“The world is a completely different place now compared to two and a half years ago. We’ve had to face and overcome a myriad of challenges such as border closures, lockdowns and really tough competition over talent. We’ve definitely had to stay true to our value of remaining nimble while also putting our people first. Keeping up with changing market conditions has been a core focus and that has included adjustments to factors including pay and benefits, employee well-being, compensation and workplace culture. “A recent Gallup survey in the US highlighted that pay, benefits and wellbeing have risen to the top of the list of most important factors to job seekers in recent years. This is unsurprising given the pressures of the pandemic and the rising cost of living. We regularly review our salary bands to ensure we keep up with the market. We’re also investing in our benefits offering, including non-financial benefits such as flexible work, which is here to stay at PaperCut. Ensuring a supportive work environment that promotes a healthy life/work balance (because life comes first) is what we see as the key to employee well-being.” www.papercut.com Chris Bates, Business Unit Manager, Print and Supplies, UK and Ireland, Tech Data: “Talented people are certainly in demand right now and that’s made it even more of a challenge for partners to make the best possible use of the resources they do have. It’s also made it even more important for reseller businesses to automate processes. This is one of the reasons we’re seeing such strong interest in our OpenMPS managed print service. With OpenMPS, partners can provide a simple, efficient way to ensure that customers never run out of essential supplies, and thus don’t see an impact on productivity. For the partner, that means less time processing and administering small orders. “In terms of how it’s affected us, I think every channel business is aware that there is a shortage of talented people in the industry right now. Tech Data has a number of initiatives in place, from our very successful apprenticeship scheme to internal career development and training, which help us attract and retain the best talent.” www.techdata.com Talented people are certainly in demand right now and that’s made it even more of a challenge for partners to make the best possible use of the resources they do have Steve Kendall-Smith, UK Managing Director, Lexmark: “For the tech sector, high levels of staff turnover are especially concerning, with unemployment rates in this space estimated to be about 1.7 per cent, compared with roughly 4 per cent in the general economy. However, while the transition to remote working and the need for technology to support it effectively appears to be an underlying cause of the great resignation, it may also hold the key to thriving in a postpandemic world. Leaders in our sector know they need to re-evaluate their IT environments to help them cover the skills gaps left by staff shortages whilst also driving operational and cost efficiencies which could be an opportunity for our business. “Like many businesses in the industry, finding IT talent has been difficult and has allowed prospective employees to hold the cards. For a technology business like Lexmark, retaining staff, particularly specialist and high-skilled employees is critical. Providing a level of highservice for our customers and remaining profitable rests on the staffs’ ability to maintain physical infrastructure and at the same time bolster strategic initiatives to drive out cost.” www.lexmark.co.uk PRINTITRESELLER.UK 45 VOX POP continued... Laura White Chris Bates Steve Kendall-Smith
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