The Importance of Consistent Franchisee Feedback: What You Need to Consider
Before you decide to postpone your franchisee survey, consider the potential risks of delaying or neglecting your annual franchisee satisfaction survey.
The Franchise Brands You Won’t See On Our Awards List
Not every brand is an award-winner (yet!), but they are still committed to franchisee satisfaction. Here's why they deserve to be recognized.
Building an Intentional Culture in Your Franchise Business
JoBen Barkey is a featured speaker at the FBR Summit 2024 in Denver. He'll share the story of how he created a culture within his franchise business that allows him to pursue his passion for giving back. Get a preview with this Q&A.
Unlocking Success with Performance Max Campaigns
What is a Performance Max campaign and how can it enhance your franchise marketing? The experts at Location3 explain when, why, and how to add PMax to your marketing mix.
FTC’s 2024 Employee Non-Compete Ruling: Potential Impacts for Franchisors and Franchisees
Understand the potential impacts of the Employee Non-Compete Ruling for both franchisors and franchisees, and what you can do to make sure your franchise network is prepared.
Leading Your Franchise Through a Crisis: How to Create and Execute an Effective Response Plan
Would you be ready if a crisis hit your franchise tomorrow? Implement these steps today to ensure you’re ready when the inevitable occurs.
How Wild Birds Unlimited Partners with FBR to Strengthen Franchise Development
Paul Pickett, Chief Development Officer at Wild Birds Unlimited shares how they use Franchise Business Review's survey data and tools to attract qualified franchise candidates, speed up their validation process. and assist with multiple store development.
What Do Smart Franchises and the British Monarchy Have in Common? Surveys!
Three franchising lessons we can take away from Queen Elizabeth in the latest season of Netflix's The Crown.
7 “Danger” Zones 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.
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.
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.
What Keeps Franchise HR Leaders Up at Night? Navigating Talent, Culture, and Growth
FBR and FranCareers brought together a group of franchise HR execs to find out what their biggest challenges and the solutions they've created to tackle them, These are the six biggest takeaways you should know.
7 Ways to Use Data to Position Candidates (and Your System) for Success
Learn how to improve your franchise development process using data to educate and set realistic expectations with franchise candidates.
12 Franchising Predictions for 2024
Franchise thought leaders share 12 things they think will happen in 2024. See the common themes that emerged.
The Grinches In Your Franchise System
The shopping season has officially commenced, and whether you’re a Black Friday warrior or more of a last-minute, better-under-pressure shopper, the buying experience can fuel your holiday excitement or suck all the joy out of the process. The same goes for franchise candidates in the validation process. Get the intel you need to make the franchise buying experience something to celebrate.
A Five-Pronged Approach to Facing Economic Headwinds in the Food Sector
A look at the economic factors affecting food franchise profitability—labor and food costs, inflation—and what franchisors can do about it.
5 Simple Ways to Wow Franchisees
Raise the performance of your franchise system with these 5 tips.
10-Step Checklist to Becoming a Top Performing Franchise System
Foster high performance within your franchise with these 10 simple steps. Follow this checklist, commit to franchisee satisfaction and results will follow.
Not Being Afraid to Hear What You Might Not Know
Learn four ways actively listening to franchisee feedback – even if it's negative – can make a positive difference.
Reflections on FLDC from a Franchising Newcomer
FBR Client Consultant Mike Conlan shares a fresh perspective on franchising as a first-time attendee of FLDC.
4 Ways to Re-Engage Senior Franchisees
It’s no big secret that business owners of all types get bored after a few years of being in business. When it comes to franchising, it’s even more crucial to keep them engaged - especially the more senior franchisees. These four tips will help you re-engage senior franchisees and break out of their performance plateau.
The Case for Consistency
Consistency is the key to success in various aspects of life and business, and the onboarding process for new franchisees is no exception. Learn how to integrate new franchisees into your brand while maintaining a consistent onboarding process.
3 Steps to Peer Group Success
Discover a three-phase approach to implementing franchise peer groups to improve or enhance franchisee performance in your franchise system.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Call for Entries Announced: 2023 Franchising at Work Awards
The Franchising at 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.
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.
Three Ways to Make Your Item 19 More Meaty
More than ever, savvy franchise buyers are honing in on your FDD’s Item 19. After all, it’s the closest they can get to answering the almighty question, “How much money can I expect to make?” Following these three tips can make your Item 19 accurate, precise, and engaging.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Take Franchisee Satisfaction Seriously When It Comes to Valuations
Collecting and organizing financial information for franchisees for the valuation process is like staging a home for sale. The same rule applies to franchisee satisfaction.
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.
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.
10 Roadblocks to Franchise Performance
Learn how to identify and overcome the biggest obstacles franchisors face when it comes to franchisee performance, growth, and profitability.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Franchise Development Marketing in a Post-COVID-19 World
If you cut your franchise development marketing budget last year, it’s time to pump it back up to pre-pandemic levels. If you have franchise candidates stuck in the pipeline, here are five proven tactics to nurture those leads.