How the Quantum Group Is Addressing Staffing Challenges

Once the COVID-19 pandemic began, an employee exodus occurred – millions of people quit their jobs. The event is now referred to as the Great Resignation. Even though hiring is recovering, print service providers are still concerned about both attracting the right talent and retaining employees. Post-pandemic employee turnover provides the following unique challenges:

• How can companies meet the needs of their employees to keep them satisfied?
• What are some strategies to reduce employee turnover in 2023?
• How can print service providers attract talented candidates in what is still a tight labor market?

Cheryl Kahanec

I interviewed the Quantum Group CEO Cheryl Kahanec to understand how the company was handling staffing issues in a tough labor market. The Morton Grove, Illinois-based Quantum Group is a trusted expert in direct marketing and business communications services. Like most companies, Quantum Group has encountered major difficulties finding and hiring good people.

According to Kahanec, “The pandemic taught us that the world changed, and we had to address a whole different set of employee priorities. It is clear that we need to adapt to the changing needs of employees.”

Production Staff/Skilled Labor:

Quantum is focused on both hiring and retaining the best production personnel. The company is executing a strategy of cross-training skilled labor to insure they always have the right people with the right skills. Kahanec explained, “While an employee may join our organization with one specific skill, if they are willing to learn other jobs we compensate them at a higher rate. The risk is that as you cross-train employees, their value in the market increases which can compromise retention.”

Kahanec continued, “Our benefit program is also extremely important to our skilled labor force. Quantum has a competitive benefit program with a focus on helping employees manage costs.”

Sales and Marketing/Customer Service:

Hiring sales and marketing staff as well as customer service reps continues to plague print service providers of all sizes. Kahanec acknowledged, “We used to sell to baby boomers, Gen X and Millennials, and educating them was an important part of the process. Now we are dealing with Gen Z buyers that are looking for speed and automation. They want processes where they can trigger a job from their laptop. They don’t want to call us and ask us to do a specific piece. Gen Z also appreciates companies that take a stand, especially in the areas of sustainability, and they love personalization. They are much less concerned about sharing data. They also understand applications that blend the digital and physical worlds. We need to find Gen Z employees to interface and communicate with this new class of buyers.”

Quantum is just initiating a program called “Educate to Hire” with a local college to bring Gen Z employees into the fold. Quantum pays interns to work and these students get college credit for their participation. While the program is at its inception, Kahanec is optimistic that it will work and bring the right talent into their organization.

Hand Labor:

While Quantum still relies heavily on temporary agencies to meet peak needs for hand labor, Kahanec found a unique way to help staff these positions. She reached out to Shore Community Services, a local organization focused on getting people jobs in the community, to discuss partnering with them to hire individuals with developmental disabilities. Shore mostly serves adults with cognitive or developmental disabilities, and one of the services it offers is job coaching, job development, and working with businesses to connect these adults with open jobs. Shore helps companies match job descriptions to potential workers, and then coaches those individuals through the process, helping them with things like how to interview, or how to connect with co-workers.

Quantum Group has been partnering with Shore for two years now, and Kahanec couldn’t be more pleased with the results. “While I was convinced the partnership would succeed, I knew it would take patience on our end in understanding and matching potential hire’s abilities to jobs. However, with Shore’s training and onboarding support, the end result has been incredible to see.”

For those looking to explore similar options in their own communities, service providers may want to start with ANCOR (www.ancor.org), a national organization that offers many of the same services Shore, but on a much wider scale. ANCOR can also help connect businesses with organizations like Shore in their own communities.

Retention is King:

Losing high-performing employees is something every print service provider fears. No company wants to lose its best people, but it can happen. Quantum continues to focus on paying competitive wages and benefits; offering opportunities for advancement such as cross training; and recognizing staff for a job well done. It is also critical to create a positive work environment.

Kahanec highlighted, “Direct communication with employees is essential. During the busy season, we bring in lunch for the employees every Friday. The executive team uses this as an opportunity to thank employees for their hard work. We also do special events ranging from a holiday party to hot dogs on opening day of baseball season. We want the employees to feel like Quantum is both a good place and a fun place to work.”

In Summary:

In closing Kahanec said, “Recruiting and retaining employees are two halves of the same coin — both will affect your organization’s turnover rates and overall productivity. In this post-pandemic era we all need to rethink our strategies to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to engage team members effectively.”