Putting Culture First in Franchising

Many franchise organizations "talk the talk" when it comes to culture, but it is clear from our research that they don't all "walk the walk." A strong organizational culture doesn't just happen within a company—it has to be designed, built, and constantly maintained.

The top franchise companies that have the honor of be named to our first-annual FBR Culture100 awards list are clearly among the best of the best franchises in the business. Based on the reviews of over 28,000 franchise owners, we selected the Top 100 Franchises that received the highest ratings for leadership, mission, community, and overall franchisee satisfaction.

Amazing franchise companies like MaidPro, NextHome, Kona Ice, Two Men and a Truck, and Keller Williams topped our list of this years Culture100 award-winners.

We invite you to learn more about what makes these great franchise businesses unique, and explore business ownership opportunities in your local market. Congratulations again to our winners!

_{(Photo credit: NextHome real estate franchise owners and staff displaying some award-winning culture at their annual franchise convention in 2019 in Las Vegas, NV.)}

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Culture: The Cornerstone of a Successful Franchise

When seeking to describe an organization’s culture, you might reference its mission or vision statement, describe its leadership style, or explain what its work environment is like. Each of these components impacts how a franchise company’s franchisees and employees treat one another and their customers—ultimately reflecting that brand’s global image.  

In franchising, the home office sets the tone for how its franchisees consistently carry out the company culture in locations across the country and the globe. To be sure their intended messages and ways of doing business are resonating with franchisees, it’s critical for brands to communicate their values clearly across their organizations. If they fail to define what makes their cultures special and unique, they may unknowingly suffer the consequences. Furthermore, if they ignore any issues their teams may be encountering, their reluctance to listen might be communicated loudly elsewhere.  

“Gone are the days of hiding hostile or non-inclusive companies. If people don’t enjoy being in your space and being part of your team, they are talking about it with their friends and family and with strangers on social media,” said Eric Stites, CEO of Franchise Business Review. “Trying to hire or recruit franchisees becomes difficult if you aren’t cultivating a strong culture that people want to be a part of.”

Take a Culture Pulse

How do you measure the quality of franchise company’s culture? Surveying franchise owners is a great place to start. They will tell you how well the franchise leadership team is executing on the vision of the brand, and how well the community of support staff and franchisees work together to achieve their business objectives.

To be clear, every franchise organization has a different culture and vibe. Some franchises are more serious and formal, while others are more relaxed and casual. Understanding the style of the way a franchise operates and how well they include franchise owners in the process is important for you to identify. A franchise company’s culture – and your potential fit into that culture – should guide your franchise investment decision.

To help understand what franchisees think about their company cultures, Franchise Business Review asked over 27,000 franchisees from more than 300 brands a series of questions that looked at perception of brand vision, team culture, honesty and integrity, and overall support. 

Brands across many different industries made our first-ever Top 100 Culture List. Topping the list was MaidPro, NextHome, Kona Ice, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK and Keller Williams—all veteran FBR award winners for outstanding franchisee satisfaction.    

“Not surprisingly, the companies that rated high on culture are no strangers to our awards lists,” Stites said. “Many of these brands have been part of our franchisee satisfaction awards for years. There is obviously a strong tie between culture, franchise performance, and satisfaction.”

Building upon a strong culture is more important now more than ever. As the world faces a global pandemic, economic recession, and protests against systemic racism, culture has taken center stage. The franchise companies that are already doing it right – promoting positive, inclusive, and transparent cultures – will continue to thrive. And those that don’t will struggle to attract new franchisees, employees, and customers, Stites said. 

Hear from a few brands about what makes their company cultures stand out among their biggest customers—their franchisees.

Hire the Right People

Express Employment Professionals knows a thing or two about recruiting. The franchise, which operates 825 units across the United States and Canada, helps small and medium-size businesses staff their companies with temporary and full-time workers. Just as its clients do, Express Employment Professional also hires for cultural fit. The brand understands that high turnover—whether at the client level or the franchisee level—has negative ramifications that reverberate through every area of a business. “Investing in your company culture will ultimately result in success elsewhere in the organization,” said Bill Stoller, CEO and chairman of the board of Express Employment Professionals. 

“Each franchisee office is locally owned and operated, so it’s important to make sure from the very beginning that a potential franchisee is a good fit for our company culture,” said Stoller. “The benefit of being an established franchise brand is that over the past four decades, we’ve had time to develop a system that encourages both business success while investing in people.” 

Keeping lines of communication open has been key to Express Employment’s growth and success. And recent increases in targeted, crisis communications paid dividends.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, it caused a lot of uncertainly, especially with furloughs and layoffs across the globe. The most important element for us during this time was and still is communication,” Stoller said. “We started to see our sales numbers climb back up as we encouraged our franchise offices to ‘beat the week before’ every week,” he said. 

Franchisees continue to be involved in decisions at the corporate level through focus groups, trainings, and various teams, giving them opportunities to contribute and provide feedback on core values. Rather than canceling events celebrating the efforts and achievements of team members, the headquarters team instead held virtual conferences to allow for recognition.

“Some of our franchisees have been with us from the beginning and they help preserve our unique company culture by investing their wisdom in the new franchise owners,” Stoller said. “That’s why it was so important for Express to continue with conferences in some capacity this year. Those moments of fellowship and mentorship help reinforce our mission of providing hope through employment.”  

Build Communication into Your Onboarding Plan

NextHome is a California-based franchise that helps real estate brokers better market properties using cutting edge technology. In just five years, the brand has opened 500 franchise offices across 45 states with more than 3,200 members nationwide. Over the last two years, Franchise Business Review has ranked NextHome among the country’s top brands. 

The habit of frequently checking-in with franchisees during tough times is one of the reasons why NextHome has been able to keep a tight community feel during a period of explosive growth.

“Our CEO James Dwiggins will call a franchisee when we hear they are not feeling well or they had a child break an arm skateboarding,” said Keith Robinson, chief strategy officer of NextHome. “While it’s easy to say you care—most companies do—not everyone checks on their people to see how they are doing personally and professionally out of sincerity.”

Beginning with onboarding, franchisees hear from members of the franchise development and support teams frequently, and then every 90 days during their first year. Consistent and regular communication has helped the brand understand right away what locations need, and they share what steps to take to be successful.  

When the COVID-19 virus emerged last spring, franchisees had a lot of questions. The company’s deep investment in relationships with its owners and culture of collaboration allowed it to pull the company together during this uncertain time. The team delivered an aggressive communications schedule that included 55 webinars between March and May. While NextHome didn’t always have every answer, they were able to share what they knew—and how they felt.

“Our focus was to provide a calming and steady influence for our members so that they could focus on what to do with their businesses,” Robinson said. 

With its growth, NextHome has been careful to adjust its structure to ensure it reaches everyone. What’s worked for reinforcing communications at 100 offices would not scale to reach today’s number, Robinson said. To meet the needs of all of its franchisees, NextHome created a department that is solely focused on checking in with its franchise owners.

“We continually and actively listen,” said Caris Moreno, Vice President of Sales for NextHome. “We survey our members and dig into the results so we can focus on the areas where we fall short more than in the areas where we get high marks. There is always room for improvement, and we are always looking for new was to ensure we are evolving an increasing our culture.” 

Foster a Family Feeling

Founded in 1975, Pinch A Penny Pool Patio Spa has grown from one store to more than 250 locations across the Southeastern United States and Texas. Its retail stores offer swimming pool chemicals and accessories, swimming pool services such as installation and repairs, and outdoor services such as powerwashing. Pinch A Penny stores also offer backyard products, such as outdoor furniture, spas, and grills.

Built on a reputation of providing superior customer service and expertise, the brand has been included in many top industry rankings, including Franchise Business Review's Top Franchises for Women, Top Franchises for Veterans, and the Top 200 Best Franchises. Taking a family approach to business, Pinch A Penny provides its customers, franchisees, and employees with all the necessary resources to carry on its tradition of quality, reliability and expertise in a fun, family-oriented atmosphere.

"The most important thing for us is: Do you have an attitude of service? Are you a giving person? Are you trying to help people? Our business is built on trust, said Michael Arrowsmith, CDO of Pinch A Penny. “When a franchisee comes into our system, we take care of them the way that we want them to take care of the customer. While our franchisees have to do their part in building their business, we offer the structure, expertise, and tools to help them from the beginning.” 

Pinch A Penny offers a month-long training that allows franchisees to receive a couple of national certifications, as well as a diploma from the Pinch A Penny ‘Pool School of Graduates. Through that process, franchisees start learning about the pool business and get to know other Pinch A Penny owners. 

The corporate office not only encourages prospective franchisees to talk with other franchisees—it requires them to do so before they can be approved as a new owner. From the beginning, Pinch A Penny has established a process of new and existing franchisees networking and interacting with one another, Arrowsmith said. In a nutshell, the foundation of the company is rooted in transparency and treating all involved like family.

"Pinch A Penny is a family-owned business, our franchisees run their own family businesses, and our customers are families,” he said. 

Invest in Outreach

The Learning Experience is a childcare center franchise that serves children in preschool through kindergarten in more than 275 locations throughout the country and internationally. Just as it serves families at its centers, the corporate office treats franchise owners as family—underscoring its brand position—Happy Happens Here!

Brad Wahl, SVP of the Florida-based brand, said The Learning Experience culture is driven by its brand mission: to have a positive impact in the lives of children, their families, and in the communities they serve.

“Our business is dependent on a total commitment to this mission and our culture. It’s even more critical during this time because the health and safety of our little ones is of paramount importance,” Wahl said. “The ability of our entire brand family to recognize this and commit to this direction has been our focus throughout the pandemic. It comes down to communication, communication, communication.”

The Learning Experience invested in new digital training and communications platforms at the corporate level to enhance communication with franchisees. To ensure consistency, the corporate office delivers simple messages frequently through multiple channels to ensure effective reach. And communications are not one way—franchisees are encouraged to voice their feedback, too. It is several brand committees of influence, including its curriculum committee, brand awareness fund committee, and diversity and inclusion committee, that drive corporate decision making.

“When we see opportunities to improve the system, we include the entire Learning Experience community in that process,” Wahl said. “It helps drive our innovative mindset with the goal of positively impacting our entire community.”

Culture First

Many franchise organizations “talk the talk” when it comes to culture, but it is clear that they don’t all “walk the walk.” A strong culture doesn’t just happen within a company—it has to be designed, built, and constantly maintained. The top franchise companies that have the honor of be named to our first-annual Culture100 list are clearly among the best of the best franchises in the business. We invite you to learn more about what makes them unique and explore business ownership opportunities in your local market. 

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