What You Need to Know About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Franchising
New research from the Franchising@WORK study reveals how employees really feel about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in franchising.
3 Easy Ways to Gather Franchise Employee Feedback and Supercharge Employee Retention
Gathering employee feedback in a franchise model can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be.
The SBA Franchise Directory Is Dead. Now What?
With the elimination of the SBA's Franchise Directory, here are 5 ways you can increase the likelihood of candidates’ loans getting approved.
13 Resources for LGBTQIA+ Entrepreneurs and Franchisees
List of funding options and community and mentorship organizations to share with LGBTQ+ franchisees and candidates.
Overcoming Barriers to Franchise Ownership for Women and People of Color
How to overcome the traditional barriers keeping people of color and women from becoming franchise owners and create a diverse and inclusive franchise system.
Why FBR Awards Should Be Part of a Winning PR Strategy
How PR teams can get more exposure for your franchise clients with the most important industry recognition in franchising.
How to Celebrate Employees Every Day—Not Just On Employee Appreciation Day
It’s no secret that a happy and engaged team has a ripple effect. They are your brand ambassadors—while they are with your team, and just as importantly, after they move on. Here are five ways to show them you care on Employee Appreciation Day and all year round.
Random Acts of Kindness in Franchising
With more organizations focused on creating a positive culture, there is a place for kindness in business. With that in mind, we created a checklist of 30 “Random Acts of Kindness in Franchising” and we invite everyone to participate and celebrate others who spread kindness.
Are Your Employees Afraid to Tell You How They REALLY Feel? You Might Be Surprised
If you’re conducting the survey on your own and finding that many of your employees aren’t participating, it may be a sign that something else is going on. Here's what it means and how it could affect employee engagement.
5 Tips to Make the Most of the IFA Convention
The International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Convention is THE franchising event of the year. FBR's President, Michelle Rowan, share a few tips she's picked up over the years for making the most of your time there - no matter if you're a seasoned veteran or first time attendee.
6 Creative Ways to Up Your Public Relations Game
Are you using your franchisee satisfaction data in your public relations efforts? Looking for some inspiration? Get real-life examples and visuals of how creative franchisors are making satisfaction data the focus of PR and marketing strategies to get attention and edge out the competition.
7 Reasons Why Franchisors Don’t Ask Employees for Feedback (and Why They’re Bogus)
Business owners continue to name employee retention and hiring as one of the top challenges in running and growing their businesses, and yet many still aren’t taking the steps necessary to address it. Here are 7 reasons to reconsider.
Uncovering the Best Franchises to Work For
Learn how the Franchising@WORK Employee Engagement and Compensation Awards work, eligibility, how the winners are calculated and how you can make the list of the best franchises to work for.
4 Ways to Reach More (and Better) Franchise Candidates
Unemployment rates have dipped to some of the lowest we’ve seen in nearly two decades, which means the stream of franchise candidate leads is slowing to a trickle at the same time many brands are hoping to accelerate development to keep up with customer demand. With franchisors all competing for a limited number of candidates, development teams need to get creative to find new leads. Try some of these out-of-the-box ideas.
7 Simple Ways to Build Employee Engagement
FBR's employee engagement research has shown that a quarter of all franchise employees (25%) don’t feel that they receive the recognition they deserve. Here are seven simple ideas can help you show your employees you care to build engagement and retain your top employees.
Hey Franchise Founders! Some Advice From the Franchise Community
Franchisors and suppliers across the franchise community share their personal experience and best practices for franchise founders.
The Outlook from Washington: Potential Labor Issues for Franchising
DC regulators weighed in on the biggest threats to franchising in the current labor market at IFA's Franchise Action Network meeting. These are the three biggest takeaways.
5 Questions Private Equity Investors Need to Ask Before Investing in a Franchise
If you're a private equity investor (or a franchisor in acquisition mode), make sure you're asking these five questions before making an investment in a franchise.
Beyond Awards: Why Data Is Even More Valuable Than the Recognition
An FBR award is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for recognition, but the data behind it is where the real value lies. Learn four ways franchisee satisfaction data can accelerate your development process.
What Makes a Great Franchise Business Coach and How You Can Make Them More Successful
One of the most difficult - but also most crucial - roles on your support team is the franchise business coach (FBC). Find out what makes a great FBC and how to get the most out of the three-way relationship between the franchisor, franchisee, and FBC.
Why Does FBR Offer a Free Franchisee Survey?
Franchise Business Review offers a free franchisee survey. Find out how and why we do it and how to get your free survey with no catch!
Net Promoter Score for Franchises
Does Net Promoter Score work for franchises? Here's what you need to know about using NPS to ask for feedback from customers, employees and franchisees.
How to Work with Independent Franchisee Associations
Franchisee associations, which are typically meant to represent the interests of the franchisee to the franchisor, are usually organized independently of the franchisor, and can play a key role in whether the franchisee/franchisor relationship is positive and productive, or negative and combative. Learn how to work with your franchisee association and positively impact the growth and profitability of your system.
How to Use Your Top Franchise Award to Stand Out at Franchise Expos
Franchise expos are the perfect place to promote your award to show candidates how satisfied your franchisees are—and why your brand should be on the top of their list.
4 Warning Signs of Franchisee Dissatisfaction
If you see any of these four warning signs of franchisee dissatisfaction, your franchise system could be in trouble. Learn what to watch out for and how to fix it.
Random Acts of Kindness in Franchising Checklist
With more organizations focused on creating a positive culture, there is a place for kindness in business, and we’re here to promote and celebrate those that spread kindness. With that in mind, we created our “Random Acts of Kindness in Franchising” checklist to recognize those little things that make a big difference.
WWTLD: What Would Ted Lasso Do?
What are the best leadership lessons from Ted Lasso? These are gems to live by for franchisors and anyone who wants to be a better leader.
7 Creative Ideas to Help Franchisees Overcome Staffing Challenges
Hiring and keeping businesses staffed is clearly a top challenge for most business owners, and franchisees are no exception. Here are seven tips for helping franchisees overcome staffing challenges by creating a “culture” mindset to differentiate themselves as an employer of choice.
How to Launch a Culture Club in Your Franchise System
Kristin Kidd, Director of Operations at The Lash Lounge, explains how her team identified ways to strengthen their corporate culture, and got their franchisees to focus on culture in their own organizations as well, to mitigate post-Covid hiring woes.
Experts Share 20 Franchise Operations Missteps That Hurt Your Brand
Franchise suppliers weigh in on the 20 biggest mistakes franchisors make when it comes to franchise operations, from training & support to franchisee relations, to field visits.
The Future of Franchise Field Support
After more than a year of remote work, operations teams found alternative ways to support their franchisees. Now, as we return to in-person visits, franchise ops teams are tasked with deciding what support changes are worth keeping and how they can continue to find new ways to increase value to their franchisee network.
7 “Danger” Areas That Franchise Operations Teams Need to Watch
What are the lowest rated areas by franchisees and what can franchise operations teams do to improve them? Find out how field support teams can help improve performance by focusing on these key areas of risk.
The Top 5 Drivers of Franchise Performance [New Research]
How - and where - can you make the biggest impact on overall franchise performance? Our latest research identified the 5 key areas that have the most significant impact.
5 Ways to Protect Your Franchise Investment
Franchisee satisfaction is a primary leading indicator of current system health and a predictor of future performance and long-term system growth. If the brand you’re investing in doesn’t provide you with recent, detailed, third-party research on their franchisees’ satisfaction, it could be a red flag.
5 Things You Need to Know Before Surveying Franchisees
Whether this is your first time reaching out to formally measure franchisee satisfaction and feedback, or you’re planning for your next annual survey, there are a few simple things you should know first.
The CEO’s Guide to Creating and Maintaining a Positive Culture in Franchising
This eBook examines the three foundational components of a positive franchise culture—and provides practical advice for franchise leadership teams for creating and maintaining a culture that leads to greater productivity and profitability.
Employee Satisfaction vs. Employee Engagement: What’s the Difference?
Your employees may be satisfied with their day-to-day roles, but they might not be engaged. Understand the difference between employee satisfaction and engagement - and why it matters.
Attn: Smart CEOs
The pandemic disrupted many businesses - some struggled to survive while others were able to drive innovation. So where does that leave franchise CEOs who are committed to the health of their system? Implementing these three strategies with a critical focus on people is crucial for success.
Lessons from Peloton for Franchising
Peloton’s “Together we go far” slogan encapsulates a culture and strategic growth that most franchise systems (and all businesses) strive for. Community isn’t something you can force to happen, but Peloton seems to have fostered something special, and a lot of that could be applied to our own organizations.
5 Roadblocks to Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is important to the success (or survival) of an organization, and while it’s become increasingly hard to foster engagement when some (or all) of your team is remote, it’s also more important than ever in helping to retain your top talent.
Franchise Culture: What Separates the Best From the Rest
Why Emerging Brands Need to Make Building a Positive Culture a Top Priority We have spent the last 15 years [...]
The Future of Franchisee Onboarding and Training
Virtual onboarding and training may be here to stay post-COVID. Here's a look at the 4 major challenges that poses for franchisors and recommendations for overcoming them.
Franchise Culture in 2020 Is Different – Like Everything Else
While some franchise brands were able to continue to thrive through the events of 2020, many have had to lay off or furlough employees and/or had franchisees whose businesses didn’t survive - all of which can also take a toll on franchise culture. It’s more important now than ever before to assess your company culture and take steps to fix the parts that are broken. These 12 steps can help you get started
6 Things Private Equity Investors Need to Know About Franchising
More private equity firms have turned their focus to potential investments in franchising, and with the impact of Covid-19 it’s likely we will see even more consolidations and purchases in the next year. Here are six things private equity investors need to know before acquiring a franchise brand.
6 Ways to Attract More Multi-Unit Franchisees and Close the Deal
What’s always been common practice in food franchising—requiring franchisees to commit to opening multiple units as part of their franchise agreement—is now becoming common outside of food. But attracting multi-unit franchisees and keeping them happy isn’t as easy as just changing your franchise agreement. Here are six tips for attracting multi-unit franchisees and ensuring your system is set up for success.
5 Ways Franchise Leaders Can Support Employees and Franchisees in the Fight Against Racism
With protests continuing across the country, it’s clear we need systemic change to end racism. Franchising is positioned to lead the way by supporting franchisees and employees. Here are five ideas we’re sharing from what we’re reading and hearing from people in our industry.
Cultivate a Data-Driven Organization from the Top Down
When you survey your franchisees, it's critical to share it with your entire executive team if you want to truly cultivate a data-driven mindset in your organization. The insights we collect on our surveys can help every team in your organization identify priorities, track their progress and meet their goals. Find out how each of your teams can benefit from having FBR walk them through your data together.
10 Myths About Franchisee Surveys Debunked
Over the past 15 years we've worked with more than 1,100 franchisors who understand the value of franchisee surveys, but we’ve also encountered many who buy into myths and misconceptions that simply don’t hold water. Here, we separate fact from fiction.
Two-Way Communication: Making Sure Employees and Franchisees Are Heard During the COVID-19 Crisis
Most of us are aware that communicating - and communicating quickly and often - is critical in times of crisis. But while most of us are focused on outbound communication to employees, franchisees and customers, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that communication is a two-way street. Learn how to ensure you have a plan for franchisees and employees to communicate their needs and concerns to you.
Vulnerability: 3 Personal and Professional Takeaways from Brené Brown
FBR's president Michelle Rowan shares her three personal takeaways from Brené Brown on vulnerability, as well as how they apply to franchising.
Smart Ideas Project 2020: The Path Forward from COVID-19
Like other businesses across the country and the world, franchises have had to get creative in how they deliver their products and services - from implementing curbside pick-up to going entirely digital to completely changing priorities - basically overnight. We asked them to share their Smart Ideas for getting it done and here's what they told us.
Maintaining and Rebuilding Company Culture During and Beyond COVID-19
Many leaders are trying to adapt to running teams and their businesses remotely. How can you maintain, or create a remote culture while everyone is online instead of in-person? And how do we rebuild culture when remote workers return to the office? Consider these ideas for creating or maintaining company culture while working remotely during COVID-19 and how to rebuild culture after returning to the workplace.
Caring for Your Business, Yourself and Others During COVID-19
Here at Franchise Business Review, we talk about ways we can contribute to supporting the franchise industry during COVID-19. With our Smart Ideas Project, we want to collect and share more ideas that are working in this crazy time - I hope you’ll share yours. We plan to share these ideas that might help support or inspire others as we look for ways to protect or pivot our businesses.
Innovation, Technology and Food Franchising: Stats to Know in 2020
Where are food franchises headed? We take a look at the data and trends affecting the success of the food franchise sector and how it compares to other sectors. Here are the food franchise stats you need to know.
Creating a Culture of Growth
Franchise Update's Leadership and Development Conference is a must-attend event. In case you missed it, FBR president Michelle Rowan shares the four major takeaways from the event on how to create a culture of growth in your organization.
What’s Keeping Franchise Operations Up at Night?
What are the biggest challenges facing franchise operations teams? FBR's president Michelle Rowan joined over 175 operations leaders and had a unique opportunity to facilitate two days of discussion around where their focus is and the best practices they're using to overcome obstacles.
Coaching for the Franchisee Lifecycle: Meeting Your Franchisees Where They Are
One of the biggest challenges of the franchisee lifecycle is keeping tenured franchisees engaged. Join us at the IFA's Franchise Operations Conference this fall to learn how successful franchisors are using franchisee satisfaction data to make continuous improvements to their training and support to break franchisees out of their performance plateaus.
This 4th Is a Good Time to Remember Positive Results Come from Listening with Respect (part II)
As we celebrate this fourth of July, FBR's president Michelle Rowan reflects on the freedoms we enjoy and the value of listening to and carefully considering the opinions of others in our communities, families, even our franchise systems, in order to drive positive change.
The Gender Pay Gap Is Real
FBR’s newly released Franchising@WORK study found that franchise salaries for women are lower than men, especially at the mid-level management and C-Suite levels. The question is why? FBR’s president Michelle Rowan explores some theories that may be contributing factors.
Be Notorious: What We Can All Learn from RBG on International Women’s Day
Celebrate International Women's Day with three simple, yet profound ideas gleaned from the legendary Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Franchise Business Review's President and COO, Michelle Rowan, explores lessons learned from the feminist icon, the value of women in her personal life and their role in the industry.
eBook: The CEO’s Guide to Creating and Maintaining a Positive Culture in Franchising
Despite it's critical importance, culture is frequently overlooked by leadership. This eBook examines the three foundational components of a positive franchise culture—and provides practical advice for franchise leadership teams for creating and maintaining a culture that leads to greater productivity and profitability.
Franchise Culture as a Foundation for Success
Franchise culture NEEDS to be an operational priority - starting with leadership, but really for everyone in your organization. The challenge is knowing where to start. Join FBR at the IFA Operations Seminar in Tampa this fall to learn the secrets of creating a winning culture from leading franchisors.
Franchisee Satisfaction Data as Business Intelligence
Business intelligence is all about using data to make informed decisions for your organization. It applies data analysis to glean actionable insights, identify risks and opportunities, and guide strategic plans. If you’re not collecting franchisee satisfaction data, you’re missing a critical piece of business intelligence. And that means you’re putting your entire system at risk.
Franchisee Engagement at Conference: EmployBridge Sets the Tone for Franchise Success
Learn some of the ways EmployBridge has successfully used their annual conference as part of an overall effort to improve and foster franchisee engagement.
eBook: The [Franchise] Happiness Project
If you can commit to focusing on one area to work on each month and embedding it into your corporate culture, you may find that a step-by-step approach to change can end up making a big difference. This eBook lay out 12 best practices you can implement over the course of a year to increase satisfaction and improve productivity.
Leverage Survey Data to Boost Your Brand’s Culture, Media Presence, and More
Franchisors that lead their sectors proactively seek feedback from franchisees, customers, employees and/or candidates because they understand doing so positively impacts their bottom line. Read on to learn a few ways to leverage survey data that you may not have considered.
Work Keeping You Up at Night? Rest Easy with the 2016 Ops Series
We talk with franchise executives day in and day out about how to improve franchisee satisfaction, and the most common [...]
10 Things I’ve Learned That Make Working 40+ Hours, 50 Weeks a Year Better
This month I celebrate my 10th anniversary at Franchise Business Review (FBR). I also turned 40 this summer, which seems an ideal time to reflect on what I’ve figured out makes work a place I enjoy going to each morning.
This 4th is a Good Time To Remember Positive Results Come From Listening With Respect
The fourth of July makes me appreciate how fortunate we are to live in a country where opinions can be [...]
McDonalds Illustrates the Need to Strategically Respond to Franchisee Satisfaction Data
If McDonald’s current relationship with its franchisees is not enough for you to invest in understanding what the majority of your franchisees are happy with and what they are not pleased with, consider the many system-strengthening benefits satisfied franchisees deliver.
3 Ways You Are Wasting Money
Prior to spending the bulk of your budget on advertising, online lead generation, or attending shows to generate interest from potential franchisees, it's crucial to address things your franchisees aren't happy about. Why? Because your franchisees’ feedback can make or break a deal when trying to bring a new franchisee on board.
Jimmy John’s Greatest Mistake
The passion of Jimmy Liautuad is palpable. He’s got a big personality, and as he shared at Franchise Time’s Finance and Growth Conference in March, he’s had a great ride as CEO of Jimmy John’s Gourmet Subs—a brand he started back in 1983. But it hasn’t all been roses.