Franchising

In franchising, growth depends on people who understand scale, brand consistency, operator relationships, field execution, customer experience, and the unique balance between entrepreneurial drive and structured systems.

Our Franchising specialty practice was developed to serve a vertical where exceptional recruitment expertise can be difficult to find. Franchise organizations operate with a distinct blend of brand stewardship, sales discipline, operational consistency, relationship management, and growth strategy — and the right hire can materially influence performance across an entire network.

Stoakley-Stewart Consultants brings the advantage of decades of recruitment experience, long-standing client relationships, and a consultative approach to hiring. We understand that franchising roles often require more than functional competence; they require people who can influence, support, guide, develop, and lead within complex multi-location and owner-operator environments.

Our Franchising specialty practice is spearheaded by Pat Laforet, one of our most experienced recruitment consultants with more than 30 years in the talent business. He has developed a particular niche in a vertical that is underrepresented and with exceptional recruiting hard to find.

Pat has had two stints with Stoakley-Stewart Consultants. In 2006 he was presented with an opportunity to go to Africa and become the Country Manager of a Medical Mission working in the rural areas of Malawi. After 5 years of growth and expansion, Pat and his wife returned to Canada and accepted a Director Level position with Habitat for Humanity Toronto. He returned to re-join the firm in January 2014.

Since then, he has built a successful Franchising recruitment practice and has consistently been a top producer with our firm, year over year.

Franchise hiring often sits at the intersection of corporate leadership, field operations, sales, development, training, marketing, real estate, vendor management, and franchisee support. The best candidates must be able to understand the brand, serve the network, influence stakeholders, and help drive growth without losing sight of operational discipline.

Our role is to help franchise organizations identify people who can operate effectively in that environment. We look beyond job titles and resumes to assess business judgement, communication style, adaptability, relationship-building ability, and the capacity to succeed within franchise systems where both corporate and franchisee priorities must be understood.

• Franchise Development, Sales & Growth Leadership
• Operations, Field Support & Multi-Unit Leadership
• Training, Communications & Franchisee Support
• Marketing, Brand, Customer Experience & Commercial Leadership
• Real Estate, Site Selection & Vendor / Partner Management
• Executive Leadership, including Director, VP, and Senior Management roles

Franchising talent is often difficult to identify because the strongest professionals may come from a mix of franchise brands, multi-unit environments, retail networks, service businesses, hospitality groups, consumer services, real estate, sales leadership, and corporate operations. Finding the right match requires understanding both the role and the operating model behind it.

We use a relationship-driven search approach to uncover candidates who may not be actively applying but who have the judgment, experience, and leadership qualities required to help franchise organizations grow. This is especially important in an underrepresented recruitment niche where proven franchise experience is not always easy to find.

Our franchising recruitment work is supported by seasoned recruiters who understand how to align talent with business objectives, growth plans, and stakeholder expectations. Whether your organization is building infrastructure, expanding a franchise network, strengthening field support, or adding leadership capacity, we bring the search discipline and market perspective needed to support confident hiring decisions.