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DUNKIN' DONUTS INC.

Ghannel Mdmber Training
Dunkin' Donuts Inc., a fast-food franchisor with an annual
sales volume of almost $2 biltion in 1997 opened its first
doughnut and coffee shop in 1950. Today the company
in North America zrrd 20
foreign countries. The majority of its shops are operated
by independent franchisees, all ofwhom have undergone
intensive training at "Dunkin' Donuts University," which
has more than 4,736 locations

the company maintains at Quincy, Massachusetts,

The six-week training program consists of a five-week

formal course, broken up into six-day work weeks, and a

final week spent on thejob in a local doughnut shop. Approximately half of the program deals with technical production techniques used in the manufacture of doughnuts and similar products. The other half is concerned
with financial, personnel, and management practices to
be followed by owner-managers of the retail stores.
The training schedule for each franchisee and the
instructional materials for each of the 30 days in training
are precisely programmed. Exhibit 1 illustrates a tlpical
daily schedule.
As the trainees proceed through the program, they
are tested with a series of exams. These measure both
their retention of the material covered and their aptitude

in performing the various manual

tasks associated with

doughnut production, The trainees are given uniforms,
operating manuals, and all the other items required for

[he course.
Dtu'ing the rwo and a halfwceks tlrcy spend orr doughnut production, the trainees study subjects ranging from
the f'ermentation process occurring in ycast doughnuts to
the crrncct selccliutr uf fryiug oils, the urairrtettatrce of
equipment, batch planning, and so on. Trairrccs are rcquired to achieve a certain level of proficiency in doughnut production before they can move on to the management training portion of the program.

During this management training phase, the company attempts to convert what are often blue-collar employees into professional managers. Franchisees are introduced to techniques used in interviewing and
selecting employees, rating their job performances, and
carrying out many other managerial tasks. They also learn
how to train employees in the use of supplies and selling
techniques.

A record is kept of each trainee's progress in the

program. Exhibit 2 illustrates a weekly training report.
Copies of such reports are made available to the district
manager in whose assigned area the franchisee is to be
located.
The faculty of Dunkin' Donuts University consists of

a director of training and two assistants, augmented by

technical, financial, and marketing executives from the
nearby corporate headquarters. A local company-owned
outlet is used for on-theljob training. Training does not
end with graduation from Dunkin' Donuts University.
Each franchisee is expected to participate later in a continuing series of regional and national training seminars
scheduled by the company.
A number of Dunkin' Donuts University graduates
have gone on to become owners of multiple franchise
units. The company, which reports that it has had relatively few franchisee failures, attributes this in large part
to the preparation its franchisees receive during the
training proglan.

Discussion Questions
1.
2.

Evaluate this training program.

What suggestions do you have for improvements?

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