TED Magazine - July 2017

struggling to fill positions, “The pace of recruiting continues to increase,” she said. “In the past, hiring managers could take their time in selecting candidates and making job offers. Today, we have to recruit with a sense of urgency; otherwise, strong candi- dates may accept offers from other employers. “We’re also challenged with skill gaps, as more of our jobs require specific knowledge or experience,” Propst continued. “However, this doesn’t always translate into fewer applications; it often means that recruiters must sift through many applicants to find the few that meet the key cri- teria. Additionally, while modern recruiting systems help match can- didates to open jobs, selecting the best candidate still requires exten- sive involvement from both the recruiter and the hiring manager.” Propst said that Graybar’s HR team carefully screens candidates, which saves hiring managers’ time and helps ensure that each candidate receives a consistent message about Graybar’s value proposition. “We anchor our interviews with an overview of the com- pany, our values, and a realistic preview of the job,” she explained. “Once employees choose to join the company, we host national conference calls to welcome them to Graybar, review benefits, and share information about the larger corporation. Their local branches also conduct on- boarding activities to help employees feel connected and confident as they start their new jobs.” In addition to a structured training program that helps prepare each employee for success at his or her job, the team is also proud to have recently launched the Graybar Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois’s Research Park, a collaborative effort between Graybar and University of Illinois students and faculty to develop industry-leading digital capabilities that will strengthen Graybar’s position in the supply chain. “We’re always looking for bright, energetic individuals to join our company,” said Graybar Chairman, President, and CEO Kathleen Mazzarella. “Graybar’s new Innovation Lab will give students a way to explore potential career paths within wholesale distribution.” “The lab will be staffed with students from a variety of disciplines, all working on projects commissioned by our executive team,” said Propst. “While this venture has just launched, we’re looking forward to its development as part of our overall innovation strategy and also as a potential new talent pipeline for our company.” Rexel: A Focus on the Future Denver-based Julie Landis, who’s responsible for recruiting activities in Colorado and Wyoming as the regional project house manager for Rexel’s Mountain Plains region, is well aware of the statistics on the changing labor pool. “We’ve recognized that by 2020, Millennials will repre- sent half of the workforce and that the number of women in our industry will continue to increase. These are important statistics to us and we feel that we have a responsibility to support these groups,” she said. On the first front, “Millennials are the people who will carry the future of our business, and there’s also a lot we can learn from them in terms of technology, as they’re very tech-savvy as a demographic group and very connected through forums like social media,” Landis said. In consid- ering how Rexel could help Millennials build a strong pro- fessional (not just social) network, the business realized that the answer would be found by giving Millennials increased access to company leaders while helping them make new friends, acquire new skills, and work toward a purpose along the way. Through the company’s new Leadership & Development Training Program, all of that is coming to fruition. “We tap and mentor young ‘A’ players on our team and involve © V E C T O R S T O R Y / I S T O C K