Chapter 11: Training and Supporting Your Franchisees

Franchise training and support can, arguably, make or break a franchise system. Most importantly, when the franchisee is successful, the franchisor is successful. However, franchisees’ perception of the support and resources they receive as a part of the partnership is also discussed with prospective franchisees and, at times, makes it to the press. Even if the franchisor is able to maintain a system of operational businesses, a poorly built training program can lead to the franchisor gaining an unwanted negative reputation.

While the model of a training program and support system will vary depending on the franchisor, industry, job function and other factors, it is crucial that the franchisee leave the designated training session feeling both prepared to succeed and confident that the franchisee support team will be available for any future questions.

Designing an Effective Franchisee Training Program

Ongoing support is important, but a strong foundation is crucial. It is a relatively common practice for franchisors to offer multiple modes of learning during the initial training process, providing written materials for the franchisee to study, conducting in-person training sessions and even sending a new franchisee into the field to shadow an established owner.

“I think there should be a bit of a mix of different learning methods,” explained Chuck Gerardi, vice president of operations at Signarama. “COVID made us rethink the support we provided in the field, but we’ve found our way back to the middle. Some things are better suited in person, and other things can be done virtually.”

Signarama recently revamped its franchisee training and support system. The launch of the Masters Academy program offers new franchisees an immersive training experience to learn from the system’s top franchisees. Though Gerardi said the program was largely structured around franchisee feedback, new franchisors can glean helpful insights to inform the construction of a brand new training program.

Not all franchise systems experience identical challenges, but there are a few similarities. As Signarama built out its new program, it focused intently on teaching franchisees how to streamline the practical demands of the business — in this case, sign-making, how to develop a strong unit-level culture and how to drive sales.

“We had conversations about improving profitability related to process efficiency,” added Gerardi. “Mastering sales was a topic; many owners don’t come with a sales background. And we talked about culture. How do you build a performance culture in your location? A culture that retains your best people and allows you to not always be filling holes.”

In addition to providing training that prepares the franchisee to participate in the practical needs of the business and its management, it is important that the franchisor incorporates instruction surrounding other, more abstract needs that may arise.

Careful planning in advance allows the franchisor to develop an initial training program and ongoing support methods that will mesh well together and truly provide the support a franchisee will need for the entirety of their journey.

“Planning earlier benefits everyone,” said Gerardi. “We want to get our franchisees to build a strong foundation. But once you have the foundation, there are a number of different ways to move the business forward as an entrepreneur. We want to identify and advance the areas where owners will need to invest their time.”

Development and Provision of Ongoing Support and Resources

Understanding what the franchisee will expect over the course of their relationship with the brand can be helpful in developing adequate training materials and a long-term support model.

“We’ve recently developed The Franchisee Journey,” said Gerardi. “It’s a checklist of all the things we know we’ll have to consider in our life cycle. We have that in front of us so we can be better prepared to make the considerations and investments to be prepared for things that are one, five and 10 years out.”

This is also provided to the franchisees so they can have an idea of what is in their future. With everything in one spot like this, it can be easier to prioritize and for owners to make their own decisions about what programs they will need to be involved in to succeed as a business owner.

“The continuing education at Signarama is optional, but we provide a lot of opportunity for continued growth,” said Gerardi. “We make on-the-job training available to franchisees as an extension of their two-week training program. Once they leave training school, the new owner is set up with a mentor.”

Understanding the match between a mentor and mentee or a larger development group is important. For example, Signarama matches new owners with mentors and provides a structured, one-year program for the pair to follow. Though the franchisor does not monitor or initiate meetings — that is up to the franchisee — it does work to choose a great-fit mentor for each new owner.

Longer-term development opportunities typically present themselves in the form of annual conventions or independent professional development opportunities. Many franchisors will encourage regional groups to meet or host system-wide virtual town halls.

“Those types of groups lead themselves,” he added. “Franchisees come together and share best practices and ideas.”

While ongoing education through a learning management system has its value, Gerardi says that sometimes the answer to continuing education is “right under your nose.”

“It can be challenging to find someone to provide training on the things franchisees request support on,” he explained. “For us, the answer was to utilize our longest-standing, best-performing owners.”

Building and Maintaining a Strong Relationship Is Simple

It may not always be easy, but the path to keeping the franchisee-franchisor relationship strong is really quite simple.

“Listen to the franchisees,” said Gerardi.

Keeping a consistent feedback loop open with franchisees can provide the franchisor the insight it needs to maintain the strength of the brand itself and continue contributing to the professional relationship. Franchisee surveys are a popular way to go about this. Though not all franchisees will respond, Gerardi has received valuable feedback from even a quick five- to 10-minute survey.

Though obtaining this type of feedback can be difficult, depending on how responsive individual franchisees are, it is important that franchisors both make the attempt to discover challenges and follow through with a solution. Even if not every step is perfect, the franchisees will see that their needs are heard and leaders are taking actionable steps to address them, reaffirming the strength of the partnership.