From learning management systems to brand culture, LearningZen’s Doug Mark shares strategies for scaling smarter.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Although selling franchises is important, franchisors should focus on building a scalable franchise system first.
- Scaling successfully often comes down to developing the right training content with an emphasis on consistency and culture.
- By using learning management systems to build measurable training programs, franchisors can scale smarter.
For franchisors, the goal shouldn’t just be about selling franchises – it should be about building a scalable franchise system.
Often, that means incorporating retention into your business model by using learning management systems to train franchisees and build a brand that’s worthy of selling to private equity later. It also means avoiding common mistakes that can stall growth and cost your business time and money, like not investing in quality training content and measurable learning systems early on.
“I think when you take a look at your actual business practices and find out where you're following down, almost every single time that leads to a teachable, trainable moment,” says Doug Mark, president of LearningZen, an online training and course building platform.
So how can franchisors train more effectively and scale their brands in smarter ways? Read on to find out.
Consistency is key
Although new and emerging brands often lack the expertise and materials necessary to train franchisees well, having a rigorous training program in place is critical for providing consistent products, services and experiences – factors that can influence customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
“I think it comes back to something that's kind of obvious in our space, which is, consistency is king in franchising,” Mark says.
While it’s not uncommon for major brands to start off with training materials that were initially developed by their ownership team, it’s important for new and emerging franchisors to ensure they’re starting with the right content and delivering training effectively in short, easy-to-retain segments that franchisees can digest.
“I think the operations manual is a great starting point to tell us, ‘Okay, now I need to say what, in this operations manual, needs to be explained to franchisees.’ And then, ‘What is the franchisee going to need to create, or at least have access to, so that they could assign (training) to the hourly employees?’” Mark says.
To optimize a franchise brand’s educational programming, Mark suggests the following:
- Evaluate content. Analyze your learning assets, including your franchise operations manual, PDFs, images and videos, for quality content.
- Assess effectiveness. Ask your learners if they liked your training materials. Could they easily absorb the content? What can you improve?
- Prioritize retention. Video is often best for training, especially younger demographics who might not feel motivated to read lengthy manuals.
For franchisors who are short on time or money to invest in creating quality training content, Mark recommends leveraging tools like LMS platforms, AI and video to optimize learning assets without getting overwhelmed or overextended.
Developing the right brand culture
Beyond consistency, quality training can help franchisors develop a stronger brand culture by communicating values and expectations to franchisees, who can later convey that information to employees at the unit level.
“Culture is the most important thing. It's why people bought into your brand to begin with. They bought into your culture and what you were delivering with that experience. And so you want to get your culture into your units,” Mark says.
Mark encourages franchisors to consider focusing their training on culture. That might mean drilling down on the customer experience or setting expectations with franchisees about the brand’s values, standards, systems and processes early on.
Some key elements of culture for franchisors to consider when developing training content might include:
- Customer experiences. What should customers know to expect when they visit your locations? What should your products and services look like? How should staff engage with them?
- Consistent service. If a customer spills a drink, how should that be handled? What is your brand’s policy for various situations involving customers?
- Roles and expectations. What are the roles of franchisees, management and staff? What is expected of them daily?
Drawing from a real-life example of a time when Mark was mugged during a work trip, he recalls the way his hotel’s staff responded when he checked in after leaving the hospital, still bruised and traumatized.
To ensure Mark’s wellbeing, hotel management assigned someone to personally look after his needs. Staff handled everything from filling prescriptions to having the kitchen prepare a special meal to accommodate Mark’s fractured jaw, and even sent him home with a gift for his daughter at check-out – actions that demonstrated a culture of care that is rare, even at high-end hotels.
“Now, how much did that impact me? I'm gonna tell this story for the rest of my life,” Mark says.
Driving franchisee success through retention
From improving customer experiences to creating a culture of consistency, quality training programs can play an integral role in the long-term success of a franchise system. For new and emerging franchisors, good training can also prevent high turnover that might affect profits.
“If you’re dealing with a ton of turnover – if you’re constantly running through people – I think that’s a warning sign for all of us. I think that’s a sign to say, hey, our employees don’t feel invested, respected, that we support them,” Mark says.
Instead, Mark recommends that franchisors lean into tools like LMS platforms to track and measure training outcomes and keep franchisees educated and up-to-date about expectations, which can help them keep quality employees.
To keep training focused on retention, Mark suggests the following:
- Measure outcomes. Use LMS platforms to track progress, measure outcomes and identify pain points before they contribute to high turnover.
- Make improvements. Instead of being confrontational about mistakes, identify what’s missing from your franchise system and update training content to fill in the gaps.
- Avoid animosity. While some tension between franchisees and franchisors might be acceptable, outright hostility may signal a culture problem.
By implementing measurable training systems, franchisors can track training progress, identify weaknesses and prevent high turnover that can affect unit-level profitability.
“We know most business challenges are something that can be trainable, but we've got to have that commitment to saying, ‘Okay, we'll build the materials to support them,’” Mark says.
Recap
Although selling franchises is important for growth, new and emerging franchisors should focus on building scalable franchise systems first. By developing high-quality training content that communicates their brand’s values, systems and standards, franchisors can create an internal culture that prioritizes consistency.
By following best practices and using an LMS platform to track progress, measure outcomes and identify pain points, franchisors can also perfect their training programs and prevent high turnover rates that may affect unit-level profitability – allowing them to scale smarter while differentiating their brand from competitors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Training is important for scaling a franchise system because it helps franchisees understand the brand’s systems, standards and values – information they can communicate to their employees to provide more consistent products, services and customer experiences.
When brands provide consistently high-quality products and services to customers, it can influence brand loyalty. Building consistency into your brand’s business model can also help franchisees and staff understand what is expected of them and prevent confusion.
To improve internal culture, franchisors can follow best practices like developing measurable training systems and leveraging technology to communicate their brand’s values, standards and processes to franchisees in short, easy-to-understand ways.
About LearningZen
Built to help franchise owners scale smarter, LearningZen’s LMS for franchises helps brands optimize their training programs and create consistency across locations. To learn more, visit learningzen.com.
