Metalforming Matters

Contrary to popular belief, pay is not the primary reason that employees leave their jobs.  The number one reason cited among job changers is the environment created by their supervisor.   To retain talent, companies must focus attention on their supervisory staff.  This means more than just picking the right person for the job; you must continually monitor how effective the supervisor is with his/her assigned team. Knowing how to supervise does not come naturally.  Often, supervisors are promoted because they have an exemplary performance record, yet the skills required on the factory floor differ from those needed to encourage and engage employees.  These skills can be learned with support and coaching from management.  Taking the time to nurture your supervisors will pay off.  According to Rick Dacri, human resource consultant, knowing how to supervise “is learned and developed and with good training, lots of coaching and mentoring, along with exp...

CLEVELAND, OH—August 18, 2015—According to the August 2015 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies anticipate little change in business conditions during the next three months. Prepared monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 127 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada. The August report shows a slight upswing in economic activity, with 26% of participants predicting that activity will improve in the next three months (up from 18% in July), 59% expecting no change (down from 65% last month) and 15% believing that economic activity will decline (down from 17% in July. Metalforming companies forecast little change in incoming orders during the next three months, with 33% anticipating an increase in orders (down from 36% in July), 45% predicting no change (the same percentage reported in July) and 22% expecting a decrease in orders (up from 19% last month). Current average daily ship...

Hal Becker is a nationally known expert on sales, customer service and negotiating. He conducts seminars or consults to more than 140 organizations a year. At the age of 22, he became the #1 salesperson among a national sales force of 11,000, for the Xerox Corporation. Six years later in 1983, he survived terminal cancer only months after launching Direct Opinions, one of America's first customer service telephone survey marketing firms that facilitates more than two million calls per year with offices throughout the U.S.A. and Canada. He is the author of "Can I have 5 Minutes of Your Time?" which is now in its 21st printing and is used by many corporations as their "Sales Bible." He has also authored three other best sellers and has been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Nations Business and hundreds of newspapers and radio/TV stations around the world, and is currently syndicated in more than 45 newspapers and magazine...