JULY 2010 NEWSLETTER

With nearly 30 years of experience working for the document imaging industry, Copier Careers is the only recruiter with the resources to find what your dealership needs most: experienced technicians, copier sales representatives, managers, controllers, dispatchers, support staff, and managed print services experts. Our database of qualified copier professionals is the biggest in the business (46,000 strong and growing!), and we're dedicated to helping our clients and our candidates make the best matches possible. Whatever you're looking for, Copier Careers can help you find it. Learn more at www.copiercareers.com or call (888) 733-4868 to talk to one of our recruiters.

Copier Careers 2010 Technician Salary Survey and 2010 Sales Manager Salary Survey now available! Read them online at http://copiercareers.com/salary_surveys.shtml
 

IN THIS ISSUE:

The Feed  - For copier techs, the past year has brought worry, stress and loss of benefits
 The Top 5  - Tips for retaining good technicians during tough economic times
 News In Brief  - Announcements from Copier Careers, Ricoh, Xerox, Canon, Lexmark, and HP
 Sound Off  - Our readers respond to last month's poll
 Poll-of-the-Month  - Do you think compensation for service managers has increased, decreased,
     or stayed the same over the past year?
 Featured Job Listings

  
 
  THE FEED

For Copier Techs, The Past Year Has Brought Worry, Stress, and Loss of Benefits

For the past ten years, Copier Careers has been surveying copier service technicians, service managers, and sales managers to determine how well they’re compensated, how happy they are in their jobs, and how well their employers are meeting their expectations.

We publish the results in an annual three-part series; the first of these, the 2010 Copier Careers Service Technician Salary Survey, reveals that the past year has been a time of uncertainty, worry, and stress for service technicians. Since the recession began, technician salaries have stagnated, health insurance and other benefits have been reduced, and fear of layoffs has increased. Some key findings:

  • Although technicians are working longer hours than in previous years, they aren’t making any more money—salaries have barely budged since 2007.


  • The percentage of techs receiving health benefits shrunk this year from 99 percent to 92 percent. Other benefits and perks have also been reduced.


  • Even though there is little unemployment among copier service technicians, job stability has become a major concern for them over the past few years.


  • Despite recent challenges, the future job outlook for service techs is optimistic.

To get the full story, read the entire 2010 Copier Careers Service Technician Salary Survey online at http://www.copiercareers.com/salary_surveys.shtml.

 

  
 

THE TOP 5... Tips for retaining good technicians in tough economic times

Tips from the trenches to keep your copier career on track  

As the 2010 Copier Careers Technician Salary Survey has confirmed, it’s been a tough couple of years for copier service technicians. For the time being, most of them intend to stick with their current employers, but as the job market improves, a greater number of technicians will begin considering making the move to a more profitable dealership or into a higher-paying IT industry. If you’re a service manager, you should already be thinking ahead about how to retain your employees in the face of increasing competition. Paying them better is a great starting point, but what if you don’t have a lot of money to spend? We suggest you give the following tips a try.

  1. Be as open as possible with your employees about the company’s financial situation. Most employees understand that personal sacrifice is sometimes necessary for the good of the company, but transparency and good communication are essential to securing their cooperation. Secrecy leads only to resentment and mistrust.

  2. Share the true costs of benefits and perks with employees. Often, employees are unaware of how much the company is actually paying for their health insurance, transportation, communication tools, and other benefits. When they know how expensive these things are, they are more likely to understand when the company is forced to cut back on extras.

  3. As soon as you can afford to, give pay raises to the people who deserve them. Many technicians have literally gone years without a significant pay raise, and most of them have been very patient about waiting for profits to increase and the economy to turn around. They can’t wait forever, though, and they won’t.

  4. Fill empty positions. Throughout the recession, many dealerships have delayed filling empty positions or making necessary new hires in the service department. This is one of the reasons why technicians are now working such long hours and reporting such high stress levels — personnel shortages are forcing them to do the work of more than one person. When you fill those vacancies, you reduce the workload and the stress level of the entire service department.

  5. Reward techs for work well done. Techs often complain that salespeople have it better than they do. Compensation is certainly a factor, but it isn’t the only factor — techs need praise, recognition, and feedback just as much as sales reps do, but they’re much less likely to get it on a regular basis. Put programs in place to reward your techs. If monetary bonuses aren’t in the budget, try giving them extra vacation days or making companywide announcements when the service department meets its goals.

 
 

NEWS IN BRIEF

Copier Careers 2010 Salary Surveys Now Available. The 2010 Technician Salary Survey and the 2010 Sales Manager Salary Survey are now available! Read them in the June and July issues of ENX magazine, or check them out online at http://www.copiercareers.com/salary_surveys.shtml.

Matthew J. Espe resigns from Ricoh / Ikon. Ricoh Americas Corporation announced that Kevin Togashi will assume the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ricoh Americas Corporation effective July 1, 2010. Togashi takes on the role from Matthew J. Espe who has resigned his post as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ricoh Americas Corporation to become Chief Executive Officer and President of Armstrong World Industries, Inc. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer Mr. Espe was recruited by Armstrong with “inducements” totaling $9.55 Million in addition to a annual salary of $980,000.00.

Xerox Appoints Kevin Warren President of U.S. Solutions Group. Since 2007, Warren has served as chairman, president, and CEO of Xerox Canada. He moves to the United States to lead the direct sales force that markets and sells Xerox systems and services across the country. Prior to his position with Xerox Canada, Warren led the transition team for Xerox’s 2007 acquisition of Global Imaging Systems.

Five Canon Products Selected for Technical Image Press Association Awards. The five award-winning products are the EOS 550D and EOS 7D digital SLR cameras, the PowerShot G11 compact digital camera, the PIXMA MP990 inkjet printer, and the imagePROGRAF iPF6350 large format inkjet printer. The Technical Image Press Association represents 29 photography and imaging magazines across 13 European countries. An awards ceremony for this year’s winners will be held in September in Cologne, Germany.

Social Security Administration (SSA) Award Five-Year Purchase Agreement to Lexmark. The blanket purchase agreement is for the purchase of monochrome and color laser printers and MFPs, and its value is expected to reach $127 million. The Lexmark printers and MFPs will be used for general office printing and other output requirements by more than 62,000 employees in the SSA’s 1,500 locations. “Lexmark has been providing output solutions to SSA since 1998, and being selected for a second consecutive five-year [purchase agreement] validates our ability to meet their needs with innovative technology and outstanding service,” said Marty Canning, Lexmark VP and president of its Printing Solutions and Service division.

HP Unveils “HP LaserJet Pays You Back” Global Marketing Campaign. The campaign illustrates the significant returns available from an HP Color LaserJet MFP. Over time, the printer pays for itself through money saved, and then continues to pay customers back through energy, paper, and toner savings. “Upgrading to an HP Color LaserJet MFP is like trading in your gas guzzler for a hybrid that pays for itself in gas savings and then continues to pay its owner after that,” said Ron Coughlin, senior VP, LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “The campaign helps demonstrate how HP LaserJet printers are an investment that keep giving back to your business.”

 
 

SOUND OFF: Our readers speak

In June, we asked you whether you think total compensation for sales reps and managers has increased, decreased, or stayed the same during the past year. With over 1,000 votes, nearly three-fourths of all respondents believed that it had decreased:

Do you think total compensation for sales reps and managers has increased, decreased, or stayed the same over the past year?

Increased: 8% (83 votes)
Decreased: 72% (730 votes)
Stayed the same: 20% (201 votes)

To find out how closely your predictions come to the real results, make sure to read the 2010 Copier Careers Sales Manager Salary Survey. It’ll be published in the July issue of ENX magazine, or you can read it now at http://www.copiercareers.com/salary_surveys.shtml. In the meantime, here’s what some of you had to say on the topic of sales compensation:

“I work harder and my sales are up: ten- to twelve-hour days.”

“In one way or another, salespeople are paid based on gross profit. Competition and a slowed economy have squeezed the gross profit out of most deals.”

“I work for a top-tier direct manufacturer, and clearly the compensation rates have dramatically decreased. I submitted an order the first day of our new fiscal year and made 40 percent less commission compared to the compensation rate of the previous year.”

“I work harder than anyone at my company and you know what? My sales are up 22 percent this year. Other reps I know work the same lazy habits as they did two years ago and then complain that they aren’t making as much. They don’t get it — everything has changed and you have to adapt.”

“Commissions are down due to sales being down; however, my sales are up last quarter and this quarter. It seems like my customers are returning my calls now.”

“Commissions are down, sales are harder to close, and boy am I glad to have a base salary to fall back on. (But don’t tell that to my GM.)”
“I have the highest percentage in my office, 91% year-to-date; however, I am making $20-25,000 less per year compared to previous years. So, yes—we are making less and working more.”

“There’s no question manufacturers are leading the way industrywide to reduce total compensation relating to hardware sales. The industry has matured and requires a new, more profitable direction in software.”


 
 

POLL OF THE MONTH

Next month, the 2010 Copier Careers Service Manager Salary Survey will be published — look for it in the August issue of ENX magazine and online at http://www.copiercareers.com/salary_surveys.shtml. In the meantime, help us predict the results:

Do you think compensation for service managers has increased, decreased, or stayed the same over the past year?

1. Increased
2. Decreased
3. Stayed the same

 
 

JOB LISTINGS

We have over 700 jobs currently listed online  
Here are just a few of the jobs currently listed:

Director of Service - Midwest  

Field Service Technician - Kentucky  

Field Service Technician - Alaska  

Sales Representative - Philadelphia, PA  

Sales Representative - Winston/Salem, NC  

Field Service Technician - Florida  

Sales Manager - Florida  

Sales Representative - Austin, San Antonio, TX  

Sales Representative - Woodland Hills, CA  


  
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Copier Careers

Copier Careers®
Minneapolis, MN 55403-3073
PHONE: (888) 733-4868
FAX: (800) 464-3434

  
 

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