Building model employees

by Rich Vurva

Every distribution company faces the nagging problem of finding qualified salespeople. Some companies take the traditional route: Hire someone for the warehouse and move the new hire through counter sales, customer service and eventually into outside sales. It’s a time-honored practice, but it takes years to progress through the system.

Other companies hire graduates from schools such as Texas A&M, Eastern Michigan University, Purdue, the University of Alabama-Birmingham and the University of Nebraska at Kearney with degrees in industrial distribution. But some distributors say graduates from the four-year programs have salary requirements and career path expectations that small to medium-sized distributors can’t always meet.

“Students come out of those programs with good qualifications and overall business knowledge, but their expectations for a career path is quicker than many distributors are capable of moving,” says John Masek, vice president of human resources for Bearing Service Inc. in Livonia, Mich.

Recognizing the need for a new way to train and recruit future distributor salespeople, the PTDA Educational & Scholastic Foundation, the charitable arm of the Power Transmission Distributors Association, began work in 1998 to develop a model curriculum for two-year schools. The goal was to develop an industrial distribution curriculum to teach the skills needed for success as a distributor salesperson.

The foundation formed an academic advisory council, consisting of representatives from universities with industrial distribution programs, local community colleges with technical training in the power transmission/motion control field, plus manufacturers and distributors. Two advisory council members volunteered to participate in pilot programs, the Henry Ford Community College (HFCC) in Dearborn, Mich., and Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb.

“We have been strategic about choosing partners with experience working with industry and an existing catalog that provides the courses we need for the program,” says Stephanie Kaplan, the foundation’s executive director. The foundation also hired a part-time model curriculum coordinator to help market the educational programs and search for grants and other sources of funding.

Off and running
Beginning with the fall 2003 semester, HFCC offers a Level I industrial distribution certificate, which includes courses in business, customer service, call center/help desk and other business skills, and a Level II certificate with technically oriented courses, such as industrial safety, shop tools and techniques, mechanical power transmission and fluid power systems and a broad range of electives. By next semester, HFCC plans to add general education requirements so students can also earn an associate’s degree in industrial distribution.

Metropolitan Community College plans to launch its industrial distribution sales representative program in early 2004. Like at HFCC, students will have the chance to earn two separate certificates. After completing enough credits to receive both certificates, students will also earn an associate’s degree.

“We believe that an associate’s degree with some formal education tailored to our business will provide the right background — but not too much schooling — where graduates are beyond the affordability of the average distributor,” says Masek, a member of the advisory committee.

Dave Witwer, general manager of Minarik-Midwest in Strongsville, Ohio, who also serves on the advisory council, says he initially believed the council would have to develop a distribution curriculum from scratch. He was surprised to learn how many existing community college courses aligned with the foundation’s goals.

“At first, we tried to reinvent the wheel. We felt we needed an industrial distributor sales course and an industrial distributor marketing course,” he says.

HFCC suggested a better approach: Select courses where students were already enrolled that are relevant to what the foundation wanted to accomplish.

The advisory council will help HFCC and Metro develop introduction to industrial distribution courses to teach a basic understanding of the distribution business.

Kaplan says both schools in the pilot programs were eager to help.

“Community colleges are looking for opportunities to better serve their business communities. They’re interested in improving their graduation rates and they’re accustomed to working closely with industry to develop programs to fit their needs,” she says.

The mix of students at community colleges also aligns with the type of employees distributors want to hire. Students at Henry Ford Community College average about 27 or 28 years of age, according to Bob Morrish, associate dean of trade apprenticeship education and technology. In some cases, they bring valuable prior job experience and technical skills.

“We have a commitment to employers to train the type of students they’re looking for, and we have a commitment to students to help direct them toward employers in need of those skill sets,” says Morrish.

Kaplan says community colleges are also more affordable than larger universities. HFCC charges $54 per credit hour to Dearborn residents and $104 per credit hour for non-residents. Cost is important since the foundation may need to underwrite tuition for distribution-centric classes if enough students don’t enroll.

Witwer attended a career fair at HFCC to talk to prospective students about careers in distribution and was impressed with the range of people who expressed an interest in the program.

“People from all walks of life go to community colleges. They’re looking for something a little better, a little different and a bit more challenging,” Witwer says.

When the pilot programs are fully launched, the foundation plans to promote the model curriculum to community colleges and vocational-technical schools throughout the United States and Canada.

Kaplan says future success will require enlisting core groups of distributors in various geographies to work with each school to develop a program that meets the local business needs. She adds that the program also has the support of other distribution associations, including the Association for High Technology Distribution, Electrical Apparatus Service Association, the Industrial Distribution Association, the Safety Equipment Distributors Association and others.

Masek has high hopes for the success of the pilot program. He says even though many distributors have cut personnel and are not in a hiring mode today, the program can help distributors better prepare for the future.

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2003 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2003.

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