The franchisor has a vested interest in making sure it has a structured program of training classes and materials in place. It needs such a program in order to impart the details of its concept and operation to franchisees in a way that maintains the integrity of its brand.

It is in the franchisee's best interest to follow the roadmap provided by the franchisor's training program as closely as possible. Most franchisees choose the franchise form of business ownership in order to improve their chances of success, and it is the franchisor's training program that contains the "DNA" of its success formula.

In addition, the training program represents a substantial portion of the outlay you are making to purchase a franchise package, so it makes sense for you to devote whatever time and energy is necessary to do a thorough review of just what you are buying.

A good place to start is with the franchisor's training manual. Whether you will be frying chicken, selling financial products or providing home services, the training manual holds the "secret sauce" for success in a franchise.

As a potential franchisee, you should ask to see sample manuals to assure yourself that all aspects of the business are clearly documented in terms that are easy to understand.

Since training manuals are generally proprietary that is, they are valuable intellectual property that belongs to the franchisor some companies may not be willing to share them with you until you have actually purchased their franchise. In such cases, you should at least ask for a copy of the manual's table of contents. That will give you some idea of its scope and thoroughness.

Some franchises organize their training manuals into a single hefty tome, while others structure them as individual binders or pamphlets for each of the main topic headings. No matter which organizational approach is taken, certain key content areas should be covered. They include:

Site selection. Your location is critical to your new business's potential level of performance, so it is especially important that you receive clear guidance from the franchisor in this area. Find out what criteria the company uses for site selection, including the franchisor's role in site approval. Look for forms to complete that help you assess potential locations.

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OUT THE GATE

Start up/grand opening. Look for specific information that provides guidance about using contractors and completing the facility buildout. The material covered should include specific kinds of equipment that will be required, recommended vendors and suppliers, and a timeline for completion.

Operations. The operations manual should provide pertinent details about service offerings, policies, procedures, hiring, performance standards, job descriptions and scheduling. It should also cover any other topics that play a critical role in the operation of your franchise.

Finance. This section should provide guidance about business metrics, reports due to the franchisor and similar details. It should clearly lay out the details of the financial aspects of the relationship between franchisees and the franchisor.

Local marketing and advertising. Look for rules of thumb for marketing and promotions. You should ask to see sample ads and ad campaign materials and inquire about public relations support from the corporate office

Pay particularly close attention to the type of training offered for new franchisees. As you prepare possibly to become part of a specific franchise system, you will want to know that experts on that system are part of the training agenda.

The franchisor's training program contains the "DNA" of its success formula.

Ask who will be conducting the training and what their role and history has been with the company. Traditionally, various department heads contribute to the training program, providing direction in their areas of responsibility and reviewing pertinent materials from the manuals.

Ask about the duration of the training program and where it is conducted. Some programs are weeks long and combine on the job training in an operational franchise unit with classroom programs at the corporate headquarters or training facility.

Programs that robust can provide some of the best training available. However, if family or other commitments . prevent you from participating in that kind of lengthy training, you must take that into consideration when making a decision about whether or not this is the right franchise for you.

Training offered by the franchisor for personnel who work in your franchises ins another important area to consider. What will your employees do--sell travel services, style hair, apply pest control treatments, make tacos? No matter what it is, how will they learn to do it?

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TRAINING TOOLS

Find out if you will be responsible for providing instruction to your employees in this area, or if your franchisor will do it. If you must do your own training, what training aids and tools will the franchisor provide? Will you receive videos, DVDs, a manual? Will you get quick reference cards or on screen cues that pop up on the point of sale system?

You should also determine what role, if any, the franchisor's field support staff will play in training your store personnel. Do they conduct demonstrations of new services for your employees? If they provide core training, in what manner, where and how often is it delivered?

Find , out if there are local training centers for unit managers, or if you will have to send managers to regional or corporate offices for training. If you will have to send managers and/or other employees out of town for training, be sure to include those costs when preparing your business plan.:

See what research is available on the typical employee turnover rate both management and hourly workers for franchises in the system you are considering. That can help you determine potential future training needs and the costs related to them.

Unit manager training is an important area to consider. After location, the unit manager is probably the most critical variable in your operation's success. In many cases, such managers end up being promoted from the ranks of unit employees and have little, if any, supervisory experience.

If the franchisor does not have a program in place for ~ this critical training need, you must plan on investing your own time and resources in providing it. If that is not an area of strength for you, you will have to consider building the cost of outside management training into your budget projections.

If you will incur any training costs directly, include them in your business plan.

Many prospective franchisees have aspirations beyond owning a single outlet. If you are one of them, it is important that you inquire about training specifically geared to mufti unit franchise owners. The challenges and opportunities that mufti unit franchise owners face are different from those that a single unit owner faces.

The final area to look at when considering a potential franchisor's training program is what it offers on an ongoing basis. Ask how frequently the franchisor provides new training offerings to franchisees and general managers. Find out how it rolls out new products and/or services and how it introduces changes to existing procedures.

Maria Rosner has more than 20 years of experience in franchising and training. She is director of training and development at Michael H. Seid Associates, an international franchise advisory service. 

Source: www.msaworldwide.com