Global employee engagement just hit its lowest point since 2020. Franchising? Barely budged.
FBR surveyed more than 9,500 franchise employees this year, from the C-suite to the front lines of corporate-owned locations. The headline is good news: franchise employees are still more engaged than most of the workforce. But look closer and you’ll find pressure building in the same places that drive people out the door.
A few things we found:
- Satisfaction held at 82, just one point below last year, while global engagement slid for the second year in a row.
- Only 66% say they’re paid fairly. It’s the lowest-scoring question in the survey, and it dropped again.
- Team collaboration is now the top driver of satisfaction, cited in 31% of responses, up from 22% last year.
- Direct managers are winning. Senior leadership communication is still one of the five lowest-rated areas.
- Men are 22% more likely than women to say they’re paid fairly, a gap that hasn’t moved since last year.
- Staffing and workload emerged as the biggest new concern, especially at the unit level.
The full report breaks down the five themes shaping the franchise employee experience, what leaders at brands like Cheba Hut, Rhea Lana’s, and Right at Home are doing about them, where AI fits into the picture, and the 2026 Employee Satisfaction Award winners.
Fill out the form to download your free copy of the 2026 Franchising at WORK Report.