Professional Services

International Franchise Association

Matt Haller, President and CEO

Local franchise businesses continue to recover at accelerated rates when compared to non-franchise counterparts. While the labor shortage remains a challenge across all sectors, franchising continues to provide a pathway to opportunity for experienced entrepreneurs and people just entering the workforce. Today, franchise firms report sales employment opportunities greater than their non-franchise counterparts.

As the economy continues to recover and the American people become more comfortable with the new normal, franchise brands are positioned to be employers of choice and an entrepreneurial engine for growth and jobs.

According to a recent study, franchise firms pay higher wages and are more likely to offer benefits—including health insurance and paid sick leave—than their non-franchise counterparts. Franchise workers are also promoted to managerial positions at higher rates.

The franchise business model helps aspiring entrepreneurs go into business for themselves. Nearly one-third of franchise owners say they would not own a business without franchising. Women and first-time owners are even more likely to state that the franchise opportunity was critical to their ability to launch a small business.

Following two years of pandemic, franchisee satisfaction is at an all-time high as a direct result of the training and guidelines provided by franchisors to help their local partners manage uncertainty. With approval ratings ranging from 80 – 90%, franchisees enjoy being part of their franchise organizations (88%), respect their franchisor (85%) and would recommend their franchise to others (80%).

Bostrom

Jeanne Sheehy, Chief Marketing Officer

Association Management Companies (AMCs) who serve the non-profit community with consulting, outsourcing and management solutions, were able to effectively meet the changing demands of the market during the last year and a half. AMCs quickly scaled appropriately to transition in-person meetings to virtual offerings, supported new revenue streams with advanced technology solutions, and provided adaptable staffing needs to align with a volatile climate. Although associations were challenged with the loss of revenue in conferences and in-person programming, the speed at which those offerings could be reimagined allowed many AMC clients to not only weather through but thrive with new, digital product and service strategies.

AMCs are facing a strong growth outlook based on several factors. Workforce issues such as employee retention and the demand for changing skillsets to provide new products and services in a highly digital landscape, make AMCs a valuable resource for trade groups and professional societies to consider. AMCs also offer greater stability and growth for associations according to the AMC Model Performance Study from the AMC Institute.

And finally, the number of association CEOs that will be retiring or looking for solid succession planning options with their boards will create more demand for AMCs to provide the flexible management support needed.

Security Industry Association

Ronald Hawkins, Director of Industry Relations

The security industry in 2021 recorded a generally positive year, despite the dual challenges of Covid-19 surges and supply chain disruptions.

In 2020, amid mandatory lockdowns and widespread fear of personal interaction, the security sector contracted in many verticals (with some exceptions, most notably health care). Last year, though, with businesses and facilities reopening and many people eager to return to public life, demand for security products and services increased, though likely not quite to 2019 levels.

The Security Market Index, a bimonthly measure of industry confidence produced by the Security Industry Association (SIA), reached heights not seen since 2019 during the summer before slipping as a result of the Delta wave. For the full year, the index average was more than 28 percent higher than the 2020 average (excluding the pre-Covid January 2020 reading).

The impact of the pandemic has varied significantly within the industry. As part of a Security Market Index survey in mid-2021, respondents were asked how their businesses had fared since early 2020. While more than a third said they had taken “a significant hit” and 4 percent said they had “barely survived,” one in six said they “had some improving numbers” and more than one in five said that they “grew and prospered.” The more positive responses may be related to the demand for pandemic countermeasures (such as video analytics that assess masking and social distancing and infrared cameras that measure body temperature); increased spending on security in certain areas (such as hospitals that revised their access control and visitor management programs or expanded facilities); and clients who took advantage of the downtime to upgrade their security systems.

A significant development for the industry in 2021 was the return of in-person events, including ISC West, the nation’s largest security trade show and conference in Las Vegas, and ISC East, a similar but smaller event in New York. Though attendance was, as expected, lower than in non-pandemic years, these gatherings – which were missing entirely in 2020 – presented much needed opportunities for networking, business development, and unveiling of new products.

In 2022, the security industry is anticipating a strong year, driven by society’s continued return to normal as well as new technologies that both enhance security and life safety and further integrate it with business operations and consumer lifestyles. The 2022 Security Megatrends identified by SIA are almost entirely “non-traditional” aspects of security, including artificial intelligence at No. 1, with data privacy, security as proptech, and health and sustainability also in the top 10.