If Snoopy was sitting on his doghouse, about to write a novel, he might begin with “it was a dark and stormy night”. He could have written the same thing if he were writing about the 2010 kick-off meeting for FTA Great Lakes. With winds swirling and a foot of snow falling, nearly two dozen flexo professionals trudged through the drifts to Waukesha County Technical College to learn how to get the most from their employees. The meeting focused on training and motivation as two keys to improving productivity and profitability.
Joe Weitzer, Director of Corporate and Community Training for WCTC described some of the Graphic Arts degree programs offered by the school including Printing, Print Media, and Graphic Design, as well as certifications in Marketing, Digital Photography and Commercial Printing. He also talked about their programs for developing critical core workplace skills. He made a point to mention the availability of grant money that companies can take advantage of in order to offset the costs of employee training.
Dean Flowers, Associate Dean for the Graphics Department, spoke specifically about the Flexographic Printing program. He then led the group on a tour of the various printing/graphics training areas. WCTC offers training on multiple print platforms including flexographic, lithographic and digital. Their students are trained in design, prepress, workflow and press operations. The state-of-the-art facility features a digital photography studio, multiple computer labs, as well as a variety of prepress, press and finishing equipment; enabling the students to get hands on experience with equipment they would find on the job.
WCTC uses pier review to build critical evaluation skills. The program culminates in an open Portfolio Night, where the student’s work is on display for review by staff, students, industry professionals and the community at large. Dean said that the pier review process helps students to build confidence as they critically evaluate their own work. He said the comprehensive training offered by WCTC prepares students to hit the ground running when they are hired into the industry.
After the tour Mike Erwin, President of Tailored Label Products and Proven Direct (a direct marketing firm), shared TLP’s belief system and how it fosters innovation and motivation. He said TLP has a passion for employee development, community involvement, continuous improvement, recognition/rewards for goal attainment, and company recognition. This combination results in highly engaged employees that drive operational excellence.
Mike said that TLP looks at mistakes as teaching moments. “What can we learn from this that will help us in the future?” He said they liberally use mentoring to develop new skill sets in their employees and devise formal development plans for what he described as “high potential employees”. New roles are assigned for new business opportunities. According to Mike, building new skills under fire accelerates the learning process. He said at TLP, that on-going education is not an extra. It is “part of their job”.
He said TLP believes in recognizing and rewarding employees for meeting goals. They don’t run around giving out $100 bills, but clearly articulate structured goals. If the goals are not achieved, the rewards are not provided.
One of the keys to the success of their rewards programs is the creativity they use in designing the rewards. They don’t want to always give out gas cards or free movies. They once gave employees passes to the State Fair complete with gift certificates for the world famous cream puffs. They give employees plaques for high individual achievement. They also have years of service awards and group outings for key business milestones. They even provide time-off trips. They gave TLP jackets emblazoned with the company logo to all the employees when TLP received the Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award.
Another component of TLP’s belief system is giving back to the community. In that regard, TLP provides a variety of charitable contributions and donates products and services to local organizations. In addition, they seek opportunities for employees to share their skills and reward employees with time off to participate in charitable events. Employees are encouraged to provide ideas for charities that TLP could benefit including such things as cancer runs, bike-a-thons and mentoring people with developmental disabilities.
The result is a highly productive and profitable workplace that helps attract and retain employees and customers alike. Mike does not pretend that TLP’s approach would work for any company, but it certainly has worked for TLP. The many awards the company has received for exceptional management, quality & community service, its rapid growth, low employee turnover and 7 patents are just a few of the benchmarks of their success.
Mike’s presentation led into that of Bill Malm of Harper Corporation of America. Bill focused on training as a means of improving company profitability. Using examples of anilox inventory management and care & cleaning of press components, he discussed how poorly trained workers make mistakes that result in extended make-readies, poor print quality, and expensive damage to press components. He talked about how anilox audits can be used to identify training deficiencies by pinpointing causes of damage and preventative measures. In order to have the highest value, Bill suggests sharing the data from audits as a “teaching moment” and to be used later as a measure of the effectiveness of training.
Bill did a brief overview of the FTA’s TEST program. TEST stands for Technical Education Services Team, the educational arm of the FTA. TEST is a program developed after a generous founding sponsorship by Harper Corporation. Through a combination of customized training, cosponsored seminars, secondary and post-secondary programs, and a virtual campus, TEST is dedicated to authoring, updating and hosting state-of-the-art curriculums to meet the needs of this ever-changing industry.
Bill concluded his presentation with a quote from an unknown author: “When you look deep enough into any problem you find people. In most cases, it can be prevented”. With properly trained and motivated employees, companies face far fewer problems.
While the weather may not have cooperated, the event still drew a wide cross-section of the flexo industry including representation from anilox, ink, electronic controls, sleeve and plate companies, press manufacturers, and wide & narrow web printers. All seemed to gain a lot from the presentations and all enjoyed the party subs and refreshments provided by Sonic Solutions. With employee development a key focus of the meeting, the meeting admissions raised nearly $200 for FFTA’s scholarship programs. All in all, not bad considering it was a dark and stormy night.
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