Franchisees Sit Down with Adam Shapiro, from Fox Business, to Discuss Workplace Conflicts among Employees

With the current shutdown in Washington, Fox Business examines the problems that could arise in the franchise industry if people weren't able to get along and work together. Two franchise owners discuss workplace conflicts among employees and how to handle and protect themselves from them. For franchise owners like Lynn Eckel, franchisee of Tom & Chee, hedging against workplace conflicts was a necessary action when she decided to purchase an insurance policy to protect herself from potential liabilities. Jon Giacobbe, franchisee of Subway, echoed this practice, stating “there’s all different types of liabilities you need to protect yourself from, for example it could be sexual harassment or discrimination.” “Typically what I would advise is seek out legal counsel; get some type of umbrella insurance that will cover you in your full scope.” Both franchise owners stressed the practice of documentation when dealing with conflicts in the workplace, “Everything should be documented, you should have a personal file anytime you have an incident with any type of employee, just keep it in a file because that will actually be your backbone, if you actually need it.” said Eckel. One simple and effective method to prevent workplace conflicts however, is where it all begins, during the hiring process, “If you have good screening, you do background checks, you can avoid possible problems and issues with employees down the road. So it really all starts with the hiring.” said Giacobbe. To view the full video, please click here.