Mackie Monday | The Proof is in the People
Welcome to the September edition of Mackie Monday. This month I want to talk about talent acquisition and the vital role that these talented new people will play in our expansion. I say it all the time but our people make our business and without their hard work and determination, CES would not be where it is today and we certainly will not be able to achieve our goals for the future.
As we look to the future and begin executing on our plans to open 25+ locations each year (we opened five last month!) the acquisition of new talent has never been more important. We must ensure that we attract the right people to the company and help launch them into their roles with the tools and excitement needed for success.
This last month I had the great privilege of spending time with both new talent in the company as well as prospective talent looking to join.
I made a trip to Philly to visit our branches. We are in the process of opening two new branches in the greater Philly market and it was great to spend time with those branch teams and hear their excitement for the future; to see the drive they have to grow CES in that market.
Last week, I spent two days with General Manager John Gray and Marketing Manager Thomas McShane leading the very first CES Orientation. At this orientation, we had 27 new employees from five groups across the US.
We spent two days together in Dallas and talked through the history of the company, what we are all about, and our plans for the future. The feedback was fantastic and the energy and excitement of our new team members was inspiring! I was excited about the launch of orientation, but I can truly say it exceeded my expectations and I think it will play a key role in launching new members of the team into their careers with CES.
I finished up last week with a day at Texas A&M University Fall Career Fair (a new recruitment channel for us) where we had the opportunity to meet bright and energetic students that are studying industrial distribution. Throughout the day we engaged hundreds of students looking for both internships and full-time positions. I left energized not only by the reaction from the students to our story and plans for growth, but by the sheer number of exciting prospective candidates we were able to engage.
No doubt we will need a considerable amount of talent to reach our goals, but I remain more confident than ever that they are out there, we just have to put in the work to find them and sell them on the fantastic opportunity that this company has to offer.