June 2021

Recruiters for the Copier Channel® for more than 30 years, Copier Careers® has been the only recruiting firm exclusively dedicated to connecting Copier Channel employers with experienced service technicians, copier sales representatives, sales managers, service & operations managers, controllers, support staff, and MPS/MNS experts. Start your month off right with Newsletter June 2021: Copier Channel news and career advice. Search copier jobs now.

IN THIS MONTH’S NEWSLETTER

The Top 5: Tips for Giving Effective Feedback
News from Xerox
Sound Off: How was your last interview?
Monthly Poll: Does your company give effective feedback?

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The Top 5: Tips for Giving Effective Feedback

One of the most important aspects of any manager’s job is giving effective feedback to employees. Unfortunately, not every manager is a natural when it comes to dishing out praise and criticism. If feedback isn’t your forte, give these tips a try:

1. Pick your time and place. The purpose of feedback is not to bully but to encourage helpful behavior and discourage problematic behavior in your employees. Public praise might make someone’s day and serve as a good example to others. Public ridicule, on the other hand, will likely result in anger, defiance or quitting without notice. Unless the problem behavior needs immediate correction, schedule some time to have a private discussion.
2. Discuss choices, not personality traits. Telling someone that their mistakes are character flaws just shames them without offering any corrective guidance. Instead, focus on the choices they made and how/why they need to make different choices in future. Remember: behaviors are changeable, personality traits are not. Discussing choices changes the unhelpful critique of “you are lazy” into “you need to limit your social time at the water cooler as it is keeping you from completing your work.”
3. Don’t ignore good behavior. It’s easy to notice when employees do something wrong. What’s more difficult is staying alert to what they’re doing right. A little praise can go a long way toward pointing someone who’s struggling in the right direction. Plus frequent positive feedback can make the occasional correction easier to swallow.
4. Check for understanding. Some issues are clear cut but others might require an explanation. But don’t make the mistake of lecturing them and then asking, “Do you understand?” Let’s be real here: no one ever answers, “No,” in that context. No one likes to be corrected and most will say just about anything to make the lecture stop. Instead, make sure your feedback is in the form of a discussion. Once you’ve described the issue, ask the employee to explain it in their own words or from their perspective. Ask them if there is anything you’re not aware of that offers context for this issue. Engaging in meaningful discussion will give you more confidence that they really understand.
5. Follow up. The whole point of feedback is to encourage change. Make your expectations clear with specific benchmarks you want to see your employee meet. Schedule times with them to check in on their progress. This lets your team know that you’re not nitpicking or on a power trip but are committed to helping them succeed.

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News from Xerox

On June 2nd, Xerox announced it has acquired Document Systems. The Southern Californian document solutions provider will become part of Xerox Business Solutions. The financial terms of this transaction have not been disclosed.

“We’re focused on strengthening our U.S. small and midsize business (SMB) market reach through the combined power of our portfolio of workplace solutions for SMBs and well-established local technology providers,” said Joanne Collins Smee, chief commercial, SMB and channels officer at Xerox. “As part of Xerox Business Solutions (XBS), Document Systems’ document management expertise will help us elevate the customer experience, improve productivity and power growth for SMBs.”

News from DEX Imaging & Konica Minolta

On June 8th, Konica Minolta announced “its final transfer of select sales offices to its independent dealer channel” and that DEX Imaging will be “acquiring a select number of Konica Minolta sales locations.”

“Change is required in order to foster growth as part of our digital transformation strategy. This transfer of assets has been carefully and thoughtfully planned to ensure advancement for our Dealer Channel, allowing for greater on-the-ground exposure to Konica Minolta services and products,” said Sam Errigo, COO, Konica Minolta. “This also allows Konica Minolta greater alignment and efficiencies across the entire distribution model, ensuring continued value creation in our core technology portfolio together with IT services, enterprise content management and emerging services.”

Sound Off

Last month we discussed what to do after a bad interview so we were curious to hear how your last interview went. We had a solid turnout of 11,096 votes this month!

Most of you (37%) feel very good about your last interview! 18% felt qualified for the position but could tell their interviewer wasn’t convinced. 11% said they thought they did well but didn’t get the job, another 11% thought their good interview made up for not perfectly meeting the job requirements. 9% thought they might have gotten lost in the crowd of applicants while another 8% didn’t want to talk about their last interview. The last 7% said their interview made it clear this was not a place they wanted to work.

POLL QUESTION: