on our tweets. We provide you with guidance on how to use your own personal twitter accounts to best effect. We also manage any Twitter advertising based on our central strategy to ensure each of our regions are effectively represented.
Your own page has an element of content you can manage yourself or simply choose to leave this to the default content we provide. We complete search engine optimisation to help you be found in your local region more effectively. Newsletters Quarterly electronic newsletters are sent automatically to all contacts within the CRM system that have not opted out of marketing activity. Our integrated email newsletter system integrates with our CRM system to ensure you are aware as any contact opts out or if a contact registers through the website to receive newsletters they are automatically added to your contacts for your region on CRM.
Facebook We have a main company page which has regular news and posts to appeal to a wide ranging audience. Facebook is still considered a more ‘social’ site in comparison to other forms of social media however this still has positive results for business. We would encourage you to link to our page and share within your own Facebook connections and provide guidance on how to best do this. We also manage any Facebook advertising based on our central strategy to ensure each of our regions are effectively represented.
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You will benefit from a centrally managed marketing strategy which covers a wide mix of marketing for the best possible results.
Marketing Support
Bulletins
Networking
These are electronic email bulletins which are sent as and when there are topical issues which may affect our customer base or followers.
A big part of building a good reputation and a strong referral strategy in your business is through effective networking, building links with referral partners and local businesses.
We are happy to work with you to design and transmit bulletins which may be specific to your region and you can benefit from 4 additional bulletins per annum specifically for you. Surveys We typically conduct an annual customer satisfaction survey to all our clients and the results would be reported to you for you to remain informed of the feedback from customers in your region or on issues which may be relevant to the overall brand / industry. Marketing Collateral You will have access to a range of resources which you can order as required such as: • Brochures • Pop up banners • Branded folders • Branded promotional items such as pens, mugs etc You will automatically have access with no additional costs to electronic marketing collateral such as PDF brochures.
A big part of building a good reputation and a strong referral strategy
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We recommend that the most suitable forum for developing relationship driven referrals is through BNI and we are members and Directors within BNI West Yorkshire. We do not make your membership of BNI obligatory and you would have to be accepted by the group you apply to, however we provide you with additional resources and support to help you get a great return on your investment as a member of BNI. We can provide you with contacts and a selection of other networking events which are still worth your time in building your local presence.
Document Library We provide you with a range of template documents which are legally compliant and formatted to follow our branding guidelines.
Document Library
Contracts of Employment You have access to a wide range of contract documents which can be customised for your individual clients. These include: • Full & Part time Employment Contracts
Letters & Forms
• Zero Hours Contract • Apprentice Contracts
We provide a wide range of letters and forms which are required for your clients to follow the correct procedure when handling their staffing issues.
• Plus many more
These cover areas such as:
• Temporary / Seasonal Workers
• Application forms
Handbook Policies We have a wide variety of policies which can be used within a company handbook and are all updated as legislation changes. These can be customised for your clients and are formatted to follow our branding guidelines. You also have access to branded handbook folders which are chargeable items although you do receive 10 within your starter pack.
We provide you with a range of template documents which are legally compliant and formatted
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• Absence management such as return to work and self-certification forms • Disciplinary invites and outcome letters • Grievance letters and responses • Redundancy letter for consultation and notice of redundancy • Maternity / Paternity process
Accounts Support
Accounts Support
Invoice Generation
We provide you with a range of services to help you keep your cash flow healthy and guide you in how to build a better business.
All client invoices are generated directly by us and we have a simple internal accounts process for you to request invoices to be generated.
Bank Account
We administer the process so you can record the invoice value on your account and reconcile these with payments as they are received.
We do not specify which bank you must use for your business account however we can provide you with guidance if needed and assist in the set up process.
Credit Control Our system allows for automatic reminders to be emailed if selected.
Accountancy Advice We do not specify which accountants you have to use, however we do have preferential rates to use our partner Northern Accountants. We can provide you with the details of this service and a guidance on fees if you want to build local relationships with a supplier of your own choice. Accounting Software You can choose how you manage your own accounting records, however we do recommend Kashflow as a low cost and easy to use system.
We will contact by telephone and chase any overdue invoices which are more than 7 days overdue to help avoid any conflict of interest with your clients. Direct Debit Collection We have a direct debit collection service which is automatically used for all contract clients / regular payments.
VAT and Taxation We will provide assistance if needed in your VAT registration. You should seek advice from either our preferred Accounting partner or your own Accountant on all taxation matters.
Bad Debts We provide help to avoid a bad debt situation but despite this sometimes this can happen. We will provide the support within our credit control processes to chase any overdue debt to the point of a final demand. Should you wish to take legal action we will provide assistance in lodging a claim however you are responsible for any court fees / costs.
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Application Process Firstly, congratulations in taking the first steps towards building your own business. If you want a more formal discussion before starting the ball rolling then please feel free to arrange this either through our website or by calling 0844 8797286.
Application Process
In order to be considered to join our team it is important that we are able to understand more about you so that we can ensure this is the right decision for both you and for us.
Step 1 - Registration The first step is to complete the registration of interest and send this to us along with your CV. Registration
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When this has been received we will contact you for an initial chat on the telephone to verify any information and to answer any initial questions you may have. Step 2 - Meeting
Meeting
2 Interview
3 Agreement
4 Induction
You will then be invited to an information session which may be on a 121 basis or as part of a small group. The purpose of this is to furnish you with more details on the franchise opportunity, give you information on our history, company and brand and to make clear the expectations we have of our franchisees so that we continue to build on our strong reputation of a local, personal HR expert to the businesses we deal with. You will be asked before attending this session to sign a confidentiality letter due to the sensitive nature of the information we will provide you with. Step 3 - Interview You will be invited to an interview with our Director, Sarah Birkenshaw where we will be reviewing your suitability to build a successful franchise and deliver on the expectation we have of you but also to ensure we feel we are able to work in partnership successfully with you to help you build your own profitable business. Step 4 - Agreement If accepted you will then be provided with a Franchise Agreement and we will agree the dates for you to undertake a week long induction training process.
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Quest Consulting Services Franchisee Registration of Interest
Private and confidential. Please complete in block capitals in black pen
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Personal details
First name:
Surname:
Former surnames if different:
Preferred Name or Title (Optional):
Address:
Tel No (home): Tel No (business): Tel No (mobile): Fax No:
Email address:
Nat. Insurance No:
Nationality: Do you need a work permit to be employed in the UK?
If you are not a British passport holder or a European Citizen, or you do not have the permanent right to remain in the UK, you will require a work permit. Yes
No
Yes
If you already have a work permit, when does it expire? (Please note that your current work permit may not be valid for this post.)
Where did you learn of the franchise opportunity Preferred work arrangements:
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Full-time
Preferred franchise region:
Part-time
Education and professional qualifications
Secondary School / College / University
Date from
Date to
Examinations taken
Original documents as proof of qualification will be required at interview
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Date
Result
No
Professional Qualifications currently held: how obtained, grade and date
Other relevant Educational or Training Courses, with dates
3
Current or most recent post
Title of Post:
Salary/Grade:
Name of Employer:
Business of Employer:
Address:
Date Commenced:
Date Ended (if applicable):
Please outline your responsibilities, to whom you are responsible and staff responsible to you (if applicable):
Reason for leaving (if applicable):
Period of notice required to terminate present employment:
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4
Previous Employment
Name and Address of Employers
Position held
Reason for leavingw
Final grade/salary
Position held
Reason for leavingw
Final grade/salary
Position held
Reason for leavingw
Final grade/salary
Position held
Reason for leavingw
Final grade/salary
Description of duties:
Name and Address of Employers
Description of duties:
Name and Address of Employers
Description of duties:
Name and Address of Employers
Description of duties:
Please detail or provide a CV with your work history for the last 10 years.
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5
Why do you want to develop your own business through our franchise?
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6
Other Information
What activities outside work interest you? (State any positions held you consider relevant.)
Do you hold a current driving licence?
Yes
Do you have access to a car?
No
Yes
No
Disabilities If selected for interview, do you require any special arrangements to be made on account of a disability? If “yes”, please give brief details of the effects of your disability on your day-to-day activities, and any other information that you feel would help us to accommodate your needs during your interview and fulfill our obligations under the Equality Act 2010:
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 Have you any convictions that are not spent under Rehabilitation of Offenders Act?
Yes
If Yes, please provide further details: [Spent convictions do not have to be declared] [As this post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974(Exceptions) Order 1975, both spent and unspent convictions must be declared]
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No
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References
Referee 1
Referee 2
Title (Mr, Mrs etc):
Title (Mr, Mrs etc):
Full Name:
Full Name:
Job Title:
Job Title:
Organisation:
Organisation:
Full Address:
Full Address:
Tel No:
Tel No:
Email address:
Email address:
Fax No:
Fax No:
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Declaration
I declare that the information given in this application form is true and complete. I understand that if I have given any misleading information on this form or made any omissions, this will be sufficient grounds for terminating my contract should I be accepted as a franchisee. Signature:
Name:
Date:
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Quest Consulting Services Ltd Office 17 Oak Mills Topcliffe Lane Leeds LS27 0HL
T: 0844 879 7286 E:
[email protected] @questcsuk questconsultingservices.co.uk
