It’s time to acknowledge a significant supply chain challenge.
Everyone knows about the supply chain challenges plaguing the office technology industry the past two years. But there is another supply chain challenge that office technology recruitment firm Copier Careers’ Paul Schwartz, president, and Jessica Crowley, senior vice president, contend is just as challenging and isn’t going away anytime soon—that’s the employment supply chain.
“There’s a supply chain of people, talent, and skilled individuals that you need to operate a copier or office solutions dealership,” said Schwartz. “Jess (Crowley) has been talking about this for 12 years, but no one is addressing that issue and creating a new supply chain of candidates. Someone has to sell, install, maintain, and administer the solution, and the industry needs people in C-level positions. Without that, everything falls apart. You can have the greatest solutions, but without people, you can’t implement them. That’s what we see as the greatest challenge—the supply chain of skilled people to keep these entities functioning.”
Hiring and retention have always been a challenge in the office technology industry. No wonder it consistently ranks among the top three challenges in our Annual Dealer Survey. However, thanks to COVID-19, the Great Resignation, and shifting attitudes about work and where one works, it’s more challenging than ever. At some point, the equipment supply chain will correct itself, and equipment will start flowing again. “As that supply chain resolves itself, it will put more pressure on the hiring supply chain,” said Schwartz. “The ramp-up to get a technician, or an experienced sales rep, or someone in management trained and ready to go, that’s quite the set of steps to get that supply chain to have enough people in it. We’re already starting with a deficit.”
It isn’t all doom and gloom. As the equipment supply chain starts flowing again, Copier Careers’ Crowley believes it could free up sales reps looking for a change of scenery after receiving their commissions for items on backorder. “I think those candidates will be more open for discussion if they know they’re not leaving money on the table,” opined Crowley. “Outside of that, it’s just a matter of continually recruiting and never shutting the door to potential new candidates, whether they have industry experience or not.”
The Hot List
Although sales positions are always in demand, Crowley is seeing a greater demand for service techs. Ninety percent of Copier Careers’ new clients engage the firm to help them find service techs. This will accelerate as equipment on backorder starts showing up, and more techs are needed to install and maintain it. “Before the pandemic, our industry was short of technicians, but even more so now because other industries are coming after our technicians,” added Crowley.
One example of another industry poaching copier industry technicians is the medical-device field, where compensation is higher. “Because they are in high demand, they know they have other options inside and outside the industry,” said Crowley.
That doesn’t mean techs are unavailable, but the dealership needs to act fast once found. “It’s challenging to find them, and once we find them, it’s a matter of presenting them to our clients and being very persistent with them to move at a much quicker pace than they may have been accustomed to in the past,” said Crowley.
Denise Miller, senior human resources consultant, GreatAmerica Financial Services/PathShare®, is also consulting with more dealers seeking service techs. “When I used to talk to dealerships, whether a year ago or five years ago, it was, ‘We need to hire sales.’” Now, she’s having conversations about service techs, especially since individuals in those positions tend to have longevity, and more are approaching retirement age. “It’s a big graduating class,” said Miller.
Some dealers she consults with have expectations for filling those positions with an experienced tech that they don’t have to train. “That’s a small pool,” noted Miller. When that happens, she’ll ask them, “If you were willing to train the right talent, where might the right talent already be?”
She asks dealers to consider the qualities of a good service tech. “They’re mechanically inclined and are good with people because they’re onsite,” said Miller. She often recommends looking at other industries in the dealer’s region that employs similar talent because not every candidate is willing to relocate. This could be techs who fix machines on casino floors or vending machines, even though they may not have a strong connectivity background. She suggests dealers look at industries with technical talent adept at handling connectivity issues and learn what industries are recruiting office technology techs. For example, Miller recently spoke with a dealership that lost a tech to a company that installs phone systems.
She’s also seeing companies in larger markets outside the office technology industry tapping into smaller and rural markets for technical talent because they can offer remote work. “They’ve figured out that people that live in rural America are good, hard workers and are recruiting from those markets,” she said.
Despite an increased focus on finding service techs, sales positions are still in high demand. “Sales is, has been, and probably will still be a big challenge,” said Miller. “It’s still the number one thing we talk about with dealers.”
Young and Tech Savvy
Miller corrected me when I asked if the office technology industry should focus more on finding younger talent. “I always challenge people to expand that question because if you say, I want to hire young people, you are limiting your pool, and we’re already in a constrained labor pool.” She asks dealers, where can you find the talent you seek? Some might be younger people. You sell technology, you’re a technology company, so you want to connect with tech-savvy people.”
That said, she acknowledged that younger people tend to be tech savvy. “They grew up with a phone in their hand, so how can you connect with them? If all you’re doing is placing a job ad, you might be missing the boat.”
LinkedIn is one option, although Miller said many dealers don’t use it. “Well, you might have to, they’re there,” she said. “Some recruiters text candidates because they’re not as responsive to email.”
The key is using the technology that younger, tech-savvy candidates use. Another strategy Miller suggested is reaching out to educational institutions such as technical colleges. “They have programs for people, whether young or older candidates recommitting to a new career that would have the type of talent you seek.”
The other issue, she said, is that many of the individuals in these tech programs who are learning to work on electrical systems or computer networks don’t even know that the office technology industry exists. “The office technology industry needs to market itself better,” emphasized Miller. Participating in career fairs is fine, but Miller suggested reaching out to candidates by educating professors about this industry, sponsoring a tech club meeting at the educational facility, or inviting students to visit the dealership.
Veterans are another resource. “There are positions in the military that apply to our world,” observed Miller. What are we doing to reach them?” One way the industry has responded is with BTA’s VETech (Veterans Enhancing Technology) program, which provides veterans with opportunities to transition their military training to gainful employment. During the recent Executive Connection Summit, Larry White, president and chief executive officer of Toshiba America Business Solutions, stressed the need to not only hire veterans but also consider hiring their spouses as well. He pointed out that 20% to 25% of military spouses are unemployed, 92% are female with an average age of 33, 34% have a college degree, and another 15% have a post-graduate degree. A second session on hiring veterans revealed that networking is the number one way veterans find careers and that veterans have 28% more connections on LinkedIn than non-veterans, and that one third of veterans found their current job via someone who already worked at the company.
Remote Work
Remote and hybrid work is also impacting the labor pool. “On the candidate side of the house, flexibility is one of the top things people are asking for,” noted Miller. “If you’ve made the business decision that you are not going to offer any type of hybrid or remote work, you have cut off a segment of potential candidates because there are some candidates who have said, ‘Unless it’s hybrid, I’m not even going to engage.’ They’ve made their own personal decision on what they’re going to do. So, if there’s no way you’re going to do hybrid, they’re not an option for you. It doesn’t make you wrong and them right, it’s just the reality.”
Miller acknowledged that most independent dealers have their own ideas on how they want to run their business, as they should, and many have no intention of changing their business model. “Others are figuring out how to make [a hybrid model] work,” she said. “How do they still stay engaged as a team? Is it one day in the office, two days, or three days? They’re defining; they’re setting expectations.”
The Outlook for 2023
“I don’t see a big change on the immediate horizon,” said Miller about the industry employment outlook for 2023. “I hope we talk a lot more about retention. That is where we should put some energy because if we keep hiring and not retaining, I don’t see this treadmill changing.”
“At the end of the day, back to Jess’s point, clients have to move quickly,” added Copier Careers’ Schwartz. “You’re talking about having the appropriate culture and environment to induce people to come there because there are fewer people to choose from. That’s frustrating for all the recruiters at Copier Careers. We’re the ones who have to tell the dealers that wage inflation is a real thing, and we can’t change that. And this is what people are looking for, and we will have candidates with multiple offers. We tell clients it’s not the market that was, it’s the market that is, and they must adapt. Sometimes our clients and the industry, in general, are not always quick to adapt to changes like that.”
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