How Express Employment Professionals Established Itself as One of the Most Sought After Franchise Opportunities in the Recession-Resistant Staffing Industry

When Express was founded in 1983, the idea was to master the business of people. The full service staffing franchise works with job seekers to help them find the right job for their skills and experience, whether that’s a full-time, part-time or temporary position. Now, with an eye-catching AUV of over $6 million and the staffing industry worth $212.8 billion, Express is proving that finding the right people means big business and after perfecting its business model over the past 40 years, the brand is a top choice for savvy entrepreneurs looking to claim their piece of the pie.

The company currently has 865 franchises open in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. With over 100 available new territories in North America, Express is looking for driven, passionate franchisees to support as it looks towards its next milestone of hitting 5.5 billion in sales by 2025. 

“The demand for staffing is at an all time high,” said Dan Gunderson, Senior Franchising Director. “What we do for our client companies is more advanced than it ever has been. In our industry, businesses really look to us as an extension of their HR department. They look to us as their hiring partner. They can remain flexible and not have to commit to a full time employee if there's uncertainty in the economy and if they want to hire permanent employees from the temporary pool then they can choose to do that.”

The History of Express Employment Professionals

Express has always been guided by a simple vision: help as many people as possible find good jobs by helping as many clients as possible find good people. The company was formed in 1983, but the journey was decades in the making, marked by a passion to help people build better lives for themselves and their families, while helping communities grow and prosper.

Shortly after the end of World War II, an accountant named David L. Reiff moved from Chicago to Spokane, Washington, looking for a more hospitable location to open his bookkeeping business. The office he found was located in the same building as a small employment agency that was struggling to stay afloat. In 1951, Reiff decided to sell his accounting firm and buy the staffing company and renamed it Acme Personnel Services. His son, Bill, joined him at the business and it soon began to flourish. 

During the early 1960s, Acme began expanding to include several offices throughout Washington and the brand brought on Robert A. Funk as a Staffing Consultant to help match job applicants with job orders. In 1969, Acme acquired another staffing office in Oklahoma City and Funk was offered the opportunity to manage the new territory. Shortly after, he opened four new offices in Oklahoma and was promoted to Vice President and oversaw offices in Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Minnesota, Arkansas and Colorado. 

Meanwhile, William H. Stoller, a college basketball player at Pacific University in Oregon, joined the Acme team as a part-time Staffing Consultant in 1973. In a short amount of time, Stoller out-produced all other offices in the area and was promoted to District Manager. 

In the 1980s, a recession made existing financial woes at Acme worse at the corporate level and cracks began to form. Despite efforts to keep the business solvent, Acme declared bankruptcy in 1983 and offices closed abruptly, leaving employees to determine their next steps. Funk, who was adamant on keeping his offices operational, contacted Stoller to inquire about forming a new temporary employment services company. The pair then contacted Acme franchisee Jim Gray and asked him to join them due to his experience in back office operations. 

The three men came together to become the founders of Express Temporary Services with eight offices in Oklahoma, Oregon and Colorado. Though the brand came to be during a national economic downturn, Express managed to generate gross revenues of $2 million. The founders determined that the best way to keep growing was through franchising — and the rest is history. 

“We really caught the momentum of the temporary contract side of staffing in the early 80s,” said Gunderson. “That's when it really started and so it was really good timing for us in the industry. Forty years later, it's been an incredible run.” 

The brand has grown exponentially since its beginnings, eventually changing its name to Express Employment Professionals in 2008. The franchise now has a whopping 865 locations open, broke an all time high of half a million associates paid annually and operates in five  countries. 

Express Franchise Owners Benefit from Back Office-Support, Payroll Funding and More

Express offices are 100% locally owned and operated, and franchise owners tend to stick around for a long time. In fact, Express franchise owners have an average length of franchise ownership of 17 years — with some being owners for up to 30 years. 

Notably, franchise owners will benefit from the brand's low overhead and investment level. Because Express owners do not need to purchase a significant amount of supplies or equipment to start up their office, they can save on investment costs. Even more impressively, the brand’s AUV rings in at over $6 million. For territories open more than 24 months, average sales in 2021 were $6,119,487, while first-year offices averaged $900,049, according to Item 19 in the brand’s FDD.* 

Express also gives franchise owners everything they need to be successful. This includes franchisee Help Desk support from the Oklahoma City HQ, monthly regional meetings with other owners to help discover best practices, leadership conferences available for staff to attend to further their development, annual conferences, monthly in-person meetings, strategic development and problem-solving and more. 

“The staffing world is really all about sales and recruiting — and that's what our franchisees, as well as their teams, should be focusing their energy on,” said Gunderson. “We don't want them worried about the back office distractions. So we really allow them to focus by taking everything else off their plate.” 
 

One of the most unique ways the company sets franchise owners up for success is by handling payroll funding. Express processes invoices and other important paperwork for clients, allowing franchisees to do what they do best and spend their time building relationships with local businesses in their community. 

“It's a weekly payroll process Monday through Sunday on the temporary contract side,” explained Gunderson. “They don't have to go to a bank, they don't have to go to a factoring company to pay those weekly temporary associates. We fund that for them every week, no matter how big they get. We take care of all the W2s, payroll tax reporting and unemployment administration. Because, even though they're working with their Express associates, we are still the employer of record for the temporary employees because we handle all the liability.”

The franchise also provides owners with all the sales and marketing tools they will need, such as help with campaigns, materials and collateral, digital marketing and social media, all of which they refer to as a neighborhood marketing approach. 

When it comes to opening, franchisees can expect a great deal of training. “Most of our franchisees do not have any staffing or HR background when they enter our system,” said Gunderson. “So they have to learn the staffing industry. It's three weeks of training for new owners, which we do once a month. Two of those weeks are virtual, and then we fly them out to our headquarters in Oklahoma City on the third week. We pay for airfare and accommodation and help the owner hire their first recruiter.” 

Franchise owners also have a local support person in their area called a developer who is a regionally based coach and mentor. “It’s someone they can lean on that is not their boss. They’re just a trusted adviser who really knows the staffing industry and knows the Express system that they can rely on to help them in the business.” 

Why Now Is the Time to Explore Express 

No matter the state of the economy, people need to work. Express is a full service staffing company and can staff businesses in a variety of industries from front to back, from receptionists to warehouse workers to executives.

A record number of job openings and an improved supply of candidates have led the staffing industry on an upward trend. In 2022, SIA predicted the market would grow an impressive 14% that year to reach a record of $212.8 billion. And the Express team gives franchisees everything they need to succeed in the industry. 

With a goal of putting a million people to work each year, Express is looking to partner with franchisees in markets around the world and has strong territories that are available. And with no prior experience needed, entrepreneurs from all backgrounds have the opportunity to tap into this booming industry. 

Express franchise owners do not need a background in staffing. About 95% of owners have no previous staffing experience. Franchise owners at Express can be successful if they are ready to lead a team, willing to make sales calls and have a strong passion for helping others find success. Whether that’s a small business owner who doesn’t know how to move forward with finding employees, or it's someone who just got laid off and doesn’t know where to turn, Express franchise owners are there to serve. Owners should also possess clear communication, motivation, extroverted personalities and be comfortable making cold calls and building relationships. 

“We look for people who want to make a difference in their community,” said Gunderson. “We want to help people find jobs and help companies find people. We're looking for owners who are going to be involved and not be distracted by other businesses—we're looking for a fully involved owner, not a semi absentee.”

Looking ahead, Express plans to reach its goal of having 900 locations in the near future and hit $5.5 billion in sales by 2025. 

The initial investment ranges from $100,000 to $220,000 to open an Express single traditional model, with a franchise fee of $40,000. For more information on franchising with Express, visit: https://expressfranchising.com/. 

*To see the brand’s full financials, please reference the 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document.