Author: LEDs Magazine editor Brian Owen
Compilation: Gaogong LED Net Zeng Cong Original: http://
With the development of the LED industry, it takes a lot of time and effort to hire the right people. Brian Owen, editor of ledsmagazine, interviewed Ted Konnerth, CEO and President of Egret Consulting Group.
"The rise of LED technology in the commercial lighting market has made it very important to acquire and retain talent, whether it is LED companies or commercial lighting manufacturers," said Ted Konnerth, CEO and President of Egret Consulting Group. Egret Consulting Group is a solid and commercial lighting talent consulting firm.
I recently interviewed Ted to discuss the current situation of talents in the industry, how to get the right talents, and “let the right people do the right jobâ€.
Ted Konnerth, CEO and President of Egret Consulting Group
LEDs Magazine : How does LED change the entire lighting industry?
Ted Konnerth : Since Edison invented electric lights, LED technology has been a major breakthrough in the lighting industry. For the first time, commercial lighting manufacturers are able to offer products that are truly designed with the concept of "lighting", although this sounds a bit contradictory. Traditional lighting fixtures manufacture commercial electromechanical devices and electronic components to produce light. For example, a downlight manufacturer designs and manufactures a peripheral frame and optical components that direct light directly to the destination. This manufacturer must contact the manufacturer of the luminaire frame, ballast and control system as they do not directly produce these parts. These parts are shipped to another location for the contractor to install, and the contractor will choose which actual fixtures and control systems to use.
LEDs Magazine : How has the industry changed?
Ted Konnerth : These changes are reflected in the following areas:
* Product Responsibility: The luminaire manufacturer only needs the necessary parts and does not require luminaires, ballasts and control systems.
* Product design: The lighting design is mainly done by large companies, and it is rarely a small workshop company with only one electronic engineer.
* Talent: Lighting manufacturers only need to train sales and marketing personnel to understand the concept of lighting and the impact of lighting design. There is no need to fully understand the entire system of lamps, ballasts, control systems, etc. as before.
*Sales channel: Lighting manufacturers use electronic wholesalers to contractors, and most companies now use lighting representatives.
LEDs Magazine : Is it the same as technology, talent recruitment and sales channels have to change?
Ted Konnerth : LED technology is pure solid-state lighting, and related technologies and talents are more focused on the electronic background. The electronics industry goes through a sales channel to an electronic distributor and then to an OEM customer. This sales model is different from the sales model of traditional lighting manufacturers. LED companies will be surprised to find that they have changed the sales model for commercial lighting.
LEDs Magazine : What impact does the change in sales channels have on talent?
Ted Konnerth : LEDs are making rapid changes in the lighting industry, and LED technology is increasingly being chosen as a light source, which has a huge impact on the definition of talent. For a pure LED company, hiring the right solid-state lighting talent has a distinct advantage over competitors that have evolved from electronics. Therefore, LED companies occupy favorable positions by, for example, OEM mode, LED companies directly hand over their products to the luminaire manufacturers to help them integrate LEDs into their product lines. Direct sales model, LED company directly produces lighting products, opened an office, and sold lamps to the market.
LEDs Magazine : Where are the talent challenges?
Ted Konnerth : The talent challenge exists in both models. The OEM model takes time to develop relationships with key product management and development engineers within commercial lighting companies. Lamp manufacturers without electronics engineers cannot properly evaluate LEDs when they sell things. The advantages and disadvantages of technology and technical bottlenecks. The reason for the huge difference in product quality of LED distributors is the lack of industry standards. Therefore, luminaire manufacturers are currently disorderly competition.
LEDs Magazine : What are the talent challenges for both parties?
Ted Konnerth : LED companies need channel experts to bring their products to market, regardless of market strategy. For them, commercializing a product and ultimately being accepted by an electronic contractor is relatively unfamiliar. While electronic distributors choose products based on the following factors: relationships with local representatives, pricing and profit support programs. Pure lumen efficiency does not work much in representative offices or distributors.
LEDs Magazine : Have you seen some lessons and reflections?
Ted Konnerth : The demand for LED lighting for commercial lighting is urgent, and a large number of electronics engineers have been hired in the past two years. Once LED technology is integrated into the product line, commercial lighting and market channels will quickly adopt and understand these technologies. These are still subject to policy changes, and these companies will sell complete lighting systems to ensure the performance of these products. I predict that the terms of 50,000 hours and 100,000 hours will gradually lose their effect, and large manufacturers will calculate the cost-effectiveness of 6-10 years.
LEDs Magazine : What kind of talent is currently needed?
Ted Konnerth : There are very few talents in the lighting industry today. Lighting is still very small as an industry, but one subtlety is the need for a channel expert to get the most out of it. I have seen lighting talents hired by LED manufacturers who do not have the capacity to bring products into traditional sales channels.
LEDs Magazine : How should employers look for talent?
Ted Konnerth : Personally, if I want to hire a vice president, I am responsible for LED sales. I will find someone who can understand commercial lighting applications. The commercial lighting market is very broad, including commercial buildings, national engineering, public institution construction, and other specialty application markets such as cleanrooms, correctional institutions, and industrial markets. I think a true vice president of sales is defined as having a successful sales experience and being able to implement your marketing strategy in a vertical market. I want to know that if your plan is to develop products for long-term wholesalers, then this vice president of sales must have experience managing at least 200 distributors. Before you hire a vice president, your marketing strategy has been determined, or you want to hire a vice president to develop a strategy.
LEDs Magazine : What do you think is a 'good hire' (good hire)
Ted Konnerth : A "good hire" is generally reviewed later. After the completion of the employment, the results can be seen. Good employment depends on the recruitment process. There are some lighting talents, but an LED manufacturer can't grasp the skills that influence the channels. When bringing their products to the market, I have to find employment experts to help identify talents. Lighting sales have multiple ways of affecting, such as retail. , industry, commerce, long-term distributors, logistics, government departments, etc. Each channel has so-called experts. Unless you really understand the factors influencing the purchase within the sales strategy, you won't know how to ask the new employee any questions. This is a tricky bottom line, selling the wrong channel with the wrong person. .
LEDs Magazine : What is the biggest challenge now?
Ted Konnerth : The biggest challenge for LED manufacturers is knowing how to interview and identify talent, especially when they are in the solid-state lighting industry. There are now about 400 LED manufacturers, and this number will be smaller in the next few years. If the LED company can use the talent correctly, then it can continue to survive. This is a reasonable time to spend money, professional help to identify talent will help the company to establish a good sales and marketing institutions. People from large lighting companies can develop professional plans and implement long-term business strategies, but incentives should be followed up immediately.
LEDs Magazine : Please give the reader a summary
Ted Konnerth : First, this is an era of rapid lighting changes, and some companies will be winners. Now is the time to decide the future of the lighting market.
Profile of the interviewee:
Ted Konnerth holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is the CEO and President of the Egret Consulting Group. This is a large research company in the electronics industry. The company's customers include manufacturers and distributors. The company is a member of International Retained Search Associates, The Pinnacle Society, International Association for Corporate and Professional Recruitment, National Association of Professional Staffing, and Illuminating Engineering Society. Egret's motto is "There's a reason we call it "search", which also quotes Confucius's famous saying, "Those who know are not as good as those who are good, those who are better are not as happy as those who are happy."
Charging Locker,Charging Station ,Multi Device Charging Station ,Locking Cell Phone Cabinet
Mobile Phone Charger Co., Ltd. , http://www.nbchargingcart.com