What You Need to Know About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Franchising

New research reveals how franchise employees really feel about diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become a major focus for many organizations in recent years. Despite a recent wave of organizations rolling back DEI programs, when franchisors actively work to create diverse and inclusive workspaces, the whole franchise system benefits. 

Franchisors who design and implement DEI strategies find that their employees are more engaged with helping the organization reach its goals and that they can hire and retain the top talent in the industry.

What the Data Reveals About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Franchising 

While there is overwhelming evidence that diverse teams and companies that promote inclusive cultures perform at a higher level and positively impact the bottom line, until now there has never been research to benchmark diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in franchising until now.

Each year, Franchise Business Review conducts the annual Franchising at WORK study to benchmark employee engagement in the franchise and identify trends to help franchise employers better understand how they can recruit and retain top talent.

The survey includes seven questions to measure DEI efforts across the franchise sector. All franchise employers—franchisors, franchisees, and franchise suppliers—are invited to participate in the survey. Over 12,000 franchise employees responded, with 3,000 corporate staff and 9,500 unit-level employees sharing their opinions and feedback.

Overall, 85% of employees surveyed say their company values diversity and 88% feel their co-workers demonstrate a commitment to creating an inclusive work environment—both up slightly from the previous year. Additionally, 83% of employees feel senior management understands that diversity is important to the company’s success.

Key findings from the DEI survey questions:

• 85% of employees surveyed say their company values diversity.
• 88% of employees feel their co-workers demonstrate a commitment to creating an inclusive work environment.
• 83% feel senior management understands that diversity is important to the company’s success.
• 81% say their company represents a diverse group of talent.
• 80% say their co-workers are comfortable talking about their social and cultural backgrounds at work. 
• 72% of employees surveyed report that their employee training promotes inclusivity.

What Franchises Need to Know About DEI 

In today’s competitive economic climate, recruiting the most talented and motivated employees has become increasingly difficult. Through a commitment to DEI, you’ll find that it’s easier to find the most qualified individuals for your open positions. 

But hiring the most qualified people for the open positions isn’t enough. You will have to actively work to retain them, particularly during a labor shortage when workers have plenty of opportunities available.

While overall feedback from the survey related to DEI initiatives was very positive, nearly one third of employees thought company training programs could do more to promote inclusivity. And with more employees than ever before looking for meaning, purpose, and a broader social connection from their careers, franchise brands that find creative ways to be more transparent, open, and genuine about their mission and values will have greater success recruiting and retaining top talent.

How to Show Your Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Franchising

The easiest and best way to show your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in franchising and measure your recruitment and retention efforts is to implement an active listening strategy with your employees using regular surveys. At Franchise Business Review, we are proud to have created a set of diversity and inclusion survey questions that will provide you with actionable data about the overall effectiveness of your DEI strategies. Our DEI survey questions set themselves apart from similar surveys because they are tailored to the franchise sector. The responses you receive will help you measure your own success and allow you to compare to other franchise employers in your region or industry.

The costs associated with conducting a DEI survey are nominal, but it does require time, dedication, consistency, and most importantly, acting on the feedback you receive, to be successful.

We’re happy to share the questions we ask on our DEI survey. Schedule a 10-minute demo to see how we measure the impact of DEI on franchise organizations and get recommendations on how to utilize benchmarking data to improve or enhance your employee recruitment and retention efforts.

Related Content:

Franchising at WORK Report: Employee Engagement Study

Read the full report to learn the detailed findings of the study, including:

• The biggest factors influencing employee engagement
• The top workforce trends impacting employee recruitment
• The state of employee well-being
• How employees rate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
• The status of remote and hybrid work in franchising

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