Public sector leavers can find a new career through franchising

Jan. 25, 2011 - PRLog -- Estimates have been made regarding the number of jobs that will be lost in the public sector over the next six years as an outcome of the spending review. The totals ranged from 300,000 in May 2010 to 600,000 in June 2010. Finally, in November 2010, The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) calculated that there would be losses of about 330,000.

Whatever the final figure will be, it is clear that the Government are hoping that the private sector will expand to find sufficient jobs for these leavers. One area could well be franchising.

According to Tom Endean, Marketing Manager of the British Franchise Association (bfa), “Time and again, franchising has greatly out-performed other start-up businesses. Its formula of a locally owned and run enterprise, driven by a small business owner, with branding, economies of scale and support from the wider network, gives the consumer the best of both worlds and the business a far better chance of success.

“This robust business model, fuelled by dedicated individuals, encompassing many different skills and backgrounds, opens up countless opportunities for people looking for a new start.”
Patrick Butler writing in The Guardian says: “There is a tendency among executives, especially those who have been in an industry for a long time, to think that their sector is peculiar and that people from outside will not be able to understand it. This might be true of the very technical aspects but the broad principles of most businesses are not difficult to grasp. There is no intrinsic reason why public sector managers who are open minded and willing to learn should not be able to transfer their skills to organisations in the private sector.”

http://www.auditelfranchise.co.uk is a home-based cost and purchase management franchise with over 180 franchisees in their network. Recently, two new franchisees have been signed from the public sector.  

Helen Spall joined in September 2010. Before turning to franchising, Helen had been working for the NHS, managing a variety of IT and systems related projects. She says: “I had vowed that I would start my own business back in my teens, but only when the time was right.  I was happy to be starting in a recession, because businesses launched then are often primed to take advantage of the upturn when it comes. I went to the Franchise Show at Excel. When I saw http://www.auditelfranchise.co.uk, I felt the skill match was perfect for me.”

Gary White joined last month with a background of 15 years experience in Information and Performance Management.  Gary recalls: “I had begun to look for a franchise opportunity after reading an article in the national press and the seed began to grow in my  mind. Some months later, with the oncoming threat of redundancy in the NHS, I began to seek options that matched well with my previous experience and skillset. I went to a number of discovery days with various franchises. I identified with http://www.auditelfranchise.co.uk and their business format. Support is on-going and is always available at the end of a phone, be it head office or the wider network of affiliates.”

Gary reveals: “Being a franchisee has cut my commuting time each week by 15 hours. I see more of my three-year-old daughter. I am basking in the autonomy of making decisions that I believe are in my business’s best interests. The effort that I put into this will be directly reflected in what I can earn. There is no longer a ceiling on my potential.”

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The Auditel concept was developed on the premise that all organisations pay for essential services. Utilities and telecommunications are two of those costs and when many essential service sectors underwent deregulation in 1991 it opened up these industries to competition. UK companies could shop around for the best prices from new providers entering the market.
The ever changing range of services available meant that many organisations did not know where or how to identify savings. The main problem is that few organisations have enough time or resources to track invoices, question charges and ensure quality of service from suppliers.
In 1994 Auditel was launched to offer a solution, a cost and purchase management consultancy that could focus independently on the essential services to cut through the confusion that UK businesses were facing.
Since this time Auditel has been training professionals into self employment and is now the leading cost and purchase management franchise