Franchisee training programs that rely on outdated, traditional approaches are impossible to scale and may result in network-wide inconsistencies. In this article, we explain how strategic shifts and technology can help you improve training distribution, visibility, and compliance across your growing network.
Initial franchisee training often goes without a hitch. Seasoned franchisors have a well-trodden onboarding workflow in place, and new franchisees are more than eager to hit the ground running.
It’s the training that comes after this that causes issues.
As the hand-holding phase comes to an end and location counts grow, distributing and tracking training becomes exponentially harder. Traditional approaches, such as in-person workshops and shared document drives, cannot scale. Geographical distances and time constraints make 1:1 check-ins difficult. And compliance becomes impossible to prove.
Over time, unfettered franchisees may stray from your guidance. Which can open the door to operational inconsistencies and noncompliance.
In order to scale your network successfully, you must build consistent and robust franchisee training programs. In this article, we help you do just that.
Before we provide practical tips for building a more scalable system, let’s first enumerate some of the downsides of traditional training.
At some point, you’ll reach a stage where in-person training no longer works. For the 50% of franchisees that work from home, these event days are impractical to attend — especially if they reside in another region or country.
For franchisees with a large team of frontline employees, there’s no easy way to relay the face-to-face training without missing out on some key information. This creates a gap between the lessons taught and the lessons implemented.
You can’t rely on franchisees to come to HQ every time there’s a new product update or health and safety course to complete. You have to deliver this training to everyone who needs it, whenever they need it. Otherwise you open the door up for frequent inconsistencies and dwindling quality levels.
Your franchisees may pass their onboarding training with flying colours. But what happens after 6 months? Over time, knowledge decay can set in, and finer details may slip from their memory.
All of this to say, it isn’t enough to deliver training once. You have to deliver it continuously. This includes SOP refreshers as well as fresh training related to regulatory updates or product improvements.
You must also consider continuous frontline staff training, too. The high turnover rates in hospitality and retail franchises mean franchisees are constantly in “ramp up” mode. Training must be available for everyone and at any stage of their employment, particularly during more demanding seasons.
Attendance lists and email open rates don’t demonstrate compliance; they only prove that franchisees have seen the training material.
This reduces training to nothing more than a trust exercise. There’s no surefire way to know whether locations are operating compliantly until unit inspections take place or — worse — an instance of noncompliance is brought to your attention.
When training isn’t readily available, regional managers and franchisees may take matters into their own hands and create their own learning experiences.
While the intention is honorable, the outcome isn’t always desirable. Operational variations are bound to occur. Location A might miss out a key step in their store cleaning checklist; location B could be providing discounts that other stores don’t. Naturally, this leads to inconsistent customer experiences and a disintegration of your brand.
Moving away from a 100% “traditional” training approach requires technology.
A franchise learning management system (LMS) allows you to build, deliver, and track training across your network with ease. There’s no need for resource-draining in-person sessions or duplicated shared folders. You can build and distribute training in a scalable, more efficient way.
Certain platforms, such as Claromentis, also benefit from additional intranet capabilities. Meaning you can support your e-learning experiences with centralized resources, communication channels, notifications, and trackable policies.
However, while learning management systems can significantly improve and scale your franchise training efforts, they’re not a quick fix. To make these platforms work for your network, you must fortify them with a comprehensive training model.
In the following section, we’ll provide 9 tips to help you build a watertight franchisee training program.
Your learning experiences cannot and should not become a “one-size-fits-all” affair.
Yes, business owners, regional managers, and frontline employees must all abide by your standard operating procedures and regulatory requirements. But it’s important to remember that their day-to-day responsibilities differ. For instance, a shop assistant doesn’t need to complete training around calculating and reporting royalty fees, but your franchisees will.
While some training is universal, most isn’t. As such, it’s important to create tailored training pathways for every role in your network. Deliver knowledge that’s relevant, and leave out anything that’s non-essential.
You should also apply this logic to different locations if necessary — particularly if your regional franchisees follow variations of your SOPs.
Regardless of whether it’s universal or role-specific, there’s some training that users must complete with no exceptions. Otherwise your entire network may face legal or regulatory penalties.
Mark any important courses as “compulsory” in your LMS and be sure to promote them extensively using internal communications, unmissable announcements, and in-system or email notifications. When a user breaches the deadline, automated notifications to the managerial team can help to escalate the issue.
As your network grows, the ability to track this mandatory training will become essential. Completion rates and audit logs will help greatly with this. You can also set certificate “expiry dates” to automatically push users to retake a course after a defined period of time.
As a franchisor, you design the blueprint for every operation in your network, from product usage to customer interactions and brand messaging. But this doesn’t mean the responsibility of franchise training should sit squarely on your shoulders.
Sharing the responsibility across your franchisees and regional managers creates a sense of ownership. Not to mention, teaching is a fantastic way of learning.
The benefits extend to your frontline workforces, too. According to research, when managers get involved in training and onboarding, new hires are 3.4 times more likely to describe their experience as “exceptional”.
Creating one continuous 2-hour course can impede your franchise training efforts in two ways. One, it puts immense pressure on user attention spans and can result in ineffective knowledge retention. And, two, these lengthy courses are difficult to refresh and update in the future.
Bitesize training modules are a far more efficient way of delivering and managing e-learning pathways. As a franchisor, you can edit and redo each short module at a much faster pace — meaning you don’t have to undergo a sizable content refresh every year. And your franchisees benefit from a more effective learning experience. Indeed, studies show that microlearning can improve cognitive, behavioral, and affective learning outcomes.
Don’t bombard new franchisees and employees with a never-ending list of courses on their first day. To prevent overwhelm, stagger out the onboarding process in a more digestible way.
Automated LMS triggers can be a useful tool for this. Once a user meets a pre-defined milestone, the LMS portal will automatically reveal the next stage of their training journey. LMS triggers can also adjust user permissions, too, allowing you to gate sensitive content (such as IP materials and personal details) until data security training has been completed.
While e-learning satisfies most learning styles and supports a wide range of multimedia content, it’s not suitable for every use case.
“Hands-on skills”, such as operating a coffee machine or setting up a store security system, benefit from a different approach. Live sessions, whether virtual or in-person, provide an opportunity for practice and face-to-face tutoring that you can’t replicate over self-service courses.
The right LMS will allow you to deliver and track this training alongside your digital learning experiences. Meaning face-to-face events will never go unrecognized in a user’s training records. You’ll also be able to complement hands-on training with digital intranet resources, such as AI-enabled policies, SOP guidelines, and learner discussion channels.
Once a franchisee completes a virtual course or in-person training event, your LMS should automatically award them with a certificate and update their individual training record. This is crucial for proving compliance with your operating standards and regulatory obligations.
However, this stage of the learning process shouldn’t just be a tickbox exercise. Course completion is also an opportunity to recognize your franchisees’ hard work.
Skills-based badges, network-wide “thank you” messages, and even informal blog posts can help you show appreciation, improve motivation, and set the tone for the rest of your relationship.
Your LMS courses and pathways must be available and easy-to-use on any portable device. This is especially important for frontline employees who may have limited access to a laptop or desktop computer.
Ultimately, the less accessible your training, the less likely your franchisees will enrol.
Completion rates measure compliance, not competence. To really know whether your training has been successful, you need to monitor user behaviors and franchisee performance.
So, beyond analyzing test results, consider:
Scalable franchise training isn’t just about scanning paper documents and digitizing your existing program. It’s about ensuring everyone in your network receives the same, high-quality learning experiences no matter where they are, what role they play, or how new they are to the team.
To make this a reality, franchisors must adopt a comprehensive franchise management software with LMS functionality built in, and make it a core part of a robust, scalable training program. Only then can they scale with confidence, strengthen operational consistency, and boost their competitiveness.
To find out more about Claromentis’ franchise management software and its powerful e-learning capabilities, arrange a discussion call with one of our experts.