Members of the RSA Young Professionals group visited Miller IDS in Austin in January. Front Row (L to R) Michael Weber - Minuteman Press Springfield Blue, Andarea Hazel – Roller Reprographics, Daniel Hemming – Reprodux, Keith Lorber – Plan & Print, Nick Sauer – Miller IDS, Second Row (L to R) Christian Cummins – Idaho Blue, Cole Gandelman – CSDS, Gil Steele – Plan & Print, Clint Tornow – BPI Color, Oscar Taracena – RPG Third Row (L to R) Andrew Heslinga – Action Reprographics, Paul Kispersky – CRS, Victoria Mottler – Miller IDS, Beth Gleason – RPG, Lauren Bastiaans – Miller IDS, Grace Myers – Millers IDS, Tyler Hardy – RSA Last Row (L to R) Mikel Monsen – Monsen Engineering, Bryan Franz – Franz Reprographics, Toby Dagenhart – Triangle, Matt Bennett – BPI Color
By Ed Avis
Reprographics has never been a glamorous career, but for most of its history, it provided a decent living and prospects for the future. But then the recession hammered the industry a decade ago and the picture changed. One casualty was loyalty – many young professionals who may have considered making reprographics a career looked elsewhere.
“Just trying to attract young people has become really difficult,” says Doug Suddaby, owner of Resolution Reprographics, which has four locations in British Columbia, Canada. “And once I get them here, I can’t seem to retain them. It’s a wages issue, and a fear issue. People are concerned about the print industry disappearing.”
Suddaby’s difficulties are shared by many in the reprographics industry. A survey of APDSP members in late February revealed several facts about the field that point to a crisis. First, of the 46 companies that responded, only 30 percent are owned by people age 50 or younger. The other 70 percent are owned by people age 51 and older, and 40 percent are owned by people over the age of 60. That means there are a lot of firms that will be looking for new leadership in the coming decade. But, unfortunately, not many companies have identified that leadership.
Another question in the survey was “Do you have a leadership pipeline?” Only 26 percent of respondents have a formal pipeline or process to identify future leaders. A little less than half of respondents have informally identified future leaders, and the rest have no idea.
Joe Hamilton, owner of Blue Streak Reprographics in Roseville, California, is in that last group. He plans to retire in the next two years but has nobody to take over the company.
“I did have somebody identified, but she quit last year and took half my business with her,” says Hamilton, who bought his firm in 1991. “I have no idea what will happen when I retire. One of my local competitors will probably take the location and the customer base and the equipment. My thoughts are much more short-term right now.”
Are reprographics firm owners concerned about this situation? Yes. The last question in the survey asked, “How concerned are you about keeping younger people involved in your company leadership in the years ahead?” More than half said they were “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned.” On the other end of the spectrum, only about 11 percent said they were “totally unconcerned” and had identified future leaders who they were confident would stay.
What Can Be Done?
The situation is not hopeless. Suddaby, for example, has been grooming his son Chase to eventually take over the business. Chase is now a junior vice president, and even after his father retires, in about 10 years, he will be surrounded by more experienced managers who will help him transition into the top position.
“The whole transition has been planned out with the help of consultants,” the elder Suddaby explains.
Michael Klein, an organizational psychologist who specializes in family business, says business owners should let their kids explore the business and the opportunities around it.
“Children, like adults, are most engaged when they discover something on their own,” says Klein, who is the author of a book titled Trapped in the Family Business. “If you want your children to develop an interest in the family business, make it worthwhile to them (e.g. start paying them early for working, even in elementary school) but most importantly, expose them to the freedom of being your own boss, the excitement of your industry, and find ways to connect them to others who are also children in family businesses. Bring them to professional conferences, trade shows, chamber of commerce events…whatever helps them see beyond the four walls of your business.”
Klein says business owners should also give their kids the freedom to expand the business and try new ideas.
“Most next generation family members need to make the business ‘their own’ by finding new markets, products, and opportunities to sustain and grow the business,” Klein says. “Try to expose them to family business stories (and people) who have taken their own family business and transformed it in some way. You can tell your children that they will have the same opportunities at the right time, if they stick with it.”
The Reprographic Services Association (RSA) has been helping members keep young family members and other young employees involved through its Young Professionals program. The program started in 2015 as the Young CEOs program and now has more than 60 participants from 31 member companies. The group meets twice a year and visits members’ shops, and also meets separately within the bi-annual RSA Shareholder meetings in spring and fall.
The meetings include lessons on general business development, such as how to manage employees or process marketing analytics, and one-on-one discussions with industry leaders and owners on various topics in the industry.
Shelby Marshall, who is the daughter of J.L. Lynn, co-founder of Lynn Imaging in Louisville, says the RSA’s Young Professionals program was essential for guiding her entry to the family business. Marshall, who studied business as an undergrad and history as a graduate student, joined Lynn Imaging in 2005. She is currently involved in business development.
“The Young Professionals group was really great for onboarding me,” Marshall says. “In RSA meetings you sit in a room with industry greats who have been doing this work for, in some cases, 40 years. So I'm probably not going to speak up. But with the Young Professionals, I can get together on the side and build relationships with people closer to my age. I can ask questions in an environment that's more comfortable. And I'm building relationships with professionals across the country, so I can call on them to take care of my clients nationwide. My father has these relationships, too, but I have them at the next level."
Ultimately, Marshall says she is happy to have made the decision to stick with the family business. The company has evolved from a traditional repro house to one that manages its clients’ construction processes and is heavily into color, two areas that should grow in the coming years.
“I see a lot of promise in our future,” she says. “I love Lynn Imaging and what we are to our clients, and haven’t looked back since joining the company.”