Extra Help's Director of Operations Wins EWiF Employee of the Year 2026
We’re absolutely delighted to share the wonderful news that Sarah Sanders, Extra Help’s outstanding Director of Operations and owner of Extra Help South Hams, Torbay, West Devon and Bude, has been announced as the winner of the 2026 Encouraging Women into Franchising (EWiF) Employee of the Year Award!
This is an incredible achievement and a well deserved recognition of Sarah’s dedication to strengthening our franchise network and supporting franchisees to build their own home help businesses within their local communities.
Celebrating excellence in the franchising world
The EWiF Awards champion women who are making a meaningful impact in the franchising sector, and Sarah embodies the values of leadership, compassion and innovation that EWiF seeks to highlight. Her work at Extra Help plays a vital role in ensuring our home help services remain reliable, consistent and community focused across the UK.
As Director of Operations, Sarah oversees the onboarding, training and mentoring of new franchisees. Her supportive, hands on approach helps each franchisee to build a sustainable, client-centric home help business that truly makes a difference to many different types of people, from the elderly and vulnerable to busy families.
A well deserved win for an exceptional leader
Sarah’s award comes at a time of significant growth for Extra Help. Under her expert guidance:
- 13 new franchisees have joined the network in the past two years
- Extra Help has expanded to over 30 franchise territories
- Client numbers increased by 22% in 2025, up from 10% the previous year
- Hours of support delivered locally rose by 57%
- Our teams of home helpers grew by 62% nationally
- Franchisees achieved an average 32% profit margin
- Head Office profitability increased from 12% in 2023 to 18% in 2025
Sarah has also led the rollout of improved digital systems, including our partnership with Birdie care management software, and introduced weekly Zoom support sessions and one to one coaching. These initiatives have helped franchisees to streamline their operations, increase efficiencies, improve client care and grow their home help franchises with confidence.
Her commitment to raising standards and empowering others has visibly served to strengthen the entire Extra Help community.
Sarah’s reaction to the win
Speaking after the ceremony, Sarah shared her delight:
“It was amazing and completely unexpected to be announced the winner of Employee of the Year. I’m so grateful to have been a finalist, and absolutely delighted to win. It feels like a wonderful testament to the hard work I’ve put in over the past few years, and to the positivity, drive and ambition behind making Extra Help the best it can be.”
Reflecting on the wider event, she added:
“After an inspiring day at the British Franchise Association Empowering Women In Business (EWIB) Conference, this really was the cherry on the cake. Supporting franchisees to build their own teams and make a difference in their communities is a privilege, and I’m thrilled that the work we’re doing has been recognised.”
A proud moment for the Extra Help family
Everyone at Extra Help is incredibly proud of Sarah’s achievement. Her leadership, energy and unwavering commitment to helping others succeed are at the heart of what makes our home help franchise network so special and unique.
This award not only celebrates Sarah’s individual contribution but also highlights the strength of the entire Extra Help community – our franchisees, home helpers and the clients we support every day.
Looking ahead
With Sarah continuing to drive innovation, training and support across the network, we’re incredibly excited for what the future holds. Her win reinforces our mission to deliver compassionate, reliable, high-quality home help services nationwide, while empowering franchisees to build successful, community focused home help businesses.
Interested in joining an award winning home help franchise network?
If you’re considering starting your own home help franchise and would like to be part of a supportive, fast growing network, we’d love to hear from you.