By Evan Hackel
What is your training like today? I am willing to wager that you are training your franchise owners and their employees to use point-of-sale terminals, inventory management systems and product displays right? And you probably also train them to provide a better customer service experience.
And once you have trained them, you probably close the training books, walk away, and assume that they are continuing to use what they were taught.
That “once and done” method is one approach to training in franchises – it might even be the most common one. But it is deeply flawed. Here is a deeper truth about training in your franchise . . .
Franchising is really a training business
That is another way of saying, you need to start training when new franchise owners come on board with you . . . and you should never stop. That, I have seen time and time again, is one of the greatest secrets of franchise success.
Training enhances your brand reputation, improves franchisee retention, boosts the bottom line, and does much more. When customers interact with a franchise where people have been well trained, they feel the difference immediately. They sense excellence, and they come back again.
That’s the transformative power of training. Let’s explore how to put this positive force to work.
Why Training Matters in Franchising
Training improves performance of key tasks and operations. It equips franchisees to make better business decisions, avoid common pitfalls, and maximize revenue potential. It also enhances your brand reputation, because franchisees who understand your system deliver superior customer experiences, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. And training saves money by creating greater efficiency and cutting costs.
The Cost of Poor or Nonexistent Training
Let’s explore the value of training from the opposite perspective, by examining the hidden costs that can significantly impact your franchise if you do not train.
Poor training results in lost revenue. One reason is that an untrained franchise group experiences higher customer churn and smaller average transaction sizes due to inadequate sales training. I know one franchise which, after implementing a structured training program, saw annual sales revenue increase by $1.2 million.
Employee turnover is another result of poor or nonexistent training. Untrained employees are less satisfied and more likely to leave. Training can improve retention, saving organizations thousands of dollars in recruitment and onboarding costs.
Checklist: Best Practices for Effective Training in Franchising
- Make your operations manual a touchstone in your training – Use it as a foundation for designing training modules, focusing on critical processes such as customer service, product preparation, and compliance.
- Be sure to keep your training motivational and positive – As you work through your operations manual, strive to stay away from telling franchisees how they will be penalized or punished for breaking rules. Frame your requirements as opportunities for your owners to succeed in everything they do.
- Make training part of your culture – Make it central to your mission and vision. Communicate its importance at every touchpoint—conferences, onboarding sessions, and through measurable performance tracking. Your goal should be to make certain that franchisees see training as integral to their success, not as a one-time activity.
- Prioritize key skills first in your training – Don’t overwhelm franchisees with mountains of information at the outset. Instead, adopt a motivational, upbeat tone and focus on immediate priorities for new owners. You can then move on to more advanced topics like staffing and marketing and systems.
- Be sure to keep training interactive and exciting – Modern franchises can benefit from a hybrid training approach that blends in-person and digital learning. E-learning platforms, webinars, and virtual reality (VR) tools make training scalable and cost-effective. Hybrid systems provide flexibility and consistency. They also afford the opportunity to train new owners remotely.
- Provide real-world experiences – Let new owners visit and spend time at franchises that are currently operating successfully. The practical lessons they learn will have very high value.
Common Training Pitfalls to Avoid
While training is essential, poorly executed programs can do more harm than good. Common mistakes include using a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s a mistake because not all franchisees have the same learning needs. Another pitfall is neglecting to get feedback during the training process. If trainees are frustrated because they are not learning the skills they need, or if your training is not engaging, you need to be aware of those problems early, not after training is over.
Stil another problem is overloading new franchisees with too much information. This is sometimes called “firehose” training because it overwhelms learners with too much information. Remember, you can always provide new training units later, after the initial training period is over.
Still another mistake – arguably, the biggest of all – is to fail to measure training ROI. To ensure that your training delivers results, be sure to measure what has changed, using metrics like these . . .
- Customer satisfaction scores and repeat buying.
- Employee turnover rates before and after training.
- Increased revenue or profit margins.
- Employee and franchisee retention rates.
Case Studies: The Impact of Strategic Training
Her is how one floor-covering franchise transformed its profit margins dramatically by investing in training. Previously, the company struggled with low margins due to untrained staff. But after implementing a sales-focused training program, they increased their profit margin by 14%, resulting in an additional $1.68 million in annual gross profit.
Similarly, a franchise group that switched from hiring “experienced” salespeople to training high-potential employees saw their trained staff outperform seasoned hires by $200,000 annually. Those are the financial and operational benefits of a structured training program.
Such metrics provide tangible evidence of training’s impact and help identify areas for improvement.
In Conclusion: Training Is an Investment, Not an Expense
Training is not a cost. It is an investment in your franchise’s future. It is the key to achieving consistency, profitability, and growth. In the competitive world of franchising, training isn’t a “nice to have” it’s an absolute necessity.
About Evan Hackel
As author, speaker and entrepreneur, Evan has been instrumental in launching more than 20 businesses and has managed a portfolio of brands with systemwide sales of more than $5 billion. He is the creator of Ingaged Leadership, is author of the book Ingaging Leadership: The Ultimate Edition and is a thought leader in the fields of leadership and success.
Evan is the CEO of Ingage Consulting, Delta Payment Systems, and an advisor to The Learning Network. Reach Evan at ehackel@ingage.net, 781-820-7609 or visit www.evanhackel.com.