What I Like About the Express Employment (Staffing) Franchise Opportunity

1.  Express Employment Professionals is a full-service staffing franchise offering staffing support and human resources services.   Express offers multiple service lines, including temporary and flexible staffing, evaluation and direct hire, professional and contract staffing, human resources services, and online payroll services (U.S. only).

2.  Founded in 1983, Express Employment Professionals began franchising in 1985.  It’s a privately-held company, with over 600 office locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, and Australia.  In 2010, Express experienced its best year in 28 years of business, growing 46% and achieving $1.9 billion in sales.

3.  The staffing industry is an $80 billion industry and is projected to grow nearly 32% by 2012.  Nearly 3 million people are employed each day through staffing companies and the majority of staffing employees work full-time schedules.  Staffing is a gateway to full-time employment.

4.  Express Employment franchisees enjoy protected territories, and the territory size is determined by the number of jobs available within a specific market.

5.  With Monday to Friday business hours, Express Employment franchisees enjoy the benefits of owning their own business but having the flexibility to have a life outside of that business, too.

6.  The business requires only a limited number of employees.

7.  The total initial investment for a new Express Employment office ranges from $95,500 to $134,500, which already includes the franchise fee of $35,000.  In 2010, the average office produced $695,744 in gross margin, from which franchisees deduct their operating expenses (like rent and payroll) to arrive at their net profit.

8.  New franchisees undergo two weeks of training at Express University and one week in a certified field training office.  Franchisees and their staff have ongoing learning opportunities through Express University, including online courses, development tracks, and training calls.  Express hosts two live training events annually:  namely, their regional Sales Summits in the fall (held in 8 convenient locations) and their annual International Leadership Conference.

9.  Express Employment’s franchisees receive tons of support from 200 professionals working at the company’s headquarters and 70 representatives working in the field, including a developer who visits each franchise location, a toll-free assistance center, and technical support open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST.

10.  Express Employment has a unique Fast Track program designed specifically to help franchisees reach recommended levels of sales and activity within the first 26 weeks of business.   This is followed by the On Track program designed to keep franchisees focused and help them reach the company’s Circle of Excellence within three to four years of opening.  The Circle of Excellence is an awards program designed to motivate offices to reach new levels of sales success. Franchisees are recognized for their outstanding sales efforts at the annual International Leadership Conference and receive incentives for their hard work.

What I Don’t Like About the Express Employment (Staffing) Franchise Opportunity

1.  This is not the type of franchise that has a built-in customer base from day one.  New franchisees must be prepared to work hard in the beginning to establish relationships with employers, who probably already have existing sources of temporary workers.  But once franchisees get past the challenging first couple of years in business and earn the loyalty of  their clients, the sky’s the limit in terms of revenue potential.