Get the latest in print & creative agency business updates, trends, and inspiration from VMA.
What’s the most important number in your business life? Your hit ratio—the percentage of quotes that turn into orders. It’s the number that separates high-profit printers from also-rans. Why? Because it recognizes that a revenue-maximizing pricing policy isn’t created by your internally focused estimating system, “your cost,” but by your customers and the competitors that
Question: Can we tell nonexempt employees not to check email and messages when they’re supposed to be off the clock? They’ve been doing this a lot, and we don’t want to continue paying them for this additional, unscheduled time. Answer: You can tell nonexempt employees that they shouldn’t read or respond to messages when they’re
By: Jim Hamilton, Consultant Emeritus at Keypoint Intelligence Last year, I had the opportunity to interview a number of online print providers to get their thoughts on the market. Our discussions focused on the impact of the pandemic as well as planned print applications and strategies for the future. One intriguing development that came out
By Jim Hamilton You may not be familiar with the name Rubén Fontana, but he is the most recent winner of the World Cup of Printing History. Fontana, an Argentinian graphic designer, type designer, and teacher, was chosen to represent Argentina by the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Massachusetts, the sponsor of the World Cup
By Dr. Ralph William Jr. About eight years into my first printing business, things were going well. We were growing at about 25% a year, adding new equipment and quality members to our team, and we had just moved into a great building. Our profits were good, but they could have been better. Our “good”
Question: What should be included in an offer letter? Answered by the HR Experts: The offer letter should outline the job’s expectations and benefits and provide explicit compensation details. Ideally, it provides the candidate with all the information they need to decide whether to accept the job. A standard offer letter should generally include the following:
These management tips are brought to you by your printing industry association… The customer service representative’s role varies dramatically across the industry. In some instances, the individual is an extension of the sales representative and heavily involved with customer contact including face-to-face visits. In other instances, the CSR is a project manager whose role is
Question: Can we use comp time with our employees? It depends. For non-exempt employees of a private employer, no. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) doesn’t permit private employers to offer compensatory time (“comp time”) in lieu of overtime pay. You could offer time off to your exempt employees as a reward for working more than their
Question: It seems like we’ve had many candidates ghosting us recently. Is there anything we can do to prevent this? Answer:Nothing you do will prevent ghosting altogether, but there are steps you can take to keep candidates engaged and discourage them from just disappearing on you: Start with a clear, descriptive job posting so they understand
May 17, 2023 – Semper Workforce Solutions has released the results of the 2023 first quarter survey of the printing and packaging industries. The survey results reflect a marked slowdown and increased concern for new sales. The start of the banking crisis and the steady increase of interest rates is causing industry economic pain. Dave
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