Tom’s Franchise Information Blog

Developing of a great franchise system requires that you develop a great brand. And great brands are a result of consistency in execution.

Great franchisors go beyond being detail-oriented. They often border on being compulsive. They know that their #1 job is to duplicate their successful business model. And they take the task of duplication very seriously.

So how does one ensure duplication and consistency?

Training

The only way that brand consistency can be accomplished is through training. Let me qualify that. The only way that brand consistency can be accomplished is through “centralized” training.

When I was a kid, one of the popular party games was the telephone game. We would all sit around in a circle. The first person would whisper a few short sentences in the ear of the next person. They would have to repeat it to the person next to them, and so on around the circle. When it got to the last person, they would announce what they heard. It never, ever, came close to the original message, and was usually so distorted that it would evoke laughs from all the players.

Leaving the training of the employees in your franchise system up to the individual store owners, managers or assistant managers is like playing the telephone game. At best, the message will be so distorted that the customer experience will vary each time they visit a franchised location. At worst, the franchise owners and managers won’t take the appropriate time required to train their employees, and your brand will not only be inconsistent, it will be non-existent.

A Centralized Training Approach

Thanks to the ubiquity of the Internet, successful franchisors can now convert their training material to multi-media courses and publish them online, thereby controlling the consistency of the information being taught. And when distributed through a private, an online Corporate University, an online training program grants you additional benefits, such as the ability to:

• track your employees’ participation and progress
• verify your employees’ comprehension of the learning material
• evaluate your employees’ skills
• issue certificates of achievement to employees that successfully complete your training program

A first-class Corporate University with multi-media courses also goes a long way to convincing your potential franchise buyers that you invest in your most important resource: people. By positioning your organization as leading-edge in its use of technology, you are helping propel your franchise system to the next level.

To be successful as a franchisor, you need to be certain that your franchisees succeed. Success begets success and successful franchisees help sell franchises. So scrutinize your training program and the details necessary to be ensure duplication and consistency across your franchise system. And make sure the franchisee values your brand as highly as you do.

Luc Richard is the President & CEO of Dual Code Inc., a leading provider of eLearning solutions. Dual Code designs, develops and hosts Corporate Universities and online courses for franchises that understand the value in training their employees.

For more information on eLearning or to get started with your online Corporate University, visit http://www.dualcode.com.