Steve Kennemer’s talked to others in the industry, and he’s heard the same stories.

It’s one of those universal realities among fellow departments and other companies around the country… staffing is just plain hard in 2023.

Open positions are harder to fill. Candidates may show up, they may not. They may love the benefits and the professional training that Datamax offers, but may still drag their feet. It’s confusing, unpredictable and frustrating. And when you combine that with manufacturers cutting back on available training courses, getting a new hire up to speed becomes an even bigger challenge.

But Steve isn’t about to give up.

“It’s a battle. And from what I have heard, it’s the same way across the board for businesses like us,” Steve said. “I like to be a half-person overstaffed for vacation and people calling in sick, and I’ve got a couple of empty spots I’m trying to fill currently.  “The only thing you can do is stay committed to sharing our great benefits, our great culture, and continuing to get the word out that we’re a great company to work for, and a great company to do business with.”

Looking for the right people.

The right person for a technician’s role has changed over the years, mainly due to technology wherein.  Steve says you need someone who has a combination of computer skills and mechanical skills.

“And they’ve GOT to be good with people. This is a face-to-face role, you’ve got to be personable,” Steve says. “Used to, you’d say if they know basic computers, we could teach them to work on these devices,” Steve said.

That’s why Datamax employees the Success by Selection process. SBS is, essentially, an interviewing and selection method for helping find the right person for the right job, by matching the capacities of people to the specific requirements of a role. The idea: The right person in the right job will produce. The right person in the wrong job? It’ll be detrimental to the goals of the organization. (Read more about SBS here).

Looking internally.

Typically, once a technician is hired, he or she will attend a 100-day training program internally. Near the end of that time, they will round out their training and attend a four-week training class with a manufacturer like Canon (two weeks on-site and two weeks virtual) called Canon Foundations. This prepares the new hire for the basic skills needed for equipment repair. The only problem? Manufacturers have cut back in recent years the amount of training, delaying this necessary component of onboarding our technicians.

“Just as an example, we hired a new technician in December, and the first available class for him to get into is April 24,” Steve said.  “We will have him in the field before then with our in-house training, but it slows down the process of getting them to our highest possible standards. He also can’t participate with ATSP until he gets through this class.”

So what does he do? He looks inward. By leaning on the expertise of Master Level Technicians and Service Managers Justin Harper and Shawn Hay, these new hires undergo internal training of sorts from Datamax veterans themselves.

It’s not ideal, but it’s effective.

“My senior people stepping up and doing a lot of the training themselves has made a huge difference,” Steve said. “My managers are supervisors are largely getting technicians up to speed more so than they have in the past – it’s a team wide effort, really.”

Looking to your Center (of Influence).

It was, is, and as far as Steve can say, will continue to be the most effective means of hiring in 2023 and beyond: Centers of Influence.  Two of his last three hires have come through this methodology, one that he encourages ALL his employees to be aware of and to take action on regularly.

It’s a big topic in all of his one-on-one meetings with technicians.

What is Center of Influence?

Our Centers of Influence are a natural, organic, powerful way to maintain an active list of quality candidates for any position at Datamax. What are Centers of Influence? It essentially means surrounding yourself with influential people, people who know your business, your expectations, and your culture, and then seeking their help in finding quality people.

“It’s about having that conversation where you can talk to your employees about Centers of Influence. It’s reaching out to friends or colleagues outside of Datamax and considering whom you might know that would want to make a career change. The people you hang out with are going to be like you, or you wouldn’t be friends with them,” Steve said.

It’s simple questions we can ask: Are you happy? Do you love your job? Well, who do you know that we might bring in? It’s giving them a business card and telling him or her to call us.