How Chinese Businesses Should Design Pre-opening Training and Practical Assessments Before Franchising

Replicating an existing business through franchising does not mean that franchisees will know how to run it simply because they have completed a course. Tasks that experienced staff carry out smoothly in company-owned stores often break down when handed to a new team. For Chinese businesses preparing to build a franchise network, pre-opening training should be a verifiable process for transferring operational capability, rather than merely a service promised during franchise recruitment.

1. Turn training promises into clear obligations

Article 7 of China’s Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Franchising requires franchisors to have the capacity to provide ongoing operational guidance, technical support and business training. Article 11 requires the franchise agreement to specify the content of these services and how they will be delivered. Article 14 requires franchisors to continue providing the relevant services as agreed. A single pre-opening training programme therefore cannot replace the ongoing support promised in the agreement.

Before signing an agreement, head office should draw up a training schedule that explains, at a minimum:

• Who must attend: the franchisee, the store manager or staff in key roles.
• What will be taught: role-specific skills, system operation, handover procedures and handling exceptions.
• How it will be delivered: classes at head office, work shadowing at company-owned stores, online learning or on-site coaching.
• Who pays: arrangements for training fees, travel, accommodation and additional training.
• How competence will be assessed: the standards applied, who will assess participants and what happens if they do not pass.

The Regulations also require franchisors to provide the prescribed information and a copy of the agreement in writing at least 30 days before the agreement is entered into. Training services and associated fees should be covered in the relevant disclosures. This helps avoid a situation in which recruitment staff promise to ‘teach you until you can do it’, while the agreement commits only to providing recorded lessons. The training schedule can be attached to the agreement, but vague wording in an appendix must not be used to dilute service commitments already made.

2. Design courses around real roles

A course should not simply reproduce the contents page of the operations manual. The manual is a reference for use at work; training should enable a new team to carry out tasks. Start by identifying the essential activities in company-owned stores, from opening up to closing and handover, then allocate learning content by role.

For example, franchisees need to understand funding arrangements and staffing levels. Store managers need to master rotas, stock reconciliation and the escalation of problems. Front-line staff need to be able to handle customers, deliver products or services, and enter information into systems independently. There is no need to repeat the same brand introduction endlessly, while staff in key roles should not receive only general training unrelated to their responsibilities.

Each module should ideally specify four things: learning objectives, practice scenarios, evidence of competence and common mistakes. ‘Become familiar with the till system’ is not specific enough. A better objective would be: ‘Independently process orders, cancellations and refund requests, reconcile the till at shift handover, and explain how discrepancies should be handled.’ Where work legally requires a licence or particular qualification, head office training cannot replace those requirements.

Before delivering the course to franchisees, ask employees who were not involved in developing it to test it. Observe whether they can complete the tasks using only the course material and exercises, then adjust the teaching sequence and difficulty of the exercises. This avoids mistaking experienced employees’ knowledge for things that everyone already knows.

3. Assess practical competence, not attendance

An attendance sheet proves participation, not the ability to operate independently. Consider assessing participants at three levels: knowledge checks, practical role-based tasks and simulated trading. Written tests check understanding of the rules; practical exercises test execution.

Simulated trading should include realistic disruptions, such as order changes, stock discrepancies or equipment being temporarily unavailable. Assessment should focus not only on speed, but also on whether participants follow procedures, recognise risks and know when to stop and seek help from head office.

Participants should receive the scoring criteria before training begins. These should distinguish between critical elements that must be passed and areas where further improvement is acceptable. Serious errors involving safety, product quality or financial transactions should not be offset by high scores elsewhere. Nor should head office introduce previously undisclosed requirements during the assessment.

Keep task records, score sheets, feedback and review outcomes. Where a score is disputed, another suitably qualified trainer can review it. These assessment methods are operational recommendations, not a legally prescribed examination system. Any internal certificate of competence issued by head office is not a regulatory licence or approval.

4. Plan ahead for additional training, staff changes and the opening date

A rule that ‘you cannot open unless you pass’ can turn a training issue into a dispute over rent and staffing costs if there is no follow-up plan. An appendix to the agreement should specify the content of additional training, how to request it, the timetable, when charges apply and the reassessment procedure. Franchisors should not wait until a franchisee fails before introducing demands for extra payment.

The reasons for failure also need to be distinguished. Head office failing to provide the agreed trainers, equipment or practice opportunities is not the same as participants missing sessions or key staff being replaced at the last minute. Both parties should agree on the remedial steps each must take and how the opening plan will be adjusted. Clauses covering breach of contract and responsibility for costs should be reviewed by a legal professional.

There should also be a training pathway for replacement staff in key roles. When confirming readiness to open, assess the capability of the team that will actually be working in the store, rather than relying on the results of an employee who has since left. Passing head office’s training assessment does not mean that the store meets every legal requirement for trading, nor does it guarantee profitability.

Practical takeaway: Start with the role most prone to errors. Create a task checklist, a practical assessment sheet and a process for additional training, then test them in a company-owned store before introducing them to franchisees. Training promises that can be fulfilled, and results that can be verified, provide the foundation for consistent replication across a franchise network.