The number-one business priority for organizations post-pandemic has been customer satisfaction, according to Brandon Hall Group research. Nowhere is that missive more critical than in retail and restaurant environments. Organizations in these environments have a large volume of front-line workers that are hands-on with customers every single day. Delivering effective, consistent training to these workers is critical to building and maintaining customer satisfaction.
But training in this environment is exceptionally challenging. First, these workers tend to have a high turnover rate, which means training needs to be quick and effective to keep everyone up to speed. Another big challenge is that in many of these locations, the workers do not actually work for the company that owns the brand. Further complicating things is the reality that frontline workers make up the majority of the workforce in the franchise business model. These employees are often without access to a computer, making mobile learning critical to their training and development
In this franchise environment, the network of stores, restaurants, or dealerships has a variety of different owners. Some owners have just one single location while others own a vast network. At the same time, there are often company-owned locations as well. This presents training professionals with a wide variety of dynamics within which to create high-quality, consistent learning experiences. And consistency is key. Whether around town or around the globe, customers expect a consistent experience.
This means the people who are tasked with keeping customers happy need to have the skills and knowledge to excel. Brands must ensure employees in regionally, nationally, or globally distributed locations know and adhere to the standards set by the parent organization.
Left to their own devices, franchisees may adopt their own training methods, resulting in an inconsistent customer experience across locations. Customers don’t know that “their” store is not owned by the brand parent, so they would not understand why things are done differently. A consistently positive customer experience requires standardized training across all locations. Failure to build a successful franchisee and store training program could result in inconsistent quality, operational inefficiencies, and a loss of brand loyalty.
Brandon Hall Group SmartChoice® Silver Preferred Provider Schoox has solutions that are engineered for the complexity the extended enterprise brings to learning. They work with larger, global clients that operate multiple franchised brands, and they are able to deliver simple, powerful learning with the consistency, branding, and mobile capabilities these organizations require. Rather than a one-size-fits-all LMS, Schoox is flexible enough to meet the needs of any organization, whether they are training internal employees or vast extended enterprise network.
The Schoox platform also has robust tracking and reporting features, which are critical in an extended enterprise environment. The learners are not employees, so it can be difficult to measure whether learning is having the right impact. Schoox simplifies that.
The extended enterprise consists of a variety of audiences in addition to franchisees. It can also include customers, resellers, channel partners, association members, and more. Training these audiences effectively and consistently takes technology that is designed for their complexity.
