Co-chair of Dwyer Group, Dina Dwyer Owens has over 30 years of franchise industry experience and has twice been featured on TV’s Undercover Boss. She talks here about keeping your values front and center
A little over 20 years ago Dwyer Group implemented its operationalized Code of Values, making sure each value was clearly defined. Live R.I.C.H (Respect, Integrity, Customer focus and Having fun in the process) guides our business decisions. We strive to keep these values front-and-center every day and encourage everyone in the company, from the leadership team to our franchisees on the front lines, to know and embrace these values.
After a record year of historic growth in 2016, our organization now includes 19 service brands, more than 2,800 franchises and more than $1.4 billion in annual system-wide sales that stretch across 11 countries around the globe. People routinely ask, “What can we do to create that kind of successful growth for our own organization?” The common thread behind that growing and collective success is our commitment to our Code of Values.
It’s a topic that is important to me and one of the reasons I wrote my last book “Values, Inc.” I wanted to provide a road map to what Dwyer Group experienced- helping a large organization stay the course as it grows, and to help the small business owner or franchisee and their team on the front lines, by using a Code of Values.
So what are some ways to utilize a Code of Values? At Dwyer Group, we start every meeting of three or more, from board meetings on, by reviewing the values. Sometimes we review our values statement and other times all 15 values. We urge franchisees to review the values at their weekly meetings and to have a daily focus on a value or a story about an employee who lived up to a value. We ask our associates to learn the values by heart with heart, to make them a way of life.
We are not a perfect company, yet we know that a company that strives to live and lead with values will always outperform others who put ethics on the back burner. What are your values and how are you keeping them front and center?
