Automatic Merchandiser

APR 2016

Automatic Merchandiser serves the business management, marketing, technology and product information needs of its readers including vending operators, coffee service operators, product brokers, and product and equipment distributors in print.

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here is a lot of talk about how the generation called 'Millennials' is changing the face of vending as consumers. This group of people, arguably ages 18 to 34, is signif- cantly more likely to snack com- pared to older consumers; they are comfortable interacting with vend- ing machines and micro markets; and they are driving many of the food trends. There is no doubt that Millennials will change the face of vending in a different way as well. In 2014 it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that 10,000 Baby Boomers retire each day, leaving many vacancies and job opportuni- ties for other generations. Millenni- als will be among the candidates to replace many Baby Boomers who are mid and senior level managers in the vending industry, which is why it is important for operators now to not only attract employees of this generation, but under- stand how to retain them as well. Manufacturers and operations in the vending industry should utilize tech- nology to build excitement for their company, incor- porate Millennials into key roles early on and offer a fexible work-life balance to attract, train and retain this new workforce. Millennials bring a fresh viewpoint Greg McCall, senior vice president of Chattanooga, TN-based Five Star Food Service, never intended to make it a company strategy to hire Millennials until he recognized frsthand the fresh perspective they brought to the organization. Five years ago McCall went to a college job fair, looking for rising seniors to fll an internship position. "I was amazed at the quality of candidates," said McCall. "Many of them were eager to grow and had high aspirations. They just seemed to lack job experience." The economy was in its rebuild- ing phase at the time, which meant that jobs for college graduates were limited, driving the talented to look at Five Star Food Service as a viable option, said McCall. The company ended up hiring the Millennial intern full-time, who then moved up in the ranks at Five Star three times in less than 24 months after the internship and is currently an Area Micro Market Manager. This experience led others in the company to begin looking at recent grads and early-career appli- cants, too. The company has nine Millennials flling roles such as Mar- keting Manager, Human Resources Why And How To Attract Millennials To Your Vending Business By Adrienne Zimmer, Managing Editor Hire, train and retain this generation now so they have the experience to step into management roles opening up in the next decade. T Millennials will be among the candidates to replace Baby Boomers when they retire. iStock 18 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com April 2016 W O R K F O R C E T R E N D S

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