DALROD UK hosted their Annual Franchise Conference on Friday 16th September, at the Belton Woods Hotel in Grantham. This is the second year running that the conference has been held, as life continues to return to normal post pandemic.
Franchisees from all over the country attended the day representing both the DALROD and DALPEST brands, plus a full complement of head office staff, giving everyone the chance to be together under one roof for the entire day. It provided the chance for essential face-to-face networking among groups of individuals who normally wouldn’t get to see each other. Newer franchisees were also able to meet and interact with peers in an informal and relaxed setting.
This year saw a different format for the delegates as they were guided through a series of in-depth exercises designed to help them look at their businesses differently. The entire day was facilitated by the hugely talented team from BackleyBlack Workplace Performance | BackleyBlack.com who were on hand to share experiences and advice with the group. Steve Backley, Roger Black and Paul Mallinson created the perfect balance of guidance, learning opportunities and interactivity for the room, and their style and delivery was thoroughly well received.
What was involved?
A carefully structured agenda was key, and it was certainly a full day for all concerned. All delegates had come prepared with their business plans at the ready!
“We were excited to bring everyone together again for the second year in a row,” said Dave Lane, Managing Director of DALROD UK. “The conference last year was hugely beneficial to members of our network, and it was important for us to be able to do this again. As usual one of the most exciting parts of any event such as this, is the chance for everyone to be together sharing experiences and learnings from the past year. We can see how much the relationships between neighbouring territories have developed since last conference and this is key for driving our business forwards.”
A Tailored Programme
Unlike previous years, the day was built solely around the BackleyBlack programme and their five key business traits, therefore no additional external speakers were presenting on the day. The group did take part in a series of highly engaging, and at times very entertaining, activities which were carefully designed to get the business owners thinking about their direction, goals and future plans. Everyone threw themselves into these activities and a lot of fun was had by all.
The group were also fortunate enough to hear personal stories from both Steve Backley and Roger Black about their Olympic and European Athletic careers. These stories tied all the content of the day together and were exciting, thought provoking and inspiring to hear.
“We had to ensure that the day was planned from start to finish to maximise the time we had together,” said Catriona Berry Franchise Manager at DALROD UK. “There are always challenges with bringing such a large group of business owners together, and they usually involve justifying time away from their businesses. We were extremely confident in the content that was being delivered by BackleyBlack, and knew that it would be beneficial for our entire network.”
Time to Celebrate
It is traditional within the DALROD business to have an awards ceremony at the end of the day, and this year was no exception. No less than seven awards were distributed among the network. These were ranged from recognising exceptional customer service and efforts within the community (DALROD Merseyside & Chester), to those franchises who have performed above and beyond in terms of turnover (DALROD Nottingham).
The final and most coveted awards of the evening went to DALROD Bath & Swindon for the High Achiever award and DALROD Milton Keynes who won the Franchise of the Year award.
“We feel it is important to recognise the achievements of our network in a personal way,” commented Kimberley Lane, Director Designate. “Each and every DALROD business brings something unique and special to the table and it is our job to show them how much they are appreciated, and what a fantastic job they are doing to represent themselves and our brand. We wanted to reward our winners with prizes and awards to showcase this to everyone.”
With all the business owners on track and leaving the day inspired to continue within their progression in the drainage industry it is clear that DALROD can continue looking forwards and driving the business into 2023 and beyond.
