Tim Cunningham, Stratix Systems
When it comes to the latest generation of workers who are currently entering our ranks, there are two elements at play in the assimilation process. There’s the acknowledgment that the millennial generation is fundamentally different than the Generation X and baby boomer sets that preceded them, and then there is the acceptance of this notion. That not everyone agrees on either point or that some businesses are resisting the acceptance, can make for a difficult journey to recruit and retain quality employees.
This was a key cornerstone of an educational session held during the Ricoh ConvergX conference, which took place June 25-28 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. These sessions were crafted by Ricoh based upon input from dealerships to formulate an agenda that speaks to the relevant issues confronting their businesses.
Dubbed “Sales Force of the Future: Sourcing and Attracting,” attendees heard as several dealerships—including Reading, PA-based Stratix Systems and Rite Technology of Sarasota, FL—shared their insights into the nuances and character traits of the latest generation of workers, and the challenges they’ve faced in finding and maintaining quality millennials. Both dealers acknowledged that it is imperative for businesses to re-evaluate not only their hiring practices but the adjustments that need to be made to ensure they employ forward-thinking management techniques.
Tim Cunningham, vice president of sales for Stratix, opened his portion of the presentation by stressing the importance of engaging people through social media channels and crafting a message that is relevant to a given channel. The tone and substance of a LinkedIn post, for example, is markedly different than Facebook. It is also imperative to have a staff member dedicated to pushing the information and content on as many relevant channels as possible, he noted.
“As strategists, we want to create brand awareness, we want them to understand Stratix and get a sense of who we are and what we’re doing,” Cunningham said. “We don’t talk about selling copiers; no one wants to do that. We talk about our core values and what makes us different. Why an employee would want to engage with us is not dramatically different than why a customer wants to deal with us. If they see us and we create brand awareness, they’ll want to learn more about Stratix and will visit our website. Once we get them to the website, then we can communicate some more.”
Cunningham views Stratix’s website as its “demo room,” which for some is their first exposure to the company. He feels it’s vital for dealers to ensure their online presence conveys the intended message, be it for potential customers or employees. A while ago, Cunningham and company President Brent Simone decided to see what it was like to apply for a job with Stratix. Simone himself applied for a job online and found the process to be long (about 15 minutes) and cumbersome. What’s more, Simone never got a phone call…from his own company.
Changing Strategy
Using Google and Amazon as a model for the application process, Stratix scrapped its previous system for one that stressed simplicity. Now, there’s no application up front; prospects simply upload their resume and indicate the position to which they’re applying. Stratix also takes a more proactive approach in reaching out to the prospect. The application itself comes much later in the process.
Having simplified first contact, Stratix turned its attention toward its approach to employees. “We talk about millennials and they’re all about the team,” Cunningham said. “Collaboration, a part of the team and our vision. Employees are part of a team, so can’t we use them to grow the team, whether sales, service or admin? Everybody has an opportunity to maybe take that a step further. How visible is that program, how much is it talked about like we do with sales and service response time? Are we talking with our team about how to grow the team? Pay the money, highlight it, recognize it, and we’ll all have more success with that.”
Cunningham concluded with a caveat about handling millennial applicants. “This generation moves quickly, and we need to be just as fast in responding,” he said. “If we don’t get back to them right away, they just keep moving.
“The application is dead last for us now. It’s an admin piece and has nothing to do with getting applicants excited about what your company offers, why they want to be a team member, the culture, how you will develop them and let them achieve their goals,” he added.
Building Success
David Polimeni, Rite Technology
David Polimeni, president and CEO of Rite Technology, provided an overview of his road to becoming part owner of the company four and a half years ago. With a wife, three children and more than seven figures in debt, Polimeni (with help from Pros Elite) moved quickly to enhance the profitability of his service organization, which is now above the industry benchmark of 52 percent after languishing at the 35 percent level. Polimeni then set his sights on increasing revenue, driven by his passion and entrepreneurial spirit for a dealership he believed had untapped potential.
While a parent of three millennials in his own right, Polimeni found his understanding of the generation left something to be desired. He started attending seminars on the subject, but after about five presentations, Polimeni found himself frustrated, with more questions than answers. Finally, a 2016 BTA conference presentation given by Steven Shepard, president of Shepard Communications Group, on managing a multigenerational workforce truly struck a chord with Polimeni. One of the key takeaways, according to Polimeni, is that this was the first generation to have exposure to media in an unadulterated way and that television programming forged their mindset and helped to shape life for them. It projected life getting done.
It wasn’t long after that Polimeni introduced a team-selling approach for his organization, which is largely shaped to get into the minds of millennials and extract success out of them. There have been mistakes along the way, but Polimeni believes his company is moving in the right direction to accommodate and leverage the potential of the new generation.
Millennials (defined as being born between 1982 and 2004) will comprise roughly 50 percent of the workforce by 2020, which also means that in addition to working on the dealer side of the table, they will infiltrate the buyer ranks.
“For dealers that have an aged sales force, they may not be as successful in selling to the millennial,” he said. “You have to innovate, change and bring this new set of employees into the fold, but they won’t work like your Xers and boomers. They’re going to want to work differently.”
Polimeni cited an Inc. article that delved into the thinking of millennials, who have sometimes been characterized as uninitiated. In a survey by the magazine, 54 percent either want to have their own business or have started one, so they are entrepreneurial.
“They’re used to going on YouTube and figuring out how to do something,” Polimeni noted. “That access is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”
Money Not Key Motivator
An eye-raising 64 percent would also rather make $80,000 a year doing something they love than $100,000 doing something they consider boring, he cited. As a testament to this statistic, Polimeni shared how he recently lost his best millennial salesperson, who was making $95,000 in only his second year with Rite Technology, to a software sales environment. The other job offered a higher base salary but carried a capped income of $84,000. The employee opted to take less money because he “connected more with that business process.”
Other key stats Polimeni related from the article: 69 percent believe regular office attendance is unnecessary (“That’s a challenge if you’re trying to manage a millennial workforce and you try to restrict that instead of working with it,” he noted). Seventy-four percent of millennials want flexible work schedules and 80 percent prefer on-the-spot recognition over formal reviews.
Accepting this thinking can be difficult, particularly for baby boomers who denounce the “participation trophy” era. Polimeni shared a story about a former owner who walked by as one employee thanked another for fixing her computer. That didn’t sit well with the old-guard boss, who interjected, “We don’t thank employees; we pay them.”
Other critical stats Polimeni shared include 88 percent of millennials prefer a collaborative work environment over a competitive one, and 92 percent believe business success should be measured by more than just profit.
One of the biggest challenges is creating a compensation structure that speaks to the needs of millennials who crave collaboration. One possibility is a mentor-protégé relationship between a seasoned rep and a millennial who is learning the ropes.
“You would need to overcome the mindset of two people doing one job,” Polimeni said. “Boomers might say, ‘I’m not going to have two people knocking on doors together. I want duplicity and productivity, not singularity.’ But in time, you’ll attain that if you allow for the investment on the front end.”
Sales Team Concept
Rite Technology has crafted a team selling philosophy; each team has a team leader, an MPS rep, an IT services rep (an offering still in development) and a solutions sales/software integration rep. While everyone on the team has a copier quota, each position sticks to his/her own discipline within the group. There’s a component of every deal that adds compensation to the team bucket.
“If you incentivize that team collaboration, No. 1 it is natural for them; No. 2, it’s incentivized. There’s some meat on the bone for them by being collaborative,” Polimeni explained.
“(Dealers), you have to change. You can’t just put your head in the sand.”
Polimeni also pointed out that many of the industries that are seeking millennials, such as financial services, commercial and retail banking, and insurance sales, are offering a larger base salary than the office equipment dealer space. One way to counter that is to offer a higher salaried, less frequent commission structure, he said. But at the end of the day, it is critical for dealers to devise a plan that works best for them…and is mindful of the millennial generation.
Right, wrong or otherwise, the first step is acknowledging that the millennial generation is different. Where you, as a dealer, go from there will say a lot about how your company is viewed in the future.
“Every three years is a documented time frame for them to move on (to a new job),” Polimeni concluded. “Baby boomers and Xers assume everything is fine unless told otherwise. Millennials assume everything is going wrong unless they’re told otherwise. So it’s imperative to build elements of recognition into your company culture.”
