President’s Circle Incentivizes and Recognizes Top Performing Franchisees Across Tutor Doctor’s Global System

For brands across the franchise industry, it has become commonplace to honor top-performing franchisees on an annual basis at a team event or conference. However, for Tutor Doctor, an education brand that has helped more than 200,000 students across the globe through its in-home tutoring system, presenting an award or publicly identifying its top performers once a year was not enough. So, brand president Frank Milner instituted a new program: The President’s Circle.

Established to be a creative and incentivizing way to honor the top performing franchisees across Tutor Doctor’s entire system of 550-plus locations, the President’s Circle invites the ten top performers and their spouses on a luxury vacation to honor their achievements. Ten runners-up are also qualifiers for the President’s Circle, even though they are not eligible to attend the trip. The idea behind the program was inspired by an experience that Milner had when he was launching his professional career.

“When I was starting my career in the insurance industry, the company that I was working for had a President’s Club where they took star performers to exotic locations all over the world. When I earned my first trip, it was my first opportunity to see the world—and see it in style. After that first trip, I made a declaration to myself that I would never miss another one, and I did not.

It was a phenomenal experience that had a huge impact on me, and it drove me to be a top performer,” Milner said. “That is why I established a President’s Circle at Tutor Doctor. I designed it to be a recognition program for our top performing franchisees.”

However, the President’s Circle is not meant to focus on franchisees’ excellent performances solely. Milner explains that the program—and the luxury vacation that comes with it—provides franchisees with an opportunity to thank their biggest supporters for their help.

He said, “The other critical factor and the idea behind the President’s Circle is that it is an opportunity for our franchisees to show appreciation for their spouses. Whether spouses are providing moral or physical support in the business, the support that they are giving is allowing our franchisees to be top performers. The President’s Circle also serves as an opportunity for franchisees to build relationships together.

Program evolution and benefits

This gathering naturally becomes a mastermind group—we can get their feedback and opinions to determine the greatest needs for support and innovation. That then gives us the opportunity to ensure that there is alignment between Tutor Doctor executives, management teams and the best of the best franchisees in our system. That is what keeps us all in the same boat, rowing in the same direction.”

When Tutor Doctor first launched its President’s Circle program, the winners were based on achieving a particular sales volume. However, as Tutor Doctor has boosted its global presence, those qualifiers have had to change. Because franchisees charge their customers different prices based on their center’s locations, Milner and the Tutor Doctor team realized that they needed to even the playing field. Now, franchisees are ranked based on the number of tutoring hours that they deliver.

In 2017, the top 10 winners who are eligible to take part in the upcoming President’s Choice Mediterranean Cruise are Jon-Anthony and Clarissa Lui, Teresa and Barry Johnston, Rob Kerrison, Huda Gay, Alex Scotchbrook, Diane Wilson and Veronyk Zinn, Miguel and Leonor Corada, Claudio Zuniga, Claudia Flores and Jennifer Brannon. The ten runners-up who also qualified for the 2017 President’s Circle are Yossi Suissa, Diego Conroy and Ximena Rodriguez, Richy Noronha and Lina George, Mark and Joanna Butler, Danielle Coulter, Shannon Spence, Peter Seward, Nicelle DePatie, Brian Fitzgerald and Carl Pruett and Mark Seker.

One winner, in particular, Kerrison, is eager to embark on this year’s President’s Circle trip.

Kerrison said, “The President’s Circle is made up of the top ten franchisees around the world. Tutor Doctor’s president organizes it annually, and each year, we get to go on a cruise as a reward. Moreover, even though it is a vacation, we also take a day to talk about our strategy and plan.”

That ability to come together as a team and strategize is one of Kerrison’s favorite parts of being a member of the Tutor Doctor family. Rather than having to go it alone, Kerrison knows that he is a part of a more significant system that is there to provide support when needed.

Franchisee support and growth

He continued, saying, “I just had a call with a potential franchisee. That is one of the best parts of being in the system. You are on a team. You can benefit from being a part of the ‘bigger ship’ and by not being on your own. I think that is critical. You can always get someone on the phone. Some of those relationships are formalized, and others are people you meet in the system who become your friend. Everyone in this system has different experiences and skills, so it is beneficial to meet them and become friends with them.”

With hundreds of locations currently up and running all over the world, Tutor Doctor’s network of franchisees, tutors and corporate staff members are far-reaching. Moreover, that is something that the brand is hoping to expand down the line—Tutor Doctor is actively looking to grow alongside both new and existing franchisees to better help set students up for success. To encourage this growth, the brand offers a competitive initial investment—franchisees can expect costs to range from $68,500 to $101,700.

As more franchisees sign on to become members of the Tutor Doctor brand, Milner is hopeful that local owners are inspired and driven to become members of the President’s Circle and solidify their position as top performers.

“I think our franchisees work hard to change the trajectory of students’ lives. This is our opportunity to recognize and acknowledge that tremendous impact that they are having in their local communities. The President’s Circle is a significant initiative, and it will remain so in the years to come,” Milner said.