Will a franchisor tailor its initial training to me or will it only provide set instruction that covers all aspects of the business?

Alan Wilkinson writes:

When a franchisor recruits franchisees, it will have a set profile of the type of skills, experience and personality required to be a successful franchisee of its brand. The recruitment process should identify each element of the franchisee’s core skill set and relevant experience before a decision is made to offer that individual a franchise.

In some cases, there will be a perfect match of the required attributes. However, in some cases there is a ‘close enough’ match and if both parties are confident the offer may be made anyway.

When it comes to the induction training of that new franchisee, a franchisor has an obligation to ensure they have or obtains through training and support all the skills required to operate the business successfully. This will typically include every element of the training that every franchisee goes through.

However, there are often cases where the franchisee already has a good knowledge and understanding of a particular topic. In this case, a franchisor may choose to spend less time on this topic and more time on one the franchisee is less confident on.

Alan Wilkinson is head of franchise development at The Franchising Centre and has been in franchising for over 24 years.