Electrical Industry Roundtable 2014 - 18

CHAMNEY: I don't think we are thinking about it right now but
it's right under our nose. We tend to be too intrinsic; we look at
stealing each other's people, not losing them to a completely diff erent
channel. And I think as an industry we tried over the last few years
to make our industry seem a little sexier, certainly to the graduates.
I don't know how successful we've been at doing this. We're not just
losing technical people by the way, but sales people are also going to
be drawn because of the lure of a new market and the ability to make
higher commissions.
KERR: Right, and that's because these specialized distributors tend to
have a diff erent price point and they are away from the commodities.
CHAMNEY: Correct. Th ey may have higher margins and they may be
able to pay their people higher commissions. And it always seems like
it's greener on the other side...it may not be, but it seems that way.
KERR: Steve, what do you think? Is this something that is keeping you
awake at night?
Steve Branscombe.
BRANSCOMBE: I don't think we can say we aren't thinking about it.
If I look at a specialized person or role, I don't necessarily have a
title in my company that outlines the exact job
responsi bilities for such an individual. It's a
developing thing as you come across these
opportunities or as you come across these
individuals- you are al most developing them into
roles that fi t. So I think there is an evolution there.
But we have done a very poor job in getting people
engaged an aware of these available opportunities.
Many say that they want to work in our industry
but question what we can off er. Th ey're going to
the engineers and the consultants because they
have specifi c identifi ed positions for them that
complement their studies. Whereas, in the
distribution model and in some cases the supplier
model, I don't know if the opportunity is known to the individual or
company to properly advertise and attract.
KERR: So is it fair to say that you, as a distributor member of EFC,
think this is something the industry should be addressing? Th is whole
issue of getting good technical people, helping to sell them into
coming into our business?
18
Canadian Electrical Wholesaler JUNE 2014
www.electricalwholesaler.electricalindusrty.ca
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Electrical Industry Roundtable 2014

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