How Togo’s Supports Franchisees Through Superior Training Programs

Togo’s, a fast-casual sandwich franchise, is a brand poised for significant growth in the coming years, and with this anticipated growth the brand is making investments in improving the training tools and systems and to ensure that training is standardized at the highest levels across the brand. As Togo’s Director of Training and Curriculum, Deirdre Hannigan has been charged with updating the materials content and delivery system.

Togo’s training process for new franchisees takes a multi-pronged approach that includes hands-on, in-restaurant experience as well as technology and business training. The curriculum and design of the Togo’s training program is extensive: It covers everything from tools used for daily routines to operations manuals, recipe prep books and team member training. 

Hannigan said that Togo’s spends so much time, effort and energy training its new franchisees because it is the most effective way to set up our operators for success. “We know that many of our franchisees come to us with limited restaurant operations experience,” said Hannigan. “We really want to make sure they are able to understand all aspect of the operations so that they are comfortable and confident in their new role.”

The first training session with Togo’s comes after a franchisee signs on, but getting to know the brand starts at the very first conversation. “A new franchisee has an initial phone interview with our Franchise Sales Manager, and completes an initial applications. Next, we partner with the candidate on an assessment that helps us to understand their background, qualifications and expectations  during an interview with  a Franchise Business Coach,” said John Dyer, Director of Franchise Development & Real Estate for Togo’s. “The final step is a visit to the Support Center Office to meet with the Executive Team at our monthly Discovery Day.” 

At Discovery Day, candidates get the opportunity to learn about Togo's brand and culture and meet members of Togo’s executive team, as well as the process of becoming a franchisee. “Once they’ve gone through that discovery process and have been approved as a franchisee, they are send a welcome letter and scheduled for training,” said Hannigan. 

The training process itself takes four weeks, and each new franchisee is placed at an existing store to learn the process from a hands-on perspective. “We have four company stores at which we place new franchisees where we can control the environment and make sure their training is consistent and thorough,” said Hannigan. “We want to be there to support them every day, so we really do a lot of hands-on training during that time.” 

Not only does Togo’s work with the franchisee every step of the way during the training process, but Hannigan has specifically developed systems that are intuitive and accessible to anyone willing to put in the work. “We create programs that are easy to use and focus more on visual aids than just words,” said Hannigan. “Of course we want to make sure all of our programs work for today’s generation, so we’re very technology-focused to make everything accessible at the franchisees fingertips.”

A certified training manager guides new franchisees through the process along with members of the training staff. “We keep things interesting by weaving the classroom work in with the restaurant experience so that they learn why and how first,  and then they can see what we talked about in action and apply it,” said Hannigan. In total, franchisees go through 18 days of training. “It’s about three weeks of work in the restaurant and three days of business and technology training in the classroom,” said Hannigan. “On the last day, we go back into the restaurant and do a certification where they are asked to demonstrate many of the skills they have learned in training. We do a combination of demonstrations and questions.” Once the entire process is finished, franchisees are given a complete set of all training materials and job aids for future reference in both hard copy and online. 

The extensive training program is just one of many programs that the brand has enhance to set help franchisees make Togo’s the best place to work, eat, and own. As the brand continues to grow, Togo’s is staying committed to franchisee support as a key aspect of its success for 2020. 

The startup costs for a Togo’s franchise range from $274,000 to $508,700. To learn more about franchising with Togo’s, visit http://www.togos.com/franchising/why-togos/.