As we enter Q3, Copier Careers offers an update on the industry's successes and challenges so far in 2023. This latest Copier Careers publication, 2023 Mid-Year Update, is now freely available to industry professionals.

If you're looking to find qualified candidates, limber up. More than ever before, hiring managers need to be responsive, nimble and mentally flexible to fill positions across the copier/MFP channel.

It's hard to digest, but we are all adapting to a new reality. The hiring landscape seems familiar, but it has changed tremendously in ways that require the same of us: Change.

"Everyone’s got a problem getting people," said Paul Schwartz, president, Copier Careers. "When it comes to the recruiting market, it's not the market that you wish it was, it's the market that is."

What Can Industry Leaders Do?

• Compensation is always a key concern, but today candidates also are firm in their conviction for having work-life balance. Help them achieve that.
• Candidates know their skills are in demand, and they will ask for what they need to do the job well. Help make that possible.
• Most candidates want to work for a company with a great reputation and a healthy culture. Make them feel proud and appreciated.
• Be ready to offer more vacation time. Experienced candidates don’t want to go backward on the amount of PTO they earn. Make them feel valued.

Bottom line: Be flexible in adjusting to the current market. Recruiting and hiring aren’t easy. They never were. But now, more than ever, it’s imperative for companies to be in tune with candidates' motivations. "The market that is" has seen a shift in motivation, and those needs are more nuanced and complicated than they were in "the market that was." Be ready to respond to requests that will require some flexibility.

Read more in the 2023 Mid-Year Update.