They Are Building a Brand New JW Marriott to Celebrate NARMS 10th Anniversary

Mark Your Calendars for April 17-19, 2005 Tucson, Arizona
JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa Opens December 15th
NARMS is going to be ten years old this coming spring and we are planning the best conference ever.

The new JW Marriott Resort & Spa will host our conference. This will be one of Marriott’s newest properties and it looks to be spectacular. The resort opens December 15th. Tucson is a beautiful location in the spring and the weather will be delightful. All of this for a special room rate of $150.00 per night single/double. NARMS signed this contract over a year and a half ago and negotiated a great rate for our members. The quality of Marriott and the best and largest meeting rooms in the Southwest combined with a great rate will ensure a conference sell out.
Read more

NARMS Continues its Aggressive Advertising Campaign to Drive Companies to Search NARMS for Merchandising & Marketing Service Companies

NARMS continues to promote our Association and its members. With 460 members strong and growing, NARMS has become the place for manufacturers and retailers to find merchandising, sales marketing and event marketing companies. Being a part of NARMS means your company is one of the very best.

NARMS is advertising its members in various trade channel publications in order to make sure all of our members’ manufacturers and retailers better understand that if they need merchandising or marketing help NARMS is where you will find the leading companies in the industry.
Read more

Substance Abuse In The Workplace

One out of every six employees is a drug abuser. How many are working for you?

Some of us scoff at this statistic, convinced that it is an inflated figure or that it can’t be happening in our own companies. Others are even likely to respond with, “We don’t have a problem, if we did, I’d know,” or “It can’t happen to us.” Unfortunately, the evidence shows we are wrong on both counts.

While we go about our daily activities strategically vying for contracts, trying to meet production schedules and guarding against the tolls of recession, there is a hostile takeover under way. The raider is substance abuse. It undermines American businesses’ ability to compete in world markets.
Read more

SPEAKING OF SAFETY

Often, our clients ask us to provide training for their supervisors to train them to investigate “job related injuries”. When we hear this approach, it makes us realize that these clients, albeit good intent, are behind the eight-ball, in that they are suggesting that they will be waiting UNTIL an injury results from an accident before they investigate it. Our approach, and that of any good safety professional, is to investigate every accident, regardless of injury or outcome.

An injury is an outcome. The accident should be the subject of the investigation. Waiting for an injury to result to investigate is like waiting to be in a car crash to put your seat belt on…it is too late!
Read more

Seven Ways to Shape Up Your Budget, A top priority for small-business owners

Typically, an upper-to-middle income family operates under some sort of household budget. Yet, it’s not unusual for small-business owners to treat budgeting as a foreign concept. After all, annual budgets are only required by the corporate giants … right?

Wrong. In fact, creating a detailed budget is as important to small-business owners—if not more so—than it is to the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. The very survival of the business may be at stake.
Read more

From The NARMS Website To Yours

Almost 300 of the NARMS member companies have purchased an Expanded Listing for $520.00 for twelve months. In addition to receiving access to The Recruiter, companies who have the Expanded Listing are shown in our website membership directory in blue with a link to a bridge page. The bridge page holds your company logo, information about your company, an email link, and a hotlink to your website. This link is important because it gives those who are searching our members the opportunity to gather information about your company in two easy clicks.

New Search Criteria “Passed Proficiency Test”

If your company has purchased an Expanded Listing, you already have the tool — The Recruiter — to search for experienced field personnel to fill open positions.

The Recruiter is the NARMS national database of more than 42,000 profiles of field personnel seeking employment. We invite you to visit www.narms.com and under The Recruiter, “Submit a Data Profile” for a greater understanding of the information that becomes your search criteria.
Read more

Workers Compensation Confusion!

Because many member companies have expressed the need to understand workers compensation, I thought I would try to clear away some of the confusion.

Workers Compensation coverage was the result of a federal law which each state administers (thus, the confusion!). Each occupation is given its own code and classification. Each code and classification has a rate which is multiplied by per $100 of payroll to calculate the annual premium. Each rate differs by state. Sometimes even the classifications can change by state (Why California, Why!). Therefore, it is essential to properly underwrite your Workers Compensation coverage by class and payroll projection or you will face an additional premium at audit!
Read more

Human Resource Hints On Interviewing

Are you sure you are asking the right questions when you interview potential employees? When you are conducting an interview, consider what knowledge, skills, and abilities are required to perform the job. Ask thought provoking open ended questions to get the applicant to answer more than yes or no. Personal issues do not belong in an interview.

These are acceptable questions regarding:
Communication
How do you effectively communicate with superiors and/or coworkers?
What are characteristics of a good listener or an effective communicator?
How would you rate your communication skills and why? How would your coworkers rate your communication skills?
Professional Personal Qualities
How confident are you in your abilities to perform the duties of this position?
Tell me about a situation that would demonstrate the level of confidence that you have in yourself. Tell me about a situation that would demonstrate the level of confidence that your supervisor has in you. Tell me about a situation that would demonstrate the confidence your coworkers have in you. How would your supervisor describe you? How would your coworkers describe you? How do you handle confrontation with a coworker? Tell me about your best (worst) supervisor?
Judgment
Tell me about a situation that illustrates your ability to exercise good judgment.
Working under Pressure
Tell me about a situation that illustrates your ability to work under pressure. What experience have you had in pressure situations? What are some constructive methods of dealing with stress?
Responsibility
How do you handle responsibility? Tell me about the most significant responsibility you have had in your career and what it taught you.
Working independently
Tell me about a situation where you had to work independently.
Risk
Are you a risk taker? Tell me about the greatest risk you have taken in your job and how it turned out.
Customer Service
Do you have experience dealing with the public?
How do you successfully handle an irate customer? (The answer should include listening to the customer, letting the customer vent, identifying the problem, trying to solve the problem, and following up with the customer.)
How have you handled a dissatisfied customer in the past? What does good customer service involve?
Education and Experience
Tell me about your education and experience. How does your education and experience qualify you for this job? What are some of your greatest accomplishments at work? What makes you more qualified than other applicants for this position?
Leadership
What does leadership mean to you?
What personal qualities should a leader have?
What do you feel are your leadership qualities?
Productivity and Quality
What does productivity mean and how is it measured? How do you insure quality?
Career Goals
Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years? Five years ago, where did you think you would be today?
As stated earlier, personal issues do not belong in an interview. It is inappropriate to ask questions regarding age, race, disability, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, or religion.
Questions to Avoid
How old are you?
What year were you born?
When did you graduate high school?
Age is irrelevant unless you are concerned about child labor violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, in which case you can ask for proof that the applicant is old enough to work.
Are you married?
Is this your maiden or married name?
How many children do you have?
Do you plan to have children?
Are you pregnant?
Any questions relating to these issues may be construed as discriminatory and are not job related.
What race are you?
Are you a member of a minority?
What religion are you?
What religious holidays will you be taking off from work?
The EEOC guidelines prohibit asking questions that may reveal this information; rejected applicants could have grounds for a discrimination suit if any of these questions were part of the application process.
Have you ever been arrested?
Have you ever spent a night in jail? You may ask about convictions, but even then it would have to be relevant to the position in order to lead to immediate rejection.
Do you have any disabilities?
What is your medical history? Ask if you can perform specific duties of the position. The Americans with Disabilities Act makes it illegal to ask questions about an applicant’s disability or perceived disability - it is crucial to focus on the job, not on the disability.

Independent Food Brokers Of America Service Division Corner

The IFBA division of NARMS has made a great deal of progress since our last newsletter. Our membership drive continues, with 67 members joined to date. The new website search engine is up and running. Now more than ever, manufacturers and retailers can easily find independent food brokers through our detailed search engine system. I urge you to visit NARMS.COM and try out the search system. NARMS member records are currently searched over 25,000 times per month.
Read more