As we move to the fourth installment of challenges facing our cast of Elite Dealers, we’ve dedicated this piece entirely to one of the biggest obstacles office technology dealerships encounter in growing their business: The ability to recruit and maintain quality employees.
Twenty years ago, a resume that chronicled a successful career and demonstrated knowledge of manufacturers, systems and processes would’ve won an interview and the gig more often than not. That is no longer the case. Prospective employees must now demonstrate that their core values align with those of the dealership. Corporate culture plays a vital role as human resources departments must fully vet candidates to ensure they are in lock-step with the dealers.
Ah, but employment is a two-way street, and the millennial generation has garnered a reputation for having a discerning eye when it comes to selecting their next employer. Gainful employment is hardly their end all, be all, which truly transforms the modern interview into a two-way audition.
Copier Fax Business Technologies of Buffalo, NY, has an advantage in that many of its employees boast considerable tenure. Its corporate culture is one of an extended family, and the dealer works hard at vetting potential candidates. Copier Fax seeks out people who demonstrate a hard work ethic and positive energy. Combining that with technologically-savvy chops can be a challenge.
“Thankfully, due to social media, we are able to improve our vetting process and learn more about the various candidates throughout the interview process,” Copier Fax reported. “We also have relationships with the University of Buffalo and ITT Technical Institute.”
Career-Minded Candidates
In order to foster growth and continued success, KDI Office Technology of Aston, PA, seeks career-oriented individuals who view working with the firm as more than collecting a paycheck. Having market awareness has helped KDI in this regard.
“Finding experienced applicants has been a challenge,” KDI wrote. “With Ricoh recently exiting the SMB business arena, we actively targeted their laid off employees via social media campaigns, client referrals, and digital billboards advertising very attractive bonuses for qualified and experienced applicants.”
When a dealer’s participating markets are buoyed by a strong economy, which is the case for EO Johnson Business Technologies of Wausau, WI, it can ratchet up the competition level for talented newcomers to the workforce. The competition has led to increased wages in their markets, and the dealer’s continued growth and a spate of pending retirements in the next few years makes the need to find new blood a priority.
“To meet these challenges, we have grown our HR team to include a recruiting coordinator,” EO Johnson reported. “We have engaged recruiters for some hard-to-fill positions, and we are committed to maintaining a focus on using our culture and core values to bring in employees that want to be part of EO Johnson.”
Seeking Best of the Best
James Imaging Systems of Brookfield, WI, is another firm on the growth fast track that deems recruiting top-quality talent as a point of emphasis, as it feels the company’s greatest asset is its talented team. “To help us in building this type of distinctive team, we utilize a rigorous interview process and only hire the top 15 percent,” the dealer reported. “In order to provide the best service possible to our clients, it’s essential that we attract and retain the most talented individuals in their field. We strive to continually provide them with opportunities and rewards for demonstrating exemplary behavior.”
The price of doing business in an ultra-competitive market can be steep. Somerset, NJ-based Image Systems for Business finds itself competing in a space that includes a Tier 1 manufacturer headquarters and direct sales operations, in addition to $100 million-plus dealers. Unfortunately for companies like Image Systems for Business, Ricoh’s sale of its SMB business to a select group of dealers did not flood the market with sales reps, as many of them joined the acquiring dealerships. Image Systems for Business notes that top talent is being courted by larger dealers before they can have access to them.
“We thought there would be an opportunity (with Ricoh) but were disappointed in the outcome from a staffing perspective,” Image Systems for Business reported. “That’s not to say that recruiting from within the industry is the only method, but hiring and training new talent is risky and extremely time and capital intensive for a smaller company. We’re looking to overcome our staffing challenges by evaluating new hire incentive programs and finding niche industries to find (sales) candidates that we think would be a good fit for our business.”
Given the challenges in recruiting from within the industry, Image Systems for Business does a fantastic job of taking care of its existing staff. Both its IT director and service director have been with the firm throughout its existence (30 years), and its ranks are replete with employees who have been on board for 10 years or more. These veterans are honored with employee milestone gifts including diamond jewelry, luxury watches and, in the case of a 20-year employee, a motorcycle.
