From solid management practices to financial security to work-life balance, there are considerable elements that go into creating a successful, profitable workplace environment. Although each company is different, the industry’s Best Workplaces do share distinctive commonalities. The parallels allow these companies to recruit and retain qualified workers—people who are more satisfied with their jobs and, therefore, more productive and efficient. Greater efficiency leads to increased profitability and a greater competitive edge.  What if you could get behind the scenes and see what these leading companies are doing? How competitive are their wages and benefits? How do they handle health care issues? What employee training methods do they use? What incentive programs are working for them? Each year the Best Workplace in the Americas (BWA) program judges companies based on eight main areas: management practices, work environment, training and development opportunities, recognition and rewards, workplace health and safety, health and well-being programs, financial security, and work-life balance. The practices of winning firms—the top HR programs in the industry—are compiled in the Key HR Metrics report.  Enter the 2014 Best Workplace in the Americas program to showcase your company’s superior HR program.) Here’s your chance to go behind the curtain of the printing industry’s top companies. Take a look at these highlights from the 2013 HR Metrics Survey and see the practices of your competitors: Management practices Sexual harassment training for all staff members should be performed every 24 months, and new hires should receive training during orientation. Provide written job descriptions and annual performance reviews for all employees. (For Americans with Disabilities Act purposes, job descriptions ideally should have “essential functions” noted on job descriptions.) How many women and minorities hold management positions in your organization? Top companies have comparable numbers to the national average. (Find current averages at www.eeoc.gov.) Work environment And how about your turnover rate? Strive for 8.4% or lower. Training and development opportunities Cross-train employees. A total of 89% of BWA winners had more than 80% of their staff trained across a range of areas. Create a succession plan for an aging workforce. Seventy-four percent of BWA firms  had succession plans for senior managers, 59% for key managers, and 56% for key non-managerial employees. Recognition and rewards Incentivize employees. Well-designed plans will pay off and increase profitability and efficiency. (The 2013 Wage and Benefits Surveycompiles successful ideas from more than 500 companies.) Develop employee recognition programs. You can find customizable certificates here. Workplace health and safety To keep your injury and illness rate low, you may want to institute a Safety Committee with a mix of hourly and managerial employees. If your company has persistent injuries and illnesses, address the issues with a targeted training program....

From solid management practices to financial security to work-life balance, there are considerable elements that go into creating a successful, profitable workplace environment. Although each company is different, the industry’s Best Workplaces do share distinctive commonalities. The parallels allow these companies to recruit and retain qualified workers—people who are more satisfied with their jobs and, therefore, more productive and efficient. Greater efficiency leads to increased profitability and a greater competitive edge.  What if you could get behind the scenes and see what these leading companies are doing? How competitive are their wages and benefits? How do they handle health care issues? What employee training methods do they use? What incentive programs are working for them? Each year the Best Workplace in the Americas (BWA) program judges companies based on eight main areas: management practices, work environment, training and development opportunities, recognition and rewards, workplace health and safety, health and well-being programs, financial security, and work-life balance. The practices of winning firms—the top HR programs in the industry—are compiled in the Key HR Metrics report.  Enter the 2014 Best Workplace in the Americas program to showcase your company’s superior HR program.) Here’s your chance to go behind the curtain of the printing industry’s top companies. Take a look at these highlights from the 2013 HR Metrics Survey and see the practices of your competitors: Management practices Sexual harassment training for all staff members should be performed every 24 months, and new hires should receive training during orientation. Provide written job descriptions and annual performance reviews for all employees. (For Americans with Disabilities Act purposes, job descriptions ideally should have “essential functions” noted on job descriptions.) How many women and minorities hold management positions in your organization? Top companies have comparable numbers to the national average. (Find current averages at www.eeoc.gov.) Work environment And how about your turnover rate? Strive for 8.4% or lower. Training and development opportunities Cross-train employees. A total of 89% of BWA winners had more than 80% of their staff trained across a range of areas. Create a succession plan for an aging workforce. Seventy-four percent of BWA firms  had succession plans for senior managers, 59% for key managers, and 56% for key non-managerial employees. Recognition and rewards Incentivize employees. Well-designed plans will pay off and increase profitability and efficiency. (The 2013 Wage and Benefits Surveycompiles successful ideas from more than 500 companies.) Develop employee recognition programs. You can find customizable certificates here. Workplace health and safety To keep your injury and illness rate low, you may want to institute a Safety Committee with a mix of hourly and managerial employees. If your company has persistent injuries and illnesses, address the issues with a targeted training program....

Today there is a great need for education on the effectiveness and sustainability of print. There are many common misconceptions to counteract, but it takes more than one voice to spread the message. Together Printing Industries of America and our Affiliates have developed distinct, dedicated pro-print campaigns, Value of Print, Choose Print, and Print Grows Trees. They share one core mission—to educate and increase awareness of print’s vitality using the latest facts and statistics from the most reliable sources. Industry members look to these resources for collated information and tools to promote the vitality of print. In this three-part blog series, we will look at each of these campaigns. You will hear directly from the campaign leaders about the effects these campaigns are having on the industry and examine how they are fighting to help educate print buyers. Lisa Rawa understands how important print is in multi-media marketing. As Vice President of Marketing for Printing Industries of America, she has been at the forefront of the Value of Print campaign that’s combined print, Web, and mobile to communicate the vitality of print since 2009. Thanks to great publicity opportunities, you can say this campaign is “breaking new ground” for the print and graphic arts industry. 1. To complement the Value of Print Flip-Book, you’ve incorporated a dedicated webpage and mobile app. In what ways have you seen people use these online and offline tools to defend the value of print? LR: The Flip-Book has been a huge success. Our users tell me how pleased they are to have this resource to display on their desk and even in their company lobbies for clients to read. As a multi-media campaign, the Value of Print was designed to allow the print and graphic arts community access to important information anytime, anywhere. To do that we knew we wanted a digital complement to our printed Flip-Book. Our website not only allows you to view facts, articles, and other resources, and you can also download a PDF of the Flip-Book to distribute to clients. With the app, they can just use their smartphone or tablet to get Value of Print facts. There’s also a searchable Print Market Atlas that lets you find national, state, and regional print statistics. Print professionals tell me that they use the Value of Print app during client meetings or at conferences and tradeshows like GRAPH EXPO to educate their customers. Teachers are some of our most enthusiastic supports who not only use the tools but also encourage their students to use them as well. 2. The Value of Print campaign has even crossed boundaries into public television. In 2013 it was featured in the public television produced In...

Today there is a great need for education on the effectiveness and sustainability of print. There are many common misconceptions to counteract, but it takes more than one voice to spread the message. Together Printing Industries of America and our Affiliates have developed distinct, dedicated pro-print campaigns, Value of Print, Choose Print, and Print Grows Trees. They share one core mission—to educate and increase awareness of print’s vitality using the latest facts and statistics from the most reliable sources. Industry members look to these resources for collated information and tools to promote the vitality of print. In this three-part blog series, we will look at each of these campaigns. You will hear directly from the campaign leaders about the effects these campaigns are having on the industry and examine how they are fighting to help educate print buyers. Lisa Rawa understands how important print is in multi-media marketing. As Vice President of Marketing for Printing Industries of America, she has been at the forefront of the Value of Print campaign that’s combined print, Web, and mobile to communicate the vitality of print since 2009. Thanks to great publicity opportunities, you can say this campaign is “breaking new ground” for the print and graphic arts industry. 1. To complement the Value of Print Flip-Book, you’ve incorporated a dedicated webpage and mobile app. In what ways have you seen people use these online and offline tools to defend the value of print? LR: The Flip-Book has been a huge success. Our users tell me how pleased they are to have this resource to display on their desk and even in their company lobbies for clients to read. As a multi-media campaign, the Value of Print was designed to allow the print and graphic arts community access to important information anytime, anywhere. To do that we knew we wanted a digital complement to our printed Flip-Book. Our website not only allows you to view facts, articles, and other resources, and you can also download a PDF of the Flip-Book to distribute to clients. With the app, they can just use their smartphone or tablet to get Value of Print facts. There’s also a searchable Print Market Atlas that lets you find national, state, and regional print statistics. Print professionals tell me that they use the Value of Print app during client meetings or at conferences and tradeshows like GRAPH EXPO to educate their customers. Teachers are some of our most enthusiastic supports who not only use the tools but also encourage their students to use them as well. 2. The Value of Print campaign has even crossed boundaries into public television. In 2013 it was featured in the public television produced In...

Stop trying to retain your employees! That’s right. It’s no longer enough to retain your top employees. Today firms need to focus on creating engaged, satisfied employees. They are more productive and stay with the same company longer than a disengaged employee. As of April 2013, the printing industry employed around 443,000 people—up by 1,000 workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s right, the industry is growing. Companies typically invest a lot of money in new employees, so it’s important that they stick around for a while. According to a recent study, one of the main factors in job satisfaction is beneficial employee training. According to the National Research Business Institute, 23% of employees leave their current job due to lack of development and training opportunities. But managers know that training can also be expensive, and time consuming. What’s the best way to satisfy the need for added training while eliminating most of the downside?  Well, for more than 41% of Fortune 500 companies, the solution has become e-learning. Training New Hires If you want to develop loyal, long-term employees, start from the very beginning. Printing Industries of America’s new virtual workshop portal, the Integrated Learning Center, offers a course developed specifically to educate employees new to the industry. You may remember the Orientation to the Graphic Arts workshop. As one of the most popular instructor-led workshops, it’s now offered as a virtual course. With 24/7 access, this class provides comprehensive industry information for everyone from press professionals to sales developers. Learn about: Print production workflow Digital prepress Offset and digital printing Color theory and reproduction Bindery And much more Currently Orientation to the Graphic Arts is available to members through Printing Industries of America affiliates as part of a subscription package granting access to all courses in the Integrated Learning Center. You can take advantage of this limited-time offer of 25% off the subscription package until June 6, 2014. Get started today. Visit...

Stop trying to retain your employees! That’s right. It’s no longer enough to retain your top employees. Today firms need to focus on creating engaged, satisfied employees. They are more productive and stay with the same company longer than a disengaged employee. As of April 2013, the printing industry employed around 443,000 people—up by 1,000 workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s right, the industry is growing. Companies typically invest a lot of money in new employees, so it’s important that they stick around for a while. According to a recent study, one of the main factors in job satisfaction is beneficial employee training. According to the National Research Business Institute, 23% of employees leave their current job due to lack of development and training opportunities. But managers know that training can also be expensive, and time consuming. What’s the best way to satisfy the need for added training while eliminating most of the downside?  Well, for more than 41% of Fortune 500 companies, the solution has become e-learning. Training New Hires If you want to develop loyal, long-term employees, start from the very beginning. Printing Industries of America’s new virtual workshop portal, the Integrated Learning Center, offers a course developed specifically to educate employees new to the industry. You may remember the Orientation to the Graphic Arts workshop. As one of the most popular instructor-led workshops, it’s now offered as a virtual course. With 24/7 access, this class provides comprehensive industry information for everyone from press professionals to sales developers. Learn about: Print production workflow Digital prepress Offset and digital printing Color theory and reproduction Bindery And much more Currently Orientation to the Graphic Arts is available to members through Printing Industries of America affiliates as part of a subscription package granting access to all courses in the Integrated Learning Center. You can take advantage of this limited-time offer of 25% off the subscription package until June 6, 2014. Get started today. Visit...