Prospective franchisees shouldn't focus on one franchise system when conducting their pre-entry training. Image: arc-recovery.co.uk
"The
temptation to dumb down franchise education is evident and there is a
misdirected notion that there is only a certain amount of knowledge
that franchisees need to learn," said Julia Camm, franchise education
specialist.
"Our study clearly shows that franchisees are
encouraged to take up education to ensure they armour and protect
themselves before entering a franchise ... but they are not learning
everything they need to make a highly informed
decision."
About the study
Corven
2011 Insight Program research, Placebo or Panacea: Is franchisee
pr-entry education the panacea for greater informed decision-making or
is it a placebo, with no accountable learning outcomes? discovered that
pre-entry franchise
education is important but it is one part of the total solution for greater informed decision making by prospective franchisees.
Of
the 1197 study participants, 1106 were prospective franchisees and
visitors to the Australian Franchising and Business Opportunities Expo.
Key findings include:
- Effective
due diligence on a franchise opportunity relies upon the extent of
pre-entry franchise education a prospective franchisee completes;
- An
effective pre-entry education program would have a recommended purpose,
evidence of achievement for the prospective franchisee, structure and key content clusters
- 71.3
percent of study respondents said that the completion of pre-entry
education should be a mandatory requirement before entering into a
Franchise Agreement
"Pre-entry education should be focused on gaining knowledge of
franchising and business obligations and operations – not to learn
about a specific franchise system," Camm said.
Where should prospective franchisees go?
Based
on a comparison between the study's key findings and programs currently
on offer, the Asia-Pacific Centre for Franchising Excellence's
pre-entry franchise program best matches the recommendations, Camm said.
