InStride, a leading provider of strategic workforce education programs, has introduced several enhancements to its pioneering franchise platform. These innovations enable these talent programs to be tailored to individual franchise needs, solidifying InStride’s leadership in employee education for franchise businesses.

“To address the human capital needs that franchise and other distributed business models face today, we had to consider the unique challenges that come with managing employee education across diverse locations. Our solution provides franchisors with tools to deliver high-quality education programs while giving franchisees the autonomy to manage and customize them,” said InStride CEO Craig Maloney.

Real-world impact

InStride’s franchise solutions have been successfully implemented by multiple leading global companies, including two of the top five quick-serve restaurants in the U.S.

Enhancements were built on solutions initially developed in 2022 for a franchise partner in the logistics space and aim to transform employee education and career development across franchise businesses. They include tailored learning paths with a focus on skills relevant to franchise workers, improved administrative functionality and advanced reporting capabilities.

The benefits of these innovations are clear. At one franchise partner, over 50% of franchisees opted into the program within the first year. The company has achieved a one-third higher retention rate for participating employee learners compared to non-participating employees across these franchise locations.

A unique approach to franchise learning

InStride’s approach to developing workforce education for franchise businesses ensures that each franchise location can implement programs tailored to their specific business and talent needs, while maintaining overall consistency and oversight across the brand.

To achieve this, each franchise location must have the capability to set its own eligibility criteria and budget, as well as to receive separate billing and reporting visibility. Additionally, the franchisor requires comprehensive anonymized reporting and the ability to design overarching program structures.

Key features

InStride has developed a comprehensive set of franchise support tools and functionalities:

• Highly configurable options: Tailor eligibility rules by location, coverage by employee group type, terms and conditions for each franchisee, and billing at both the franchisor and franchisee levels.
• Budget management: The ability to set and manage budgets with an HR approval flow to ensure full budget visibility and control.
• Multi-level reporting: Available at the franchisor and franchisee level, allowing for better decision-making and performance tracking.
• Hands-on support for program launch: Including personalized 1:1 outreach, education program management guides and workforce education workshops.

These advancements are set to empower franchises to build future-ready workforces, improve employee retention and create attractive investment opportunities for prospective owners.

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