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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31797
RETAIL OPERATIONS BY GEORGEBENSON Recessionary eruptions and jobs WHEN THE VOLCANO BLOWS THE LAVA FLOWS I N RECENT MONTHS THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW MAJOR seismic shifts felt across the c-store and petro- leum landscape. While our industry has endured dozens of realignments over the years, including downsizing, upsizing, centralizing, decentralizing, rationalizing and regionalizing, to name just a few, this time things feel different. putting more professionals on the market for vary- ing periods of time. The best and brightest of these specialists are finding employment, albeit at a lower compensa- tion level than previously enjoyed. Some have retired from the industry through frustration or attrition, while others are hanging on for dear life hoping that experience and longevity will be appre- ciated by one aspiring group or another looking for seasoned and/or graying wisdom. Golden parachutes have helped to cushion the fall for a lucky few. Recovery is spotty and regional, with specific disciplines gaining momentum and others still in a comatose state. IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR It nearly goes without saying that majors are no lon- ger leading the way in the wholesale or retail sectors. National brands are being replaced by regionals and state or micro-state players at breakneck speed. These recessionary flows have a huge impact The recent long, debilitating and pervasive downstream recession has left us with either diver- gent or convergent tectonic plates depending upon your point of view. This three-year economic downturn has had a very profound long-term effect on the industry with a return to its former ways nearly impossible. There is no conventional way to revive an industry that basically hibernated for a long 36 month peri- od—it takes an explosion. Emerging from a lengthy malaise, the plume began to rupture first with a series of divestures, then acquisitions, mergers and now transfers of responsibility. Without question the last- ing legacy will be in the employment arena. Strangely there have been no mass firings, just structural transitions at an impressive rate. These hotspots have had a short-term fallout effect of 20 MAY/JUNE 2011 on the job picture in every possible way. The first most obvious area is the re-emergence of the fami- ly-owned jobber and reseller. When family-owned jobbers and resellers become the prominent hiring authorities in a marketplace, they adopt radically different HR policies than those of the majors. When these folks search for a candidate, refer- rals, networking and relationships play a much larger role in the selection process. Experience, not potential remaining years of service, is favored; relocation allowances are lower or non-existent; benefits are limited and the final decision to hire takes about twice as long. But the overwhelming component in the hiring decision for family-owned companies is culture. This factor alone discriminates against big oil, which is viewed with a suspicion that candidates from this ilk will never fit with the existing family team. There is no basis for smaller companies taking this stance, but sometimes it does taint the potential candidate pool. NPN Magazine n www.npnweb.com