Let’s Get This TRAIN Rolling

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Tom Schuman

Categories: Environment, Government

A recent post of mine railed about an overabundance of acronyms. But if it’s just one acronym and it offers some (maybe a little) clarity to an important federal piece of legislation, I can live with it.

Applause is in order when Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation can be shortened to TRAIN. And I’ll translate the explanation below from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council to say it is meant to require thorough analysis before EPA regulations can be put into place.

SBE Council delivered a letter to Congressman Jim Matheson (D-Utah) in support of the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act of 2011, H.R. 1705. The Act would provide valuable information by mandating analysis of the cumulative costs and benefits to consumers, businesses and the economy of a variety of regulations due to be imposed by the EPA over the coming two years.

"This is vital," said SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan in the letter, "given our weak economy and the concerns small business owners continue to express about their ability to compete, create jobs and even survive."

As Kerrigan pointed out in the letter, the costs of environmental regulation hit small businesses particularly hard. The SBA’s Office of Advocacy reports that the per-employee costs of environmental regulations are 364 percent higher for firms with less than 20 employees compared to businesses with 500 or more workers.

The TRAIN Act proposes that the cost analysis be comprehensive, including the impact these regulations would have on U.S. competitiveness, employment, electricity prices, fuel prices, and the reliability of the power supply. Regulatory costs can impose both direct and indirect costs on small businesses – as consumers, and as suppliers to those businesses targeted by the regulation.

For Customer, Airline Soars High Through Customer Service

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Tony Spataro

Categories: Business News

Customer service in any field or job is one of the reasons companies either succeed or fail. Good customer service can help you soar, as people want to continue to work with you even when something doesn’t go quite as planned. Bad customer service can be detrimental. Especially in this day and age of "status updates" and "tweets" that can cause PR nightmares.

Here’s a story of a good experience in an industry riddled with a bad reputation.

We’ve all had the experience at the airport where the man or woman behind the counter could care less about whether or not you reach your destination. They just want you to move along and go on to the next person. This is typically my experience. And it wasn’t until recently that I’ve seen a glimmer of hope. Even if it was just one person at one company (Delta Air Lines) – sometimes that’s all it takes.

My wife and I were flying to New York (via LaGuardia) to see her family. We had our 9-month-old daughter with us and after lugging four suitcases, a car seat and a stroller through the parking lot and up to the counter, we were told our flight had been cancelled only minutes before. You can only imagine our frustration, to say it lightly.

We were sent to another line at the ticket counter, seething and wondering how and if we were going to get through this.

We stepped up to the counter and the woman who now had our Fourth of July plans in her hands smiled and said hello to us and our daughter. We hoped, "Somehow, there must be a way out of here!" She searched for what felt like about a half hour, finding flights going through Detroit and that was about it. But with a baby, layovers can be tricky, especially if you have precious few minutes to get to your connection. She could see we were not happy with that solution and continued to search.

Minutes later she exclaimed, "Got it!" My ears perked up as she told us that there was a flight going to New York (JFK). That’s what we wanted to hear; we were back on track. She also informed us that we would be upgraded to first class, free of charge – indicating they may not be happy with her for doing so. Could it be? Could this woman really have been so nice and helpful to find a solution for us and our daughter that would be in our best interest and not the airlines? It could and she did.

I’m sure my smiling daughter (mixed with our comment about how she wouldn’t get to see her grandma) helped a bit, but it gives me hope that there are good people out there committed to doing the right thing for customers.

Education Event to Rank ‘Reformiest’ State

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Tom Schuman

Categories: Education

For those paying attention in Indiana, you know that "education reform" has been one of the most popular phrases of 2011. But the Thomas B. Fordham Institute is apparently not sure if Hoosier K-12 changes rank as the best in the Midwest.

On August 11, Fordham is hosting Education Reform Idol: The Reformiest State 2011. Indiana will be vying against neighbors Ohio and Illinois, nearby Wisconsin and oft-cited reform leader Florida. The 90-minute Washington, D.C. event will have a representative from each state (Tony Bennett does the honors for Indiana) making its case, with a prestigious three-person panel selecting the "winner."

Fordham is billing it as the "education policy event of the summer." Interested persons can watch a live webcast.

Having interviewed Bennett several times and heard him speak on numerous other occasions, the other panelists best beware. The superintendent of public instruction’s passion seems made for this type of event.

Brinegar: Time is Now for Right-to-Work

Posted on July 27, 2011 by admin

Categories: Business News, Government

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In light of this summer’s legislative Interim Study Committee meetings, Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar explains why the Chamber is advocating for a right-to-work law. Brinegar notes that Indiana’s Secretary of Commerce and site selection agencies across the country assert 40% of companies won’t consider relocating to states without right-to-work laws.

Going In-depth on Higher Ed Reporting

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Tom Schuman

Categories: BizVoice, Chamber News, Education

In case you missed it, it was announced yesterday that Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a $1 million grant from Complete College America. As the name suggests, the goal is to improve college completion rates — in Indiana and across the nation.

You can check out the governor’s press release. Seeing it prompted me to recall some of the interesting higher education stories I have had the privilege to write in recent years. I’ll share a few below — most relating in one form or another to the truly important college completion topic.

In early 2007, the article "Graduation Evaluation" revealed just how poor timely college completion rates are at many schools
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education’s grant proposal focused on redesigning remedial coursework at Ivy Tech (we updated the community college’s tremendous surge in "Growing Gains" in 2009) and supporting student success at regional campuses ("Breaking Down Walls" in March-April 2010 recently earned a national award for education reporting)
In addition, this year’s education issue featured a profile of Lumina Foundation President Jamie Merisotis. Read "Working to Educate America"
And, the person presenting the $1 million as the leader of Complete College America was none other than Stan Jones, Indiana’s longtime higher ed commissioner and the Indiana Chamber’s 2009 Government Leader of the Year

There is no underestimating the importance of education, no matter the level. It’s all about the young people of today, who will comprise our workforce and our leadership of tomorrow. The Chamber will continue its focus in its policy efforts, as will BizVoice through its reporting and analysis.

Social Media Not a Priority For All

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Tom Schuman

Categories: Business News, Technology

Does the bad news outweigh the good in this survey of executives regarding social media? You be the judge. I already gave my answer in the way I phrased the question.

First, the good news: Most executives think having a social strategy is important for their businesses.

In a May survey from Jive Software and Penn, Schoen and Berland, 78 percent of executives believe social media to be somewhat or very important, eMarketer reports.

Now, the bad. Only 27 percent of those executives are making social media a priority. About half of the remaining respondents say it’s necessary, but not at the top of their lists. The rest say it’s unnecessary or don’t know.

Those results match up pretty well to a May Forbes Insights poll of U.S. and U.K. marketing executives, where social media ranked next-to-last in a list of a dozen priorities for 2011, including customer retention, branding and direct marketing. However, for 2012, social media will jump to sixth on the list.

Eat Right America CEO to Keynote Wellness Summit

Posted on July 26, 2011 by admin

Categories: Wellness

Kevin Leville founded Eat Right America five years ago when he heard that the Center For Disease Control and Prevention had predicted that this generation of children would be the first in our nation’s history NOT to live as long as their parents. At the time, he was CEO of a successful marketing technology company whose clients included some of the most harmful consumer products. Instead of contributing to the problem, he closed his company and dedicated his career to developing nutrition programs for America’s families. As the keynote speaker at the Indiana Employee Health and Wellness Summit, Kevin’s presentation, "A Simple Solution to Your Company’s Health Crisis," will help you learn what employers and your community can do to make a difference.

Summit Investment
$199 for the first person, or send two employees and the second receives a 50% discount! Call Sarah at (800) 824-6885 to learn more about group discounts.

Registration
You may register online or by contacting Sarah at (800) 824-6885 or seminars@indianachamber.com.

Sponsorship
Interested in sponsoring? Opportunities are still available. Please call Jim Wagner at (317) 264-6876.

Companies Awarded for Supporting Employees in Uniform

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Charlee Beasor

Categories: Business News, Human Resources

Serving your country is no easy task. It takes heart, dedication and a love for country over a love for self.

Leaving family, friends, and oftentimes their full or part time jobs behind, American men and women in the National Guard and Reserves spend their precious time keeping us safe. It’s a common thing for families and friends of Guard and Reserve members to show their support through cards and care packages. What’s less common is the employers getting in on the action and lending a hand to the families and soldiers themselves.

However, some employers are working very hard on behalf of their men and women in uniform. Those employers are honored with the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest honor given by the United States Government to employers for their support of employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.

Just 145 companies have been given the award since it was established in 1996 with the backing of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). Fifteen awards are given each year and we’re pleased that a company with an Indiana presence – Hanson Professional Services, Inc. (headquartered in Illinois with a branch in Indianapolis) – is a recent recipient of the Freedom Award.

Hanson, an engineering consulting firm, was nominated by an employee serving in the Army National Guard, who wrote that Hanson provided pro-bono engineering assistance to a military unit working on a bridge in Iraq. Also, while he was deployed, the family of Hanson’s CEO took the Guardsman’s wife and daughters on a shopping trip to pick out care package supplies using money collected by co-workers. He also cited receiving care packages, letters and other correspondence from the company.

Other past recipients with Indiana ties include Indianapolis-based Perpetual Technologies, Inc. in 2009, Con-Way Freight (with a branch in Plainfield) in 2007, as well as Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Group (Midwest Airlines) in 2000.

Companies are nominated by their Guard and Reserve personnel, as well as their families. A national selection board of senior Defense officials and business leaders select the award recipients. The 2011 honorees will be recognized in Washington, D.C. at a ceremony on September 22.

For a full list of current and past recipients, visit www.freedomaward.mil.

Terry Bradshaw Coming to Indy; Talks New Labor Deal

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Rebecca Patrick

Categories: Chamber News

Being the sports nut that I am, it was pretty cool to interview NFL legend Terry Bradshaw last Friday for the Chamber’s BizVoice® magazine. The four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and current Fox NFL broadcaster is the featured speaker at our 2011 awards dinner this fall.

The excitement over the Super Bowl coming to Indianapolis should be building come November 17 when Bradshaw takes the stage at the JW Marriott. He said to expect some good stories, reflection and humor in his speech entitled, “Why Not Your Best.”

Thankfully, today it now seems assured we will have a football season. When I spoke with Bradshaw, he didn’t hold back on his feelings regarding the labor negotiations between the players and owners, the general public’s perception of it and how things used to be:

“To a fan, it’s greed vs. greed, but I’ve wanted to tell the fan this for years, for decades: The players were held in bondage. They were like Exodus in the Bible. The Israelites wanted out and the pharaoh wouldn’t let them go, and finally Moses came and performed his miracles and set his people free. That’s kind of what happened with the players. We didn’t have the freedom to move from team to team, we didn’t know what players were making, and we didn’t know what the teams were making and whether or not that little $40,000 check I got at the end of the year should have been making $400,000 or $500,000. The (first) CBA (collective bargaining agreement) forced them to open up the books.

Like any worker out there, if you’ve got a four- or five-year contract and it expires, and some other organization says ‘We want you to come over to our place,’ the Indiana Chamber of Commerce doesn’t have the right to say, ‘Wait a minute, we have a right of first refusal.’ You take the best offer and you part company. It’s all about money; always is. If somebody offers you twice what you make now, you’re leaving. This is the American way; it’s capitalism at its best.

The players only get roughly two negotiation periods in a football career, because the average life is only four years, I think. I’m definitely more inclined to support the players in this.

When it’s all said and done, the players are still going to be taken care of. The older people (retired players) are going to be taken care of; the pensions are going to be taken care of. There’s a lot of great things. And that’s why the CBA is taking so long. I do not blame the players for taking their time as I would insist they do, to make sure. Because it’s 10 years before they can come back and revisit. ‘Well, you didn’t talk about the helmet issue,’ … then it’s too late.”

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Monthly Archives: July 2011