Women in Franchising
This woman’s work
When she took over her father’s business at the age of just 35, Dina Dwyer-Owens faced opposition from the male-dominated workforce – she is, today, co-chair of a multi-million dollar franchise company. Here, she describes her rise to the top and why the service industry is a great place for women
T
he Dwyer Group is comprised of seven franchise brands: Mr. Rooter (Drain Doctor in the UK), Rainbow International, Mr. Electric, Aire Serv, The Ground
Guys, Glass Doctor and Mr. Appliance. Collectively, these service brands make more than two million customer calls a year and account for more than $1billion in system-wide sales. Dina’s father, Don Dwyer, started The Dwyer Group in Waco, Texas, in 1981 with only one brand. Don suddenly passed away from a heart attack in 1994 and, five years later, Dina was invited to take on the role of CEO. Unfortunately, however, her appointment as the head of The Dwyer Group was met with criticism, with a group of top franchisees voicing the opinion that they didn’t believe she was the right person for the job as she had a limited practical knowledge of the trades. The challenge was not so much about being a woman in business but, as Dina explains, more about being female in the male-dominated service trade industries in which The Dwyer Group franchise brands operate. “I am happy to say it was a short-lived
hurdle. I immediately embraced those challenges and approached business from the perspective of not only an executive for The Dwyer Group, but also the target customer. I am the woman of the house that our service brands call on
in the majority of more than two million service calls across our franchise networks each year. That perspective proved invaluable. It made me a better leader, and it made our service brands mindful of customer focus – a key theme in our company code of values.”
“I have been interested in getting women involved in the trades since the late 1990s”
Don instilled in his children a strong work ethic and a code of values that continues to inform the culture of the company to this day. Dina recently shared the company ethos in a book titled ‘Live R.I.C.H.: How to build success in your company and your life with a proven Code of Values’. The book details how a rapidly expanding company can maintain a close corporate culture and a family atmosphere whilst ensuring consistency across all the franchise businesses around the world. The Code of Values is centred on the themes of Respect, Integrity, Customer focus and Having fun in the process. Dina’s status as an excellent boss was evidenced when, in 2011, she was invited
to participate in reality television show ‘Undercover Boss USA’. In the programme, Dina went out into the field to “walk in the shoes of the service professionals”. Not only did she get the chance to try jobs that she had never done before, giving her a newfound respect for those out on the frontline of her company, but Dina was also able to experience what it was like to be a woman in the predominantly male-employed trades.
“I saw our service brands as a female service professional and it opened my eyes to the opportunities we could create for more women to find a future career across our brands. “I have been interested in getting women involved in the trades since the late 1990s. We piloted a programme in early 2003, but our biggest challenge was finding the right medium to get in front of women to introduce these opportunities. My experience on ‘Undercover Boss’ really catapulted our exposure when viewers saw beautiful wife and mother-of-four, Tanna Marino, operate with complete confidence as a Mr. Appliance frontline service professional. “Today, we have the Women in the
Trades programme, where we provide scholarships to women interested in the trades as a career path. We have established a full line of uniforms across all of service brands tailored specifically for women. We also encourage women to
December/January 2015 |
Businessfranchise.com | 19
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