4-Step Process to Efficiently Train New Franchise Employees

"One of the most important steps for setting up an employee for success is properly training them," says Scott Greenberg, author of The Wealthy Franchisee. "Unfortunately, so many business owners and managers are so busy, so eager to fill the position and get the person working that they rush. The result is that the employee gets frustrated, develops bad habits, and performs poorly. So if you can get training right in the beginning, it will save you time in the backend and save you from having to do a lot of problem-solving."

Greenberg understands that everyone learns differently: some people learn best by what they hear, some by what they see, and others by what they experience. So he says it is essential to train people on all three fronts. The best way to do that is to go through a four-step process broken down here:

1. Tell

The first thing you do is tell the employee how to complete the task. You list all the steps and go into great detail, telling them everything they need to know. For those auditory learners who need to listen, that will really help make a good imprint on their brains.

2. Show

Then you show them how to do it. That's good for visual learners. Let them watch you complete the task and how you go through each one of those steps.

3. Watch

Then you watch them. They've heard. They've watched themselves. Now it's time for you to watch them physically performing the task. That's great for everyone, but it's essential for those kinesthetic learners who need to experience it.

4. Review

Finally, after you've gone through those three steps, then you review with them. You give them feedback, tell them what they did great, show them how they can improve, and then repeat the process. Tell, show, watch, review. How many times should you do this? As many times as needed until they've mastered the task.

Be encouraging

"Keep in mind as you take them through training is that their mindset is at risk. If they get frustrated and see that you're frustrated, they might start to doubt themselves. They might start to lose their enthusiasm, and that's not what we want. We've got to keep them excited, so they'll be invested in the task and want to learn new things. So the entire time you go through tell, show, watch, review, you're setting them up for easy wins in."

Be empathetic

"You want to validate the frustration by saying things like, 'Boy, it took me a lot longer to learn this,' or 'See Tom over there? He's one of our best people, but two years later, he still struggles with this. So you're doing way better than most.' You're normalizing the frustration, validating the difficulty of the task. So they're not doubting themselves, so they're not feeling bad. Take your time with this. The payoff is huge. Before you know it, you'll have a superstar employee who will save you time, and before too long, they'll be able to train others."

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