Running a successful franchise organization means making high-stakes decisions about people, compensation, culture, and growth — often without a clear view of what the rest of the industry is doing. FBR’s franchise industry research changes that.

Every year, we survey thousands of franchise executives, employees, franchisees, and customers to produce research that gives franchise leaders an honest, data-driven picture of where franchising stands and where it’s headed. Our reports are built for the people who run franchise organizations, not just the people who study them.

Wages are at historic highs, yet employee wage satisfaction is trending down, even at brands reporting above-average pay increases. If your compensation and benefits strategy isn’t keeping pace, you’re losing ground in the competition for top talent without even knowing it.

The Franchise Industry Compensation Report gives HR leaders and franchise executives the salary benchmarking data they need to make smarter, more defensible decisions about pay, benefits, and total compensation. Based on data from 140 leading franchise brands, this is the most comprehensive compensation resource available for the franchise sector.

Inside the report:

• Salary comparisons for 40 distinct franchise roles representing 6,100+ specific positions
• Insights on hiring outlook and practical strategies for attracting top talent
• Workplace trends data, including hybrid and remote work, wage inflation, employee burnout, and the rise of AI and gig work
• What employees really want and how leading brands are positioning themselves as a workplace of choice

You can invest in culture, training, and perks, but do you actually know how your employees feel? FBR surveyed more than 11,000 franchise employees, from the C-suite to the front lines, to uncover the real state of employee engagement across franchising.

The results are encouraging in some ways and sobering in others. Engagement across the franchise industry is strong compared to the U.S. average, but five systemic challenges are quietly threatening retention, culture, and performance at brands that aren’t paying attention. The Franchising at WORK Report gives operations leaders, HR professionals, and franchise executives the candid, employee-driven data they need to address those challenges before they become crises.

Inside the report:

• 5 critical themes shaping the employee experience in 2025
• How franchising’s engagement rate compares to the national average
• What great managers do to drive loyalty — and how poor management puts your brand at risk
• Why compensation, growth opportunities, and communication are make-or-break factors for retention
• Trends shaping workplace well-being, DEI, and the gender gap in franchising

FBR’s research doesn’t stop at the industry level. Our Franchise Industry Sector Reports go deeper, examining the individual sectors that make up the franchise economy and giving readers the data and context they need to understand what’s really happening on the ground within each one.

Meant to support our consumer audience in their investment decision-making process, each sector report draws on FBR’s proprietary research and more than two decades of franchise benchmarking data to deliver an honest, informed look at a specific segment of franchising, covering performance trends, franchisee satisfaction, growth outlook, and what separates the strongest brands in that space from the rest. These reports also offer additional visibility for top-rated brands within each sector addressed.

Our first sector report focused on the Food & Beverage franchise industry, one of franchising’s largest and most dynamic segments. Coming next: a deep dive into the Senior Care sector, one of the fastest-growing areas in franchising as demographic demand accelerates. Additional sector reports will be released throughout the year.

The FBR Resource Center is your go-to library for practical franchise industry content, available anytime, at no cost. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your strategy, make the case for a new initiative internally, or simply stay current on the trends shaping franchising, you’ll find something useful here.

Inside the Resource Center:

• Ebooks: Deep-dive guides on franchising’s most important topics, written for the people running franchise organizations
• Case studies: Real-world examples of how leading franchise brands are tackling challenges in recruitment, retention, culture, and growth
• Blog & industry insights: Timely articles from FBR’s research team covering the trends, data, and developments that matter most right now
• Tools & templates: Ready-to-use resources designed to help HR, operations, and development teams work smarter