Training Franchise Employees: Essential ingredients for unit success

By Eddy Goldberg

 

 

One of the challenges new franchisees face begins soon after the franchise agreement is signed: hiring and training employees. The success of each franchised unit depends on the quality and behavior of its employees - and it's hard to find a franchise concept that doesn't need employees to function.

 

Turning that bored, part-time teen into a productive employee with a positive attitude is a key ingredient for success. In fact, many experienced franchisees follow the maxim: "Hire for attitude, train for skills." A good attitude goes a long way in a team-oriented environment; skills can be learned.

 

In practice, everything an employee does makes an impression on each client or customer - creating satisfaction and loyalty, or driving them to a competing brand. For franchisees, it's all about managing the "customer experience," and training employees in the ways to deliver it, in every transaction, every day. In other words, the success of your franchise business is directly related to the quality of your employees' behaviors and attitudes.

 

Training is a delicate art. Employers not only must be adept at judging character, they also must comply with a long list of laws and regulations if they want to stay out of court. A minefield of potential legal trap doors can trip up even the best-intentioned employer. If you don't know what to ask, say, or do - and what not to - hire someone who does or bone up on employment law and avoid a world of trouble.