British Swim School’s Digital Response to COVID-19

With COVID-19 disrupting the business landscape (and let’s admit, life as we know it), many have begun to realize the benefits of franchising as an opportunity to generate supplemental income. As prospects conduct research in an uncertain economy, many are drawn to franchise opportunities like British Swim School, which offer a low-cost investment model utilizing partnerships to reduce buildout costs and overhead.

Our typical franchise discovery and onboarding processes have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, with technology becoming an important part of the development and execution of the content and resources that we provide. Thoughtful adjustments to our procedures have allowed us to continue supporting our franchise system in an effective way, and has been well received by those involved!

Franchise Discovery Process

The franchise discovery process is designed so that prospects and franchisors have the opportunity to learn more about each other – an important step as both parties are exploring what it will be like to work with one another for years to come. Of the many well-planned steps throughout the discovery process, the most important is our Meet the Team Day. This provides an opportunity for prospects to visit our corporate headquarters in Virginia Beach, VA to learn more about our franchise model and meet the full leadership and support team.

While we recognize the value of meeting in-person, the health and well-being of the general public remains our number one priority. In compliance with the guidelines put forth by the CDC and OSHA, we have modified our process to conduct Meet the Team Days virtually so that prospects can continue to gather valuable information amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Until it is safe to resume travel, prospects can start and complete the discovery process from the comfort and safety of home!

Business Training

Once a prospect is awarded a franchise, we provide comprehensive business training to teach our newest owners everything they need to know about our franchise model and how to successfully run their own business. This includes all aspects of staff management, operations, marketing and technology, among other topics.

Traditionally, business training occurs over a 5-day period at our corporate headquarters in Virginia Beach, VA. While this in-person format has been temporarily put on hold, we’ve modified our existing training curriculum to utilize remote learning in a manner that continues to provide personalized attention based on the knowledge and comprehension of each trainee, using a combination of pre-recorded and “live” training sessions over the course of 2-3 weeks.

The impact on our new franchise owners? Not much! Our state-of-the-art learning management system means that we can continue providing the quality of training our franchise owners have come to expect. As franchise owners complete their virtual training sessions, they complete assessments to help our support team identify potential challenge areas and gauge their level of comprehension, allowing for further-customized training and the opportunity to course-correct as needed. And because no training is complete without a graduation, we’ve found a way to virtually celebrate our new franchisees with a cheers from our team and a pre-mailed package with a few fun British Swim School items.

Training & Ongoing Support

Our business training is designed to cover a lot of ground, but we recognize it’s a lot to absorb and needs change as businesses mature. With this in mind, the British Swim School corporate team provides ongoing training and support and decided soon after the COVID-19 outbreak that we’d use this unanticipated “downtime” as an opportunity to double down on those efforts. Since the first week that our locations were temporarily closed, our team has conducted semi-weekly training sessions covering everything from systems training to customer service, with extensive time spent on how best to re-open in a safe and effective manner. Our goal? Engage our franchisees and encourage each of them to strengthen the foundation of their business while they have time on their hands.

Get Started with British Swim School

Interested in opening a British Swim School in your community? Fill out the form on our website and one of our Franchise Professionals will get in touch with you shortly! Or give us a call directly at 844-794-6249.