Collaboration is Key
Over the years, Stroud Homes has managed to develop a strong reputation as a franchising home-building business all across Australia as well as in New Zealand, attracting new clients and builders alike.
An imperative aspect of Stroud Homes’ success and high performance as a major player in the industry is its company culture of collaboration.
Company culture
Stroud Homes understands the culture at any organisation sets expectations for how people within it will behave and work together, and dictates how well they will function as a team. This will very much reflect the company’s overall performance and reputation.
Therefore, Stroud Homes prides itself in the professionalism and support that is offered to the builders to cultivate their success and is actively promoting a culture of teamwork and cooperation where no builder is an island.
“We encourage all our new builders to work together and learn from one another,” says Stroud Homes Franchise Development Manager Matthew Wright.
“It can be pretty daunting to start any new business and we hope we give our builders that extra bit of confidence in knowing they have our, and the other builders’ support, behind them.”
Nicky & Matt Lowson from Stroud Homes Northern Rivers with James Stroud
Team environment
According to Matthew, one of the greatest tools for new franchisees to use is the knowledge and experience the other builders in the company possess.
“The best way to learn the tricks of the trade and avoid the pitfalls is to pick up the phone and talk to some of the builders that have a few years with Stroud Homes under their belt,” Matthew explains.
“They are the ones living it every day and we found that most builders are happy to take the new guys under their wing.”
This way, the company culture can help break down the boundaries between siloed teams, guide decision-making, and improve workflow overall.
Onboarding
A well-functioning company culture has great potential to act as an aligning force at any company. This might particularly be the case with new recruits who, more often than not, have put some considerable thought into the type of culture they’re entering into.
Since the culture at the company very much works as a guiding force for its employees and franchisees, it must start with onboarding.
Every quarter Stroud Homes holds a builder’s conference to offer the franchisees an opportunity to get to know each other, as well as get to know the management team from the head office.
On the road
The collaborative nature of a company is reflected all across the board and the main office as well. Matthew, together with owner James Stroud and Finance Manager Andy Kendrick, is on the road most days of the year, visiting the builders at their home base, and offering their advice and support.
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Matthew Wright
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James Stroud
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Andy Kendrick
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Matthew says he and the team are happy to sit down with the builders who might be struggling to effectively use any of the company’s systems and walk them through the process.
The management team also encourage their builders to come to them with ideas of how to improve or tweak any of the systems or processes for their benefit.
“It’s a two-way street,” Matthew says. “We’re always open to suggestions from our franchisees, they are the ones on the ground, and the best innovations usually come from within.”
One example of how the company promotes creativity among their builders is Melbourne North West’s creation of a brand new design built for smaller blocks but still, feels like a big home, it’s called the Elwood.
Responsibility
The success of your Stroud Homes franchise will depend on many factors, not the least of which will be your commitment and ability in key areas.
Matthew explains that, even though the company and the support team are doing everything they can to assist the builders in their own business, there’s only so much they can do. An important part of the company culture is also not to hide, Matthew says.
“Key components to the overall success in a franchise is for the owner to ask for help, take responsibility and keep positive,” he says.
“We encourage you to stay positive during tougher times and do the hard work, and we will be there for you every step of the way, including celebrating your success in the end.”
Stroud Homes builders and the management team come together at quarterly conferences
Want to come on board?
When you decide to start a business on your own, there are a lot of unknowns. By joining a team like Stroud Homes, you’ve got the benefit of all the other builders in the group.
Take a look around the information on our website and gain some insights into what it is like to be a franchisee, what we are looking for in a successful franchise owner and our selection process.
For more detailed information please enquire today to receive the full Franchise Information Pack: