No matter what part of the office equipment business you are in, finding the right people for your team is probably one of your biggest challenges. That’s because everyone is looking for the same qualities and experience for a given role, and often you are competing with businesses outside your industry. It’s a classic supply and demand scenario.
Technology-focused businesses have always struggled to hire skilled, experienced people, and over the years I’ve spoken with many managers in those businesses about how they build their teams. Their advice might help you develop or improve your hiring and training strategies.
• If you can’t hire, train. The fact is that for certain roles there just aren’t enough people with the skills and experience to fill all the needs. This is especially true for specialized technical skills and sales. Instead of looking for candidates that meet a list of job requirements, some companies look for aptitude and attitude with the expectation that they will teach the hires the skills needed.
For example, I spoke with a manager at a printer reseller that had recently begun selling 3D printers. They assumed that they could train their existing service techs on the new products. That proved more difficult than expected. Printer technicians tend to have an aptitude for color, while 3D printer service is much more mechanically oriented. Once they realized this, it was easy for them to identify people they could train for the job.
• Create a training program. Start by defining the expectations and skills needed for each key role at your company, and then develop a plan for teaching them to those you hire or promote. If it’s not practical for the management team to do the training, work with an outside firm. OEM partners often provide training on their products, so take advantage of it.
• Look more closely within first. Sometimes companies skip an internal search if it’s not obvious that a current employee is a fit. However, you should go through due diligence before looking outside. Review the job requirements your management team to see if anyone has the right aptitude and attitude for the role. It might not even be a top performer. Sometimes those employees thrive when placed in a new role that better suits them.
• Don’t chase purple squirrels. The staffing industry uses the term “purple squirrel” to describe an impossible-to-find candidate. This happens when the company adheres to too strict guidelines for skills and experience for a given role. Some companies are now eliminating the job requirements from their job postings and instead focusing on the qualities that the individual filling that role needs.
• Stick to your standards for the role. Let’s face it: Not everyone you hire is going to work out in the job. You need to be decisive once you know it isn’t going to work. One office equipment dealer told me recently that it could take six or seven hires before he finds the right person. Although sad for the failed hire, the value of having the right person in the role more than outweighs the cost of any disruption caused by the process.
