Westcon's HR Moves Show Results In Relationship With VARs
Westcon has revamped its hiring processes to attract and retain the most-qualified employees, halved its employee resignation rate across its three divisions -- Westcon, Voda One and Comstor -- and boosted employee satisfaction by 20 percent.
For Westcon's VAR customers, the moves translate into better service and closer relationships with the distributor, according to David DeLuke, vice president of human resources at Westcon, Tarrytown, N.Y.
"We wanted to make sure that we put programs in place not only to help us internally here, but also [to figure out] how can we value-add in human capital with our VARs. Many of the programs we put in place are a benefit to us internally, but it's something you can also look at as a benefit to VARs," DeLuke said.
"As a specialty distributor, what we bring to the table is knowledge. We are positioning ourselves and have been working to make sure we are hiring individuals that are right for the position so that we're bringing that knowledge to the table right up front," he said.
And some of Westcon's solution provider partners have noticed the change.
"What I've witnessed with this human resources development that they have focused on is that we have been able to deepen our relationship beyond what a typical VAR-distributor relationship would look like," said Greg Forrest, president and CEO of Xeta Technologies, Broken Arrow, Okla.
"What has happened is that we now leverage other parts of their business to add value to ours," Forrest said. "We're constantly looking at ways of upscaling our workforce to become more competitive in the workplace. And if we have vendors that are doing the same thing, we can learn from their structures and processes and how they have been able to better their workforce."
For instance, Westcon has helped Xeta devise marketing plans and draft strategic initiatives to expand its business, and the distributor has participated in the solution provider's business planning process, according to Forrest.
"They have some of the best-of-breed folks employed at Westcon, and that's of extreme value to a company such as Xeta," he said. "It's not magic. But Westcon has really stepped up, and we are seeing it."