Copier Careers has released an update on the industry's successes and challenges in 2021. This latest Copier Careers publication, 2021: Year-End Update, is now freely available to industry professionals.

The office technology industry was essentially at zero unemployment well before COVID-19. Now the effects of the pandemic have only served to exacerbate this candidate shortage. Not only are there far more open jobs than available candidates, but other industries are actively poaching our more experienced professionals. If industry leaders do not execute plans to bring in and train new talent today, there will not be anyone to fill empty roles tomorrow.

What Can Industry Leaders Do?

Once employers recognize the problem, how can they overcome it? Copier Careers President Paul Schwartz and Senior Vice President Jessica Crowley, say industry leaders need to make some short and long-term changes:

• Reassess their employee salaries, benefits and other perks. Independent dealers are now directly competing with dedicated IT service providers along with other industries and need to adjust their compensation to match. "The amount of opportunity that candidates have right now is truly unbelievable," Crowley said. "Everyone is looking to make a change for the better; they won't continue to tolerate stagnant wages."
• Be proactive about their hiring/growth needs, because there may not be a good candidate available when they really need one. While the industry is known for doing more with less, you simply cannot do more with nothing.
• Speed up their hiring processes. If you snooze, you lose. "I talked to a sales rep last week and submitted her as a candidate to six companies," Crowley said. "I literally had a response from a client in less than a minute."
• Hire practical over perfect. If a candidate has most of the experience you need and shows a willingness to learn, take him (or her). You can bring him up to speed on the rest. "You have to reimagine positions and seize opportunities," Schwartz said. Doing so not only fills a gap but tells your new employee that he can learn and grow with your company.
• Invest in new, trainable employees. The pipeline of trainees and qualified candidates to the office technology industry 2021 is nearly dry. "Do the math," Schwartz said. "You have to find a way to bring new people into the industry. This is the next great thing that has to change in the channel."

Bottom line: Now is the time to make your own opportunities. Copier Careers has seen the employers who have sped up their hiring successfully snap up candidates. Companies that invest in their employees not only avoid losing invaluable staff members, they also attract the industry's best and brightest. For those few positioned to face these challenges, another company's pain is their gain.