Must Read | The State Of Hiring In Promo Furthermore, 20% of distributors cited college career fairs, as well as industry-specific events and trade shows, compared to just 7% of suppliers (see Figure 3). Future Of Work Strategies As employees are being recruited from other industries, most distributors (90%) and suppliers (81%) reported investing in employee training and development (see Figure 4), showcasing a strong commitment to enhancing workforce capabilities and adapting to future demands. Meanwhile, most suppliers (89%) and distributors (80%) claimed to be investing in fostering a culture of innovation and flexibility, supported by 26% of suppliers and 50% of distributors citing investments in strengthening their remote work infrastructure. “In charting the course for the future, the promotional products industry prioritizes cultivating a skilled, adaptable workforce through robust training, digital innovation and a culture that champions flexibility and creativity, ensuring readiness for tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities,” Bhat says. Another evergreen investment is the enhancement of digital transformation initiatives, which 75% of distributors and 59% of suppliers claim to be focusing on (see Figure 5). Those statistics surprised Campbell, who assumed more PPAI 100 firms would be putting their money into digital transformation. “When we’re struggling to hire, we have to get more done with less staff, and capitalizing on digital transformation has been the way to go,” says Campbell, whose company has been able to offset a vacant receptionist position with automated customer follow-ups for quotes and payments. He says relying on technology has had a huge positive impact on the business. “You really do need to work smarter and not harder,” Campbell says. “Businesses also need to analyze their customer base and the bottom line to determine if they’re just busy being busy or busy being profitable. They’re not one and the same.” Digital transformation can streamline hiring, workforce administration, training and both candidate and employee engagement, according to Anil Rath, HR digital transformation lead at Accenture, a global professional services firm. “Enterprises adopting HR technologies and platforms have benefited by not only enhancing brand values, candidate experience, efficiency gains and their net promoter score, but also FIGURE 3: PPAI 100 Suppliers’ Top Recruitment Channels Company Website Job Boards (e.g., Indeed, LinkedIn Employee Referrals Social Media Platforms Recruitment Agencies College/ University Career Fairs Industry-Specific Events and Trade Shows 21% 79% 68% 25% 39% 7% 7% 82 • JUNE 2024 • PPAI
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