At my newsagency software company, Tower Systems, we have contact with between 150 and 200 newsagents every day through our help desk. In the course of these calls about software or some other supplier issue, team members often find themselves talking about general industry issues.
It is interesting to me the number of shut-in newsagents we talk with. These are newsagents from smaller businesses who don’t have the staff or other resources to enable them to be out of the shop. Often they want to more actively participate in the industry but cannot free themselves from being behind the counter.
I have heard some suppliers and industry representatives say that these people are holding the industry back by not getting out of their businesses are participating. My view is that they are participating by running their businesses.
I would not criticise anyone for owning a business which is too small to justify hiring staff so the owner could have free time. All of us in our own businesses sacrifice our own time for the future of the business.
At Tower Systems this year we have run many online training sessions and workshops for newsagents. These have been a success with the shut-in newsagents and provided to them access to a community of newsagents which would have otherwise been missed.
I’d like to see other suppliers pursue online meetings and other models which build a better connection with shut-in newsagents. The result will be a better informed and motivated channel.
My business needs 1.75 people to run it effectively, with the two of us on we get just enough time to go to workshops such as the type Tower provide.
I attended a workshop earlier this year hosted by Brendan Guyer which was excellent. I was asked at the end about the attendance and said that really everyone that wasn’t there should have been the ones attending (the workshop had great ideas about getting time out of the shop).
I was a “shut in” for the first six months of ownership, and since getting out for a couple of hours a week, I’ve found it helps morale and injects the business with new ideas.
Looking back as a shut in, it would have been of more benefit to shut the shop for two hours in the middle of the day to attend a workshop than to have been open.
I think the online workshops in both business and after hours would bring a great idea.
I am one of those “shut in” newsagents but I don’t think it is a bad thing. I have attended seminars and meeting that talk garbage for 90% of the time and waste hours in travel time just to get to the meetings. We cut staff back and work within the business to build up cash for ourselves not pay other people lifestyles. We take advantage of online meeting because they take up no time at all and can be done where ever I happen to be at the time be it home , work, coffee etc
Meeting that need people to attend in person are last century technology and as an industry we need to move ahead and move all our meetings online.
Thanks Mark, Tower and newsXpress for the use of online meetings and allowing members to use valuable time that was wasted on travel to and from meeting to be better used.
Luke I agree, we need more online events from different parties involved in our industry.
Meeting people in person though I believe is still crucial in some ways. I’ve got a good example for you:
I had wanted to do a big syndicate but I needed another agent to help me with it by doing it as a group. I met an agent at a meeting and we formed a rapport and agreed to do it (33 shares at $366.61ea) for this January’s Megadraw, for an experiment.
Even though he agreed to sell two shares and I have to sell the rest it’s worked well between us and we’ll be looking into doing probably a bigger one in the future.
If I hadn’t met him face to face it wouldn’t have taken place. Meeting people at events isn’t always fruitful but it does happen sometimes
Hi Micheal, networking and gaining contacts is what meeting face to face is all about, but having meeting and seminars in order share information and ideas or offer new products do not have to be in person, however suppliers and the industry bodies at present are stuck in the stone age and rely exclusively on physical user meeting in a few scattered locations as the only way to meet members.
I still receive a fax from some suppliers as a way of communication. Who uses faxes anymore to contact someone, when email is widely used.
I have a question about work ethics and would be interested to find out what other people think. Of course it have nothing to do with this topic really but couldn’t find anything close.
Our shop was recently visited by “the Big Boss” to which the general staff response was “Better do some work and look busy”. Now to me this is a question of work eithic. I don’t play games and definately not the “better work cause the boss is looking” one. My theory is that if you’re doing or not doing something when the boss is not there then you probably shouldn’t be doing it or perhaps should be doing more…. if that makes sense?
It is a shame to see the lack of work ethic which is like a pandemic that seems to be sweeping the younger generations. That of course is not to say there are not hardworking youngsters but …
Does anyone else have this issue with Staffing? And how do you handle and monitor it?
B,
I take the position that the problem is not often the employees, but the business itself.
It is the responsibility of the business to have processes and systems in place that ensure that work is completed and employees are kept busy.
Businesses need to find out WHY their employees are not ‘working’ before they can design and implement a solution.
It might be that some employees are find their job boring. Some businesses will simply tell them to “suck it up”. When instead they should be trying to find ways to make their working experience more enjoyable.
It might be that some employees find their job unchallenging. Again, some businesses will simply tell them “bad luck”. When instead they should be trying to find ways in which they can make the work more challenging.
Each scenario has different solutions. Without understanding why something is happening it is hard to determine which solution to implement. The most important thing is that the business WANTS to find out why.
That is an interesting stand point and I thank you for the insight, it is not a point of view I have looked from before but think it very valuable to consider.