If you think training is expensive, try ignorance says Wayne Duncan, director and chairman of Retsol Stores, the franchise management and investment company that owns Corner Bakery. As a result, Corner Bakery franchisees and staff undergo extensive and comprehensive training, on an ongoing basis, in order to be well-equipped to run a successful business. The management training demonstrates a practical step-by-step approach of how to run a profitable bakery.
Duncan comments, “Corner Bakery understands the sacrifice required for a business owner and his staff to be out of production for a number of days while attending training. Because of this we have put an enormous amount of time and resources into designing a meaningful and practical training curriculum that delivers maximum impact. We are extremely proud of our Management Training Programme, our unique Franchisee Pack and the team of people that deliver our world-class training programme.”
A new franchisee and his management team undergo a comprehensive management training course held at Retsol’s Durban head office. This course is aimed at the management and ownership level and provides franchisees with practical tools to maximise the sales and profitability of their outlets. The course is designed to prepare the franchisee for the opening and operation of the new outlet. Training modules include topics such as production planning, stock management, general bakery, merchandising, cleaning and marketing.
All trainees, who must have a minimum matric qualification and be functionally literate in maths, are required to actively participate during training and undergo a final examination. Adult Based Education Training (ABET) certification may be required prior to the commencement of training to ensure that all trainees can read and understand the required training material. All team members ultimately require certification and a minimum number of team members are required to have been certified prior to the outlet commencing trading. On completion of training, the franchisee is provided with a fully-comprehensive operations manual for reference purposes. Duncan says Retsol has identified these requirements and qualifications as being essential to ensure the quality of service, product and delivery that Corner Bakery prides itself on, in each and every outlet.
Executive trainer, Alan Hockey, has a unique blend of talents and experience that have positioned him as a top trainer in the industry: He has corporate and call centre experience, owned a bakery, is an executive trainer and a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
He comments, “Owning a bakery provided me with firsthand knowledge and appreciation of the complexity of the processes and the challenges involved in running a bakery and managing the people. My insights into the industry allow me to give all of the participants on my courses a different perspective on bakery management – based on my own experience, I have developed a training method that takes the complexity (but not the hard work) out of owning a bakery.”
Hockey continues, “Running a bakery is not simple. There is continuous movement of stock, products and people, which can result in the untrained eye making costly errors and oversights. These errors can have lasting adverse affects on both profitability and your customers. In our management training, we focus on getting the franchisee and his team organised so that everyone in the bakery understands the detail behind the role they need to play.”
“Participants leave this training with a very clear understanding of how to handle complex processes and how to monitor and control stock, staff and turnover. The same Standard Operating Model that is used in training is a tool that will be used time and time again in the bakery to ensure adherence to best practice. Even the most experienced bakery owner will benefit from the training. Ultimately, Corner Bakery’s world-class training programs will ensure that customers experience a quality product consistent with the brand anywhere in South Africa, “he concludes.
Retsol was established in 2002 with the vision of becoming SA’s leading, privately-held franchise company. In April 2010, Retsol signed a Heads of Agreement with Engen to become the exclusive bakery franchisor (with their brand, Corner Bakery) within Engen Quick Shop outlets in South Africa. There are currently over 550 Engen Quick Shops in South Africa, approximately 200 of which have unbranded bakeries / pie shops (currently managed as a product category within the Quick Shop outlets) and the balance, approximately 350, which are branded as Corner Bakery outlets. Equatorial Coffee, exclusive to Corner Bakery, is available at more than 120 Corner Bakeries around the country; with many more planned for roll-out in the near future.
