SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016 - 81

business management
Hiring Personnel in an Industry With Sub-3 Percent
Unemployment
Hiring wise, the digital graphics and screen printing market
is perhaps in its best shape ever. Digital Graphics Executive
Recruiting estimates, based on 4,000-plus database resumes,
that the industry unemployment rate is under 3 percent.
Though this is wonderful news, it presents a major challenge
for employers with open positions. That challenge is how to
find the right personnel in such a high employment rate environment. The following are tips aimed at aiding such an effort.
1. Reduce the number of steps involved with your hiring process. Based on active work with 140 employers, Digital
Graphics Executive Recruiting records show the average timeframe from first phone interview to job offer is 28 days. The larger the company and/or the more layers of management involved,
the more likely this becomes a major challenge. Changing a
long established process (this is how we have always done it)
is a no-no, right? Maybe not - that is, if you want the right
person for the job. Think about who is available in an industry
with sub-3 percent unemployment. For sales, at least half of that
number are consistently low; roughly half of unemployed sales
candidates are consistently bottom-of-the-standings performers.
This often means facilitating the effort by going after high-performing, actively employed people. Those in that category who
are willing to listen are hot commodities. If they are looking, it is
likely they are being sought after by many employers. Take too
long, and they accept a job from another employer. Try to keep
the interview process to four steps maximum and space those
steps no longer than a week apart.
2. Bring salaries in line with industry ranges. The same
Digital Graphics Executive Recruiting records show the following pay range averages:
* Sales with a manufacturer: $60- $80K base salary, and
$100-$120K total at 100 percent of quota
* Sales with a distributor = 80-90 percent of that same
number
* Regional sales management = $80-$110K base salary,
and $140-$210K total at 100 percent of plan
* National sales management = $128-$175K base salary,
and $150-$250K at 100 percent of plan (the wide disparity is based on number of direct reports and level
of responsibility)
* Field service engineers for sub-$100K priced equipment = $50-$65K base + 1.5x overtime
* Field service engineers for high priced equipment (e.g.
grand format) = $65-$85K base + 1.5x overtime
* Product managers = $80-$120K base for non-senior
level + Management by Objectives (wide disparity
linked to level of responsibility and number of products charged with)
In a sub-3 percent unemployment industry, you will not land
top talent with entry level salaries. The phrase, "but this is an
opportunity to be part of something great and the growth potential is incredible," means little to a highly qualified candidate
because every potential employer is telling them the same thing.

3. Re-evaluate the use of profile assessments. This is perhaps one of the most
By Scott Hoyt, Owner,
controversial points as employers use a
Digital Graphics
Executive Recruiting
wide array of assessment tools, some more
subjective than others. While I do not deny
that some assessments are more accurate than others, such
tools slow down the process by as much as weeks, and results
measurement is entrusted to third party resources who, in most
cases, have zero digital graphics and screen market experience.
Most often, assessments do not take into account nuances
specific to any one industry. Ours is a blue-collar industry, not
information systems circa 1985. Too often, a candidate completes two different assessments with two different employers,
resulting in opposite results. An example I actually experienced
with a candidate showed a tendency to use price discounting
to win deals in one assessment, and price discounting to win
deals as a last resort in another. Again, with an average timeframe of 28 days to offer from first phone interview, industry
companies cannot afford to delay the process, and they risk
losing perhaps the best candidate in the pool. To entrust a hiring decision to only a handful of psychology experts (some
degreed, some not) and weighing it over verifiable industry
specific accomplishments and trusted references might discount "A" level potential. You do not want that potential working for your competition.
4. Big company brand name means little to most candidates. "We are XXX Company, we've been around for xx years,
and everyone wants to work for us," works in down times. It
does not work now for most. In a sub-3 percent unemployment
industry where opportunities are numerous and the average
company size is small to mid-size, it is very difficult for a company with a big brand name to use it to justify lower-thanaverage salaries or a three- to six-month hiring process. Top
candidates will not wait. Try to avoid unnecessary steps - i.e.
asking for W-2s before the first interview, one interview for
every management level, involving too many people in the process, courtesy interviews, etc.
5. Use appropriate technology methodology. Ours is an
industry where diversification often becomes necessary to survive. Years ago, screen printers stuck with screen printing, commercial printers stuck with commercial printing, digital printers stuck with wide-format inkjet printing, consumable sales
providers and distributors (banner, vinyl, rigid media, ink) stuck
with consumables sales only, and so on. Today, it is not uncommon to see all of the above under one roof. But with hiring, we
often make the mistake of using the wrong methodology - i.e.
applying analog methodology when hiring for wide-format inkjet equipment sales, or applying consumables sales methodology when hiring for equipment sales. The consumables sales
"only" model is completely different than the equipment sales
model. The first usually involves 30 stops per week to pick up
orders for, say, banner and ink. The second involves face-toface probing sales calls that can take up to two hours. Nine
times out of 10, applying one model methodology to hire for

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SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016

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