Podcast 4: Achieving Franchise Learning ROI – with Mark Anderson

WELCOME TO EPISODE 4 OF THE TALENTED LEARNING SHOW!

To learn more about this podcast series or to see the full collection of episodes visit The Talented Learning Show main page.

FRANCHISE LEARNING ROI – TOPIC SUMMARY AND GUEST:

For franchise companies, educating brand representatives is a mission-critical priority.  This is where modern learning systems add measurable value.  They deliver up-to-date training content in a highly accessible digital environment.  Plus they help franchise managers connect learning with business performance through sophisticated reporting and analytics.  What else can franchises teach us about business-minded learning?

Today I’m joined by Mark Anderson, Co-Founder and CEO of eLogic Learning – one of the world’s foremost extended enterprise solution providers.  In fact, over the past five years, the eLogic Essential LMS has consistently earned top honors from us and other industry analysts.

One reason for eLogic’s success is the business acumen that runs deeply through its DNA.  As a self-described “recovering accountant,” Mark entered the LMS space with a desire to help organizations leverage the power of learning to achieve meaningful, measurable business outcomes.

In this interview, Mark illustrates how his vision has translated into real-world results, as he profiles clients that demonstrate franchise learning ROI.  Always a consummate storyteller, Mark’s snapshots are as instructive as they are entertaining.

Q&A HIGHLIGHTS: FRANCHISE LEARNING ROI

What challenges are your customers grappling with these days?  Are organizations typically looking for solutions that involve employees – or external audiences – or a combination?

We have many “hybrid” clients, where there’s an internal training requirement, but also a need to reach out with training for customers or other external parties.  Franchise companies are an excellent example.

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When franchises educate their community effectively they see significant ROI.  So we’ve designed and developed functionality specifically for this kind of scenario, letting franchises define and distribute specific information across multiple locations to ensure that people who represent the brand are fully informed, trained and certified.

What’s an example of franchise learning ROI?

Hospitality is easy to understand, so let’s look at Outback Steakhouse.  They deliver training to franchise employees at 1500 locations.  There are multiple training scenarios, but let’s look at training for special promotions…

In the past, when they ran a limited-time offer like “steak and shrimp on the barbie,” general managers would call employees into the office to discuss it, and everyone billed an hour of time for that session.

Imagine 70,000 people billing an average loaded rate of $20 for just one meeting.  That’s about $1.4 million.  Now it takes only 10 minutes to deliver the same information in an elearning package, so they save $1.2 million on education for each campaign.  Tremendous savings.

What about franchisees in this equation?  Is it more about franchisors, because they invest directly in developing and delivering learning content?  Or is there another side to consider?

We love to investigate the learning strategy for franchisees.  How does training make the business more efficient?  How does it help them make more money?  What are best practices for franchisees?  Does corporate share experiences in a formal way, so franchisees understand and apply the knowledge?

For example, Dairy Queen has 7,000 locations.  When they distribute best-practice content learned from an individual unit, then all franchisees benefit, along with the parent brand.  It’s about access to relevant intelligence beyond required core HR elements, menu training, customer service basics and operational procedures.

It’s in the franchisor’s best interest to train franchisees initially and on an ongoing basis, so they can perform at the highest level.

Are other industries applying this kind of franchise learning model?

Many industries emulate the franchising model.  For example, Heartland Dental is the backbone for more than 800 dental practices with 1,200 doctors, and 12,000 team members in 34 states.  They transformed their in-person, instructor-led training program, so 90% of instruction is now delivered in an online interactive environment.

In the first year alone, their ROI analysis estimated $18 million in savings from eliminating ILT travel and payroll expenses.  Staggering savings.  And those results are only going to get better.

Wow. Tell me more…

Well, Primerica is one of the world’s largest insurance companies.  On an ongoing basis they train about 400,000 sales reps – 25% are full-time and the rest are part-time.  Before we got involved with them years ago, they would create CDs with the latest sales training, case studies and best practices information every 6-8 weeks.

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They shipped these CDs to 400,000 people via FedEx at a discounted rate of $3 a package.  That’s a whopping $1.2 million per shipment they saved by making all of that training available online.

Plus they now have reporting that lets them know precisely when and how content is used, so they don’t have to wonder if anyone even looked at it.

What do you see ahead for extended enterprise learning systems — not just in franchise organizations, but overall?

Companies are realizing that a business-oriented LMS has become a must-have.  If you support training for more than 500 people, you need to consider this kind of solution.  If you train more than 1000 people, it is a must-have.

Many companies already have an LMS, but the majority of those systems are deployed for a single-purpose or are not fully utilized.  Those companies have the potential to get much more out of their LMS investment, but they haven’t transitioned to a modern system because they have sacred cows or they’re resisting change for other reasons.

Increasingly, we see clients asking themselves, “What was our initial purpose for this LMS?”  Then they build on that foundation.  That strategy is exciting because it leads to a much greater return on investment…

To hear all the details of this discussion about franchise learning ROI, LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST NOW…

 RELATED RESOURCES: FRANCHISE LEARNING ROI

• How Does Learning Affect Franchise Success? Measuring What Matters
• Franchise Training Realities: Learning to Slice the Bloomin’ Onion.
• Podcast Episode 4: Achieving Franchise Learning ROI – With Mark Anderson

ALSO REPLAY THIS ON-DEMAND WEBINAR:

Franchise Performance and the Modern LMS

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How can training innovation elevate franchise business performance?  Learn from real-world examples!

Training plays a central role in the world’s most successful franchise organizations.  But what does it take to deliver effective learning programs to a network of independent partners?

Join John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst at Talented Learning as he hosts a special panel discussion with franchise learning experts:

• Trista Kimber, Director of Training & Design at Hooters of America
• Christine Shanks, LMS Administrator at International Dairy Queen

In this dynamic one-hour session, you’ll get practical, proven advice about training best practices that lead to franchise business success. For example, you’ll learn how to:

• Balance your organization’s learning objectives with those of franchisees
• Leverage your LMS as a marketing and demand generation tool to recruit new partners
• Engage learners in onboarding and ongoing experiences that ensure compliance
• Streamline content development, delivery and other operational tasks
• Identify key LMS features that drive franchise partner performance
• Measure learning progress and tie metrics to business results

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