According to Jennifer Lemcke, Chief Operating Officer of Weed Man USA, training is the root to success and we couldn’t agree more. As one of the largest franchisors and sold out territories in Canada, Weed Man was ecstatic to transition to the United States franchise market. Since then, they’ve been growing like weeds and they owe it all to their training during the onboarding process and ongoing education available for their franchisees.
Weed Man is well-known for providing environmentally responsible fertilization, weed control and integrated pest management services. Initially, new franchisees will travel to Toronto, Canada to experience nine days of critical training. A sample of their training includes the following, along with more concepts during their visit:
- 2 Days of Agronomic Training – Understanding fertilizers, types of weeds, identifying insects, how diseases spread and more for their particular location and climate area
- 3 ½ Days of System Training – Practicing all the tools franchisees will be using to operate their new business including marketing systems, technical systems and how to run your business daily
- 2 ½ Days of Business Planning – With an extremely detailed plan, Weed Man experts will sit down with their new franchisees and map out their journey to success with a budget conscious mindset
Weed Man is also unleashing their new LMS (Learning Management System), which allows franchisees to train their front-line employees. Weed Man can offer this program to their franchisees by having an online platform that goes through tutorials and webinars that employees will be tested on. The most appealing part about their LMS addition is that it’s not universal.
Since grass and climates are different for every franchisee they have, Weed Man knew they would need to advance their LMS option to be location specific. As grass is a living thing, different elements can create different challenges. Location climate can also influence what type of grass issues their franchisees’ customers may have to face. By customizing the LMS Program by area, the Weed Man Team is confident that this virtual learning experience will greatly benefit their franchisees employees.
The LMS Program offers another benefit to their franchisees—a chance to create a relationship with their employees. Often employees are excited to receive more training because it makes them more knowledgeable in their field and instills a form of value to the company. Weed Man recognized this motivator and has personalized several roles for their franchisees employees so each of their team members receives relevant training to their position.
One last thing to note about the LMS initiative is that all franchisees must review and go through the online training before opening it up to their employees. Why? Weed Man wants to make sure that they agree with the culture and experience of their franchisees. This action will avoid any conflict of interests, such as training to wash your trucks every day versus the franchise owner wanting them washed every other day. Any inconsistencies can be discussed and addressed with Weed Man’s Team to handle before sharing the training modules with others.
Jennifer firmly believes there is a direct correlation with success and training. If you stay firm and showcase everything you need to for training, and avoid taking shortcuts, your team will be able to handle daily operations with ease. In contrast, if Weed Man’s franchisees were to cut corners, the employees would find other situations that they could cut corners on and that can be the difference between gaining or losing a customer.
We’re big believers in training,” Jennifer explains. “Our franchisees that are following the system, training their employees and spending the time that it takes are seeing the benefits. We have a lot of trust in our system.”
Another trend running in Weed Man is allowing employees to gain shares in the company. By providing this incentive, you have properly trained employees that can move to other unit locations and create success at them. Additionally, it allows employees to take personal pride and interest in the business, which is outstanding for retention and employee loyalty. It makes onboarding new recruits much easier since you have qualified and skilled managers, who also appreciate the company, training new employees. This lets new employees jumpstart a positive future at any Weed Man unit.
Weed Man is a strong believer in training and ongoing learning, which truly can increase your success as a potential franchisor. If you’re ready to grow, reach out to Weed Man to learn more about their unique business model in a booming service-provider industry.
About Weed Man USA
Weed Man USA, North America’s No. 1 franchised lawn care provider, is a network of locally owned and operated is lawn care businesses providing environmentally responsible fertilization, weed control and integrated pest management services. For more than 45 years, Weed Man's promise has always been the same: Weed Man treats every lawn as if it was their own and provides customers with honest and open communication. Weed Man entered the U.S. market in 1996 through a licensing agreement with Turf Holdings, Inc. and began awarding franchises in 2000. Today, Weed Man helps support franchisees in more than 500 territories throughout the United States.
The 2016 revenues surpassed $91 million, a 9.74 percent increase over 2015, and that the franchise has been recognized year after year by both Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines as one of the nation’s top franchise investments. Additionally, they just received the Franchise Times for Award for being one of 2017’s Best Franchises to Buy.
About Franchise Training Series
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