Growing a Training Business in Regulated Industries

EPISODE 109: Growing a Training Business in Regulated Industries

Over the years, I’ve interviewed countless training company owners. Although their business concepts vary widely, I see a common thread running through every story. They all seem grounded in a commitment to evolution.

This week’s podcast guest is a perfect example. Andrew Tyndall is CEO and Owner of Responsible Training, a food safety training business that leverages learning technology to drive ongoing growth.

The company’s 20-year path has not been straight, but it has been rewarding. How so? Find out from Andrew as he joins us on this episode of the Talented Learning Show…

GROWING A TRAINING BUSINESS IN REGULATED INDUSTRIES — KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Online learning has been transforming instructional experiences for decades. But managing an online training business in regulated industries adds an extra layer of complexity. This is where digital integration strategies shine.

• The food service world is an excellent example. All 730,000+ restaurants in the U.S. must meet clear safety standards. But regulations are constantly changing, workforce turnover is high, and frontline workers don’t use standardized devices for training. So, success depends on a learning platform that is highly sophisticated and flexible.

• Robust data integration across learning and business systems is critical. It gives food service workers easy, secure access to training whenever they need it. At the same time, managers and corporate leaders can tap into timely training and compliance intelligence directly from within their own business applications.

GROWING A TRAINING BUSINESS IN REGULATED INDUSTRIES — Q&A HIGHLIGHTS

Welcome, Andrew. What was the original idea behind your business?

Well, back in 1999, my mom started providing in-person food safety training. For about 5 years, she drove across Central Texas, delivering training to multiple restaurants and bars, some of which we still serve today.

Then, in 2004, she started offering a supplementary online training program to prepare people before we showed up for testing. At that time, it was a pretty revolutionary idea.

Companies in our region liked it because it improved efficiency. When we were onsite, we weren’t spending hours training their teams. We were just there to test.

And that’s when my mom saw the light. She started moving as much of our business online as possible, so we could easily expand to other regions.

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I see…

At the same time, Texas and other states started to require supplemental learning. And as those laws shifted, we saw an opportunity to deliver training entirely online.

We knew an online model would be especially valuable for larger companies, because we could support multiple locations without having to be in all those places at once. So, in 2006-2007, we shifted from working with single-unit companies to corporations with multiple locations.

The concept sounds simple now. But back then, it really wasn’t. Fortunately, we’re a small company, so we’re very nimble. And at that time, we were looking for a niche. So, we pivoted to online delivery before other training providers.

Since 2005, we’ve focused on online food handler training. Our strength is our ability to provide a quick, simple way for people to get online and take necessary training that adapts with changing regulatory requirements and digital preferences.

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How do you define your audience? You serve restaurant chains that operate anywhere in the U.S. But do you manage training on a state-by-state basis?

Technically, yes. Every state has its own food code derived from federal FDA code, so there’s some consistency. But ultimately, we must address each state’s food handling regulations.

We also do alcohol server training, which is entirely a state-by-state program. And our food manager program falls under a federal umbrella.

So, our three core offerings — food manager, food handler, and alcohol — all blend some sort of national approval concept, even if it’s just the way we build our content. But each state program has to go through its own approval standards and process.

The primary regulator we work through is ANAB (formerly known as ANSI). They oversee accreditation for our food safety, manager, and food handler programs.

Of course, your clients don’t deliver this training for fun. They’re mandated to provide it, right?

Yes, especially the alcohol program. It’s a liability protection tool. And it is heavily regulated in some regions.

The bigger a company gets, the tougher it is to comply. So, they turn to us — not only for training, but also because we handle new restaurant opening (NRO) audits. In addition, we continuously review food codes. So, companies operating in multiple states get timely information from us whenever they open stores and when relevant state or federal regulations change.

So, the value we add is not just through training. It’s also from the regulatory updates and information we provide.

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Tell us about your course catalog. What does content look like and how do you create it?

For a long time, we’ve used iSpring exclusively. But now we’re actively looking into Articulate.

Your online training content is all self-paced, right? Do students work only on their own, or do they have cohorts?

The training is all self-paced. So, individuals can get in, get started, get out, and come back whenever they want.

It’s based on modules, so registration and lessons are based on information we have about each user. Also, there’s an assessment process that runs through every course.

After each lesson, there is a quiz to verify that people are learning and retaining the content. Then at the end of all the lessons, there’s a practice exam. And ultimately, everything leads to the final exam.

Certificate issuance is typically required, based on a passing score on the final exam. Some programs require people to complete lessons in order. It depends on the program and the state.

That’s why we build-in questions throughout the learning process to gather these details. It’s subtle, so people won’t be overwhelmed or confused. Usually, they don’t even realize they’re sharing data that identifies them along the way.

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How do you keep up with all these requirements?

Every year, we start with an FDA food code audit. This code is typically updated every 2-3 years, so it’s critical to know if anything has changed.

Next, we conduct a 50-state food code audit. Do they still adhere to federal code, or have they added their own updates? As I said, some states follow the federal code 100%, which is much easier to audit. Other states (especially large ones) make their own adjustments.

We run through every state once a year. At the same time, we help corporate clients work through their store opening plans, because it’s important to keep up with that, as well.

So, it’s a three-tiered approach, from the federal level, to the state, and down to local municipalities.

Sounds brutal. How long does that take?

Typically, it’s a three-month process. The federal phase goes much quicker because the FDA releases an abbreviated changes list that helps us start immediately.

And then there’s usually a lag at the state level. But we use a 3-column checklist that includes all 50 states, so we can be sure our course content and all information is up-to-date. For us, it’s peace of mind.

Also, there’s the new rollout process for stores our customers are planning to open. That actually has become the most valuable tool of all, because federal and state changes are much easier to map.

But local counties are a thorn in the side for businesses with 1000-5000 locations, because that’s where accounting for little things becomes a nightmare.

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Wow…

This isn’t really what we set out to do. But enough of our customers ask us about this, so it has become a big part of our business. And it’s a valuable tool because, together, our corporate clients have operations in about 99% of those localities.

Some years involve more changes than others. But every year is a different challenge.

Right. So, it’s not just about your core instructional content. It’s also about the peace of mind you provide through ongoing regulatory intelligence. How do you sell this?

Well, we split into two models: B2C and B2B.

On the B2C side, our food handler course hasn’t changed since 2001. It’s still $10, because we want to offer the best value possible. Both my mom and I have worked in restaurants. So, we know how important it is to price certification fairly.

Makes sense…

But with corporations, that price can decrease significantly as volume increases. On the B2B side, pricing is based on multiple metrics: What are your employee numbers? What are your turnover numbers?

We try to find a level that limits the pain for clients. Because, honestly, no one loves training. I love it, but for corporations and their employees, it’s an efficiency tool.

People want to get what they need and then get back to their job. So, we’ve spent 20 years figuring out how to provide the training they need for a critical benchmark level of information. Everything we do is built on that. And corporations find value in the efficiency of that mechanism.

But the primary value of what we do comes from compliance.

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Sure…

Our niche right now really is integration. It’s not just about training delivery, but about how we get all the data back to corporations in real time, so they can use it to make better business decisions.

We’re not keeping folders of certificates anymore. We deliver information when and where they need it, so they can manage the program more effectively from a compliance perspective.

And this data is available on systems they use. They’ve spent so much money on Workday, HRIS systems, or whatever. They don’t want to be on our system. That’s the last thing they want to use.

If we can just include the completion date, the expiration date, and maybe access to a certificate, it reduces the program’s workload by 70-80%. So, when we tie a little bit of this data into their HR and business systems, they can get the information in real-time.

They can segment it, automate it, and report it. So, it becomes a tool they can apply to every aspect of their business.

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Very cool. So, what learning system are you using?

Our primary platform is LearningCart LMS.

We’re very lucky we found them, because for years, we operated with three platforms — a CRM, a storefront, and an LMS. And LearningCart found a way to integrate all three of those into one platform.

Sweet…

For us, the concept of having all the data available in one place made all these integration projects possible. So centralizing the three core platforms was a huge upgrade. This started about two years ago, and we’re just hitting our stride in working with them to utilize these tools as opportunities emerge.

Nice. And as you look back over the past 20 years of growing this business, what’s one thing you would change if you could? …

… For complete answers to this and other questions about how to run a training business in regulated industries like food service, listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on Amazon, or right here on our site.

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