News:
WHEN Piers Rowan of Extrastaff devised a new franchising model, it freed up his company’s franchisees to see the forest for the trees.
Sum up your business in one sentence.
Extrastaff is a national recruitment firm with six franchise divisions – industrial, office, executive and professional, technical and engineering, IT, and health – and is built on the philosophy of “looking out for people, looking out for jobs”.
You have come up with a new franchising model? Why did you decide to centralise payroll and invoicing?
To increase efficiencies for franchisees – it helps them to concentrate on revenue-generating activities, ie recruitment, and minimises their time spent on administration tasks.
What else is different about the Extrastaff model compared to regular franchise systems?
All of our franchisees are connected via our Recruit Online software and database system, which has benefits for candidates and clients alike. Our intention is not just to sell franchises, but also to achieve business sustainability through growth, and quality through commitment.
How and when did Extrastaff come about?
Extrastaff was established in 1990 with origins that date back to 1965. My brother Declan and I have been hands on in the business for the past 12 years, and purchased the business from our parents last year.
What’s Extrastaff’s annual turnover?
Current turnover is around $20 million each year. We are looking to grow this figure by 20 per cent annually through franchising.
Why did you decide to franchise the business?
We wanted to expand nationally while benefiting from our company’s core strength of local expertise. Local knowledge is one of Extrastaff’s key strengths, and we saw the franchise model as a way to replicate that. We believe the power of local owner-operated businesses far outweighs the strength of a typical head-office-and-branches model.
How many franchisees do you currently have?
Our first franchise opened in North Sydney in March this year. Another three will be announced soon – watch this space!
What does the next five years hold as far as franchising?
We plan to build a presence in each state, including regional areas. Our aim is to create a national network of locally owned and nationally coordinated franchises.
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