Do you know how much to pay your employees?  Do you need assistance with budgeting?  Are you hiring the right person for the job at the right salary?  SMC Business Councils can help!  We recently concluded the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report and the results are in.  The comprehensive information we learned is available for purchase by our members by contacting our Human Resources department or by completing the Online Order Form at: www.smc.org.

For more information, please call Eileen Petrone, SMC Director of Human Resources Services at 412.342.1605, email her at eileenpetrone@smc.org, or simply complete the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report Online Order Form at www.smc.org and email it back to us.

SMC is recruiting for a Manager of Quality Assurance and Product Development for Precision Kidd Steel Co., Inc. in Aliquippa.  The following is the job description:

A Pittsburgh area cold finish steel bar and wire manufacturer seeks an individual to manage the company’s quality system.  Qualified candidates will have proven ability to promote quality objectives and drive performance improvement throughout the organization.   A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in a manufacturing environment, with a strong focus on quality, continuous improvement initiatives, and materials and process management systems is required. Previous experience in the steel industry is preferred. Individual must possess excellent leadership skills, high degree of organization, problem solving, and communication skills to interact with employees, customers and suppliers.  A competitive salary commensurate with experience and attractive benefits are to be offered.   To apply for this possition or to reveiw other employment opportunities on the Job Board, visit: http://www.smc.org/community/browse_jobposts.php

SMC Business Councils will once again participate in the upcoming Pennsylvania Leadership Conference on March 23-24 as a Sponsor.

Already the Conference has a great line-up of speakers:  Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume will be the Friday evening featured dinner speaker; U.S. Senator Pat Toomey is confirmed as the Friday kick-off speaker; John Gizzi of Human Events will be one of the Saturday breakfast speakers; Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform will be a Saturday morning featured speaker; and the Saturday luncheon will feature a debate among the Republican candidates for United States Senator with Tom Smith, Steve Welch, Sam Rohrer, Mark Scaringi, Tim Burns, and Laureen Cummings already confirmed as participants.

The strength of the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference is that sponsoring organizations, like SMC, assist in attracting conference participants. We encourage SMC members to participate in the conference also. If you would like more information on the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference or register for the event, please go to:  http://www.paleadershipconference.com/

Dont’ miss your chance to read SMC’s Dynamic Business magazine from cover to cover before the hardcopy comes in the mail!  Visit SMC Business Councils’s website at www.smc.org and click on the Dynamic Business magazine to view the PDF!

The following information was sent to SMC Business Councils from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.  It highlights the job cuts that were recently announced in January.  Hope you find this information useful. 

53,486 planned cuts announced in January

Last month, the nation’s employers announced plans to cut 53,486 jobs from their payrolls.  That was the largest monthly layoff total since 115,730 job cuts were announced last September, according to job cut report released Thursday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The January total was 28% higher than the 41,785 job cuts announced in December.  It was 39% higher than January 2011, when employers announced just 38,519 planned cuts. 

It is not unusual to see a job-cut surge to start the year.  Historically, January is the heaviest job-cut month, averaging 101,084 announced layoffs between 1993 and 2011.  October, the next heaviest job-cut month, averaged 82,036 cuts over the same period.

“Last year’s 38,519 January job cuts represent the lowest first-month total on record.  Even then, the January 2011 total was higher than the previous month, when 32,004 job cuts were announced.  This year marks the sixth consecutive year and the eleventh out of the last thirteen in which January job cuts surpassed the December total,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

 Leading the January surge were retailers and financial firms, which announced 12,426 job cuts and 7,611 job cuts, respectively.  The retail total was the largest experienced by this sector since January 2010 (16,737).  The retail job losses are unrelated to the departure of seasonal workers, which typically are not announced or reported as job cuts.  Rather, the cuts are related to restructurings, store closings and other cost-cutting measures.

The 7,611 job cuts in the financial sector mark the largest one-month total since September 2011, when 31,167 job cuts were announced (most of which came from a single announcement by Bank of America).

For the second consecutive month, the government sector saw relatively few job cuts, with these employers announcing just 3,021 layoffs in January.  That was up slightly from 2,183 in December.  The two low job-cut months is undoubtedly a welcome trend in a sector that averaged 15,255 job cuts per month in 2011 and announced a total of 325,319 job cut in the 24-month period ending in December.

“Of course, it is far too early to say whether we will continue to see low job-cut figures in government.  It is highly unlikely, considering that many cities and states continue to struggle with budget deficits.  And, then there is the federal level of government, which remains under intense pressure to cut costs.  As a result, we expect government layoffs to be heavy again this year,” noted Challenger.

For more information on this topic, please go to www.challengergray.com.

The following was sent to SMC Business Councils by the U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce.  The upcoming workshop highlights the issues with doing business in Asia and risk management and mitigation strategies involved with doing business overseas. We hope you find this information useful. 

Doing Business in Asia: Risk Management and Mitigation Strategies
                     U.S. Commercial Service and U.S. Department of Commerce Present Half-Day Workshop   Friday, February 24, 2012

Now more than ever, U.S. companies need to define their risk profile and implement strategies to anticipate threats and address uncertainties before challenges explode and disrupt export operations. Effective risk management will require managers and staff to understand the nature of the risks in their work areas and systematically identify, analyze, evaluate, treat, monitor, and review those risks. This process will provide management and staff with a rigorous and defensible tool to assist in decision making when doing business in Asia.   

This half-day seminar will address:

• Linking Risk & Business Strategy – Balancing Risk Tolerance with Business Opportunities in Asia
• Regulatory Perspectives on Risk Management
• Cultural Aspects of Operational Risk
• Tips and Advice for Doing Business in Asia

Speakers to Include:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Jones Day
• Echo International
• U.S. Commercial Service – Pittsburgh

Event Details:

When: 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Friday, February 24, 2012 Where: 31st Floor of the Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 6th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Cost: $50.00 (includes breakfast) Registration: http://export.gov/pennsylvania/pittsburgh/eg_us_pa_043956.asp  

Please contact Nathan Harsch, International Trade Specialist, U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce
at 412-644-2816  or via email at Nathan.Harsch@trade.gov for more information.  You can also view information at their website via www.export.gov/pennsylvania.

The follwoing information came to us today from the American Sustainable Business Council.  For a full report on the survey, see link at the  end of this blog.

National poll finds 78% of small businesses say regulations needed to protect small businesses from unfair competition, level playing field with big business; 86% see regulations as necessary part of a modern economy

Small business owners say their main concern is weak customer demand, not regulations, according to independent opinion polling released today.  In fact, when asked what would do the most to create jobs, small business owners’ top response was eliminating incentives to move jobs overseas. Reducing regulation came in fifth place.

 Other key findings from the survey include:

• Small business owners see their top problem as weak customer demand, not regulations: 34% cited weak customer demand as the most important problem for their business, while only 14% named government regulations.
• On the question of what would do the most to create jobs, cutting regulations came in low on the list: the top response was eliminating incentives to move jobs overseas at 24%; reducing regulation was fifth at 10%.
• Small business owners see an important role for standards and safeguards: 78% believe some standards are important to protect small businesses from unfair competition, and 76% believe regulations on the books should be enforced.
• Small business owners see regulations as necessary for a modern economy: 93% agree their business can live with some regulation if it is fair, manageable and reasonable.
• Small business owners express strong support for specific rules and standards: 78% support rules to prevent health insurance companies from increasing rates excessively, 84% support food safety standards, 80% support product safety standards and 80% support disclosure and regulation of toxic materials.
• Small business owners support clean energy policies: 79% support ensuring clean air and water, and 61% support moving the country towards energy efficiency and clean energy.
• Small businesses believe in streamlining government processes: 73% of respondents believe we should allow for one-stop electronic filing of government paperwork.

 For more information on these poll findings, visit:  http://www.asbcouncil.org/poll_regulations.html

Do you know how much to pay your employees?  Do you need assistance with budgeting?  Are you hiring the right person for the job at the right salary?  SMC Business Councils can help!  We recently concluded the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report and the results are in.  The comprehensive information we learned is available for purchase by our members by contacting our Human Resources department or by completing the Online Order Form at: www.smc.org.

For more information, please call Eileen Petrone, SMC Director of Human Resources Services at 412.342.1605, email her at eileenpetrone@smc.org, or simply complete the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report Online Order Form at www.smc.org and email it back to us.

Since 1937, NSBA has been the nation’s leading small-business advocate. As part of NSBA’s mission to address the needs and represent the concerns of the small-business community, we conduct a series of surveys and quick polls throughout the year. Among those are two NSBA Economic Reports: the Mid-Year Economic Report, released late-July, and Year-End Economic Report, released late-January. View the NSBA 2011 Year-End Economic Report at: http://www.nsba.biz/docs/2011_year-end_economic_report.pdf

SMC Business Councils will once again participate in the upcoming Pennsylvania Leadership Conferenceon March 23-24 as a Sponsor.

Already the Conference has a great line-up of speakers:  Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume will be the Friday evening featured dinner speaker; U.S. Senator Pat Toomey is confirmed as the Friday kick-off speaker; John Gizzi of Human Events will be one of the Saturday breakfast speakers; Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform will be a Saturday morning featured speaker; and the Saturday luncheon will feature a debate among the Republican candidates for United States Senator with Tom Smith, Steve Welch, Sam Rohrer, Mark Scaringi, Tim Burns, and Laureen Cummings already confirmed as participants.

The strength of the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference is that sponsoring organizations, like SMC, assist in attracting conference participants. We encourage SMC members to participate in the conference also. If you would like more information on the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference or register for the event, please go to:  http://www.paleadershipconference.com/

 

 

 

 

The following are the results from an interesting survey conducted by Right Management on the satisfaction level of people in the job market today.  We hope you find this information worthwhile. 

Most employees say their job is unrewarding and saps their energy, according to a new survey by Right Management,  Only one-in-five consider their job rewarding and gratifying…and the rest say they just want to enjoy their lives and that is why they work.

The survey was conducted in December and January and 438 North American workers responded to the following question:

Q:   Which of the following best describes your present work situation?

A:  Here are the Survey Results:

  My job is rewarding and gratifying.                  21% I want to enjoy my life, so I work.                      30% My job is unrewarding and saps my energy.  49%  

“The survey findings are like barometer that tells us something about the mood in today’s workplace,” said Ron Sims, Talent Management Practice Leader for the Middle Atlantic states for Right Management, which provides and services to Fortune 500 companies. “Employees are clearly in a grumpy mood, a trend we’ve tracked for more than a year. In better times we probably would have found just a minority complain that their energy is being sapped and so forth, but now it is almost a majority of employed North Americans who seem to be unhappy.”

The prevailing bad mood is related to workplace pressures that were building for the past three years, believes Sims. “In recent surveys Right Management found that fewer workers feel they may step away from their desk for a lunch break or even take all the vacation due them. And we learned that many feel trapped in their job or resent that they’re expected to respond to work emails on the weekend. Meanwhile, staffs are leaner and workloads bigger. Our new findings are consistent with this prior research and are an indicator of poor morale at most organizations.”

Unfortunately, the widespread disaffection stems from factors largely beyond the control of most employers, said Sims. “The job market is sluggish, job mobility is down, businesses aren’t expanding fast enough, yet every day the job has to get done. The good news, I suppose, is that so many workers are nevertheless engaged and productive, despite the pressures they face.”

Sims advises employers to develop proactive strategies to engage people in their work. “Some efforts may be simple or obvious, such as acknowledging that times are difficult. Sometime it’s just necessary to be seen trying to make a difference. And for larger organizations the engagement strategy needs to be more sophisticated, but genuine as well.”

For more information on this survey or Right Management, please contact: Ron Sims at 571-226-7054 or Phil Ryan at 845-339-7858.

Dont’ miss your chance to read SMC’s Dynamic Business magazine from cover to cover before the hardcopy comes in the mail!  Visit SMC Business Councils’s website at www.smc.org and click on the Dynamic Business magazine to view the PDF!

SMC is recruiting for a Manager of Quality Assurance and Product Development for Precision Kidd Steel Co., Inc. in Aliquippa.  The following is the job description:

A Pittsburgh area cold finish steel bar and wire manufacturer seeks an individual to manage the company’s quality system.  Qualified candidates will have proven ability to promote quality objectives and drive performance improvement throughout the organization.   A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in a manufacturing environment, with a strong focus on quality, continuous improvement initiatives, and materials and process management systems is required. Previous experience in the steel industry is preferred. Individual must possess excellent leadership skills, high degree of organization, problem solving, and communication skills to interact with employees, customers and suppliers.  A competitive salary commensurate with experience and attractive benefits are to be offered.   To apply for this possition or to reveiw other employment opportunities on the Job Board, visit: http://www.smc.org/community/browse_jobposts.php

The following material was sent ot SMC Business Councils from one of our sources. It has some great information on small business and employment stats.  We hope you find it insightful.

The Small Business Scorecard for January 2012, a nationally recognized economic indicator that tracks the health of the U.S. small business economy is out. 

Nationwide, 2012 began with month-over-month hiring down 0.2%, but paycheck size remaining flat.  Small business owners still remain positive, as optimism increased to 65% from 63% in December, continuing to rise from an all-time low of 33% back in September.

Michael Alter, SurePayroll President and CEO, indicates the following may be contributing to the direction of the small business economy:

• The upcoming presidential election has small business owners wondering what direction the country will go in.
• The uncertainty about Greece and the Euro, the U.S. economy not growing as much as previously thought, combined with the gridlock in Washington have put the brakes on the small business economy.

“It’s frustrating to see us shift back into neutral,” Alter said. “There was a lot of excitement heading into 2012. We were finally starting to accelerate; there was a lot of optimism about the future. To see this shift is frustrating, but like small business owners, I’m still hopeful because one month doesn’t make a year.  We just need the right opportunities for growth.”

 For a more comparative regional look at hiring and wage trends, the Scorecard includes data on the following key MSAs:

 

Metro Area

 

Hiring Index

(#of employees)

Paycheck size

Atlanta

0.4%

-0.2%

Boston

-1.1%

-6.0%

Charlotte

0.8%

-2.2%

Chicago

-0.2%

-0.7%

Cincinnati

-1.2%

0.6%

Cleveland

-0.6%

2.2%

Columbus

0.4%

-2.0%

Dallas

-0.3%

1.9%

Denver

-0.7%

1.0%

Detroit

0.6%

-0.1%

Greensboro

0.4%

-1.6%

Houston

-0.9%

0.9%

Indianapolis

-0.7%

-0.9%

Las Vegas

-0.4%

-0.4%

Los Angeles

-0.7%

0.3%

Miami

-0.8%

2.1%

Minneapolis

-0.3%

0.1%

Nashville

0.0%

0.7%

New York

0.0%

0.3%

Norfolk

0.5%

0.7%

Orlando

0.6%

0.8%

Philadelphia

-1.1%

2.2%

Phoenix

0.5%

-1.7%

Pittsburgh

-2.3%

1.5%

Portland

-0.6%

0.2%

Raleigh-Durham

0.6%

-1.3%

Richmond

-0.5%

-0.4%

Sacramento

-0.2%

-0.5%

San Antonio

1.0%

0.1%

San Diego

-0.6%

-1.1%

San Francisco

-0.2%

0.1%

Seattle

-0.9%

0.3%

St. Louis

0.3%

0.4%

Tampa

0.2%

-0.7%

Washington DC

-0.1%

-0.2%

To view the full Scorecard including YTD and historical data, please visit http://www.surepayroll.com/scorecard/ after 4pm EST today. For an explanation of what the various monthly economic reports released mean, read Michael’s blog post “The Skinny on Monthly Economic Reports” at http://www.inc.com/michael-alter/the-skinny-on-monthly-economic-reports-.html.

Do you know how much to pay your employees?  Do you need assistance with budgeting?  Are you hiring the right person for the job at the right salary?  SMC Business Councils can help!  We recently concluded the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report and the results are in.  The comprehensive information we learned is available for purchase by our members by contacting our Human Resources department or by completing the Online Order Form at: www.smc.org.

For more information, please call Eileen Petrone, SMC Director of Human Resources Services at 412.342.1605, email her at eileenpetrone@smc.org, or simply complete the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report Online Order Form at www.smc.org and email it back to us.

  SMC is recruiting for a Manager of Quality Assurance and Product Development for Precision Kidd Steel Co., Inc. in Aliquippa.  The following is the job description:

A Pittsburgh area cold finish steel bar and wire manufacturer seeks an individual to manage the company’s quality system.  Qualified candidates will have proven ability to promote quality objectives and drive performance improvement throughout the organization.   A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in a manufacturing environment, with a strong focus on quality, continuous improvement initiatives, and materials and process management systems is required. Previous experience in the steel industry is preferred. Individual must possess excellent leadership skills, high degree of organization, problem solving, and communication skills to interact with employees, customers and suppliers.  A competitive salary commensurate with experience and attractive benefits are to be offered.   To apply for this possition or to reveiw other employment opportunities on the Job Board, visit: http://www.smc.org/community/browse_jobposts.php

Dont’ miss your chance to read SMC’s Dynamic Business magazine from cover to cover before the hardcopy comes in the mail!  Visit SMC Business Councils’s website at www.smc.org and click on the Dynamic Business magazine to view the PDF!

If you missed the opportunity to attend the 2012 Annual Legislative Reception or attended and would like to see the many pictures that were taken that night, they have been posted to Facebook for your viewing.  Please click on the following link to view all photos … from the Manufacturers Council Meeting earlier in the day, to the impressive Government Relations Committee Meeting, to the Legislative Reception.  The Event was a huge success with more than 30 lawmakers and dignitaries in attendance, as well as nearly 120 SMC members, guests, and staff from SMC. 

Click here to review the photos: http://on.fb.me/wz6ThK

Do you know how much to pay your employees?  Do you need assistance with budgeting?  Are you hiring the right person for the job at the right salary?  SMC Business Councils can help!  We recently concluded the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report and the results are in.  The comprehensive information we learned is available for purchase by our members by contacting our Human Resources department or by completing the Online Order Form at: www.smc.org.

For more information, please call Eileen Petrone, SMC Director of Human Resources Services at 412.342.1605, email her at eileenpetrone@smc.org, or simply complete the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report Online Order Form at www.smc.org and email it back to us.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has created a web page to help protect workers from hazards they may face during winter storm response and recovery operations.

The Web page provides guidance on how employers and workers involved in cleanup and recovery operations can recognize snow storm-related hazards and the necessary steps that employers must take to keep workers safe while working in these conditions. The page includes guidance for workers clearing heavy snow in front of workplaces and from rooftops, workers encountering downed power lines or traveling on icy roads, and utility workers restoring power after winter storms.

To read more about protecting your workers during a winter storm, read the full article in SMC’s HRM Update at: http://www.smc.org/sites/default/files/January%202012.pdf