The Express Lane: Franchisees Affect Lives Through Employment and Charitable Work

Name: Ronnie and Susan Morris
Title: Franchisees
Company: Express Employment Professionals
No. of units: 8 Express Employment Professionals
Age: Ronnie, 67; Susan, 62,
Family: 3 sons, Kyle, Casey, and Spencer
Years in franchising: 15
Years in current position: 15

Ronnie and Susan Morris are the Noble Cause MVPs (Most Valuable Performers) for their organization’s passionate, unwavering support for those in need. 

The mid to late 2000s were challenging times for Ronnie and Susan Morris. After spending 14 years working for Coca-Cola Enterprises, Susan retired to raise the couple’s youngest son. Although he had a good job and survived several corporate restructures, Ronnie said, “Sooner or later, my expiration date was going to hit.” Most importantly, Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, just weeks after running in the Boston Marathon.

The news was shocking to Susan, an avid runner with a healthy lifestyle. Her doctor said cancer spares nobody, and if she waited a year later to be tested, they would have had an entirely different conversation. Susan underwent multiple surgeries and other treatments and has been cancer free for 15 years.

“That was a wake-up call for us in wanting to build our own destiny,” Ronnie says. “She was the picture of health. But if you look up the definition of grit in the dictionary, you will find a photo of Susan. I think that experience pushed us toward franchise ownership. I traveled a lot and missed some family events, and we wanted to have a greater life balance.”

The Morrises learned about Express Employment Professionals through a friend at Coca-Cola. They purchased a franchise in 2010 and moved to Tennessee to be close to family. They felt their previous corporate experience in sales, running a business, and managing employees would be a perfect fit to lead the staffing agency. After pouring all their savings into the business, Ronnie and Susan took an aggressive approach in which failure was not an option.

The couple doubled the required number of sales calls after starting the business and broke even financially within six months. They reached an internal reward level in their second year and continued to climb the ranks. In the past two years, the pair were named to the Diamond Circle of Excellence, the highest performance level in the Express Employment Professionals system.

Each day, the Morrises and their team match hundreds of people with jobs that fit their interests, skill sets, and work histories. The outcomes can be rewarding.

“We have associates who come back to us and say that if we did not help find them this job, they would not have been able to afford Christmas for their family or pay their rent or electricity bills,” Susan says. “When we place them with a job, they tell us they feel like they have a purpose in life and can now support their family. The feedback we receive hits home about how we have changed their lives.”

Ronnie and Susan are actively involved in several charitable endeavors. They are both past chairs of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, which helped raise more than $500,000 for the American Cancer Society with a 5K walk/run over five years. For the past 10 years, they have also hosted a Black Tie and Boxing fundraiser in their hometown of Jackson, Tennessee. The sold-out event features a black-tie dinner with live amateur MMA and kickboxing matches. Over the years, proceeds have exceeded $1,000,000 to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the STAR Center, an organization that places people with disabilities in new jobs.

MVP QUESTIONS

Why do you think you were recognized with this award? Being engaged in our local community has been a priority for us since day one. Coming out of the Coca-Cola system, we saw firsthand the power of local engagement, so it was natural to do so with our franchise. We have been on the startup side with major fundraisers that have delivered more than $1 million to the Jackson and West Tennessee communities.

How have you raised the bar in your own company? Our main metric is how many temporary associates we place with clients, and we strive to place 1,000 each week. We also created a program a few years ago called Second Chance. We meet with associates with a problematic work history for a session on how to keep a job. We teach them the importance of being on time, adding value, and learning to do more. We then reassign them to a job and give them a second chance to work.

What core values do you think helped you win this award? Having a servant leadership style. It’s our stated vision. It’s a desire to give back to the community that has supported us and just doing what’s right. It feels good to give back to others.

How important is community involvement to you and your company? It is a major part of our company’s vision. From the beginning, we wanted to be good community partners and give back to others who have been so good to us. 

What leadership qualities are important to you and your team? There are several qualities. Authenticity builds trust, and without that, there is no leadership. Being direct with good or bad feedback is important for business owners along with being skilled at having difficult conversations with staff members. It’s important to be consistent, collected, and willing to lead by example, especially when things are tough. Acknowledge real challenges, but be optimistic. Having a sense of urgency sets the tone for all we do. Lastly, keep the reason why you are in business front and center. We provide hope to associates through employment while helping our clients achieve their goals by providing quality staffing. 

PERSONAL (Ronnie)

First job: Working at McDonald’s for several years while I was in high school. 

Formative influencers/events: Switching my major from journalism to business at the University of Memphis was transformative for me. It made me realize that business was where I wanted to be. It eventually led me to several senior management roles within Coca-Cola Enterprises, which helped me see the big picture of how a successful business operation should be run through sales, operations, accounting, and HR. 

Key accomplishments: For the past two years, we have reached the Diamond Circle, which is the highest level of recognition in the Express Employment Professionals system. We were also awarded Franchise of the Year for 2024 and finished the year as the top territory in the Express Employment system. Susan is a breast cancer survivor and has run eight marathons (three times in the Boston Marathon) and at least 20 half-marathons. She started an organization, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, which raised more than $500,000 in five years for the fight against breast cancer. 

Biggest current challenge: Getting our hands around the ever-changing staffing environment and growing our client base and volume in an industry that has contracted over the past few years.

Next big goal: After achieving Diamond Circle status the past two years, we are focused on reaching that again in 2025. 

First turning point in your career: Breaking even within six months of starting with Express and achieving Gold Circle status. Susan and I came out of the gate running and set the record for “fast track” of billing clients within our first 12 weeks of being open.

Best business decision: Leaving the corporate world and opening our franchise business. We had very successful and satisfying careers with Fortune 500 companies, but we had a desire to manage our own destiny, and franchising was the answer. Express Employment Professionals suited us well because it allows us to leverage skills that we developed for decades in sales, customer management, operations, and team leadership. 

Hardest lesson learned: Putting too much trust in staff members without verifying they were doing what they said they were doing. In a small business, the owner has the ultimate responsibility for everything good and everything bad. We turned a lot of our responsibility over to senior management and got burned, and that ultimately fell on us. We learned to ask questions and verify that tasks were being done along the way.

Work week: Susan and I are up early every morning around 5 or 6 a.m. We discuss our schedule for the day or the week over coffee before heading to the office. We normally leave the office by 4 p.m., and if we have no functions to attend, we are home and downloading each other on the day’s events.

Exercise/workout: I walk, go to the gym, and love hitting 10,000 steps. Susan runs every day for a total of 30 miles a week, all of which are early in the morning before she gets to the office.

Best advice you ever got: “Cash is king and oxygen to a small business,” according to our CPA.

What’s your passion in business? Putting people to work and providing hope for them. It is so gratifying to help people create financial independence for themselves.

How do you balance life and work? When you run a busy franchise business with multiple locations, it’s hard to turn it off. You have to accept the fact that you’re going to talk about business issues and opportunities at home. We are fortunate enough to have a place in Florida where we can escape to as often as we can, about five to six times a year.

Guilty pleasure: Blueberry cheesecake for me and pizza for Susan.

Favorite book: Good to Great by Jim Collins. The principles from this book regarding assessing people on the bus, confronting the brutal facts, and the flywheel effect are concepts we use all the time when we evaluate our team and assess the progress and state of our business. 

Favorite movie: “Rocky” for me and “Pretty Woman” for Susan.

What do most people not know about you? I love to read and hope to write a business book on leadership someday.

Pet peeve: For me, it is indecision and waiting in line. Susan’s pet peeve is people talking on their speaker phone in public and assuming we want to hear their conversations. 

What did you want to be when you grew up? Susan and I both knew we just wanted to be successful and distinguish ourselves from our peers. Together, we wanted to build a career that was challenging and financially rewarding. 

Last vacation: Beach vacation in San Destin, Florida, in March 2025 to celebrate Susan’s birthday.

Person you’d most like to have lunch with: I’d like to have lunch with George Washington to hear the stories he could tell. Susan would like to have lunch with her dad.

MANAGEMENT

Business philosophy: Volume/rate/mix. We first focused on building our volume, which is hours billed. Once we had that on track, we began to work on our pricing to build our gross margin rate. Now, we are working on our mix by making a concentrated effort to grow additional product lines to insulate our margins and make the business more sustainable over time. We believe you can survive in achieving two out of three. But to have a high-performing, sustainable business, we need to optimize all three.

Management method or style: We are very hands-on and highly engaged in the business. Having a consistent and solid culture is critical for long-term success, and our culture is grounded in having a sense of urgency and winning. Be willing to pivot, pay attention to trends, and don’t focus on good or bad but rather better or worse.

Greatest challenge: Delivering our 2025 sales of $50 million, which will put us in the Diamond level for the third straight year.

How do others describe you? People describe me as strategic, genuine, and focused. They say I’m a good communicator and a great listener. People describe Susan as a hard worker who’s direct, gritty, and kindhearted.

Have you ever been in a mentor-mentee relationship? What did you learn? Throughout my career in the Coke system and other companies, I was fortunate to work for highly skilled and competent leaders who taught me the nuances of managing people and delivering a plan. More recently in the Express system, I have served as a mentor to others and have shared some advice I have learned. Keep it simple with metrics, stick to the process, and don’t be afraid to make a mistake. Business is a game of singles, doubles, and the occasional home run.

One thing you’re looking to do better: Building a strong team with more accountability. I am working on the trust-but-verify process. I tend to trust too quickly, and that has gotten me into trouble. Susan is working on slowing down and being a better listener. 

How close are you to operations? Very close. We have morning huddles and one-on-one conversations with our staff both formally and informally. We are highly engaged in the day-to-day operations, and we believe that it is the primary ingredient of our success. 

What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor? Innovation and communication. Ever-changing laws and regulations affect what we do in the staffing industry, and we rely on the franchisor to keep us updated on how these changes impact our day-to-day business. It also helps when they keep us updated on technical innovations and AI. Communication is a priority with our franchisor, and we greatly appreciate that. 

What you need from vendors: Communication and how you can make us better. The best ones know what is important to us and what we are trying to achieve. We ask for competitive prices, honesty, and quality services.

How is social media affecting your business? We leverage major platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, to promote our job openings. Our best tool is mass texting.

How are you using technology, like AI, to manage your business? Primarily for automation of reporting and process flow for clients and associates, drafting responses for online reviews and social engagements, and video editing and production for content creation. It’s also for brand awareness and recruiting.

How do you hire and fire? To hire, we normally will post open roles. We always try to promote internally first. We are big on working interviews because staffing isn’t for everyone. It’s fast-paced and can be chaotic in a busy office. To fire, it depends on the severity of the issue. We normally take the traditional warning route, and if there is no improvement, we will terminate after that.

How do you train and retain? Initial training is a combination of on-the-job training and our internal online training, Express University. Then, we assign mentors and a lot of coaching. Retention is about increased accountability and responsibility. Emphasizing those two things is an effective model to build leaders.

How do you deal with problem employees? Quickly. People who don’t adhere to or fit in with the culture are usually terminated early. 

Fastest way to your doghouse: Poor communication, not having a sense of urgency, disorganization, and being late.

BOTTOM LINE

Annual revenue: More than $50 million in gross sales.

2025 goals: Achieve Diamond Circle recognition for the third consecutive year.

Growth meter: Growth margin is the ultimate number. We have a weekly focus on paid associates and clients billed.

Vision meter: We would love to be the top staffing company in our markets and be known as a great corporate citizen that puts people to work.

How is the economy in your region(s) affecting you, your employees, your customers? Low unemployment and very low turnover have clients telling us they expect to be flat or slightly up in 2025. Many are in a wait-and-see mode now regarding increasing staffing or expanding. We are hearing the second half of 2025 could be busy, and we hope that’s the case.

Are you experiencing economic growth in your market? In our particular market, yes. Tennessee, especially West Tennessee, is a very business-friendly region. Significant and steady growth is expected over the next five years.

How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business? Staffing, especially industrial staffing, is a great early economic indicator. Coming out of Covid, it was hard to get people to go and stay at work. Our clients were shut down in Q2 of 2020, but by midyear, they were behind on production and needed people quickly. We were very busy. Over the past year or so, inflation has peaked, associates stayed on the job, and we are seeing turnover reverse. In the second half of 2024, we felt like our clients put things on hold, waiting to see how the election turned out. Today, we are still seeing very low turnover, and associates are staying on the job. Client demand is still sluggish. 

How do you forecast for your business? We analyze our recent trends over the past two to three years, we talk to dozens of clients to get a feel for what they expect for the coming year, and we get input from our franchisor on what they foresee coming for the industry.

What are the best sources for capital expansion? We have used traditional funding sources, like local bank loans and lines of credit. Banking relationships are critical for a small business, especially when starting out.

What are you doing to take care of your employees? We pay a very competitive base salary and provide both a generous PTO policy and a bonus program based on the performance of the company. We also offer a retirement IRA that we match up to 3%. 

How are you handling rising employee costs? No doubt our internal payroll has seen significant increases, especially since Covid. Entry-level jobs in our company have a much higher starting rate than in years prior. Like any other small business, we tightly manage overtime and nonessential expenses. 

What laws and regulations are affecting your business, and how are you dealing with them? Our associate onboarding process is best in class, ISO certified, and constantly under review to keep us in line with new regulations and laws. Regulations vary from state to state, and our franchisor does an excellent job of keeping us abreast of laws and regulations that affect us. 

How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees? Our headquarters in Oklahoma City does a great job with recognition programs for key positions in our office, especially with our sales teams. Locally, we celebrate every win no matter how small, and when someone performs above and beyond, we make sure everyone is aware of that performance. We are constantly giving out gift cards and small tokens as instant gratification for jobs well done. Beyond our bonus program, we offer annual travel certifications to high-performing employees.

What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? This is something we are working on. Our youngest son is a senior in college and may find himself running the business one day although it is too early to tell. In five years, we want to be living at the beach and playing a lot of golf.