The Secrets Behind a Satisfied Franchise Staff

If you fell asleep in a corner booth at one of the 23 Lion's Choice roast beef restaurants in the St. Louis area for, say, a decade, you might wake up to some familiar faces. While most quick-service restaurants have annual turnover rates of 60 percent or higher, according to the People Report Workforce Index, the average tenure of the associate managers at Lion's Choice is six years. What's more, the average assistant manager has been on duty for 12 years, and the average general manager for a whopping 17. In fact, Lion's Choice has an employee who has been with the family-owned company since it launched in 1967. And a few years ago there was no turnover at all at one of the franchise's 15 company-owned restaurants.

is the holy grail of the franchise world--indeed, it's a huge goal for almost every type of business. But keeping employees around, especially in low-skilled jobs, is difficult and can seem like