Minimum wage freeze, follow the money and more...

Serving Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming

October 21, 2015

Color Conference Discount For WSPA Members

Color 2015 is the conference for every critical person in the color management workflow -from production pros to brand managers, agencies to designers -to come together to learn, network, and communicate brand color.

Great color begins with you. Your clients depend on you to deliver their brand color across platforms-after all, that's why they're paying you for it, right?

At Color 2015, you'll discover tools and strategies to manage accurate brand color across the color management workflow. It's time to connect, break down the silos, and see color management as part of the whole creative loop, starting with design and ending with the final product.

Because this year's event is being held in WSPA's region at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak (December 5-8, 2015), WSPA members are offered a special discount to attend the conference.

Use the special code listed below and receive $150 off the cost of the full conference.

Discount Code: 15Color150

To see the Color 2015 Program CLICK HERE.

AZ Freezes Minimum Wage

Last week, the Industrial Commission of Arizona calculated that Arizona's minimum wage of $8.05 per hour would not increase for calendar year 2016.

Arizona voters enacted the Raise the Minimum Wage for Working Arizonans Act in 2006. The voter initiative established an Arizona minimum wage and provided for an annual increase based on the increase in the cost of living. The cost of living is based on the federal Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average for all items during the 12 months ending each August 31 (CPI-U). The CPI-U is a national index covering the cost of goods and services.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CPI-U increased by 0.2 percent comparing August 2014 to August 2015. Applying the 0.2 percent increase to the 2015 Arizona minimum wage of $8.05 results in an increase of 1.6 cents to $8.07, which when rounded to the nearest multiple of five cents results in an the amount remaining at $8.05.

Arizona's minimum wage of $8.05 per hour will continue to be higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 through 2016.

Source: The Industrial Commission of Arizona, Labor Department, October 15, 2015,

When The Inspector Comes

When government agencies, internal audit teams, or other inspectors visit your workplace, their interactions with your employees can have a huge impact on their final report. Protect your organization while letting inspectors do their jobs by following these guidelines.

Prepare before inspectors arrive. Train employees to host inspections. They should be ready to greet inspectors and accompany them every minute of the inspection. If you are aware of the inspection ahead of time, try to clarify its purpose and scope. Is it a regularly held inspection or driven by a complaint filed with the agency? What specifically will be inspected? By regulation, most inspections are limited in focus. The more accurately employees know what inspectors are entitled to see, the easier it is to provide that information and thus protect confidential data.

Shadow the inspectors. Accompany the inspectors and scrutinize everything that catches their attention. If necessary, duplicate the investigation afterward to help you answer any charges that may result. Record requests for specific documents they want to examine or copy. Provide only the requested documents - nothing extra. If the inspectors request documents outside the scope of their investigation, courteously delay and ask your counsel for advice.

Track samples, interviews and photos. If inspectors remove samples from your workplace, immediately collect similar samples yourself or arrange access to a portion of theirs. When employees are interviewed, make a record (if the inspector permits it) of who's interviewed, what's asked, and how questions are answered. If inspectors take photos, get similar shots.

Communicate after the inspection. Meet again with the inspectors to verify that you have the same evidence that they will use in making their recommendations. Try to correct faulty information or interpretations before the inspectors leave. At a minimum, identify which problems may bring citations and begin preparing your response. Having participated in the inspection should give you a head start.

Go Where The Clients Are

We recently read a press release from an East Coast short run packaging printer explaining that it was exhibiting at a major food show in New York City. Why? Because the printer specializes in food packaging and that's where his clients will be.

It's likely that you have clients who show their products at a trade show. If they do and they use your printing, this is a great opportunity to show off what you've done to promote your client and then meet other potential clients in the same business.

Deserve To Lead

The best way to motivate professional behavior from your employees is to demonstrate it in your own leadership. Follow this advice to set the right example for your workforce:

Arrive on time every day. Showing up for work on time tells your team that you take your responsibilities seriously.

Don't leave early. Refrain from taking long breaks and lunches or routinely leaving early while your employees labor at their jobs. Workers will notice if you shirk your duties or seem to put in fewer hours than they do. If circumstances such as an off-site meeting keep you from reporting as scheduled, be sure employees know you were on the job.

Respect boundaries. You may be friendly with direct reports, but don't try to be buddies with everyone. Avoid exchanging deeply personal information with team members or expecting them to share everything with you.

Don't play therapist. If employees are having relationship, financial, or substance-abuse problems that undermine their productivity, refer them to an employee assistance program or outside counseling. But don't try to take on those counseling duties yourself. You are qualified to advise workers on how to improve their job performance, no how to live their lives.

Be discreet. Keep your own personal issues out of the workplace. Employees will have a hard time thinking of you as their fearless leader after they've hear you doing battle with your significant other over the phone or complaining about your children to friends.

Maintain a professional attitude. You can enjoy after-hours activities with your employees, like a softball game or happy hour at the neighborhood bar, but don't cut loose in front of your workforce. Remember that you're always the boss, no matter the occasion. Stay sober and professional at all times.

Lend a helping hand. One way to encourage teamwork is by offering to pitch in when workers are struggling with a heavy load. Your willingness to help workers will make them more receptive to helping each other, and going the extra mile for you.

Alts Are Wonderful And Add To The Bottom Line

Printing is short turn around, custom manufacturing. That means that many, if not most, jobs are a work in progress. We're building it as we're flying it.

More often than not, the delivered job doesn't look like the project we originally discussed and quoted upon. When the client starts changing the copy or the specs, this is not a nuisance, it's gold waiting to be mined. Every change needs to be noted and a cost for making it communicated to the client in a real time email.

Even if a change was easy and small, people expect that if they change something it will cost something and they can't bid out the change so we can get full price. Since most changes don't involve materials, the dollars we get for them go straight to the bottom line. All that's required are CSRs who document the changes with timely emails and its money in the bank. Don't give it away!

Are You Sharing Clients?

You have a good relationship with an existing client, but you're not meeting all of their needs (perhaps because you don't even know what they are).

This usually occurs because you're focused on what your can produce - the name of the game is keeping the presses running. But the reality is that you're letting competitors camp on your turf. Not only are you passing up sales opportunities, but your good client may discover that the other guy is even better.

A better approach is to think like a print broker - find out what they need and get it for them. It may not keep your presses running, but it will keep you even tighter with your client and may open the door to new markets and products.

Special Denver Session on M & A

Printing companies today need to grow in order to remain healthy. As adding volume organically continues to be a challenge, growing by acquisition is a very realistic growth strategy.

Merging with or acquiring another company is a viable method of strengthening your company's financial position and provides the added volume necessary to stabilize pricing to attract and retain customers.

On November 19th in Denver, WSPA will feature a special session on M & A. The 90 minute program will cover:

The methods, advantages and pitfalls of employing acquisitions as a business growth strategy
What to look for in a potential merger or acquisition and
How to best position your company should you wish to sell.

If you have ever thought about growing your business by buying another company or someday selling your own company, this is a must-attend session.

The session leader is Paul Reilly, former Chairman and CEO of Cenveo, Inc., one of North America's leading graphic communications firms. During his tenure with the company, Cenveo grew from $17 million to over $2 billion in sales, while completing some 60 acquisitions.

Mr. Reilly's firm, New Direction Partners, will compile a desktop valuation for printing and packaging firms attending. This valuation is worth in excess of $3,000 and is included in your registration fee of just $39!

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2015
Time: 10:30 a.m. - Noon (followed by a light networking lunch)
Location: Veritiv (3900 Lima Street Denver, CO 80239)
Price: $39 for members

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER