Franchise TEA, a newsletter about the three behaviors that differentiate between high performing franchises from low preforming franchises, got an opportunity to ask a series of questions about the training practices of InXpress, a global shipping solution.
Referring to the importance of training franchisees, Ken BrockBank, Founder and Chief Training Officer at InXpress says “Learning is crucial to the success in our system, without it franchisees will fail and so will we.”
InXpress, established in 1999, provides international express, domestic express, freight and mail services to customers, leveraging agreements with carriers to provide discounted rates and uses its online shipping software, to automate the shipping process.
The following Q&A is a deeper look into InXpress’s training success.
Q. What training programs does InXpress encompass?
We have a robust training program consisting of six different phases:
Phase 1 is our online pre-training program, consisting of six online training modules and quizzes. These modules provide a basic overview of our company, products and sales process. This gives our franchisees and sales reps enough basic knowledge to get some street/market experience prior to attending Boot Camp in phase 2.
Phase 2 is a five day Boot Camp, conducted at one of our regional support centers.
Phase 3 is an online post training program, consisting of online module and quizzes.
Phase 4 is an advanced training program with industry certification and in depth hands on product training.
Phase 5 is a series of reinforcement trading packs, which include a brief review of a certain subject, followed by videos of top franchisees sharing their success formula. This is also has a short manual and audio that accompanies the pack.
Phase 6 is outsourced training provided by third party vendors, which have been designed and negotiated on a specific country level.
Q. How does InXpress ensure continued training?
We ensure continued training through our reinforcement training packs and advanced training programs and certifications.
Q. Who does your organization train?
InXpress trains masters, franchisees and sales reps in our entire process, while our customer service reps & staff complete the online portion.
Q. Do different roles get assigned different training curriculum?
Other than issues specific to franchisees, we train all with the same training.
Q. Why do you feel training is important to InXpress’s business model?
Learning is crucial to their success in our system, without it they will fail and so will we.
Overcoming the following six training challenges franchisors typically face:
Challenge: Franchise User Management/Employers are unknown: One of the biggest challenges facing a franchisor when managing a franchise training program is managing franchise employees access to the training system. Since franchises are independent companies, franchisors rarely know who the franchise has hired, what their position is and how much training they need. How does InXpress deploy user management when employees are unknown?
A. InXpress sets up all known email addresses. We then can track all new employees & what courses they have taken.
Challenge: Employees that work at multiple units: Many franchise employees work at multiple franchise locations and often perform different roles. They might be a sales associate at two locations and work in the warehouse of a third. How do you over employees with multiple job titles at several units?
A. InXpress is able to track and monitor all employees of franchisees, whether they are small or large organizations.
Challenge: Owners of Multiple Units: Success breeds success and many of your franchisees own multiple franchises. In fact some of your franchisees may own dozens or hundreds of franchises that stretch across your field organization. Managing training across such a large population can be problematic for your franchisees. How does InXpress accommodate owners of multiple units?
A. We mandate all field sales reps complete our entire training program, and all staff complete the online programs.
Challenge: Franchisor Assign Training Goals: How does a franchisor make sure franchise employees are properly trained?
A. We set the standard for mandatory trainings needed up front and motivate our system to complete them with certification programs.
Challenge: Making training compulsive without direct management: Franchisors cannot require training or establish minimal performance standards to employees of franchisees simply because they are not the employee of the franchisor. How do you encourage training of non employees?
A. We can mandate that sales reps of franchisees attend trainings because our carrier partner DHL requires it.
Challenge: How do you support a unique & successful business model: Franchisors have a unique successful business model which they sell to franchisees. This includes unique training processes and workflows that are core to the franchisor’s mission and cannot be changed to generic workflows. How does InXpress support it business model?
A. The way we support our unique business model is having successful franchisees as trainers!
InXpress is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and currently has over 300 units in 13 countries including: USA, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, South Korea, Vietnam, France, Morocco, Netherlands, South Africa and United Kingdom.
About Franchise Training series
As part of our own expansion and growth, we’re excited to continue our Franchise Training series. This series encompass a wide variety of franchise topics designed to help franchisors and potential franchisees gain knowledge of business practices.
Latitude is confident that you will find great value in its content in the Connection Newsletter and hopes that it will aid you in your own goals to grow and thrive.
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