Back in the early 1980s, the US economy was in a deep recession with a staggering unemployment rate of 10.8 percent. Established businesses were devastated, and new ones seemed doomed as soon as they opened their doors. Now, more than three decades later, Express Employment Professionals has survived those tough circumstances and grown into a staffing company with more than 800 locations across three countries and a value of $3.4 billion.
It was during the tough recession in 1983 that brand founders James Gray, Robert A. Funk and William H. Stoller found themselves in a tight spot after Acme Personnel, their employer, dissolved. The three joined together to form Express Employment Professionals and established its Oklahoma City headquarters.
Stoller, the brand's current CEO, said that the trio had the shared vision of helping clients find good people, which would help people find work. Express's foundation - integrity, teamwork, support and building a company that will last - is the founders' shared values and the starting point for the staffing company.
In 1986, as part of Acme's bankruptcy, the founders were able to get the franchise rights to 30 Acme Personnel offices across the US, and that marked the official entry of Express into franchising. Within the next five years, Express was already ranked among the leading staffing companies in the country and was being hailed as one of the fastest-growing private companies nationwide. In 1990, Funk and Stoller bought Gray's company shares, making them the sole owning partners.
In 2017, Express Employment Professionals saw sales reaching $3.4 billion across 800 franchise offices, and the company officially put more than 540,000 people to work.
According to Stoller, the brand's vision was to pair reputable businesses with quality job candidates. According to the CEO, when a new Express franchisee opens an office, approximately 600 people find employment each year through that office.
Express Employment Professionals continues to thrive despite economic ups and downs, helping people find work so they can support themselves and their families. To learn more about this staffing franchise, visit them here at Betheboss.ca today.
