Training New Franchise Employees for Long-term Success

In one of the tightest labor markets in more than a decade, it’s more vital than ever for franchisees to make good hires and retain top performers in order to be successful. Regardless of the industry, a franchisee’s employees and their service will play a major role in how new customers judge the business and a large part of the reason that loyal customers keep coming back.

“New employees need to understand the value we provide our customers and franchisees, and how their respective role contributes to success,” said Peter Hainsworth, VP of Operations for Smash My Trash, LLC, a provider of patented mobile waste compaction services to commercial and industrial markets. “From drivers and mechanics, to salespeople and managers, new employees need to clearly understand and adopt our value proposition. We only hire employees who demonstrate a commitment to our customers and franchisees.”

Hainsworth suggests that new franchisees make sure to do their homework in order to minimize the likelihood of a failed hire. He proposes background checks, digging into potential employees’ social media history and reaching out to past job references when making a decision to hire. Additionally, Hainsworth said that at Smash My Trash, they ask candidates to spend a day with them prior to hiring in order to provide an opportunity to confirm an employee’s skills and to give them a taste of the business to make sure it’s a good fit.

Similarly, Dr. Todd Besnoff of Ultimate Image Cosmetic Medical Center stressed the importance of vetting potential employees properly before bringing them onto the team.

“If someone is negative or discouraging, it will not work out,” said Besnoff. “When training franchisees, it’s important to be energetic, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable about the business. From that point, it should trickle down to the employees from the franchisees. If you have a negative attitude, your employees’ productivity will definitely be lower than it would if you had a positive outlook. Also – they need to project themselves as a resource for the employees, so it’s important that they are knowledgeable. Even if they don’t know everything, they still need to find the right answer to give employees.”

Besnoff added that at Ultimate Image Cosmetic Medical Center, they try to instill what they call a “resourcefulness factor” when training new employees. That includes providing them resources such as annual reports and marketing materials but then training them to be resourceful on their own, utilizing Google, knowing who they can go to with questions and how to do the basic research in order to solve problems.

“We give them everything that they need for the role, but there are times when the unexpected happens, so we also train them to be prepared for that,” said Besnoff.

Hiring smart is just half the battle, however. Once a franchisee has brought in solid talent and given them the training to thrive, it’s just as important – maybe even more important – to find ways to develop those employees and give them reasons to stay.

“People enjoy challenges and want to work where their skills are utilized and developed. We stretch our employees by assigning responsibilities across multiple job roles. Our goal is to identify employees who embrace these opportunities with initiative and a desire to learn,” said Hainsworth.

Empowering individuals is the key to keeping them happy and fostering their development within the business, according to Besnoff. He suggests giving star employees bigger roles in the training process to provide them with a sense of ownership while also helping to build up new stars in the company.

“A franchisor empowers a franchisee to run a business then they do it to the best of their ability. So, if a franchisee empowers an employee, the employee will be just as passionate. You should trust that employee to pass knowledge to other employees. Allow these employees to teach their peers, it shows that you recognize their hard work,” said Besnoff.