Every location should deliver the brand the way your best one does.

One standard at every location, so a new hire learns it the same way everywhere.

Talk to us See where to start

$3 to $5
WH Smith North America increase in the average customer purchase after its store training moved to SmarterU.
200
Pizza Delight courses in the catalog, up from 8, across 70 locations.

What's changing in franchise and retail

845,000
US franchise establishments forecast for 2026, up 1.5%
International Franchise Association, from FRANdata's 2026 outlook
Sept. 2026
the FDA's 2026 Food Code added written employee illness policies and staff awareness of food defense, binding where states and localities adopt it
US Food and Drug Administration, September 2026

How we help franchisors and retailers

Franchisors and multi-location retailers come to us to get one standard out to every location. Start with one need or several, alongside the systems your locations already use.

The same onboarding at every location

A challenge you may be facing: Workers in restaurants and hotels quit at nearly twice the private-sector rate, so every location is always bringing someone new up to the brand standard.
How we can help: The same onboarding path at every location, with a manager signing off each new hire's skills wherever and whenever they start. SmarterU can enroll new hires from your HR system. New hires can ask your operations manual their questions in JoySuite and get the answer with the section it came from, in their own language.

Ramp new hires faster

Owner training delivered to every franchisee

A challenge you may be facing: Franchisors commit to an owner training program in their disclosure document, then have to deliver it to franchisees who own their businesses.
How we can help: One set of courses for every franchisee and location, with managers leading the training for their own teams.

Train and certify customers, members and partners

Menus, products and service kept fresh

A challenge you may be facing: Restaurants are shortest of people in the roles that take the most training, such as cooks and managers, and operators expect experienced managers to be hard to find.
How we can help: Two-minute daily sessions keep menus, products and service standards fresh at every location, and managers see who is proficient. In JoySuite, staff can rehearse a guest complaint against a character that stays in role, drawn from your own service standards, and get coaching after each reply.

Lift team performance

Programs we've built with some of the best teams in franchise and retail

We wanted to give our restaurant managers the ability to control the training programs in their restaurants, so they needed the same consistent information that was easy to access online.

Wanda Cann, Training Specialist Guest Service & Area Manager, Pizza Delight

WH Smith North America

From boutiques to tech-forward InMotion stores, across airport and resort locations

Store training on SmarterU, with a 90% engagement rate across 3,000 learners and 100,000 course completions.
Pizza Delight

Pizza and pasta family restaurant, take-out and delivery

SmarterU training for about 1,200 employees, overseen by each restaurant's managers.

A small selection of our client projects in franchise and retail. Ask us for a reference from an organization like yours.

Member of the Canadian Franchise Association

Where to start

Get one course built

Our Custom eLearning Express service builds a single course for you at a fixed price in ten business days.
About Custom eLearning Express
Keep standards fresh in a minute or two a day

OttoLearn gives each person a short daily session and shows you who has mastered each topic.
About OttoLearn
Let every location ask your operations manual

JoySuite answers questions from your approved manuals, citing the section each answer came from. Plans start at $25 USD a month, with unlimited users.
About JoySuite

FAQ

Can each franchisee or location have its own training space?

Yes. In SmarterU, each franchisee or location can have a sub-account with its own login page, logo and default language, and managers can enroll and follow their own teams.

Can new hires be enrolled from our HR system?

Yes, in SmarterU. It syncs with HRIS, CRM, ERP and payroll systems on any schedule, so a new hire lands in the right group with the right learning plan, and a role change can assign a new plan. It also supports single sign-on through Okta, Microsoft Entra and other identity providers.

Can staff train on their phones during a shift?

Yes. OttoLearn's sessions take a minute or two on a phone, daily or a few times a week, at the start of a shift. SmarterU has iOS and Android apps for longer courses.

How do we know it's working?

You can see who knows each product and who is guessing. OttoLearn shows each person's mastery level for every topic, from Unknown to Expert, and reports knowledge gaps.

Do we have to replace the LMS we already use?

No. We deliver custom courses into the LMS you use, as SCORM, xAPI or cmi5, and you keep the source files. OttoLearn works on its own, alongside your LMS.

Can every location get the same answer from our operations manual?

Yes. JoySuite answers only from the manuals and procedures you approve, shows the section each answer came from, and declines questions outside them. People can ask in more than 100 languages. It works alongside SmarterU or any other LMS, or on its own.

What does it cost?

It depends on what you start with. SmarterU plans start at $3,000 USD per year, and OttoLearn plans start at $250 USD per month, billed annually. Custom courses are quoted per engagement.