advice Recruitment

How your training programme can ensure your franchisees are made of the ‘right stuff'

Despite the best efforts of the quick service restaurant sector - notably McDonald's - the label of the ‘McJob' is proving hard to shift. This can cause particular problems when recruiting franchisees, as fast-food franchises are sometimes perceived as a ‘dumbed-down' career. And yet when considering the training a franchisee has to go through to join some of the bigger franchise companies in this sector - this perception is quite unfair. 

"At Domino's, all prospective franchisees have to attend a three and a half week franchisee development programme (FDP) before being allowed to take on a franchise. This comes after candidates have completed a minimum of five shifts in an existing store to ensure they are made of the stuff that makes a good franchisee," says Domino's Pizza Head of Franchise Development Andy Hirst.

This is by no means an easy start to an intense training programme. Furthermore, of those who have a first interview with Domino's Pizza, around two thirds don't make it past the in-store sessions and other hurdles before getting a second interview, "and we wouldn't want it any other way," adds Andy - highlighting the fact that the training programmes can often help franchisors determine whether someone will be right for the business.

Andy continues: "It's important to make prospective franchisees understand that being a fast-food sector franchisee is more than a job - it's a way of life; if you want to join the team, you have to be able to actively participate in all in-store roles. Our most successful franchisees are those that can still turn their hand to making a top quality pizza when they need to!"

However, it is pointless training franchisees if the franchisor doesn't support them with a structured training programme. A blended approach to training team members using online and in-store training methods combined with training books and courses held in-store and head office, is an effective way of supporting the franchisee and each of their teams. Domino's Pizza has a dedicated team of trainers that are on hand to assist team members in completing the courses offered and provide ongoing support.

Another method used is a ‘Driving Your Career' initiative to ensure that every Domino's Pizza employee has the opportunity to follow a clear career path in-store - in many cases culminating with their own franchise. The four-stage career path has been specifically designed to empower staff to drive their own careers and to encourage them to strive for a range of roles, from a cross-trained team member to a Domino's Pizza Group (DPG) approved shift manager and store manager. Driving Your Career enables team members to complete management courses specifically developed and delivered by Domino's and the opportunity to work towards NVQs. Each year, more than 500 managers-in-training graduate from Domino's Pizza training centre.

In November 2007, an online training programme was also introduced to allow new staff to complete the theory part of their induction training. The online system ensures new starters have a comprehensive introduction to the business, which complements the hands-on in-store training and enables them to obtain a basic food hygiene certificate as soon as they enter the business.

Like all those who are at the pinnacle of their craft - you have to train your franchisees to be the best that they can be. The training Domino's Pizza has devised can turn people with no previous experience in the food industry into high calibre franchisees, in a relatively short space of time. It also helps the franchisor learn more about their franchisees, and to identify areas in which the franchisee will excel in or where they may need more support. Training systems continuously evolve with the times, so it is also important for franchisors to take on board the feedback from their franchisees in order to fine tune and offer the best training induction that they possible can.