Editorial

Franchise Recruiters, Ltd. and Jerry Wilkerson Celebrate 30 Years in the Franchise Industry

Franchise Recruiters Ltd. ® and Jerry Wilkerson are celebrating three decades in the business of franchising, with 30 years of service in national and international Franchise management search. Wilkerson founded franchise Recruiters Ltd. in 1984 after leaving the International Franchise Association (IFA) in Washington, D.C.

His career in Franchising began at the IFA in December 1977 as Chief Lobbyist, and Director of Public Affairs. Wilkerson was later selected by the IFA Board of Directors to become acting President of the global association.

The franchise executive management recruiting corporation, with offices in the U.S. and Canada, has skillfully placed over 600 franchise senior management professionals with major franchise branded chains around the world. On the anniversary of 30 years, Wilkerson predicted that many franchise markets and industries will be transforming through eight technology trends that are changing the way business manage relationships, assets, and information. Franchisors must understand not only the technologies but also their business implications and the stable management changes they require to keep a chain vital and developing.

Wilkerson listed some area to watch; Deal making will continue to grow with multiunit development, and buyouts and buyins of brands to ensure that deals create value for the investors. Asia and the Middle East will continue to be an economic powerhouse in franchising as financial institutions improve in these areas.

Franchise executives will grapple with a wide range of organizational challenges and tests created by social and economic business patterns. Franchisors need to hire the kinds of professionals that create value, and there will be huge challenges for recruiting, motivating, and retaining these key employees. Franchisees will especially feel the problems of gaining and securing full time people at the store level for years to come. Despite fears of inflation, franchisors plan to hire and increase investment in training, and recruitment to stay up with competing brands. Workplaces must be addressed and quality of life improved for retention and recruitment.

“Franchising success and business well-being are not found in possessions, power, or grandeur,” Wilkerson stated. “It appears while serving others. When franchisors achieve success, they pour it into someone else, their franchisee. Franchising success is not success without a successor,” he said.

Franchise Recruiters will continue to strive to meet and exceed the highest business standards while enjoying an enormous and valuable relationship with hundreds of franchise branded systems executives built on trust, respect, and honor. "We are grateful for the business success we experience, and the fine people we meet along the way. These are not our business patrons, but our friends," Wilkerson concluded.