01732 759725
RECRUITMENT
48
Samantha Bradbury, Business
Generation Manager within Ricoh
UK’s Partner Channel, told
PITR
that
the service, which Ricoh has been
working on since last year, is new
and unique. “We’ve never done it
before, and I don’t believe any other
OEM offers this either,” she said.
It is being offered by Ricoh’s Business
Generation team as part of its remit to
support the channel. “It’s our job to help
partners grow and succeed,” explained
Bradbury. “This new channel recruitment
service is something else that differentiates
us. We’re helping our partners to find
and train talented staff and, by doing
so, are supporting them in their growth
strategies.”
Skills crisis
The UK is facing a skills gap, and as a result
good candidates are increasingly able to
pick and choose where they would like
to work. A report published by venture
capital investor Albion Ventures states that
over a third of smaller UK companies are
struggling to recruit employees with the
necessary skills to help their business grow.
It claims that key skills in the areas of IT,
sales and financial management are either
absent or lacking in some SMEs.
Bradbury says that in the past a number
of partners have approached Ricoh for
support when looking to recruit new
personnel. “Partners looking to hire would
ask us if we knew anyone. We helped out
informally on a few occasions and realised
there was a real need, so we decided to
build a business plan around that and shape
it into something more structured,” she said.
Ricoh’s channel recruitment service is
available to all partners within its indirect
channel and aims to provide candidates
at all levels, from starter right through
to director. Ricoh is currently trialling
the service with a number of partners,
including large and established accounts,
as well as some new partners.
Initially, it will focus on sales
recruitment, but there are plans to expand
into IT services roles in the future. “The
need is primarily to find good candidates
with sales backgrounds, so we will stick
with that for now,” explained Bradbury.
“Already, the vacancies are coming in thick
and fast and we need to make sure that
what we do is perfect before we change.
We want to ensure that we don’t over-
Ricoh has launched a dedicated channel recruitment service
for its UK partners. The brand new service has been introduced
in direct response to demand from the company’s resellers for
help in recruiting highly skilled sales staff at all levels.
Ricoh to support partners
with recruitment service
promise and under-deliver.”
She added: “Ricoh is a company that
prides itself on training and retaining
the best talent, which is essential for
responsible business growth. We are
therefore delighted to share our expertise
and offer this new recruitment service, to
help our partners attract the best talent for
future growth.”
Training included
Recognising that the ability to retain good
sales people is just as important as the
recruitment process itself, every placement
Ricoh makes with a channel partner will be
backed by a one-year intensive induction
and training programme, covering
everything from appraisals to solution sales
and comprehensive product training.
“It’s difficult to recruit good sales
people and even the strongest candidates
need training. Many companies don’t have
the in-house resource to invest in this area,
so we’re providing comprehensive product
training and personal development for our
partners in the UK,” explained Bradbury.
“We’re providing them with the tools they
will need to be a success in their new role.”
Ricoh will work with partner companies
to ensure all new employees start their
career with clear performance targets.
Once placed within a partner organisation,
Ricoh’s dedicated Partner Sales
Recruitment Manager will account manage
any new recruits, ensuring that they settle
effortlessly and deliver results for their
team. The support programme also offers
regular one-to-one sessions, performance
appraisals and development opportunities.
The service attracts an admin fee, which
Bradbury describes as ‘next to nothing’.
“We are helping our partners to secure the
best employees. If we find them the right
people, who are fully trained and able to
hit the ground running and start selling,
that’s where we will see an ROI,” she said.
It’s difficult
to recruit
good sales
people and
even the
strongest
candidates
need training.
Ricoh:
Channel Recruitment
Service
