Manager and Accountant, to name
a few. "We were all impressed with
the fresh perspective and signif-
cant technology advancements the
younger professionals were bring-
ing to the company," he said. "They
are keen to make the company move
with the times."
Five Star's prior philosophy
included looking for applicants with
prior vending experience, but now,
the company focuses on other skills
and then teaches about the vending
industry. "What we realized was
that in 10 to 15 years, many of the
people in senior leadership positions
at our company will be retiring, and
we didn't have the staff to replace
and support those positions. Now,
we can attract and train talent for
those roles. We call it 'focusing on
the bench strength.'"
"It's a big deal in the next decade,"
he continued. "If no one is there to
replace the senior and middle lead-
ership, then the company can't suc-
ceed." McCall predicts that for the
next 14 years Millennials are going
to need to fll the gap of the thou-
sands of Baby Boomers exiting the
workforce each month.
One way in which the company is
attracting Millennials is utilizing tech-
nology. In order to gain the attention
of the younger generation, Five Star
Food Service focused on rebranding its
Website to make it mobile-friendly and
included things like a blog and links
to its social media pages.
Technology attracts Millennials
For Juan Jorquera, Millennial and
co-founder of Vagabond Vending,
LLC, it was technology that frst drew
him to the industry. "I got involved
in the industry right out of college
fve years ago, and just the amount
of opportunity there was surround-
ing technology in the vending indus-
try grabbed my attention," he said.
Jorquera says he has noticed a trend
where younger vending operators are
taking over the family business and
integrating technology right away to
drive effciencies. This, he says, is
key to growth in the industry. "One
way to attract more Millennial atten-
tion to the industry as a viable career
choice is to show that your company
values itself and its success, and you
do that through technology integra-
tion. It shows that you're invested in
making your company successful for
the long haul," he said.
Technology, advancement and work-life
balance are attractive to Millennials.
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