Start-up training has gained strategic importance in the race to spur franchise growth. Investors (new franchisees) won't sign on with a franchise unless they are confident they can quickly learn what they need to know to succeed in their new venture.

The competition to attract potential franchisees is intense, to say the least, and from the prospective franchisee's perspective, this means more options than ever to evaluate. One key determinant many aspiring franchisees consider in their decision is the quality of the training and support being offered.

All franchisors offer start-up training-some as few as two days, some as much as three months. Finding the optimal balance is a challenge.

On the one hand, under-funded programs increase the likelihood of failing units. On the other hand, over-funded programs cut into margins.

Then there is the strategic consideration: Is training an expense or an investment? There is strong evidence that the biggest companies train the most. The question is, do they train because they're big, or are they big because they train?

The data and studies collected for this research project focus exclusively on pre-launch or start-up training, as opposed to ongoing support. The sample size of 220 companies represents 17 percent of the franchises operating in Canada.

For broader comparisons with other industries, data from the American Society for Training and Development has been included.

Few industries have as complete and comprehensive an approach to training as does franchising. Every company surveyed for this study reported training assistance in some shape or form.

Despite the wide range of activity, however, there are definite ideas about how much training is enough. In measuring total training days, this study included all pre-operational efforts, both classroom and on-site, and found the median number of training days to be 15, or three weeks.

There is a second cluster at 31-35 training days, which for the most part is populated by mid-market restaurant chains. There are few benchmarks to compare these results to, since start-up training is a one-off event, and most training research surrounds ongoing activities.

However, if one considers that the average U.S. employee is trained 28 hours a year, it's clear that start-up training in the franchise industry is a major activity center.

Which franchise category trains the most? Restaurant operations spend significantly more time on start-up training than do most franchises. This is understandable, considering the size of the investment, the infrastructure costs and the high demands in maintaining food and service quality.

The least number of training days are given to new owners in janitorial and maid service franchises, assumedly because the skill sets required are fairly easy to convey.

Also notable in this data set is the relatively few training days afforded to health/nutrition and educational franchisees. One possibility is that most of their training is delivered in follow-up sessions.

Of course, the quality of the training programs is a major factor not evident in this data, and it may vary widely from company to company.

There is a wide range of content covered in start-up training. The keystone in most programs is the operations manual, which for most franchisees is the main point of reference in understanding the workings of the organization.

Other activities consist of meeting key franchisor personnel, going over the franchisor's forms, learning to use computer software or point-of-sale equipment and understanding the procedures necessary for the day-to-day operation of the business.

Again, there is a great degree of variance in what franchisors offer. At one floor coverings franchise, for example, the start-up plan is very specific and guides the new franchisee through everything from equipping the van and applying logos to developing retail price lists and finding installers.

Some franchisors focus more on managerial and less on procedural training. For example, the training program at one computer services franchise stresses market research and media relations, as well as strategies for teaching computer skills.

A popular business services franchise provides new franchisees with a pre-opening guide that helps them complete a marketing plan.

Franchisees in that system begin at the grass roots by scouring the Yellow Pages for potential customers who may need notary or photocopying services. The guide also has a checklist for permits, as well as standard demographic questions.

From the information available, the choice of training content seems consistent with the allocations made by businesses in the wider economy. The one potential exception is customer relations, which may rank higher in franchise training due to the high number of food service and retail operations.

There are three major locations for start-up training: at company headquarters, at an existing franchised operation or at the franchisee's new operation.

A full two-thirds of training takes place at company headquarters. One of the obvious advantages here is that franchisors can amortize the fixed costs of training facilities and staff over many franchisees.

Another benefit for franchisors is the opportunity to induct newcomers into the culture of the franchise, and to establish the relationships that will aid in the delivery of ongoing support.

The largest of franchisors aspire to the university model, which pays homage to the company's success and serves as a rich environment for cultural indoctrination. It is unclear if these brick-and-mortar investments will remain as effective as technological and blended delivery systems continue to drop in cost.

Most of the benefits of on-site training accrue to the franchisee. These include being trained on the actual equipment that will be used, and getting immediate answers to problems encountered as the operation is launched. Consequently, finding the right mix of classroom and on-site training is an important consideration for franchisors and franchisees alike. Here, looking at business categories sheds some light on who is training on-site and who is training at headquarters.

Automotive franchises have the highest percentage of on-site training, more than 55 percent of the total. The figures in round numbers for other industry segments are: fast food, 45 percent; business services, 41 percent; home services, 38 percent; retail, 31 percent; restaurants, 29 percent; and health, 23 percent.

Classroom instruction is still by far the preferred delivery method in training employees, accounting for 65 percent of all training provided by franchisors in Canada and more than 70 percent in the U.S.

There is no industry-wide data to indicate how franchisors are adopting learning technologies to reduce training costs, but in the broader economy, the use of classroom delivery is dropping steadily, more so in Canada than in the U.S.

Although the use of learning technologies is replacing classroom training in both countries, the Canadian trend reversed itself in 2002, as alternative forms of training were employed that were neither classroom nor technology- based.

One possible explanation is that experiments with learning technologies were seen as expendable in the face of the economic downturn.

Another possibility is that alternative approaches such as shadow training, self-paced study and mentoring are producing adequate results at lower costs.

The median number of start-up training days is 15, meaning that just as many franchises train less than 15 days as do train more than 15 days.

The average number of training days is 19.4, which is greater than the median due to the extensive training requirements by some major franchises. McDonald's franchisees, for example, spend months at McDonald's Hamburger College.

Ray Belanger is vice president of ABA In., a Toronto-based firm that specializes in managing the training process for franchise companies. He can be reached at (416)219-8447.