A franchise Encore: Scaling growth through talent optimization tools

Background

Encore Companies LLC is a premier franchise management firm, operating 10 Massage Envy Spa locations and five European Wax Center locations in the Greater Phoenix area and the Las Vegas market. Encore Companies now employs 500 employees, including licensed massage therapists, estheticians, and front desk associates. Key components to their success are constant communication with clients and professional, affordable services. The executive team has deep experience with Fortune 500 brands in the franchising, consulting, finance, and consumer services industries.

The Opportunity

As Encore Companies grew their franchise locations, it was imperative to hire individuals who could learn quickly and get up to speed faster—without having to compromise on quality. In order to ensure professional and affordable massage therapy and spa services could be delivered with consistently high quality and at scale, the leadership team aimed to create a streamlined and efficient organization of high-performing teams.

The Solution

In hopes of attracting and hiring more qualified candidates, Encore Companies integrated the PI Hire solution and its Cognitive Assessment™ as a resource for gathering an additional data point for front desk associates and manager applicants. The Cognitive Assessment comprises 50 questions, and candidates are tasked with completing as many as possible in 12 minutes. The resulting score indicates candidates’ ability to process complex information, learn quickly, and adapt to changing demands.

As a complement to the PI Behavioral Assessment™, the cognitive assessment provided Encore Companies with comprehensive insights about their potential employees. Since a quick learning pace and ability to handle complexity are critical skills for front desk associates and managers, the Hire solution is now an integral part of the recruitment process.

The Results

Prior to the introduction of the cognitive assessment as a component of the recruitment process, the average time from entry to proficiency for front desk associates was 90 days. After implementing PI, Encore Companies slashed the time to proficiency to 60 days. Encore Companies also credits the cognitive assessment with helping identify candidates with a higher likelihood of success in their role.

“By using PI as part of our comprehensive recruiting system, we have more qualified hires and we’ve been able to make our onboarding process more efficient,” said Chief Operating Officer Matt Robinson. “Trainees are able to learn our point-of sale-system and achieve mastery of our sales process in less time.”

Thanks to a talent optimization strategy, Encore Companies has better people in place and a scalable system for hiring, which has empowered them to achieve results and business growth.