Recent news on the economic front may mean the long-awaited recover is gaining strength and print should also benefit!  The economy gained more than 320,000 jobs in November, and manufacturing has added an average of 15,000 jobs per month over the course of 2014.  A 4th quarter survey of manufacturers by NAM/Industry Week projects manufacturing sales will increase by 4.5 percent in 2015 and a gain of 2.1 percent in employment.

Print typically recovers at a slower pace than the economy but this should still provide a boost along with the rest of the manufacturing sector.  So hopefully 2015 will be a good year!

A business owner hired a friend's daughter who recently graduated from college. Her application looked great and the job interview went well. He waived her background checks and she was hired as a sales associate.

 

A few months later, other people in the department began complaining about the young woman, claiming she was moody, demanding, and rude to the clerical staff. She also expected other salespeople to handle service calls when she wasn't in the office, which was often. One long-time employee became frustrated with the working conditions and left the company.

In this example, reference checks could have revealed that the employee had been fired from a prior part-time job for the same type of behavior. In addition, a drug test would have uncovered a substance abuse problem.

 

Business owners can purchase employment related practices liability insurance to protect themselves from lawsuits alleging discrimination and harassment or wrongful termination. However, insurance coverage can't compensate for the lost productivity, worry, and embarrassment that can result from a regretful hiring decision. Hiring the wrong person can lead to employee injuries, employment-related lawsuits, and higher employee turnover. No matter how well you know a candidate, make sure they go through the same background check scrutiny as everyone else. 

Source: Federated Insurance

Was giving back to your community one of your resolutions for 2015?  You may be surprised to know that there are many wins with such outreach.  Community involvement can aid your recruiting and retention efforts, and enhance your organization's overall reputation.  Yet simply throwing money at local charities randomly won't help very much or for very long.  Follow these basic guidelines for making a contribution that benefits everyone:

Your Organization's Values. Your support will have more meaning for your workforce if it fits in with your organization's mission and values.  If a key vertical you serve, for example, is higher education, involvement with this community would make imminent sense.

Commitment. Commit for the long term.  Like every other group, nonprofit causes need to know what kind of resources to expect as they plan budgets.  If they know they can depend on you for the long haul, they'll be able to make better strategic plans, and may invite you to participate.

Your workforce.  Encourage employee involvement so people get a chance to stretch their skills and build strong relationships.  Provide time off for workers who want to donate their time to the cause, and recognize their contributions as you communicate with your workforce.

There is an added bonus from community involvement that comes from the networking opportunities with potential customers.