The Dwyer Group, a highly respected chain of franchises with their head office in the US and licensed operations in several countries around the globe, has developed a programme that is designed to grow franchisees from within.

Dubbed H.I.R.E. (which stands for “hiring individuals, recruiting entrepreneurs”), it allows employees to earn points that can be “cashed in” as part of the set-up cost for a new franchise. The scheme allows employees who have what it takes to become franchisees but lack the necessary funding to become entrepreneurs. In addition, it has several more advantages:

• 1. It attracts and helps to retain good employees;
• 2. It creates a steady stream of new franchisees whose performance levels are known in advance.
• 3. Because these former employees know the business inside out, they have a head start in building their own businesses and making them profitable.

In our view, this initiative creates a win-win scenario that is in the best spirit of franchising and we’ll track its development with interest.