District Manager Training, Crucial for the Success of Your Organization

One of the things that multi-unit growing organizations require is to have properly trained and skillful district managers. This position is critical for the success of the company but, as I have explained in a previous blog post, it is also the most difficult one in the retail and franchise industries. 

To add to that, there’s very little clarity of what this role does and it is the one with the least amount of training and support.

Perhaps because of the investment companies have to make to train the people in that position, not only in terms of money but also in time. But believe me, if this investment is not done, it can cost you greatly.

Why should you train your district managers? 

What makes these leaders so crucial for your organization? There are several reasons.

The first one is that people that are promoted to this position don't naturally know what to do or how to execute the job correctly. That’s because their previous leadership position, mostly unit managers, didn’t train them for the new role.

Single unit managers have specific operations and tasks they do every day. But when you are a district manager, the responsibilities and activities are completely different, and they vary from day to day.

Another reason why you need to train the district managers is because of the complexity of the job. It is a challenge because there are multiple locations, with quite a distance between each other, and in every one of them, there are different situations that need to be solved and different teams that have to get inspired and trained so that they can execute the business and brand systems properly.

Also, this particular role is key because, if your district manager does not execute with a high level of excellence, a lot of things can go wrong in your organization. Just to name a few consequences: you may not achieve your sales goals every month, your units may not get to the break-even point, and you won’t be able to achieve your desired financial and time freedom.

What should you train your district managers on? 

We at The American Franchise Academy have found that this leader has to master seven critical responsibilities to be successful in their position. These responsibilities are:

1. Lead the people they are working with. They need to be able to develop others and themselves to become the best leaders they can be for the people they oversee.
2. Plan their time appropriately to be efficient and effective. Since this role is dictated by the particular situations of the district units and their people, this is a critical skill for their success, the quality of the results, and the life balance they can achieve. 
3. Staff, so that they can manage the staffing levels in their district and plan the leadership bench for the future.
4. Execute, although their job is not to actually operate the business and brand systems, but to inspire others to execute them day in and day out, on every shift, on every unit. 
5. Maintain the units the best possible way. That means they have to make sure that their units are clean and in good working condition every day.
6. Market, so that they can do local store marketing plans with the unit managers. It has to be co-created because nobody knows the unit better than the unit manager does. 
7. Produce results, understanding the business financials, what the goals are, and how to address, plan, teach and coach the crew to get to those desired outcomes.

To fulfill all of these responsibilities, district managers have to be trained so they can acquire specific processes, procedures, steps, and routines for them to achieve do the job successfully. 

Learn more about the 7 core responsibilities of these leaders and how we can help them with our District Manager’s video series. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to view our live sessions!

What difference can this training do for your business?

If you are still hesitant, here’s a list of outcomes you’ll have if you do that training for your district managers:

• You will have your business activities, entrance, and work done correctly every day. If you are a franchisee or a business owner that has a district manager, you’ll delegate operations to them, trusting that they’ll make sure that those things that need to get done in the business happen as they should.
  
  
• If you train your district managers on how to do the job well, their confidence and satisfaction are going to go through the roof. We see it all the time with our clients! If they have the tools to perform properly, these leaders will obtain the results you want and expect not only for you but for themselves.
  
  
• This will also help you retain leaders in your organization, which will mean that your turnover is low or nonexistent. And then you, as a business owner or franchisee, will be able to have the freedom of time that you want and deserve in your business because the district manager will be there for you, representing you in the units of your business.
  
  
• Last but not least, you’ll have the results you want because they’ll know how to execute these actions and routines day in and day out. That will help you achieve the business and financial results you want in your business. 
  

   

What options do you have to train your district managers?

All of this information may seem overwhelming. But there’s good news: here at The American Franchise Academy, we created a multi-unit leadership certification program.

This is a world-class, 10-week program, where we teach district managers the seven critical responsibilities, the routines, and the right procedures they must do every day, every week, every month, and every year, to be able to achieve the results they want and deserve. 

As I mentioned before, this training will help them feel confident and competent doing their job, which will translate into the achievement of the results you expect to have in your business. 

In our upcoming information session, we’ll share what the program is, and what are all the tools, resources, knowledge, and support we deliver to the district managers to help them be successful at their job. Register to the next free information session at DistrictManagerTraining.com 

And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube Channel to view the rest of the District Manager’s video series.

Reflections:

• Are your district managers the best leaders they can be?
• Are they able to fulfill the seven critical responsibilities of their role?
• What are your district managers lacking that is preventing them achieve their goals?
• How can your multi-unit organization benefit from having your district managers properly trained?