Training is an essential part of franchising. This part of the business can make or break it; hence, entrepreneurs entering franchising need to be strategic and be careful not to rush the process. There are many franchisor training programmes available, but do they give your business the best value?
Training is beneficial for both the franchisee and franchisor. Franchisors must provide an in-depth and structured guide of training for franchisees. Franchisees, on the other hand, must ensure they follow the training process provided by the franchisor to ensure the business succeeds and operates as intended by the franchisor.
The training process can be tricky for both parties, but it doesn’t have to be. In this guide, we’ll discuss how to best navigate people training in franchising.
What Do I Need in a Franchise Training Programme?
Whether you are looking to turn your business into a franchise or you’re an entrepreneur wanting to invest in an existing franchise, there are crucial aspects you need to look for in a training programme.
1. Key Business Areas
A good training programme should detail the various aspects of a business. This provides franchisees with a thorough guide to help them align with your brand. The key areas include customisation processes, marketing, branding, sales, advertising, staff training, financial management, supplier processes, product knowledge, customer service, and operational processes.
2. Staff Training
Your staff training programme determines the customer service your customers will receive. If a franchise doesn’t properly onboard an employee, it not only risks customer dissatisfaction but also harms the entire brand’s reputation. The franchisor should provide comprehensive training materials. The material should cover everything from customer interaction processes to handling complaints and standards for employee training.
The essential aspects of staff include the following:
- Customer service standards
- Internal processes for sick leave, time-off, overtime, etc. (This falls under human resources)
- Sales methods
3. Company Values and Mission
This is crucial, as it allows franchisees to gain a good understanding of what your brand is all about. Ensuring you outline clear training processes for company values aligns your franchises with the essence of your brand. Franchising is beyond branding and marketing guidelines; it’s also about how you want customers to feel when they support your business.
4. Branding and Marketing Guidelines
This one is a no-brainer. As a franchisor, you must ensure that you don’t put your brand recognition at risk. This is because franchises need to coordinate for the sake of brand recognition.
You need to ensure you thoroughly communicate the approval process, brand assets to be used, social media strategy, marketing budget, and so much more.
5. Supply Chain Management
The franchisor sets the supply chain management process in franchising. Franchise supply chain management requires franchisors to maintain consistency across franchisees. Here’s why you need to prioritise franchise supply chain management training:
- Customers experience consistency across locations. This includes its product quality, service, etc.
- Gain loyal customers as customer satisfaction from product quality increases.
- Save money from optimising your supplier system through centralised networks. Strategies such as bulk buying, shared suppliers, and streamlining deliveries across franchisees provide franchisors with a competitive advantage when compared to individual businesses.
- Scalability is easily achievable when there’s a centralised supply chain network.
- Supply chain management enables better data tracking and reporting by centralising information from all franchise locations.
6. Financial Management
When running a franchise, you must consider the financial aspects, such as the royalties and fees required in franchising. It’s important that both franchisor and franchisee thoroughly understand the financial dynamics of a franchising model. Franchise accounting is essential as this is where you’ll learn about the unique dynamics of franchise finances.
Franchisees pay a once-off fee to use the brand, get training, and set up their business. They also pay regular royalties to support marketing and brand growth. Each franchise operates in its own area to avoid competition. Franchise accounting tracks fees, costs, and earnings across branches using specialised software. It’s also essential that franchisees go through the essential steps of financial planning in a business. This will help increase the likelihood of running a successful franchise.
Training is an essential part of franchising. This part of the business can make or break it; hence, entrepreneurs entering franchising need to be strategic and be careful not to Read More
