Don Boroian - Franchise Training Systems

Franchising is about replication of systems. The best franchise systems in the world have the most efficient service delivery systems in place. They deliver a product to a customer and collect payment systematically and efficiently. The essence of a solid franchise organization lies in the consistency of their ability to provide this model of operation to their franchisees and to teach them the complexities of offering a service or product in a professional and quality manner. Therefore it is no surprise that great franchise companies have wonderful training systems! Francorp works with clients to try to ensure that their franchisees will receive the benefit of world class training programs. A good reference would be the coach/player relationship. A franchisor needs to be able to assume the position of coach once they begin working with franchisees. Typically a solid business is founded and operated by a star "player", the successful transition to franchising now requires that the player becomes the coach. The ability to delegate and nurture others so that they can be successful lies at the root of this transformation from business owner to franchisor.

Francorp has worked with thousands of business owners who have successfully made this transition from a one location operation into a hundred unit franchise chain. How do we begin? It starts with getting your hands dirty. The franchisee in training needs to know and completely understand every element of running the business. They should know the bathroom, supply closet, cash register, cooking operations and every bit of detail we can cram into their heads. Training programs are like boot camp, they don't pass a section until they master the finite details of each stage. When a franchise system is first built, Francorp doesn't expect clients to have or build a Hamburger University during the first stages of growth. This comes with time and revenue from the franchise growth. Even Ray Kroc didn't have a substantial operation until 30 some years into McDondald's growth. Up to that point, he ran training classes out his basement in Elk Grove Illinois. It can be done, the franchisor has to be ready to put in the time and energy needed to completely transform a "regular person" into an efficient "operator".

Training is typically held at the franchisor's corporate location for 2 to 4 weeks at a time. After these sessions are completed and the franchisee has "Graduated" then the training goes to "onsite". This stage is where the franchisor goes to the location of the franchisee and helps them get their feet wet in the field. If a location is required they might help them find the spot for the business and get the initial build out taken care of. If the franchise is a sales system, which more and more Francorp clients have, then the franchise training will largely be to make the initial sales calls with the franchise operator. The goal of the franchisor is to make successful, independent operators who make money and don't need assistance outside of a regularly scheduled support regimen.

Franchising can be a wonderful way to grow a business, but it is imperative that the proper training programs and systems are in place. Francorp has been developing these training programs for new franchise systems for over 34 years now and continues to refine and work with the newest technology available. For more information on franchise development please visit the corporate site at www.francorp.com