The Importance of Employee Listening and Engagement in Franchising

How to strengthen employer-employee relationships within the franchise structure to build  a more profitable and productive system

Employee listening and engagement are non-negotiables for organizations that want to attract and retain top talent, and franchising is no exception. But, it is a unique business model that involves multiple layers of relationships and responsibilities. To better understand this structure, let’s break down the key components and their interactions:

The Layers of People in Franchising

Franchisor:

• Corporate Team: The franchisor is the corporate entity that owns the overall brand and business model. This team is responsible for developing the franchise concept, maintaining brand standards, and providing support to franchisees to help the network thrive and grow.

• Headquarters Employees: These employees work at the corporate headquarters and handle various functions including marketing, product development, training, and overall franchise management.

• Field Support Staff: Some franchisors employ field support staff who work remotely or travel frequently to provide on-site assistance and support to franchisees. This can include operational guidance, training, and troubleshooting.

Franchisees:

• Local Business Owners: Franchisees are independent business owners who operate individual franchise units. They invest in the franchise and run the day-to-day operations in their local markets.

• Franchisee Employees: These employees are hired and managed by the franchisees to run the local franchise units. The franchisor does not have direct control over these employees but provides guidance and support to ensure brand consistency and operational standards.

Why Employee Listening Matters

Asking employees for feedback isn’t just about making people feel good. In fact, if not done thoughtfully and effectively, it can have the opposite effect. But when done properly, collecting employee feedback and using it to improve the employee experience can have can significant and measurable economic value: 

• Higher profitability
• Lower turnover
• Reduced hiring and onboarding costs
• Higher productivity and performance
• Greater customer loyalty
• Increased operational effectiveness
• Enhanced employee well-being 

Gathering Employee Feedback at the Franchisor Level

Building a franchise culture that emphasizes employee listening and engagement starts with leadership and senior manager buy-in at the franchisor level. Prioritizing employee engagement and making it an organizational KPI sets the tone for employees that their feedback and experience matters. 

First, your team needs to consider how, and at what frequency you want to get feedback from your employees across the organization. While there are numerous platforms and survey tools available to collect employee feedback, Franchise Business Review (FBR) is the only one that provides a structured approach for franchisors to collect and analyze feedback from their corporate teams and benchmark the survey data against other corporate teams in the franchising industry, providing valuable context and comparison.  

FBR offers several options, including annual employee engagement surveys and/or pulse surveys, for franchisors to gather this feedback:

• Annual survey: A comprehensive yearly survey to gauge overall employee sentiment.

• Annual survey + mid-year pulse survey: Adds a short (1-10 questions) mid-year survey to check-in with employees for more frequent insights.

• Annual survey + quarterly pulse surveys: Combines the annual survey with three additional quarterly pulse surveys for continuous feedback.

• Quarterly pulse surveys: Four quarterly surveys to provide ongoing insights throughout the year.

Regardless of the type and frequency of the survey, franchisors receive their survey data benchmarked against other corporate teams in the franchising industry. The data is  accessible through an online platform that allows for holistic and detailed analysis. For larger teams, the data can be filtered by various criteria such as:

• Department
• Role Level
• Tenure
• Gender
• Location

This granular view helps franchisors identify specific areas of strength and opportunities for improvement, leading to more targeted and effective interventions.

All of the feedback that is collected through FBR’s employee engagement survey is anonymous to encourage employees to be honest. Using an independent, third-partner to distribute the survey assures employees of confidentiality. While FBR’s online reporting tool allows you to look at results from your team by different demographics, it’s important to note that it limits any filtering of fewer than five people to protect the anonymity of the employees.

How Franchisors Can Support Franchisees in Strengthening Employee Engagement at the Unit Level 

Creating a culture of employee listening and engagement extends beyond the corporate franchise organization. While the franchisor and franchisees operate independently in many ways, effective communication and support are crucial for the success of the franchise system. 

Franchisors can add value and support to franchisees educating them on the importance of employee feedback, providing training on best practices for employee engagement, and tools to collect employee feedback. 

While franchisors do not directly manage franchisee employees, they can facilitate the feedback process through FBR to drive data collection and dissemination across the entire network, creating a robust culture of feedback and continuous improvement.

Unlike other survey tools, FBR provides access to comparative data from multiple locations operating under the same brand, as well as aggregate benchmarking comparisons to employees at the unit level of other franchise brands.

Here’s how it works:

1. Survey creation and distribution: FBR creates the employee survey and the franchisor provides the tool to franchisees. The franchisees then share the survey link with their employees.

2. Data collection and reporting: FBR collects the data and generates reports. Each franchisee receives a report comparing their results to the benchmark of all brand locations.

3. Franchisor insights: The franchisor receives aggregated data, which helps identify high-performing franchisees who can share best practices and underperforming franchisees who may need additional support and resources.

By partnering with FBR to implement a comprehensive employee listening program, franchisors and franchisees gain a comprehensive understanding of their organizational dynamics, enabling them to implement data-driven strategies for hiring and retention, enhanced performance, and a positive company culture.  

Find out how easy it is to get started. Sign up for a free demo of FBR’s employee engagement survey tool and reporting platform. 

Related Resource: The Ultimate Guide to Employee Engagement for Franchises

Employee engagement is critical to the success (or survival) of franchise organizations, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to foster engagement.

Download your free eBook to learn how to:

• Recognize barriers holding employees back from fully engaging
• Create a supportive and engaging workplace culture
• Make engagement a key part of your hiring and retention strategy
• Measure and benchmark your team’s engagement against other franchise employers

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