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A Preview of NECA 2022 Austin Education Opportunities

By Holly Sauer | Oct 13, 2022
A man stands in front of a screen giving a presentation
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There are many education opportunities at NECA 2022 Austin. To whet your whistle for everything being offered, check out what these presenters had to say about their upcoming talks. Don’t miss these and plenty of other education sessions offered at the convention and on the trade show floor. To see the full schedule, visit www.necaconvention.org/convention/schedule.

Mentoring and talent

Kathy Jo Van, KJ Company; Stacey Felzer, Chord Marketing Services; Jill Oller, Sachs Electric - An ArchKey Solutions Company; and Steven Stone, Sachs Electric / ArchKey Solutions are presenting “Leveraging Mentoring for Recruitment, Talent Development and Retention” on Monday, Oct. 17 from 8:00 am-9:50 am in room 18CD. On Monday, the four are also presenting “Real Strategies for Recruiting, Retaining and Developing Talent” at 3:00-3:50 pm on the Trade Show Floor.

We talked to Van, Felzer and Oller about what to expect in their presentations.

1. What attributes make a good mentor? And how can people develop these skills?

Van: First and foremost, great mentors care. They care about the industry; they care about their people, and they care about their mentees. You don’t have to know all the answers, but you do have to have a willingness to share your experiences, your stories and insights, your failures and learning from those failures.

Oller: One of the most important and a truly must-have skills of a good mentor is the ability to listen, and even more so, the ability to listen without jumping in with solutions. People often know the right answer or solution, but they want a sounding board, a person to talk it through with them and not someone to jump in and to try to solve the problem for them.

Felzer: Transparency¾being honest and showing a mentee that you have struggled, being able to share your journey¾the good and the bad. I can learn more from someone’s struggles and how they persevered more than I can from thinking everything went right for someone. Being truly transparent also helps the relationship develop trust faster.

2. In this time of “The Great Resignation,” what are some of the most efficient ways to retain talented employees?

Van: There is no silver bullet or single solution that will drive retention. Instead, it’s a combination of things that starts with your leadership and the culture you foster. Employees want to feel they are a part of something bigger than just a job. Mentoring is proven to increase retention by helping employees feel included, affiliated and valued.

Oller: There is no one-size-fits-all solution, which was true before the Great Resignation or Quiet Quitting, and it will be true afterward. A good place to start, though, is by showing your teams you care: you care about them and both their professional and personal development. Also, creating connections and affiliation is very important, and mentoring is a low-cost and relatively easy way to do that quickly. Creating those connections and support systems for employees gives them reasons, even on hard days, to keep coming back. 

3. What is a good starting point for ECs looking to develop their existing talent?

Van: Employees who have mentors are promoted five times more often than those without mentors. This doesn’t have to be some big, complicated program. It does need to be well thought-out, so you avoid unintended consequences. Join our session to learn more about ideas on where to start, and specifically how to “just start.”

Oller: The best way to develop existing talent is to actually use your existing talent. This is mentoring.

Felzer: Invest in mentoring. It doesn't have to be money, it can just be the time, but make it a priority. Developing a culture of mentoring and investing in your talent takes consistency and time, but worth it when your employees stay longer and encourage others to join your company. 

4. How can mentorship recruit and develop talent?

Oller: Very tactically, many mentees follow their mentors to new opportunities, new companies, new departments. This becomes part of a leader’s recruitment strategy. Mentoring can also be central to your employment brand for recruiting purposes. People want to come to a company where they will be supported and can grow, which is exactly what mentoring will provide.

Materials management

David Moeller from Graybar is presenting “Materials Management Best Practices Outside of the Gate” on Monday, Oct. 17 in ACC room 19AB. Moeller talked to us about the supply chain and how contractors are dealing with its changes.

1. Contractors are challenged with staffing for superintendents, project managers and foremen. If about 20%–30% of their time is spent dealing with materials before they get on the job site, how can that be improved?

Our NECA contractor research clearly showed that not only are there not enough people in these positions to supervise the work that we have and project in the next years, but they are increasingly stuck in the details of the project as opposed to “managing” the project. We learned how small, medium and large contractors are improving efficiency to increase their bandwidth.

2. There is a lot of conversation around supply chain issues and the pain that contractors are experiencing. What are best practices to reduce risk?

Yes, the supply chain that we relied on in 2019 is completely different now and won’t revert to the norms we knew. In its place is a new supply chain built on digital BOMs, with transparency in the supply chain evolving. This, coupled with specific strategies, can help a contractor run a more predictable project.

Contractors have to learn to operate in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, and this requires different strategies, skills, tools and processes than those required in a more stable environment.

The digital supply chain is becoming a critical competency to drive supply chain integration.

 3. Our industry is benefiting from new processes and technology¾what are contractors doing that works?

Contractors of all sizes are seeing benefits from software that digitizes their processes in a lower-cost, transactions-based model. The critical component is a larger view of the supply chain process and implementing the “digital thread” concept in a thoughtful approach.

Sharing information is important¾construction project stakeholders are encouraged to share information across the supply chain to foster stakeholder alignment and facilitate transparency.

Implementing a digital thread concept transforms the construction supply chain from document-centric to data-centric.

Code-compliance for EVSE

Finally, for those interested in codes and standards, Michael Johnston, NECA, is presenting Electric Vehicle Charging Essentials on Sunday at 8:00 am-8:50 am and 9:00 am-9:50 am in room 14. He told us what attendees can expect to learn in his sessions.

Electric vehicle ownership is on the rise, and expanded charging infrastructure is essential. Constructing a capable electric vehicle charging infrastructure is front and center as tremendous opportunities for electrical contractors and the industry. This session provides a concise look at the essentials of electrical vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) installation consistent with achieving safe, sound and successful growth of the EV market. The various types of EVSE will be explained in detail, along with information on electrical contractor site assessments to ensure system capacity of electrical power sources and service equipment and safe installation of EVSE circuits. A review of rules in the NEC that must be applied to EVSE installations will be provided. a

About The Author

A woman, Holly Sauer, smiles in front of a gray background.

Holly Sauer

Senior Associate Editor

Holly Sauer has worked for Electrical Contractor magazine since 2019 and is the senior associate editor. She went to Washington & Jefferson College and studied English and art history. At Electrical Contractor magazine, she creates the newsletters and the new and featured products sections. She also edits articles for the three publications and occasionally writes on tools and industry news. She is fueled by the desire to read every book ever written. And coffee. Reach her on LinkedIn or at [email protected].

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