In a perfect and ideal world, when you hired a new employee for your business you would hand them an employee handbook, perhaps show them an instructional video or two and that would be that.  Your employee would then perform at or above expectations, never making a mistake or faltering on the path to excellent.  However, if you have spent even a short time running a business you are painfully aware that that is not even close to the reality of the situation.  Training is not, and cannot be a one-time occurrence.  Training may be a noun in the dictionary, but in the workplace it is a verb – ongoing and under constant revision.

Franchise Standards

If you own a franchise, then undoubtedly your franchisor has provided you with some standard employee training literature and instructional material.  This material is aimed at ensuring that your staff is equipped with the knowledge to perform at the franchisor’s minimum standards of quality and service.  This provides you with a basic foundation for training.  However, should you choose to accept this minimal training as sufficient for your employees, expect them to give you minimal performance.

Above and Beyond

It is up to you, as the owner, to establish your own standards, above and beyond those set by the franchisor.  If you don’t have a clear idea of what you want from  your staff, then you have no reasonable expectation of them anticipating and meeting your ill-defined and communicated standards.  The best way to develop and flesh out these standards is to hold regular meetings with your management staff.  This will allow you to not only ensure that they are upholding existing principles, but will allow you to keep current on new developments in your business that may require you to adjust your procedures.

Get your staff involved in the act of continuous training as well.  Identify and reward your strongest employees.  Encourage them to take an active role in the training of new employees and make them examples for the rest of the staff.  Giving them more active roles in the business will not only reinforce their good behavior, but will bolster morale within the ranks and give other employees a mark to actively shoot for.

Be Flexible

Don’t ever stop looking for ways to improve upon existing procedure.  The minute you think that you have it all figured out and have struck upon the best way to run your business is the minute that you begin to fail.  Your business is a growing, changing entity (or at least it should be), and your approach needs to grow and change along with it.

Strive to identify what works best and what old practices may not be applicable any longer.  Then incorporate this knowledge into your ongoing training with your employees.  Keep in constant communication with your managers and with your staff.  Never settle for “well enough” and pass that value on to your employees.  No matter how well things are running, they can always be better, and it is up to you to keep your employees up to date and moving forward through active and ongoing training throughout the life of your business.