As a franchise organization, Huntington Learning Center needs to ensure that a brand standard of service is delivered from the more than 260 centers across the nation. To ensure the highest level quality and consistency of the tutoring service provided, the organization redeveloped its Franchisee Initial Training (FIT), Huntington Initial Training Program (HITP), and Huntington Advanced Training Program (HATP) to deliver initial and ongoing support and training to the entire system virtually. Prior to COVID-19, these training all were offered face-to-face via instructor-led classroom training (ILT); most required travel.
Program Details
FIT training previously required three weeks of in-person ILT at the corporate office for new franchisees to understand center operations. HITP was offered over three weeks (five half-day sessions) of in-person ILT at the corporate office. Both required the availability of a Training Center for hands-on experience.
The FIT and HITP programs were redeveloped to use a blended learning approach with video training from the learning management system (LMS) as pre-requisite to the virtual instructor-led training (VILT) classes for role-play, and interactive activities.
The FIT program for franchisees was updated to include:
- Four days of Zoom meetings (30 hours), using PowerPoint presentation for each corporate support department (e.g., accounting, marketing, IT, etc.)
- 40 hours of video training, supplemented by 10 hours of one-on-one VILT that includes role-play
- VILT group activities and role-play for 60 hours, over two weeks focused on center management and revenue generation
The HITP program for staff was redeveloped and redesigned with:
- 10 hours of video-based training
- 25 hours of VILT activities and role-play for each of three weeks of training
- Follow-up projects evaluated by the Training department to ensure command of the material
Short-term reinforcement for HITP includes the submission of a post-training video recording to certify application of material covered during initial training (e.g., Initial Inquiry, Initial Conference, Interim Conference).
The HATP sessions were conducted with Operations to invitation-only remote events. These offered like performing centers the opportunity to share best practices, new marketing initiatives, and ongoing professional development.
Overall, virtual training is a new service offered to provide customized and individualized training for centers at an hourly cost. These trainings provide franchisees and staff with personal and professional development based on the unique needs of the center(s) involved. These are delivered in customer time frames and focused on a variety of topics, including:
- Product knowledge
- Marketing
- Customer service
- Communication and feedback
Franchisees can request any training for their center(s). The content, level of training, audience, time, and duration of training is negotiated by the franchisee and Training department.
New franchisees are required to use Conference Coaching services for at least two years after opening.
Results
Franchisees are taking advantage of the condensed virtual staff training. From September to December 2020, 32 learners attended virtual training. From January to August 2021, 81 staff members were trained—an increase of 153 percent.
Franchisees are finding value in individualized training. In 2020, only 23 hours of virtual training were completed vs. 135 hours from January to August 2021.
The average revenue generated per franchisee in the first full year of operations increased 9 percent from 2019 to 2020, exceeding the 5 percent goal.
