How Franchisors Can Use EOS® and Satisfaction Data to Drive Growth

Six ways to leverage FBR insights within the Traction® model to improve franchise performance.

More and more franchisors are running their business with the  Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®) and those that survey with Franchise Business Review (FBR) have a unique opportunity to integrate FBR data into the EOS framework to support action plans, solve key issues, and drive growth within their franchise organizations. 

What Is EOS and Why Is it Beneficial for Franchisors?

EOS is a framework that uses a simple set of tools and processes to manage and grow a business by breaking down the company’s vision into actionable steps. EOS is designed to create discipline, accountability, and alignment across six core components of a business: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction®.

 EOS tools—Rocks (quarterly priorities), Issues Solving Track™ (IDS), and measurable scorecards—streamline operations, foster growth, and incorporate data-driven decision-making. When franchisors collect the right data, including satisfaction data from the people in their franchise community–franchisees and employees–EOS becomes a powerful system for successfully managing and growing their system in a healthy way.

Six Ways to Integrate FBR Data into Your EOS Model

1. Aligning Vision with Franchisee and Employee Insights 

This is about setting goals for the business. FBR surveys provide clarity on franchisee and employee satisfaction, which enables franchisors to align their vision with the needs and goals of their system and the people they support. Analyze your FBR franchisee and employee reports to identify trends, strengths, and opportunities for improvement and set quarterly Rocks based on them that align with your organizational vision and goals. If everyone knows the goals for the business, and the part they play in getting there, you all move forward together.

2. Putting the Right People in the Right Seats 

FBR’s employee engagement surveys uncover strengths and weaknesses in your team, such as leadership gaps or cultural misalignment. Using the data, you can evaluate team dynamics and make necessary adjustments to your hiring and retention strategies, whether it’s revamping your employee onboarding process, offering more professional development opportunities, or improving communication from leadership. 

3. Using FBR Data as Measurable EOS Scorecard Metrics

The EOS Data Component emphasizes removing subjectivity and making decisions based on objective numbers. The data FBR provides—satisfaction scores from your franchisees and employees, and the benchmark comparison to franchising—align perfectly, offering a clear, objective pulse of system health.

Share relevant FBR metrics during weekly meetings to keep all teams focused on improving areas that directly impact system-wide success. Use comparative analysis of your FBR data to benchmark individual franchise locations against system-wide averages or industry benchmarks and to keep leadership teams informed and aligned. Example KPIs: 

• Overall Franchisee Satisfaction Index (FSI) scores
• Overall Employee Satisfaction Index (ESI) scores
• Field Support section scores, by region or by Franchise Business Consultant (FBC) 
• Percentage of franchisees meeting or exceeding system-wide satisfaction benchmarks.

Your FBR contact can even join a meeting to walk your team through the data to make sure they understand how it can be used in their role/department. 

4. Setting and Tracking Quarterly Rocks 

The key challenges/areas for improvement can be translated into specific Rocks for leadership teams. Track 3-5 metrics from your FBR reports that reflect critical aspects of franchisee or employee satisfaction. Update these metrics weekly to measure improvement over time. For example, if employee engagement scores drop in a specific region, investigate and address potential leadership or cultural issues. Examples of quarterly Rocks: 

• Redesign the franchisee onboarding process to address training gaps identified in FBR surveys by the end of Q2.
• Increase franchisee satisfaction scores related to marketing support by 10% by implementing a new marketing toolkit within 90 days.
• Reduce employee turnover by 5% by implementing a leadership development program.
• Increase franchisee satisfaction with marketing support by 15% through new tools by the end of Q2.

5. Driving IDS (Identify, Discuss, Solve) with FBR Insights 

The IDS process in EOS focuses on identifying, discussing, and solving issues. The FBR surveys can uncover systemic issues that may not be immediately visible, such as training gaps or operational inefficiencies. This data can guide discussions during Level 10 Meetings™ to address root causes. To drive accountability on your team, assign ownership of specific metrics to team members or departments, ensuring accountability for improving performance. For example, you might task the operations team with improving franchisee satisfaction scores related to field support.

6. Strengthening Processes with Franchisee Feedback 

The systems and procedures in place in a franchise are a primary reason people want to join a franchise system. Feedback from franchisees often highlights inconsistencies in processes (e.g., onboarding, support systems), which enables franchisors to refine and document their core processes.

For example, if franchisees report a lack of ongoing training programs, a Rock could be to revamp training materials focused on ongoing training needs,  create new content, or research technology solutions that allow franchisees to search relevant topics, and/or enable the corporate team to track training program usage.

Real-World Franchisor Insights: How Brands Use FBR Data with EOS 

Setting rocks

We review the results as soon as we get them (September) as a team and celebrate the wins of what we’re doing well. We then look at trends of year over year. What went down? What items continue to rate at the low end? Did we expect that feedback (due to software conversions or fee adjustments etc)? The ones that have action items go in our long-term issues list to review when we do our annual planning meeting in December. They then move to annual goals and are broken down into quarterly rocks.
– Tricia Petteys, CEO, Payroll Vault

Driving IDS
FBR surveys have been invaluable in uncovering blind spots in franchisee satisfaction. Feedback on communication gaps or perceived inconsistencies in support have sparked productive IDS sessions. These discussions often lead to great solutions, like revamping our communication cadence or adjusting training delivery methods. The franchisee perspective from FBR surveys often serves as a reality check, ensuring that our priorities align with their needs.
– Josh Lyon, VP of Operations, Scenthound

Tracking Progress

We time our FBR survey as the first step in our annual planning process. All of the data we receive is a large driver to our Annual Goals and Rocks the next year.  Further, one of our Company Measurables is our FBR survey score and our goal on raising it. And even further it is part of our 3 Year Picture where our goal is to be listed as a FBR Top 50 company.
– Rob Flanagan, CEO of Hounds Town

Integrating FBR Data

I think the FBR data sits most comfortably at the VTO [Vison/Traction Organizer] level for looking at your five-year, three- year, and one-year plan. At the integration level, organizations can start with one small ROCK and look at opportunities to drive “low hanging fruit”, especially if there are big areas of opportunity for improvement according to franchisee feedback.
– Brenda Febbo, CMO, and Joanne Sofia, COO, Lightbridge Academy

Streamlining Operations

We updated a timeline for a new LMS platform an entire year or so based in full on feedback from our results. We reminded of the survey and made call outs to it with franchisees and internal teams all year and used it as a ‘true north’ when creating rocks, capturing issues, and solving things in impactful and efficient ways.
– Katy Fetters, VP of Franchisee Experience, Perspire Sauna Studios

Incorporating Key Metrics

We’ve put our non-royalty fees on our scorecard and continually monitor those as a % of total revenue to watch the trend. This was part of the feedback we’ve been receiving, and we want to keep a close eye on it so instead of a quarterly review we watch it every month.
–Tricia Petteys, CEO, Payroll Vault

The Future of EOS & Data-Driven Franchise Performance

By combining the power of Franchise Business Review’s data with the proven framework of EOS, franchisors can create a disciplined approach to solving problems, setting priorities, and driving long-term growth. Whether it’s through setting meaningful Rocks, leveraging insights during IDS discussions, or building robust scorecards, integrating these tools will help franchisors build stronger systems that benefit both franchisees and employees.

Are you running on EOS but don’t have feedback from your employees and franchisees? Contact Franchise Business Review today to learn more about how we can support your journey with EOS.

Related Resource: The 10 Biggest Roadblocks to Franchise Performance

Want to grow your system? Don’t let these common roadblocks slow you down!

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• Why franchisees often have unrealistic expectations for their business
• Why you could be wasting money on your development efforts
• How to get actionable data to measure progress and drive growth

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