Franchisee training: how to transfer skills before opening

At a company-owned outlet, new starters are often trained informally: the manager corrects mistakes, an experienced colleague explains the sequence of tasks, and the owner handles difficult cases. When you launch a franchise, these habits do not come across simply by handing over instructions. A resilient franchise network needs a repeatable training programme: the franchisee and their team must do more than read the materials — they need to learn to work without constant guidance from head office.

1. Decide what each role needs to learn

Start with a list of day-to-day tasks, rather than recording a video course. Take a typical shift at an existing outlet and list the actions performed by the owner, manager and frontline staff separately. Then identify mistakes that lead to financial losses, breaches of mandatory requirements or operational disruption.

Set an observable learning outcome for each role. ‘Understands service standards’ is too vague. ‘Independently processes an order, explains the returns policy and refers a complex complaint to the person responsible’ is an outcome you can assess.

Divide the programme into three strands:

• Franchisee: allocating responsibilities, interpreting management reports, organising the team’s work and working with the franchisor.
• Manager: preparing for a shift, planning workloads, handling deviations from standard procedures and training new starters.
• Staff: specific tasks, safety, customer service and responding when things go wrong.

Do not make everyone take the same course. The franchisee needs to understand the consequences of management decisions, while a cashier needs to perform their own tasks confidently. Keep only genuinely essential topics common to all roles.

2. Build a pathway from explanation to independent work

Use the same sequence for each skill: explanation, demonstration, supervised practice, independent performance and feedback. Reading a manual is useful preparation, but it is no substitute for practice.

For example, when teaching order processing, first explain the sequence of actions. The trainer then demonstrates the task and explains their decisions. Next, the participant performs it themselves: first under normal conditions, then with an unavailable item or a payment error. This tests their ability to act, rather than simply recall information.

Choose the format to suit the task. A short video works well as an introduction to equipment. A training version of the software is useful for learning record-keeping. A placement at an operating outlet helps participants practise working at the required pace and coordinating with colleagues.

Prepare an outline for each training module:

• the participant’s required prior knowledge;
• the workplace task and materials needed;
• the exercise and the trainer’s role;
• criteria for successful completion;
• the process for another attempt.

Set the duration after a trial run, not to fit a convenient marketing slogan. Becoming familiar with the business and being ready to work a shift independently are different outcomes.

3. Organise practical training without putting the operating outlet at risk

A company-owned outlet can serve as a training site, but its employees will not automatically be good trainers. Appoint someone who can explain tasks, spot mistakes and give specific feedback. Set aside time for them: training squeezed in between serving customers tends to be inconsistent.

Decide in advance which tasks participants will only observe, which they will perform under supervision and which they will practise using training data. For till operations and customer systems, use separate training accounts where technically possible. Do not share passwords or give access to personal data without a lawful basis.

If a trainee takes part in real work, check the legal arrangements for their involvement, occupational health and safety requirements, and any necessary authorisations beforehand. Calling something a ‘training placement’ does not remove employment obligations or other mandatory requirements.

Before the first training session, agree the practical arrangements: who sends participants, pays for travel and accommodation, provides equipment and gives notice of staff substitutions. Draw up a timetable that takes the training site’s workload into account. Training must not compromise customer service or turn into unpaid cover for staff.

4. Assess readiness through workplace scenarios

A final test is useful for checking terminology and rules, but it is not enough to establish readiness for independent work. Prepare practical assignments that reflect a real shift: setting up a workstation, processing an order, spotting a discrepancy in the records or responding to a complaint.

Distinguish between critical errors and those that can be corrected with further practice. A critical error might be an action that creates a safety risk or exposes customer data. A minor hesitation in the sequence of tasks calls for more practice, but not necessarily a repeat of the entire course.

Record more than a simple ‘pass’. Document what you observed: which tasks were completed independently, where help was needed and what needs to be repeated. Participants should know the assessment criteria and reassessment process in advance.

Internal confirmation of course completion does not replace mandatory qualifications, safety briefings or authorisations where these are required for a particular job. Do not describe it as state certification or promise legal authority that it does not confer.

5. Formalise the programme and plan for staff replacements

In Russia, commercial concession arrangements — the legal framework used for franchising — are governed by Chapter 54 of the Russian Civil Code. Article 1031 requires the rights holder to provide the necessary documentation and instruct the user and their employees on exercising the rights granted. Unless the agreement provides otherwise, the article also requires ongoing technical and advisory support, including assistance with staff training and professional development.

Align the training programme with the franchise agreement: specify the participants, the content of initial training, its format, how completion will be confirmed and the terms for repeat training. Do not leave ‘training included’ undefined: spell out its scope and intended outcomes.

Plan for staff replacements before opening. The franchisee should have a clear pathway for training a new employee, and the manager should have materials to support their mentoring role. Assign responsibility for updating the course whenever equipment, software or working procedures change.

Practical takeaway: before training your first franchisee, run the programme with an employee who is unfamiliar with your ways of working. If they can perform the key tasks without informal prompts, you have genuinely turned the business’s experience into transferable skills.