{"id":43041,"date":"2020-12-10T13:49:31","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=43041"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:49:34","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:49:34","slug":"help-wanted-dealers-assess-market-for-new-employees-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2020\/12\/help-wanted-dealers-assess-market-for-new-employees-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Help Wanted: Dealers Assess Market for New Employees During the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What the pandemic has done to the business landscape, among other things, is to add a variable layer to the quest for finding and maintaining quality employees. The pool of competent, industry-specific applicants was quite thin at the onset of 2020, but with millions of people losing their jobs in the months following the shutdown, one would assume it has reverted to a buyer\u2019s market, so to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s look into the challenges encountered by our 2020 Elite Dealer roster include several examples of how they have fared in trying to find, and secure, talent that will help them move forward exponentially once the pandemic passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the case of Millennium Business Systems of Livonia, Michigan, the dealer turned to outside help in its efforts to recruit and hire the right individuals. The company partnered with PathShare to train its managers on sourcing and hiring optimal fits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir AVA assessments list ideal environments, coaching tips and valuable insight about the prospective employee,\u201d Millennium reported. \u201cSince partnering with PathShare, our employee retention has increased and our recruiting expenses have decreased.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Seattle-based Copiers Northwest, the hiring process is complicated by more than the pandemic. Within blocks of its headquarters sits multiple Google and Amazon facilities, with others still being constructed. Thus, the dealer is in stiff competition with players such as Microsoft, Intel, Facebook and various other technology-driven firms that boast the nationwide name recognition cache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That has led Copiers Northwest to become more creative with its employee hunt. \u201cThis year, we became a gold level sponsor for the University of Washington\u2019s sales intern program, with the hope of recruiting recent graduates,\u201d the company noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With unemployment levels reaching all-time lows in its market, Greenville, North Carolina-based CopyPro found that its employee base was the best source of recruiting. Incentivizing the process doesn\u2019t hurt, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe offered a finder\u2019s fee to our employees, which not only allowed us to locate quality employees, it gave our employees some \u2018skin in the game\u2019 to ensure that these new hires were successful,\u201d CopyPro wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When dealers on the West Coast opted to furlough some of its salespeople, Image 2000 of Valencia, California, found the opening it needed to bolster its account rep ranks. \u201cWe\u2019re not sure why (dealers chose to furlough successful reps), but it provided an opportunity for us to hire a few reps that may not have been available prior to COVID,\u201d the company wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winning Combination<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When Advanced Imaging Solutions (AIS) of Las Vegas sought to better align its sales and marketing efforts, the dealer decided to integrate them into a single \u201csmarketing\u201d division. The group meets twice a week and allows the two departments to share marketing-connect efforts and learn how sales can leverage the content to simplify the selling process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe began training our sales team in assignment selling, too,\u201d AIS wrote. \u201cAssignment selling is the process of intentionally using educational content you have created about your products and services to resolve the major concerns and answer the burning questions of prospects, so they are much more prepared for a sales appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For years, Martin Group of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, has had its own shipping and receiving department to supply all of its clients, a functional but not highly optimized aspect of its business. Thus, the company decided to undertake a complete rebuild of its shipping processes. Visual guides now make it easier for quick references on the fly, and detailed, step-by-step instructions made training much easier. A dedicated shipping\/warehouse employee was trained on the improved processes, which has made for a marked improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe new processes have also been an incredible help to not just the bottom line, but our inventory is the most accurate it has ever been,\u201d Martin Group reported. \u201cIt took months and multiple revisions, but our team was awesome in flowing with the changes and helping to get to the improvement we are seeing today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manufacturer Directs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The downward pressure brought by the pandemic has ramped up competition from manufacturers’ direct branches, and that has been the case for Centric Business Systems of Owings, Maryland. Direct reps are plying clients with low-cost hardware and cost-per-copy pricing. In such cases, Centric focuses on one of its bread-and-butter attributes: its value as a locally-owned company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur decision-making is hands-on, flexible and prompt,\u201d Centric wrote. \u201cOur service teams are proactive, responsive, and equipped with the right parts to repair issues, should they arrive. We provide training at the time of installation and continue to offer ongoing training, either hands on or virtually for the life of the customer. We develop a partnership with our clients and we are involved with the communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The common task of converting to a work-from-home environment proved to be a fruitful and positive experience for Applied Imaging of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The dealer tasked NetSmart Plus, its network services division, with ensuring customer employees could operate from home without any disruption to the business. Client feedback was resoundingly positive. The foray into temperature-scanning devices turned out to be a lucrative venture as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSelling over a million dollars\u2019 worth of temperature screening kiosks was also a challenge and an incredible achievement since nobody had heard of the product at the beginning of 2020,\u201d Applied Imaging noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What the pandemic has done to the business landscape, among other things, is to add a variable layer to the quest for finding and maintaining quality employees. The pool of competent, industry-specific applicants was quite thin at the onset of 2020, but with millions of people losing their jobs in the months following the shutdown, one would assume it has reverted to a buyer\u2019s market, so to speak. This week\u2019s look into the challenges encountered by our 2020 Elite Dealer roster include several examples of how they have fared in trying to find, and secure, talent that will help them move forward exponentially once the pandemic passes. In the case of Millennium Business Systems of Livonia, Michigan, the dealer turned to outside help in its efforts to recruit and hire the right individuals. The company partnered with PathShare to train its managers on sourcing and hiring optimal fits. \u201cTheir AVA assessments list ideal environments, coaching tips and valuable insight about the prospective employee,\u201d Millennium reported. \u201cSince partnering with PathShare, our employee retention has increased and our recruiting expenses have decreased.\u201d For Seattle-based Copiers Northwest, the hiring process is complicated by more than the pandemic. Within blocks of its headquarters sits multiple Google and Amazon facilities, with others still being constructed. Thus, the dealer is in stiff competition with players such as Microsoft, Intel, Facebook and various other technology-driven firms that boast the nationwide name recognition cache. That has led Copiers Northwest to become more creative with its employee hunt. \u201cThis year, we became a gold level sponsor for the University of Washington\u2019s sales intern program, with the hope of recruiting recent graduates,\u201d the company noted. With unemployment levels reaching all-time lows in its market, Greenville, North Carolina-based CopyPro found that its employee base was the best source of recruiting. Incentivizing the process doesn\u2019t hurt, either. \u201cWe offered a finder\u2019s fee to our employees, which not only allowed us to locate quality employees, it gave our employees some \u2018skin in the game\u2019 to ensure that these new hires were successful,\u201d CopyPro wrote. When dealers on the West Coast opted to furlough some of its salespeople, Image 2000 of Valencia, California, found the opening it needed to bolster its account rep ranks. \u201cWe\u2019re not sure why (dealers chose to furlough successful reps), but it provided an opportunity for us to hire a few reps that may not have been available prior to COVID,\u201d the company wrote. Winning Combination When Advanced Imaging Solutions (AIS) of Las Vegas sought to better align its sales and marketing efforts, the dealer decided to integrate them into a single \u201csmarketing\u201d division. The group meets twice a week and allows the two departments to share marketing-connect efforts and learn how sales can leverage the content to simplify the selling process. \u201cWe began training our sales team in assignment selling, too,\u201d AIS wrote. \u201cAssignment selling is the process of intentionally using educational content you have created about your products and services to resolve the major concerns and answer the burning questions of prospects, so they are much more prepared for a sales appointment.\u201d For years, Martin Group of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, has had its own shipping and receiving department to supply all of its clients, a functional but not highly optimized aspect of its business. Thus, the company decided to undertake a complete rebuild of its shipping processes. Visual guides now make it easier for quick references on the fly, and detailed, step-by-step instructions made training much easier. A dedicated shipping\/warehouse employee was trained on the improved processes, which has made for a marked improvement. \u201cThe new processes have also been an incredible help to not just the bottom line, but our inventory is the most accurate it has ever been,\u201d Martin Group reported. \u201cIt took months and multiple revisions, but our team was awesome in flowing with the changes and helping to get to the improvement we are seeing today.\u201d Manufacturer Directs The downward pressure brought by the pandemic has ramped up competition from manufacturers’ direct branches, and that has been the case for Centric Business Systems of Owings, Maryland. Direct reps are plying clients with low-cost hardware and cost-per-copy pricing. In such cases, Centric focuses on one of its bread-and-butter attributes: its value as a locally-owned company. \u201cOur decision-making is hands-on, flexible and prompt,\u201d Centric wrote. \u201cOur service teams are proactive, responsive, and equipped with the right parts to repair issues, should they arrive. We provide training at the time of installation and continue to offer ongoing training, either hands on or virtually for the life of the customer. We develop a partnership with our clients and we are involved with the communities we serve.\u201d The common task of converting to a work-from-home environment proved to be a fruitful and positive experience for Applied Imaging of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The dealer tasked NetSmart Plus, its network services division, with ensuring customer employees could operate from home without any disruption to the business. Client feedback was resoundingly positive. The foray into temperature-scanning devices turned out to be a lucrative venture as well. \u201cSelling over a million dollars\u2019 worth of temperature screening kiosks was also a challenge and an incredible achievement since nobody had heard of the product at the beginning of 2020,\u201d Applied Imaging noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":43042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[3572,368,2042,2316,3927,3926,239,3307],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43041"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43041"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43045,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43041\/revisions\/43045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}