RETHINKING AI AND TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND SAFETY IN OUR HOMES

By Praful Mittal, WIN Home Inspection

When I joined the WIN family in 2018, with no prior experience in franchising or in the multi-billion-dollar home inspection industry, I spent weeks listening to our Strategic Partners (how we refer to our franchise owners) to hear their insights about WIN, including challenges confronting them and the opportunities in our industry.

I hoped that with a sound strategy, solid execution, and a bit of luck, things would work out.

Today, we are a nationally trusted brand that is applying its 30-year expertise to transform the home inspection industry with investments in new business models, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), data science, and the cloud. I feel we have a unique opportunity to help shape the future of the industry by capitalizing on our strategic investments and focusing on the unmet as well as the unsaid needs of nearly 100 million homeowners in the U.S.

Investing to Build a Solid Foundation

As brands seek to remain resilient, they must invest in their people, who are the backbone of any organization. At WIN, our first franchise owner is still with us, which is a testament to our strong foundation and shared values. Over 36% of WIN SPs are veterans, first responders, and active-duty personnel, making us one of the largest franchise systems in the U.S. with such a percentage. Our SPs have a heart for service, and this culture of service permeates everything we do at WIN.

One of the first and most profound decisions we made after I joined was to invest heavily in the team. Since 2018, our corporate team has grown nearly 1,200%, making it the largest franchise support team not only in the inspection services industry, but also in service-based franchising on a per capita basis. This explosive team growth has allowed us to create a highly personalized support model for our Strategic Partners, which we believe is critical to the success of business owners in any franchise system.

Responding to the COVID-19 Upheaval: Investing in Training and Development

During the pandemic, many industries and companies experienced devastation, but we were fortunate to continue our rapid growth, partly aided by rise in real estate transactions as homes took increased importance in people’s lives, and remote work allowed many to move out of expensive locations and into bigger houses.

We began investing heavily in our training and certification infrastructure. We developed several proprietary training programs, making WIN the only franchise offering in-house training and certifications for 35+ essential services, and in turn, positioning our franchise owners to offer the widest range of essential services for homebuyers and homeowners. Just as one example, we went through a nearly two-year process to become the only home inspection franchise to offer state-approved training for home inspection licensing in Texas. This investment, while uneconomical, was undertaken for the good of our SPs, their pride, and their commitment to serving their communities nationwide, including in Texas.

A Contrarian Approach to Technology and Innovation

Since 2018, a key driver of WIN’s growth has been our investment in technology. Most tools and technologies offered by vendors in our industry tend to be generic solutions. Franchise systems, with good intent, re-package and resell vendor services to their franchisees, often at a higher cost than what a franchisee may pay directly. While this traditional approach is well-meaning, it does not provide differentiation for those franchisees when independent business owners and other franchise systems are also offering identical services.

Recognizing these systemic issues, we made the bold decision to grow our in-house technology team and began developing proprietary and highly scalable marketing and operational solutions. This tailored approach has allowed us to create highly customized solutions that are quantifiably more effective and accurate. To help our franchise owners differentiate, we did not want to merely pass vendor costs to them but create a culture of internal innovation first.

Using AlgorithmDriven Insights to Provide Exceptional Value in Any Economy

Traditionally, inspectors have relied on manual processes and expert intuition, but advances in technology, AI and machine learning open the door for transforming the way inspections are conducted and analyzed. By embracing these technological advancements, we feel that we can elevate the quality of our services, ensuring higher satisfaction for homeowners and success for our Strategic Partners.

We’re investing in predictive models that generate insights for homeowners, not just at the time of inspection but throughout their homeownership journey. By harnessing the power of algorithm-driven analytics, we can help homeowners proactively address maintenance issues before they become costly and stressful. Our investment in predictive models is geared toward identifying patterns and providing personalized recommendations to homeowners.

Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead

Over the last four years, ongoing investments in innovation and our people have helped us expand our franchise base by over 50%. While technology will continue to evolve, franchisors who build upon a foundation of shared values with their franchisees can thrive in the long-term. Cultivating a culture of service, integrity, and professionalism requires dedication but also leads to a WIN-WIN.

Praful Mittal is the CEO of WIN Home Inspection. He earned a degree in Engineering Software Design from Northeastern University and an MBA from MIT Sloan at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology