Presidents Day Reflection

On this President’s Day, we are sitting here reflecting on what a tumultuous two years our country has gone through. This pandemic has put a strain on everyone professionally, financially, and mentally. That being said, we are moving into 2022 seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Patrice & Associates went through its own challenges in 2019 and 2020 as the pandemic was rearing its ugly head. Our business certainly was effected but we adapted and overcame the challenge. When covid first emerged, we were coming off a successful implementation of Executive Search in our model. Although we were thriving with our fast-food and fast-casual concepts, who’s take-out and delivery demand had skyrocketed, we expanded our reach into other positions within the restaurant and hospitality industries. Throughout our 30-year history, we had focused primarily on management level positions within restaurants, but we have since been recruiting for qualified candidates in finance, accounting, HR, sales, operations, marketing and technology. We have also expanded outside the restaurant, hospitality, and F&B sectors. Our franchisees employed the training and skillsets they learned through our Executive Search training and began to find talent in technology, oil & gas, construction, education, and manufacturing industries. Our franchisees come from a diverse set of backgrounds, many of which are outside of restaurants and hospitality, and our Executive Search model has allowed them to leverage their network to make placements in these industries. With the emergence of Executive Search, new clients have been also coming to us, including retail firms, banking institutions, and even large app companies.

2021 was a banner year for Patrice & Associates as we achieved our largest franchisee placement revenue in the history of the company. This was a result of two factors, the first being the extreme surge in consumer demand. People were ready to go back out to eat and socialize, to get on planes and travel. This coupled with restaurants desperately needing good talent created a perfect recipe for demand. This is an incredibly exciting time to be a part of the Patrice & Associates team and we have the data to prove it. The National Restaurant Association recently published their 2022 outlook which provided some valuable insights. They reported that the foodservice industry is forecast to reach $898B in sales in 2022 which is back to, and frankly exceeding, pre-pandemic numbers. The staffing challenges aren’t going away. They also projected that the foodservice industry is projected to grow by 400,000 jobs by the end of 2022! Our Patrice & Associates franchisees have an opportunity to be an integral part of this surge.

If you haven’t figured it out already, Patrice & Associates is especially excited about Executive Search! By now, we have all heard of the Great Resignation and we have seen a significant increase in Executive Search openings. Companies have had to be more aggressive with financial and benefits packages and they are contracting with firms like ours to give them a leg up in securing this elusive top talent.

Our countries forefathers sought an America where everyone had the opportunity to achieve their American dream, their pursuit of happiness. What we love most about what we do, is that we get a chance to help people advance in their careers each day. We still have hundreds of prime territories across the country if you are interested in helping others achieve their dreams through owning a Patrice & Associates franchise.