 To All IPMA Members:
Many of you may have heard of the impending closings of three
of our fellow printing facilities. It is truly a sad moment for our
industry when this occurs. The sadness is compounded when
you consider the human factor associated with these closings. Sometime in the very near future a large number of our brothers
and sisters will be dealing with very uncertain futures. For them
we can only offer our sincere hopes and prayers that all will find
other opportunities quickly.
As I reflect on the recent closings, I cannot help but think about my own situation. I ask myself, am I doing all that I can to protect my operation and my staff? My honest answer would be no. I say no because the reality is that some operations have been closed for reasons that are no fault of the department. Good and cost-effective service does not guarantee continued operations. On the other hand, many are closed for perfectly sound business reasons. If your operation is struggling or facing serious challenges, then you are probably already in the crosshairs for closure and the well-run operations might not even see a problem coming at them because they weren't looking. Basically, all of us must constantly justify our existence.
Into which group might you fall? Maybe it is somewhere in the middle? Could it be that
you are flying under the radar? Or just trying to? The reality is that our administrations or
business managers know we exist. They know that we provide a service and there is a
dollar amount associated with that service. Beyond that, most only know what we or our
customers tell them.
The days of flying under the radar are over. The economy has once again set the stage
for our bosses to be looking for savings. So as they go about their responsibilities, we
must also make our case for continued operations and we can't go about it quietly.
The following are 10 things that you must be doing:
- Get feedback from your customers.
- Report the good and the bad to your boss.
- If there is bad, be sure to have a plan that will correct the situation.
- Look for ways to become indispensable.
- Be as modern as your budget allows.
- Talk to your fellow in-plant managers frequently.
- Utilize IPMA's numerous resources.
- Don't settle for the "same old, same old"; be innovative and change.
- Get active in your organizations with committee work and volunteerism.
- Finally and most importantly, get your staff on board. Tell them the truth about the
economic landscape and what your plan is for the future.
Will implementing these things save your operation? That I do not know. What I do know
is that these changes will make you stronger. Don't be an operation that only provides services. Be an operation that has faces and people that care about and support the organization, as well as provides unmatched services. Be more.
IPMA is in the process of developing a White Paper that will deal specifically with this
topic. It is our hope to have it completed and ready for distribution at our National Conference in June. Now more than ever it is critical that we share information and
discover new ways to do business.
John Sarantakos
IPMA President |
