With its iconic mascot Raymond, RAMS is arguably one of Australia’s most recognised home loan providers, and its mission is clear: to help more Australians into homes. Over the past 2 years RAMS has had a clear strategic priority to grow, which includes expanding its footprint – in other words, growing its franchisee base.
RAMS franchisees are small business owners in their own right, something RAMS’ Managing Director Jake Bromwich knows all too well.
“Small business is the backbone of our economy, collectively hiring more people than any other employment type, while also creating economic growth.”
“At RAMS we have an important role to play here, enabling driven, customer-oriented people to channel their energy into helping customers realise their home ownership dreams. Through ownership of their own business, each of our franchisees can then not only generate an income and lifestyle, they can also offer employment opportunities as they hire staff.”
RAMS’ growth over the last 2 years is the result of a lot of hard work, simplification (including digitisation) of many processes, and an unrelenting customer focus. While Jake acknowledges there is still much work to be done, as a franchisor, RAMS has seen an uplift in sales, while RAMS franchisees in their own right have also seen growth within their business with 95 per cent delivering sales at double the minimum standards.
These results however haven’t happened overnight, rather they are the culmination of a number of years of solid teamwork and deep engagement with franchisees. And such successes have been rewarded with a number of franchisees recognised at an industry level as finalists in the Franchise Council of Australia’s Excellence in Franchising Awards. Not to mention that the RAMS business itself has also been proudly recognised in these awards, winning the Excellence in Franchise Innovation category in 2020 for its Construction Proposition, and being named as a finalist for Excellence in Marketing, as well as the big one – finalist for Established Franchisor of the Year in 2021.
While everyone at RAMS is rightly proud of this recognition, the business has always ensured franchisees have a voice in the decision making process.
“We have a deep relationship with the Franchise Relationships Institute who helps us conduct an annual franchisee satisfaction survey,” says Jake. “There is no doubt the feedback from this survey has helped our business deliver significant improvements for our franchisees who have gained more confidence and trust in our leadership. All measured support areas have shown improvement year to year, with practical support and training effectively doubling.”
While certainly not being complacent with these great results, the business has made sure to recognise and celebrate each win with internal teams and the franchise network. In terms of recognition, and in direct response to franchisee feedback, RAMS refreshed its Reward and Recognition framework, and recently held the inaugural Regional Excellence Awards where state finalists were recognised in front of their peers in the lead up to the big one – the Annual National Conference to be held later this year.
“One of our absolute highlights as a business is getting to celebrate the successes of our franchisees. We all thrive on human connection. Helping people is who we are, and we run a people business, it just happens that our people business specialises in home loans,” says Jake. “So celebrating with our franchisees is really special to all involved.”
Making this year’s awards extra special has been the introduction of the Rookie of the Year category, recognising excellence amongst RAMS’ newest franchisees. As part of RAMS’ growth strategy, the business has welcomed 22 new franchisees since its recruitment initiative kicked off, and a further 6 are approved to start in the very near future. Of the 22 new starters who are already in operation, 6 franchisees make up the inaugural Rookies being recognised in 2022.
“We’ve been delighted to welcome our new franchisees to our RAMS family and we look forward to seeing their journey as we help them build their businesses,” says Jake. “Our franchisees’ success really is our success, and it’s important to us, and ultimately our customers, that our valued network succeeds. It’s particularly important to our business to acknowledge our Rookies for their hard work as they establish themselves in their local community.”
One of the Rookie of the Year finalists is Gary Bandara, a former highly decorated RAMS Home Loan Manager (HLM) who now owns and operates the RAMS franchise in Ferntree Gully, Victoria. Gary loved his role as a HLM with RAMS so much that, coupled with his love of the brand’s mascot Raymond, it was natural that he had the desire to – as they say in RAMS – ‘manage his own paddock on the farm’.
“My foray into business ownership as a franchisee has been so rewarding,” says Gary. “I only commenced formally in October last year and already I’m achieving results beyond what I imagined I would in my first year. I know there is still a lot of hard work to be done, but I am up for it and I know I have the support of RAMS and my fellow franchisees to help me along the way.”
“And to be recognised among my peers as a Rookie of the Year candidate is really something special. It’s a real privilege and honour to be rewarded in this way for my hard work and dedication to supporting our customers.”
Likewise, Vivi Jia, who has been Franchise Principal in Camberwell, Victoria for a little over 12 months, had initially worked as a HLM at another RAMS franchise before venturing outside RAMS to explore the world of broking. Vivi however was seeking something more rewarding, particularly having more ownership, working for herself and building stronger relationships with her customers. Realising that she loved the RAMS culture while working as a HLM, it was an easy decision to return to the RAMS family, this time as a franchise owner. And she’s delighted to be another Rookie of the Year finalist.
“I love seeing my customers achieve their dreams of stepping into their new home or acquiring a new investment property. As a Home Loan Manager this was very rewarding, but now I get to do the same as a business owner. The stakes may be a little higher as I have much more responsibility, but I also have much more control over my own destiny. And I love that fact that RAMS recognises my passion and efforts. I’m very proud to be a finalist as Rookie of the Year!”
If you have the same desire as Gary and Vivi, and dream of owning and operating your own small business helping Australians realise their dreams of home ownership while also being rewarded for your hard work, RAMS would love to hear from you.
For Franchising Enquiries please email franchising@rams.com.au or phone 1800 616 082
RAMS Financial Group Pty Limited ABN 30 105 207 538 Australian credit licence 388065. Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 Australian credit licence 233714 is credit provider for RAMS home loans.