Anatomy of a Best Workplace: Insights From the 2013 Award Winning Companies
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. By creating a written disaster plan in addition to maintaining a low injury and illness rate, your company can avoid OSHA citations. (Read more about OSHA citations for the printing industry here.) Health and well-being programs Examine wage and benefit surveys annually through your local Printing Industries’ affiliate to ensure you’re competitive with company/employee health care premiums. Offer health-risk assessments to employees (and dependents). Other wellness program investments like workout rooms, smoking cessation programs and incentives, etc. Offer short- and long-term disability insurance. Financial security Review competitive practices of your retirement plans and applicable profit sharing plans with wage/benefit surveys....
read moreAnatomy of a Best Workplace: Insights From the 2013 Award Winning Companies
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. By creating a written disaster plan in addition to maintaining a low injury and illness rate, your company can avoid OSHA citations. (Read more about OSHA citations for the printing industry here.) Health and well-being programs Examine wage and benefit surveys annually through your local Printing Industries’ affiliate to ensure you’re competitive with company/employee health care premiums. Offer health-risk assessments to employees (and dependents). Other wellness program investments like workout rooms, smoking cessation programs and incentives, etc. Offer short- and long-term disability insurance. Financial security Review competitive practices of your retirement plans and applicable profit sharing plans with wage/benefit surveys....
read moreIn the Name of Print: How Printing Industries of America and Affiliates Are Fighting to Promote the Value of Print (Part 1)
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 Focus video where you, along with Tim Burton, President, Burton & Mayer, and [then] Chairman of the Board, Printing Industries of America; Michael Makin, President and CEO, Printing Industries of America, were able to reach a whole new audience. What effects have you witnessed from this strong advocacy both within and outside the industry? LR: We were honored to be a part of the public television feature. The effects of the In Focus video—as well has the Value of Print campaign as a whole—have been overwhelmingly positive. As soon as the video aired, immediately I started receiving emails and phone...
read moreIn the Name of Print: How Printing Industries of America and Affiliates Are Fighting to Promote the Value of Print (Part 1)
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 Focus video where you, along with Tim Burton, President, Burton & Mayer, and [then] Chairman of the Board, Printing Industries of America; Michael Makin, President and CEO, Printing Industries of America, were able to reach a whole new audience. What effects have you witnessed from this strong advocacy both within and outside the industry? LR: We were honored to be a part of the public television feature. The effects of the In Focus video—as well has the Value of Print campaign as a whole—have been overwhelmingly positive. As soon as the video aired, immediately I started receiving emails and phone...
read moreA New, Virtual Way to Train—And Keep—New Employees
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...
read moreA New, Virtual Way to Train—And Keep—New Employees
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...
read moreA New, Virtual Way to Train—And Keep—New Employees
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...
read moreSun Chemical Introduces SunLit Triumph Max Commercial Conventional Sheetfed Inks
PARSIPPANY, NJ—May 22, 2014—Commercial sheetfed printers looking to increase productivity, improve print fidelity and meet strict sustainability requirements, can now utilize Sun Chemical’s new SunLit Triumph Max commercial…
read moreWhy Variable-Data Printing Is a “Must-Have” Technology
The following blog post was contributed by Kathryn Wyckoff, Marketing Coordinator at DME, Rob Carll, Director of Sales and Marketing at DME. Sales organizations are always looking for new and innovative ways to sell to current and potential customers. Marketing, of course, is a huge part of the selling process. But yesterday’s one-size-fit-all communication plan no longer resonates with Boomers or Generation X, Y, or Z. Savvy marketers are continually realizing the increasing ROI benefits of individualized and personalized communications. The marketplace is showing that sixty-three-year-old Fred is interested in different product benefits than forty-five-year-old Sharon, and twenty-two-year-old Chloe comes from a different world completely. This evolution toward targeted, one-to-one messaging has the printing industry scrambling to catch up. Think about it … we now live in a world that allows us to have it our way in almost every aspect of our lives. The courtship between a business and an individual is no different. In fact, studies show that people expect advertisements to be targeted to them or they are likely looking elsewhere. In fact, 74% of consumers get frustrated when content appears to have nothing to do with their interests (Source: Janrain & Harris Interactive). You may know this in theory or from personal preference. So how does one put targeted messaging into practice? This is where variable-data printing comes into play. Traditional offset printers have always been able to add a personalized address label onto a static mail piece. Black laser overprint allows us to add a little more personalization. But how do you then take personalization to the next level? After all, that’s what marketers, and ultimately the buying public, are asking for. The solution is to personalize customer engagement with unique variable data. As you know, the high-level overview of variable-data printing is that a printer uses technology to drive the printing process. Using VDP software, a printed piece can now contain variable information in the form of different content and graphics. This eliminates the need for massive runs and makes it more economical to print truly individualized pieces. Likewise, VDP software can extend into automating the workflow and billing processes, thus eliminating the cost associated with these processes. These points alone are reason enough for a printer to invest in this technology, but what is a way to position it to a fulfillment customer? One way VDP technology can be utilized to its fullest potential is to have website visitors fill out a form for more information regarding the product or service. Within this form, the company not only finds out personal identifiers (name, address, etc.) but also requests a little more information on the visitor. The more you ask the more you stand to learn—within limits of course. Everything we now know about a customer now becomes an important data point to consider. Fred, 63, likes BBQ, baseball, and RV trips around the U.S. Sharon, 45, likes Italian food, baking, exercise, decorating, and wants to travel to Italy. Chloe, 22, likes Thai food, swimming, the beach, cats, and also wants to travel to Italy. We can then group like-minded individuals into segments. Each segment can have the message, offer, and visuals designed that will appeal to each group. Take an instance of a city tourism visitor’s bureau. Useful information might be: What...
read moreWhy Variable-Data Printing Is a “Must-Have” Technology
The following blog post was contributed by Kathryn Wyckoff, Marketing Coordinator at DME, Rob Carll, Director of Sales and Marketing at DME. Sales organizations are always looking for new and innovative ways to sell to current and potential customers. Marketing, of course, is a huge part of the selling process. But yesterday’s one-size-fit-all communication plan no longer resonates with Boomers or Generation X, Y, or Z. Savvy marketers are continually realizing the increasing ROI benefits of individualized and personalized communications. The marketplace is showing that sixty-three-year-old Fred is interested in different product benefits than forty-five-year-old Sharon, and twenty-two-year-old Chloe comes from a different world completely. This evolution toward targeted, one-to-one messaging has the printing industry scrambling to catch up. Think about it … we now live in a world that allows us to have it our way in almost every aspect of our lives. The courtship between a business and an individual is no different. In fact, studies show that people expect advertisements to be targeted to them or they are likely looking elsewhere. In fact, 74% of consumers get frustrated when content appears to have nothing to do with their interests (Source: Janrain & Harris Interactive). You may know this in theory or from personal preference. So how does one put targeted messaging into practice? This is where variable-data printing comes into play. Traditional offset printers have always been able to add a personalized address label onto a static mail piece. Black laser overprint allows us to add a little more personalization. But how do you then take personalization to the next level? After all, that’s what marketers, and ultimately the buying public, are asking for. The solution is to personalize customer engagement with unique variable data. As you know, the high-level overview of variable-data printing is that a printer uses technology to drive the printing process. Using VDP software, a printed piece can now contain variable information in the form of different content and graphics. This eliminates the need for massive runs and makes it more economical to print truly individualized pieces. Likewise, VDP software can extend into automating the workflow and billing processes, thus eliminating the cost associated with these processes. These points alone are reason enough for a printer to invest in this technology, but what is a way to position it to a fulfillment customer? One way VDP technology can be utilized to its fullest potential is to have website visitors fill out a form for more information regarding the product or service. Within this form, the company not only finds out personal identifiers (name, address, etc.) but also requests a little more information on the visitor. The more you ask the more you stand to learn—within limits of course. Everything we now know about a customer now becomes an important data point to consider. Fred, 63, likes BBQ, baseball, and RV trips around the U.S. Sharon, 45, likes Italian food, baking, exercise, decorating, and wants to travel to Italy. Chloe, 22, likes Thai food, swimming, the beach, cats, and also wants to travel to Italy. We can then group like-minded individuals into segments. Each segment can have the message, offer, and visuals designed that will appeal to each group. Take an instance of a city tourism visitor’s bureau. Useful information might be: What...
read more