Your Learning Management System (LMS) can be a powerful learning center, whether for product knowledge, sales development, operations, compliance and as a part of your blended training.

The easiest way to get your franchises to not only use your LMS but get their buy in is to use it yourself. If you do not have a corporate culture of learning and development, focus there first.

You have to be willing to be an example of the results you are looking for from your franchisees. Your franchisees will do as you do not as you say.

Begin to develop that culture of learning by offering a blended learning approach to your franchisee onboarding process.

You can create a group of courses (track) that your franchisees will have to complete in your LMS before scheduling their in-house training.
You can have your franchisee take any safety courses, policies, and general operational information via your LMS. This will free up time during your in-house training to focus on the topics that will help them run a successful business.

When it comes to designing your courses for maximum engagement:

Design your courses to be interactive and something that your franchisees look forward to taking. One long chapter that is all text will turn off the student and result in far less engagement.
Is your portal inviting? Does it encourage your users to want to come back? Does it highlight your brand? These are all questions to ask when designing your training portal to gain the maximum buy in from your franchisees.
Will a good number of your students be taking their training courses on a mobile device? If yes, you will want to ensure your LMS is mobile friendly. This is also something to keep in mind when creating your courses.

Encourage your franchisees to create a culture of learning. Franchisees can encourage employee discussions about the training courses they have taken and what did they learn from the course at the weekly staff meetings. Give recognition for the highest score, most successfully completed courses, etc…

Organizational learning is an ongoing, dynamic process and should be part of your system’s DNA. A culture of learning supports an environment where everyone learns, everyone teaches, and everyone shares knowledge. Franchise Systems that embrace a culture of learning can expect to gain and sustain a competitive advantage over those that do not.

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