Duplication and consistency are at the heart of successful franchise systems and retail chains. A brand is strongest when the customer has the same experience each time they visit one of your locations, no matter what time of day or which location. The only way that brand consistency can be accomplished is through training.

That being said, franchisers seem to be the same mistakes over and over again when it comes to training their franchisees. The following lists the 5 most common and critical mistakes franchisors make when it comes to training.

1. Training as a Reaction

Believe it or not, some franchisers have virtually no training program. Sure, their marketing brochure and Web site certainly mention their state of the art training program. And they'll drop by your location when you first open to help you out. But there's no systematic way to pro-actively show their franchisees how to successfully run a successful franchise.

If you're reading this article, chances are this problem doesn't apply to you. The mere fact that you're reading an article on training means you have a genuine interest in improving your training program, which means you probably already have some form of formal training. So let's skip to mistake #2.

2. Training Too Infrequently

The majority of franchisers have the exact same recipe when it comes to training. First, they'll invite you over to their headquarters for a period of 1 to 4 weeks to train you on their products, services and operational procedures. Then, they'll provide additional on site training when you first open your franchise. Sound familiar?

This program is excellent as far as initial training goes, but doesn't quite cut it in an industry where employee turnover rates are between 100% and 300%. Think about it. After the first year of operation, hardly anyone who took the initial training will still be working for the franchise, except perhaps the franchisee himself. Unless the owner of the franchise can single handedly run the business, which is rarely the case, you need to have frequent training sessions. I would recommend quarterly sessions for regular employees that have been there for a while and of course immediate sessions for new hires.

"OK. Stop it right there!" you say? "How can you possibly train every single employee on a quarterly basis and new hires on the spot? That type of training is the responsibility of the franchisee, not the franchiser!" Not according to mistake #3.

3. Leaving the Training to Your Franchisees

Most franchise owners I know work 60-80 hours a week. And trust me, that time isn't spent training their employees.

Managing the store's finances, putting out fires, dealing with angry people and difficult employees and interviewing new hires? Yes. Training those new hires or experienced employees? No. The irony is that much like you think training new employees is the franchise owner's job, the franchise owner thinks it's the Manager's job. And the Manager thinks it's the Assistant Manager's. And the Assistant Manager? Well, she just thinks the new hire can learn by simply observing her. So basically, your new hires get most of their training by observing someone who was, well, trained by observing someone else. No wonder the franchise industry faces a 300% employee turnover rate and people have come to refer to such jobs as "McJobs".

If you're not going to train the employees that work in your franchises, you can pretty much be guaranteed that no one will.

And if you think training every single individual that is part of your franchise system is impossible, it's probably because you're making mistake #4.

4. Relying Solely on Face-to-face Training

There's nothing wrong with the idea of training employees face to face. As a matter of fact, face to face training can be extremely effective. But realistically, it's impossible for a franchiser to train every single individual face to face, especially if you plan on training them on a regular (i.e. quarterly) basis.

With so many employees spread across so many locations, most franchisers find that training franchisees face to face become impossible after only 5-10 locations.

What's the option? An online Corporate University, a Web-based strategic tool designed to assist your company in achieving its goal of training your employees anytime, anywhere.

Meta-analysis studies have recently shown that online training is as effective as face to face training when done right. I can certainly attest to that. I've sat through enough classroom courses, seminars and other conventional training sessions to tell you that they're not all they're cut out to be. I can only imagine how effective they are when they're giving by a franchise owner working 80 hours a week.

To some of you, an online Corporate University might be a novel idea. Successful franchisors however have been training their franchisees and employees for years using the Internet. Subway, which was again voted the #1 franchise by Entrepreneur magazine, attributes much of its success to its University of Subway, an online Corporate University that allows them to train every single individual working in one of their 31,000+ restaurants in 90 countries.

5. Not Testing for Competence

Training without testing assumes two things. First, it takes for granted that your students are actually learning everything you are teaching them. Then it assumes that your training program is complete enough that anyone who follows it can learn everything they need to run a successful franchise.

Our high schools, colleges and universities don't hand out diplomas without testing their students. There is a good reason for that. Would you trust a surgeon to operate on you if he/she had done nothing more but read a few medical books or observe other surgeons? Of course not! So why would you trust someone with your brand and let him/her run your franchise without first testing their competencies?

Testing is another area where online Corporate Universities excel. Thanks to advancements in learning technologies, students can now be evaluated using a variety of online tools. Meanwhile, managers can track the student's performance and progress with the click of a button.

No franchiser in their right mind will argue that duplication and consistency are at the heart of successful franchise systems. The only way that brand consistency can be accomplished is through training. Take a look at your training program, make sure you don't fall victim to the 5 classic mistakes identified above, and if you haven't done so already, invest in an online Corporate University.

 Luc Richard is the President & CEO of Dual Code Inc.