Opening a franchise requires learning a new business, but that education does not end once the doors open. At United Water Restoration Group (UWRG), continuous training is built into the franchise system to help owners and their employees stay current, learn from unusual jobs and strengthen the way they operate their businesses over time.
New UWRG franchise owners begin with an extensive training program that includes 80 hours at the company’s corporate headquarters and 32 hours of hands-on training, along with industry certifications and instruction covering areas such as accounting, estimating and job production management software. Once an owner enters the field, however, the learning continues.
That is particularly important in restoration, where many jobs follow familiar processes but others require crews to think through circumstances they may not have encountered before. Those less common situations are one reason UWRG encourages franchise owners to make training part of the regular rhythm of their businesses.
“In restoration, about 70% of what we do is rinse and repeat,” said Bob Moore, president of UWRG. “But about 30% of the jobs are unique. It might be a certain type of building material that requires a different approach to drying, or maybe it’s a multi-floor flood that adds challenges to the equation. That’s why we’re always encouraging owners to continually train their crews. We have a library of online training courses they can use to keep learning.”
Some franchise owners use the resources provided by UWRG to hold what they call “Training Tuesday.” Unless the team is responding to an emergency, employees can begin the day by watching a short video together and then discussing how they would apply what they learned.
Some of the most valuable lessons come directly from the work franchise owners and their crews are already doing. If only two employees on a six-person team handle an unusual restoration project, for example, Moore encourages owners to bring that experience back to the rest of the crew.
“Maybe only one or two people out of a six-person team were on that job, but the entire team can benefit from what they learned,” Moore said. “It’s about spreading that knowledge: ‘We had XYZ today. It wasn’t normal, and here’s what we did.’”
Over time, that approach can help build a deeper base of experience throughout the franchise rather than having specialized knowledge remain with only one or two employees.
Learning also extends beyond an individual location. UWRG franchise owners can communicate with one another through an internal social media platforms, where owners post questions about jobs and ask whether other franchise owners have encountered similar situations. Other owners can then share how they approached the problem, ask additional questions and offer lessons from their own experiences. A situation encountered by one franchise owner can therefore become a learning opportunity for owners throughout the system.
Technical knowledge is only one part of UWRG’s approach to training. The company also focuses on how technicians interact with customers who may be dealing with one of the most stressful experiences they have faced as homeowners.
“We have a goal of focusing on the people and not just the jobs,” Moore said.
Technicians are taught to ask certain questions when they arrive at a property, including a simple one: “How are you holding up?” A homeowner dealing with flooding, fire damage or another property emergency may be in a heightened emotional state. Moore said franchise owners are encouraged to stay connected with their crews and make sure technicians communicate when they are having difficulty connecting with a customer.
“Sometimes that turns into a role-play and a training opportunity,” Moore said. “Other times, you can do everything right and the homeowner will still be in a heightened emotional state. That’s a cue for the owner or manager to follow up with the client, and it can also become an opportunity to work with that technician on how to handle similar situations in the future.”
UWRG also encourages franchise owners to look beyond the resources provided by the brand.
“One of the things we talk about in training is that our most successful franchise owners are engaged with their teams, with fellow franchise owners and with the industry,” Moore said. “We encourage them to go to industry seminars, not just those put on by UWRG, and bring back what they learn. Challenge our systems and processes with that information. That’s how we get new ideas and continue to improve.”
The result is a two-way approach to continuous improvement. UWRG provides owners with training and resources, while engaged franchise owners bring their own experiences and outside industry knowledge back into the system.
UWRG has also worked to make its growing collection of resources easier for franchise owners to access through its United Operating System. The platform brings together many of the resources owners and their employees need into one place, including training videos and quizzes, operational materials, forms and human resources documents.
“There’s been a lot of positive feedback that it’s nice to log into one place and have most of what they need for their business,” Moore said.
The system complements the ongoing operational consultations, refresher training, field support and remote assistance available to franchise owners as their businesses grow. That ongoing access to the corporate team can be particularly valuable when franchise owners encounter a situation they have not handled before.
“The corporate team at United Water is phenomenal,” said Nathan Sherman, a franchise owner in Hickory, North Carolina. “I never felt like I was out there on my own. I’m the kind of person who tries to figure things out myself, probably more than I should, but anytime I needed help, couldn’t figure something out or just needed advice, they were there.”
At UWRG, initial training establishes the foundation, while ongoing resources and shared experiences give owners additional ways to keep developing themselves and their teams. In a business where no two restoration projects are guaranteed to look exactly alike, that commitment to learning helps franchise owners prepare for both the jobs they see every day and the ones they have never seen before.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/unitedwaterrestoration.
United Water Restoration Group
SPONSORED
United Water Restoration Group gives franchise owners ongoing access to training, shared knowledge and operational resources designed to keep their teams learning long after opening day.
Opening a franchise requires learning a new business, but that education does not end once the doors open. At United Water Restoration Group (UWRG), continuous training is built into the franchise system to help owners and their employees stay current, learn from unusual jobs and strengthen the way they operate their businesses over time.
New UWRG franchise owners begin with an extensive training program that includes 80 hours at the company’s corporate headquarters and 32 hours of hands-on training, along with industry certifications and instruction covering areas such as accounting, estimating and job production management software. Once an owner enters the field, however, the learning continues.
That is particularly important in restoration, where many jobs follow familiar processes but others require crews to think through circumstances they may not have encountered before. Those less common situations are one reason UWRG encourages franchise owners to make training part of the regular rhythm of their businesses.
“In restoration, about 70% of what we do is rinse and repeat,” said Bob Moore, president of UWRG. “But about 30% of the jobs are unique. It might be a certain type of building material that requires a different approach to drying, or maybe it’s a multi-floor flood that adds challenges to the equation. That’s why we’re always encouraging owners to continually train their crews. We have a library of online training courses they can use to keep learning.”
Some franchise owners use the resources provided by UWRG to hold what they call “Training Tuesday.” Unless the team is responding to an emergency, employees can begin the day by watching a short video together and then discussing how they would apply what they learned.
Some of the most valuable lessons come directly from the work franchise owners and their crews are already doing. If only two employees on a six-person team handle an unusual restoration project, for example, Moore encourages owners to bring that experience back to the rest of the crew.
“Maybe only one or two people out of a six-person team were on that job, but the entire team can benefit from what they learned,” Moore said. “It’s about spreading that knowledge: ‘We had XYZ today. It wasn’t normal, and here’s what we did.’”
Over time, that approach can help build a deeper base of experience throughout the franchise rather than having specialized knowledge remain with only one or two employees.
Learning also extends beyond an individual location. UWRG franchise owners can communicate with one another through an internal social media platforms, where owners post questions about jobs and ask whether other franchise owners have encountered similar situations. Other owners can then share how they approached the problem, ask additional questions and offer lessons from their own experiences. A situation encountered by one franchise owner can therefore become a learning opportunity for owners throughout the system.
Technical knowledge is only one part of UWRG’s approach to training. The company also focuses on how technicians interact with customers who may be dealing with one of the most stressful experiences they have faced as homeowners.
“We have a goal of focusing on the people and not just the jobs,” Moore said.
Technicians are taught to ask certain questions when they arrive at a property, including a simple one: “How are you holding up?” A homeowner dealing with flooding, fire damage or another property emergency may be in a heightened emotional state. Moore said franchise owners are encouraged to stay connected with their crews and make sure technicians communicate when they are having difficulty connecting with a customer.
“Sometimes that turns into a role-play and a training opportunity,” Moore said. “Other times, you can do everything right and the homeowner will still be in a heightened emotional state. That’s a cue for the owner or manager to follow up with the client, and it can also become an opportunity to work with that technician on how to handle similar situations in the future.”
UWRG also encourages franchise owners to look beyond the resources provided by the brand.
“One of the things we talk about in training is that our most successful franchise owners are engaged with their teams, with fellow franchise owners and with the industry,” Moore said. “We encourage them to go to industry seminars, not just those put on by UWRG, and bring back what they learn. Challenge our systems and processes with that information. That’s how we get new ideas and continue to improve.”
The result is a two-way approach to continuous improvement. UWRG provides owners with training and resources, while engaged franchise owners bring their own experiences and outside industry knowledge back into the system.
UWRG has also worked to make its growing collection of resources easier for franchise owners to access through its United Operating System. The platform brings together many of the resources owners and their employees need into one place, including training videos and quizzes, operational materials, forms and human resources documents.
“There’s been a lot of positive feedback that it’s nice to log into one place and have most of what they need for their business,” Moore said.
The system complements the ongoing operational consultations, refresher training, field support and remote assistance available to franchise owners as their businesses grow. That ongoing access to the corporate team can be particularly valuable when franchise owners encounter a situation they have not handled before.
“The corporate team at United Water is phenomenal,” said Nathan Sherman, a franchise owner in Hickory, North Carolina. “I never felt like I was out there on my own. I’m the kind of person who tries to figure things out myself, probably more than I should, but anytime I needed help, couldn’t figure something out or just needed advice, they were there.”
At UWRG, initial training establishes the foundation, while ongoing resources and shared experiences give owners additional ways to keep developing themselves and their teams. In a business where no two restoration projects are guaranteed to look exactly alike, that commitment to learning helps franchise owners prepare for both the jobs they see every day and the ones they have never seen before.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/unitedwaterrestoration.
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