Setting Up Frontline Employees for Success: Highlights From Summit 2025

As the Director of Customer Success at FBR, I and had the privilege of moderating a session at FBR Summit 2025. Looking back on this year, there are certain moments that remind you why you love what you do. Moderating the “Customer-Facing, Business-Shaping: Frontline Perspectives That Matter” panel was absolutely one of those highlights for me.

I sat alongside Mark Lemoine from Kampgrounds of America and Lydia Best from Woofie’s Pet Ventures—people who are doing remarkable work in creating human-centric organizations. What made this session special wasn’t just what we shared from the stage, but the conversations it sparked. We were there to have an honest dialogue about what it takes to truly support franchise frontline employees.

The Conversations That Mattered

One of my favorite parts was the breakout activity. We gave everyone about 10 minutes to discuss three questions in small groups:

1. What are you doing to elevate your frontline employees?
2. How are you collecting feedback?
3. How are you circulating that feedback throughout your organization?

Watching the room come alive with conversation was amazing. When we reconvened and heard from each of the groups, many challenges were similar and it was clear that everyone is doing their best to figure out creative ways to keep information flowing from the frontline to the back office and elevate franchise frontline employees to foster pride in the work that they do.

Learning From My Co-panelists

When Lydia talked about their “Groom Notes” and daily check-ins, I found myself nodding along. The simplicity of just asking “How was your day today?” and creating that human connection with their teams is so straightforward, yet so powerful. Sometimes we overcomplicate things when what people really need is someone to genuinely care.

And their “Life at Woofie’s” social media program? Awesome. They won an International Innovation Award from Franchise Exchange in 2023 for Most Innovative Employee Recruiting, and they were the first in the franchise industry to do something like this. Local franchisees submit authentic content showcasing what it’s really like to work there. It’s employee advocacy and culture-building done right.

Mark mentioned that his franchisees handle their own training and team building locally, and there’s this beautiful support system in place to help them learn and grow. I also appreciated how he framed the incoming American Franchise Act as an opportunity for franchisors to help franchisees without the fear of being considered a joint-employer.

What This Experience Meant

Standing on that stage, looking out at a room of people who genuinely care about making work better for their teams. That’s what Summit 2025 was all about. These aren’t just business strategies we were discussing. These are the practices that make people feel seen, heard, and valued.

In my role at FBR, I think about customer success every day. But customer success starts with employee success. You can’t create exceptional customer experiences without supporting the people who deliver them. This session reminded me that the work we’re doing isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the strategic thing to do. I encourage everyone to take a look at the Franchising at WORK Report. It details Franchise Business Review’s research findings behind employee satisfaction and how it impacts franchise success.

Moving Forward in 2026

As I reflect on this experience, I’m energized. I’m thinking about how we can be even more intentional about fostering connection within our own teams. I’m thinking about the feedback loops we have in place and how we can make them even stronger.

Our Summit follow-up survey indicated that 75% of session attendees rated the Customer-Facing, Business-Shaping: Frontline Perspectives That Matter session as excellent or very good and we’re always looking to improve for next year! Hope to see you at Summit 2026.

Curious about the other sessions from this year’s event? Here are 5 Takeaways From the Franchise Operations Summit: What You Need to Know in 2026

The Only Event Designed Just for Franchise Operations & HR Teams

How can you make an immediate and lasting impact on your franchisees’ success? Find out at the FBR Summit, October 28-30 in Austin, TX. The Summit is an intensive, franchise industry event created just for operations leaders and their teams that directly support franchisees. Don’t miss it!

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