Leveraging FBR Awards to Supercharge Your Franchise Marketing
See how five highly successful brands are leveraging their Franchisee Satisfaction Awards as part of their franchise marketing strategies.
The Importance of Ongoing Training for Franchisees
Ongoing training for franchisees is the cornerstone of a successful franchise system. Learn the five most effective types of franchisee training and what they should include.
The Power of Franchisee Satisfaction: A Persuasive Factor for Prospective Franchise Buyers
We asked three franchisees if franchisee satisfaction was a factor in their decision to buy. Here's what they said.
The Franchise Operations Framework: Where Age-Old Wisdom Meets 21st Century Sass
Ah, franchise operations. A topic so saturated with generic advice, it's like telling a fish to just keep swimming. But [...]
Rate Your Franchise’s Careers Page
Learn how to evaluate your franchise careers page to ensure it attracts qualify job candidates and communicates your employer brand and culture.
Catching the AI Wave in Franchising: A 5-Step Guide by Stay in Your Lane
Learn 5 ways using artificial intelligence in franchising can help franchise brands streamline operations and power up franchise development and marketing.
Top 5 Reasons to Attend the FBR Summit
The Summit is the ONLY event designed exclusively for franchise operations leaders and their teams that directly support franchisees.
The Biggest Employment Trends Impacting Franchising in 2023
Employee engagement levels in franchising are the highest since 2018, but burnout and retention remain top concerns for franchisors. Here are the 5 franchise workplace trends to watch.
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.
Building Bridges and Sharing Insights: The Executive Summit Experience
A sneak peek at what you can expect from the Executive Summit at the FBR Summit in Austin this October.
How to Build Credibility with Franchisees
Learn how coaches can build credibility with franchisees and create a strong working relationship with legacy owners and top performers.
Franchise Culture Matters
Which is more likely to lead you to a strong and powerful culture that will promote a healthy, profitable growing business? A culture that just happens or a culture that is planned?
How Franchisors Can Provide Employment Resources Without Being a Joint-Employer
The team from CareerPlug explains what it means to be a joint employer, why franchisors avoid it, and how they can do so while still providing valuable hiring resources to their network.
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.
10 Signs of a Toxic Workplace Culture
The red flags franchise leaders and HR pros need to watch for that could indicate you have a toxic franchise workplace culture —and what to do about it.
13 Resources for LGBTQIA+ Entrepreneurs and Franchisees
List of funding options and community and mentorship organizations to share with LGBTQ+ franchisees and candidates.
Empowering Franchisees: Why the 90s Called and Want Their Business Practices Back
You'd be surprised at how many franchise businesses still rely on outdated practices like paper checklists, binders, endless phone calls, and physically driving from one location to another. Here's how you can bring your franchise operations into the 21st century.
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.
How AI Can Help You with Franchise Operations
4 ways AI can make franchise operations smoother and more efficient for franchisors, including helpful resources.
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.
Call for Entries Announced: 2023 Franchising@WORK Awards
The Franchising@WORK Awards recognize the franchise companies with the best company culture based exclusively on independent ratings from employees.
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.
Are Franchise Portals Worth It? What Are the Alternatives?
As a franchisor, it's important to increase your visibility and reach prospective franchisees. Learn more whether franchise portals are worth it and the best franchise portal options available.
Owners Wished Franchisors Did These Things Better
As a franchisor, your ultimate goal is to build a strong brand, provide consistent experiences across locations, and support your franchise owners in their efforts to make money. But with so many moving parts, it can be challenging to know where to start.
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.
Franchisee Satisfaction Levels Remain at Some of the Highest Levels in 18 Years
FBR's latest research shows owner satisfaction remains high in the franchise sector. Franchisees report 10 percent jump in income.
5 Franchising Articles from 2022 That Deserve Another Read
2022 may be in the rearview mirror, but there were several posts that offered some great insights that are worth another look as we dive head first into 2023.
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.
How to Plan a Year of Content Marketing [+ Free Template]
Get your free, customizable franchising calendar template to plan your content marketing strategy for the year and track key dates and franchising events.
5 New Year’s Resolutions Every Franchisor Should Make
For many of us, New Year’s resolutions revolve around getting — or staying — healthy. But regardless of personal resolutions, for franchisors it also means building a healthier brand in 2023.
Preparing Your Franchise for a Recession
Franchisors and franchise suppliers weigh in with tips on how to best prepare your franchise for a recession in 2023.
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.
Forget the Stuff and Give a Gift that Matters
Looking for a way to give back this holiday season AND help inspire others to take the leap to realizing their potential as successful business owners? Consider donating to one of these entrepreneurial nonprofits.
Five Easy, Low-Cost Ideas to Boost Growth through Franchisee Satisfaction
Try these five easy, low-cost tips to start increasing franchisee satisfaction, and maximize your franchise system's growth and revenue.
5 Simple Ways to Wow Franchisees
Raise the performance of your franchise system with these 5 tips.
Franchise Horror Stories: 5 Ways to Separate Your Brand From the (Scary) Headlines
With high-profile franchise systems making headlines for exploiting franchises with unfair and deceptive practices, how can brands that foster strong, supportive franchisor-franchisee relationships differentiate themselves? Here are five things you can do to set your brand apart.
4 Franchise Development Budget Planning Mistakes to Avoid
Despite the seemingly endless meetings and ensuing headaches that accompany budget planning, there’s no escaping it. To make this year’s planning a little easier for you, we’ve put together the four most common budgeting mistakes that franchise marketing and development teams tend to make, along with ways to fix them.
Franchising Has a Gen Z Problem
With employee recruitment and retention currently the number one challenge, solving the Gen Z workforce dilemma should be a top priority for franchises.
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.
The Top 5 Employment Trends for Franchisors to Watch
The Great Resignation, quiet quitting, a looming recession...what does it all mean for franchising? Research reveals the top employment trends in the franchise sector.
Three Takeaways from The Wealthy Franchisee (Not Just for Franchisees)
Emily George reviews The Wealthy Franchisee by Scott Greenberg. See the takeaways that will help you take your business or career to the next level.
3 Takeaways From the Faegre Drinker Franchise Summit
What were the big takeaways from the Faegre Summit? Emily George breaks down the hot topics that franchisors were buzzing about.
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 Are Peer Groups and Why Do You Need Them?
Learn the pros and cons of implementing peer groups in your franchise system and how you can use them to increase franchisee engagement.
Think It’s Too Soon to Survey Your Franchisees? Think Again.
Rob Flanagan of Hounds Town USA explains how surveying franchisees early leads to smarter growth and a clear roadmap for the future of your system.
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.
How to Get Peer Groups Back on Track
Peer groups are a recognized and respected tactic used by franchise brands to facilitate internal knowledge sharing and invigorate their system. They are a proactive mechanism for franchise systems that want to truly leverage the collective knowledge and experience to improve unit results and brand performance. But even in the best systems, peer groups can eventually start to lose their effectiveness. If your peer groups are no longer functioning as effectively as they should, these five tips can help reinvigorate them.
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.
5 Signs of a Successful Franchise Advisory Council
In order for an FAC to truly represent franchisees’ perspectives, the group itself has to function effectively, which is dependent on practices and a culture within the group that set up both the FAC and the franchisor for success. If you have an FAC in your system, look for these five indicators to determine if it is running successfully.
The Ultimate Guide to Employee Pulse Surveys
Everything you need to know about using employee engagement pulse surveys to drive hiring and employee retention in your franchise 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.
Why Employee Engagement Survey Results Are Important to Franchise Culture
Find out how Massage Heights, Hot Dish Advertising and Wild Birds Unlimited are using their FBR employee engagement survey data to positively impact retention and organizational culture.
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.
Supporting Women in Franchising
Celebrating International Women's Day with some of the amazing resources to help women in franchising connect and succeed.
Pulse Surveys: A Small but Mighty Tool for Increasing Franchisee Satisfaction
Pulse surveys are a fast, easy, relatively inexpensive tool to measure system performance. Learn what makes a successful pulse survey and how to implement them in your system.
What Is Employer Branding and Why Should Franchisors Care About It?
Learn 10 ways to position your franchise as an Employer of Choice and strengthen your employee recruitment and retention efforts.
2022 Franchising Predictions
What does the future hold for franchising in 2022? Thought leaders share their franchise predictions and reflect on 2021.
Moving from Data-Driven to Insight-Driven: Uncovering the Gold in Your Data Mine
The ultimate goal of surveying your franchisees is to gain objective insights into how to improve operational performance to get better results. In order to do that you need to pull out the gold hidden inside! These 10 ideas for digging into your data will help you understand what drives your franchisees’ behaviors and beliefs, and apply metrics to improving franchisee relations.
[New Research] Franchising Emerges From the Pandemic Stronger Than Ever
Newly released data shows record high satisfaction for franchise business owners — an increase of 3% since pre-pandemic levels — with nearly 9 in 10 rating their franchise opportunity above average.
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.
Why Image One Shares Survey Data with Candidates
Image One's Tim Conn talks about why they continue to survey their franchisees year after year, which question means the most to him, and how Image One summarizes the data highlights to help candidates understand the strengths of their system through FBR’s independent lens.
How High-Performing Quick-Service Restaurants are Attracting Employees
QSR Magazine featured an article from FBR's CEO Eric Stites highlighting how restaurant franchises are focusing on culture and soliciting employee feedback to differentiate themselves.
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.
A Newcomer’s Take on Franchising: Perspectives from the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference
FBR Client Consultant Courtney Stillings recaps takeaways from franchise leaders about the future of franchising from the 2021 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas.
How Fibrenew Harnesses the Power of Third-Party Validation
Learn how Fibrenew uses their recognition as an FBR award-winner to grab the attention of candidates and, in turn, how they use that third-party validation as a powerful tool to educate candidates about what to expect.
Franchise Talent War: Which Brands Will Win and Which Will Be Left Behind?
FBR's new study of employee engagement in the franchise sector reveals key insights about corporate franchise roles, including compensation, satisfaction and productivity.
How Franchisee Satisfaction Helped Save Restaurants During the Pandemic
The pandemic has been a game-changer for restaurants, but what we’ve learned is that one of the biggest factors why some food franchises succeeded and why others failed during COVID has been largely ignored.
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.
Why Franchisee Satisfaction Is the Number 1 Driver for Kitchen Solvers
In this conversation with Kitchen Solvers' Zach Nolte he explains how they use FBR’s survey to put quantifiable metrics around franchisee satisfaction, and use the survey data to show their franchisees that they are listening and making changes based on their feedback.
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 3 Things Keeping Franchise Operations Leaders Up at Night
Franchise operations leaders are facing new and different challenges as we emerge from the pandemic. It's no surprise that labor issues top the list for many, but that's not the only one. FBR held a recent roundtable event where operations execs shared some of the things that keep them up at night - and what they're doing about them.
The 3 Biggest Franchise Development Challenges for 2021
Many franchise brands are experiencing full pipelines that led to faster growth in 2020 and 2021, but others are struggling to find candidates to continue growing the brand. Here are the strategies to generate growth that franchise development leaders shared at FBR's recent roundtable event.
How PuroClean Captures the Enthusiasm of Franchisees and Turns It into Opportunity
Tim Courtney, VP of franchise development for PuroClean sat down with FBR to talk about the opportunity he saw when he first joined the team to capture the enthusiasm of PuroClean’s owners and turn that into an advantage on both the development and operations sides.
Two Men and a Truck Succeeds Where Other Franchise Companies Fail
Randy Shacka, president of Two Men and a Truck talked with FBR about how they deliver on satisfaction, trust, and values by being intentional and building strong relationships.
Top 3 Secrets to Innovative Franchise Social Media
Creating an impactful social presence is very often tucked into the “nice to have” category, when in actuality, it should be a must for any franchise that wants to grow. Learn how to instantly improve your outcomes by implementing these three easy, innovative social media strategies.
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.
How Cruise Planners Continued to Grow Despite a Travel Industry Standstill
The travel sector took a major hit during the pandemic, but that’s not stopping Cruise Planners. Founder & CEO Michelle Fee shares how pent-up demand for travel combined with innovative support strategies are creating opportunity.
Putting Others First Is What Puts Visiting Angels on Top
Visiting Angels Vice President David Ritterling talks with FBR about why building a system of people who love people translates into a winning business model.
How to Support Franchisees Facing a Labor Shortage
With some franchise sectors struggling to hire, how can franchisors create a culture that attracts employees to their brand? These 6 tips help franchise leaders create a culture where employees want to work.
You’ve Just Completed a Franchisee Survey. Now What?
It’s surprising how many companies participate in franchisee surveys then stick the report in a drawer. Why let this treasure-trove of business intel languish? These 7 easy steps will help you turn your data into action.
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.
Franchise Advisory Councils: Pros and Cons
What are the pros and cons of a Franchise Advisory Council? Learn the risks and benefits when considering implementing an FAC in your franchise system.
Why Just Between Friends Went From Doing a Free Survey to Buying the Results
Co-founder and president Shannon Wilburn recalls the “a-ha” moment when she realized she was missing out on the goldmine of data in her FBR survey.
What Pet Supplies Plus Gets from FBR That They Can’t Get Anywhere Else
As part of our ongoing series highlighting our Top Franchises, FBR asked Pet Supplies Plus Franchise Development Specialist Christine Schultz some questions to uncover what it is that makes Pet Supplies Plus a best-in-category brand.
Want to Boost Franchisee Survey Participation Rates? Take a Lesson from Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Franchisors often ask us how they can encourage their franchisees to participate and boost survey participation rates. We recently unearthed this 2019 video of Charles Watson, CEO of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, inviting his franchisees to take our survey, and we couldn’t help but share!
How the #1 Rated Education Franchise Uses Franchisee Satisfaction Data to Get Better Every Year
Dennis Maple, president and CEO of Goddard Systems, Inc., explains how they use their annual FBR franchisee satisfaction survey to baseline against competitors as well as their own goals for success.
Why Do Some Brands Avoid Franchisee Surveys?
One of the most efficient ways to predict future franchise brand performance is to examine franchisee survey results. Despite the valuable information surveys provide, some brands still avoid conducting franchisee surveys. Time for a reality check.
How Christian Brothers Automotive Has Changed the Way They Do Business Using Franchisee Satisfaction Data
Christian Brothers Automotive president Donnie Carr shares how their FBR survey results inform strategic planning throughout the organization from operations to development to franchisee support and franchise culture.