nwla business monthly - october 2012

Published By Specht Newspapers, Inc The Heartbeat of Northwest Louisiana Growth October 2012

How To Find(And Keep)

Super Employees

2 | October 2012 | BUSINESS MONTHLY

BUSINESS MONTHLY| October 2012 | 3

“You blind guides! You strain out agnat but swallow a camel.”

— Matthew 23:24, NIV

While I am not one to regularlyquote scripture in a business column,these strong words uttered by Jesusring very true in today’s business cli-mate.To put this verse in context,

Jesus was reading the riot actto the religious leaders of theday. He was pointing out theridiculous nature of some oftheir rules and laws, whileignoring the important thingsin their lives and the ministryin general.In business, we can fall vic-

tim to the same attitudes asthe Pharisees that Jesus wasrebuking. We focus so much onthe problem or situation infront of us at that very moment weoften miss the “big picture” or theunderlying cause or causes of ourtroubles.In business, there are usually two

kinds of managers — gardeners andfiremen.Gardeners tend to constantly

tweak, check and adjust their busi-nesses. They love the idea of takingon a project and helping it to grow.Firemen, on the other hand, only

jump into action when there is a fireto extinguish. They are very compe-tent at swooping in during an emer-gency, moving fast, and saving theday.Both types of managers have their

strengths, but neither fully grasp theentirety of their positions. And eachcould learn something from theother.Gardeners do not get rattled very

often, but their need to “work on thegarden” constantly can cause othersto feel “meddled with” or “not trustedto do the job.”Firemen are often slow to move.

Without smoke or flames, the fire-man does not even notice the poten-tial problem before it erupts. Then,when things ignite, the fireman tendsto break whatever is necessary to putout the fire, including camaraderie,loyalty and morale.It is the leader who can strike a

balance between being a gardenerand a fireman that really can see pos-itive, long-term progress in business.Like the gardener, a good manag-

er will keep a watchful eye on thedetails of the business, helping otherswithout meddling.Like the fireman, a good leader

will spring into action when neces-

sary, making swift and just decisionsthat preserve and protect the compa-ny.Getting back to the scripture, we

need to recognize what things rankhighest in importance for our busi-ness. These would be the guidingprinciples which are not negotiable.However, we also need to recog-

nize that items which are not part ofthe core principles may not be worthgetting “fired up” over. If all we do iscreate rules, policies and regulations,then we are not growing our busi-nesses. We are merely micromanag-ing them.Jesus saw how much damage the

religious leaders of the day weredoing to the Jewish faith. They wereso wrapped up in the regulations,they forgot the core values behindthem.As leaders in our own businesses,

we need to identify and keep our corevalues and principles at the forefrontof every decision we make. It is amaz-ing how many things we thoughtwere “camels” turn out to be just“gnats.”

DAVID SPECHT JR. is vice president of SpechtNewspapers, Inc. Read his blog about leadershipat www.DavidASpecht.com He may be reached viaemail at [email protected].

DAVID SPECHT JR.

Opinion

Are You A Firemanor a Gardener?

PERSPECTIVE THE FIRST WORD


ON THE COVER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

ATTRACTING THE BEST

FEATURES

11 TourismMeet the New Executive Directorof the Bossier Arts Council

14 New AdditionsBusiness Monthly PublisherAdds to Marketing Team

3 The First WordAre You A Gardener or a Fireman?

6 On the Economic Development FrontUnraveling the Mystery of Economic Growth

7 Marketing B-SFunding Your Marketing Plan

12 Win-Win PowertoolsWanted to Be Wanted

12 Insurance MattersRetirement Planning When Changing Jobs

PERSPECTIVE

Volume 3, Number 8©Copyright 2012 by Specht Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. Business Monthly is published each month by Specht Newspapers, Inc. at 4250Viking Drive, Bossier City, LA 71111. Telephone (318) 747-7900. Information in this publication is gathered from sources considered to be reliable,but the accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed.

Are We Truly Losing Our “Best” and “Brightest” to Neighboring States?Learn What Today’s Top Notch Employee Seeks From Their Job ...Starting on Page 5

CONTENTS

Find More Online at www.nwlabusiness.com

Heroes NeededApply Within

BY SEAN GREENWhen Google rose to the top of

the software boom in the late 90s,they instituted several employeebenefits that raised traditionalists’eyebrows. Free hair cuts? Freefood? A ball pit for grown ups? Itcan be very jolting in the worldwhere health care and sick leaveare the norm. But in the highly competitive

and lucrative world of SiliconValley, offering inventive perks notonly attracts the best and bright-est, it suits the non-traditionalworkforce.In other words, it comes with

the territory.So what can be learned 2,000

miles away? Well, for one, thinkingoutside the box when it comes tobenefits can attract certainemployees. But it can also keepyour bottom line lower.

With the rising cost of healthinsurance and other benefits,many organizations are looking forways to offer alternative benefits.There are some types of employ-

ee benefits that are mandated bylaw, including minimum wage,overtime, the Family MedicalLeave Act, unemployment, andworkers compensation and disabil-ity. But there are other types ofemployee benefits that employersare not required to offer, but chooseto provide to their employees.The most common form of bene-

fits is incentive-based pay — anincrease in salary of base pay dueto achievement of goals set by anemployer — and it is the mosteffective way to increase employeeperformance.A study published in

Performance ImprovementQuarterly found monetary incen-tives increased productivity by 27

percent compared to 13 percentwith other tangible incentives —gifts, vacations, meals.However, if your budget is tight,

there are other benefits thatattract and keep employees.These include traditional

employer benefits such as:n Health care — A company

pays for all or part of the healthinsurance premiums for theiremployees.

n Maternity/paternity/adoptionleave — Paid time off from workafter the birth or adoption of achild.

n Paid holidays/vacations —Compensation for recognized holi-days or other time not workedwhen a business may be closed orthe employee is permitted to taketime off from work.

n Sick leave — Pay for time offwork due to an illness.

n Retirement options — A sav-

ings program (such as a 401K)where employees can contribute acertain amount of their paycheckson a monthly basis throughouttheir term of employment, orallowing the employee to buyshares of company stocks.These benefits are still very

prevalent in the small and largebusiness workplace. The United States Bureau of

Labor Statistics reported in March2012 the majority of private indus-try workers had access to retire-ment, medical care, paid holidays,paid vacations, and paid sick leavebenefits.Access, or availability of a bene-

fit, was 57 percent for medical carebenefits in small establishments,compared with 89 percent in largeestablishments. In private indus-try, retirement benefits were avail-


FEATURE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

It Takes More Than A Competitive Salary, Studies Show

AttractingSuperEmployees

See, Benefits, Page 14


It is often a mystery what attractsdifferent corporations to the area ver-sus other areas that seemingly havesimilar offerings. The GBEDF hasbeen intimately involved in multipleconversations trying to lure com-panies and talent to this marketto help grow the tax base and theoverall community value andwhat they look for most is theemployee base they can selectfrom. Louisiana has produced some

of the best and brightest inworldwide business for yearswith names today that countNorthwest Louisiana has home.Starting about 7 or 8 years ago,Louisiana was looking for ways to stopthe “brain drain” out of our state andease populating the best and brightestfrom Louisiana into other states,hence, target markets where this tal-ent were going were identified such as,digital industries, software, entertain-ment. This was the genesis of theLouisiana media incentive. Theseincentives arguably have slowedgreatly that drain, created hundredsof thousands of jobs statewide and innorthwest Louisiana alone over thelast 5 years, show over a BillionDollars impact. This out of the boxthinking in attracting and keeping ourtalent, along with new talent and hasallowed the state of Louisiana to leadin several of these sectors nationally ingrowth.Recently announced projects that

looked at Louisiana and the talentbase were initially skeptical on whatwe as a northwest region could accom-plish in a labor pool. Ronpak’s recentannouncement occurred after a periodof research to determine what talentthis market can sustain within theirindustry. After meeting with likeminded local CEO’s and through theLouisiana Economic Development pro-gram FastStart, this new companyinvesting in the Port knows it can hireand sustain the human capital neededto be successful.

Investments GBEDF has made inlocal talent development programsthat have been offered at BPCC andother investments we have made infacilities like CoHab are made with

the intention of growing the talentbase needed to attract business to thismarket. GBEDF has been proud to bethe initial investors in many of theseprograms, recognizing that dividendspay off in these investments when wecan talk about what this area offers tobusiness, particularly when we get infront of them for the pitch aboutNorthwest Louisiana.Not all of these stories however

have a happy ending. One of thestrangest losses I encountered was aproject that we had worked on for sev-eral months that dealt with the manu-facture of juicers. The foreign (SouthAmerican) owned company was verydiligent in their research of incentivesand logistics to get their product madeand out to the consumers but lessonlearned, we neglected one personalelement that I haven’t encountered in20 years of work in this market. Whenthe choice was made to locate the facil-ity in Virginia they were kind enoughto offer what the deciding factorwas…..our areas lack of polo fields andpolo ponies was the deciding factor.You win some, you lose some!

DAVID “ROCKY” ROCKETT is Executive Director of theGreater Bossier Economic Development Corporation.

PERSPECTIVE ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRONT

Unraveling the Mysteryof Economic Growth

David Rockett

Opinion

As the Bossier Chamber windsdown from September’s PatriotAwards, the military relations com-mittee is already looking ahead to theplethora of events in October. Themonth known to most as atime to dress up as ghoulsand goblins, trick friends,and get treats from neigh-bors is also a month dedicat-ed to Barksdale Air ForceBase and admiringly called“Celebrate Barksdale.” TheBossier Chamber has sever-al events on the horizon tohonor and serve those thatserve this community.The Celebrate Barksdale

Reception on October 2nd at theCyber Innovation Center honors andrecognizes the outstanding leaders ofBarksdale Air Force Base. The roomis filled with the chatter from topbrass and senior officials, mixed withbuzz from major community leadersand business professionals. Thereception provides a relaxing andcasual atmosphere to network andshow appreciation for the leaders ofthe local military force. This year’sevent is sponsored by BarksdaleFederal Credit Union, CyberInnovation Center, ChesapeakeEnergy, Lockheed MartinCorporation, and Willis-KnightonHealth System. Ralph & Kacoo’s andthe Port City Big Band will providefood and entertainment. October 5th will be a day of serv-

ice, as the Chamber teams up withthe Military Affairs Council for theCelebrate Barksdale Picnic. TeamBarksdale will be treated to a cookout on base grounds and served byvolunteers from the community.Last year, the volunteers served hun-dreds of service members and theirfamilies and this year is expected tobe the same. The following Friday, October

12th, is a great chance to meet someof the fighting force on the lanes. TheMembers & Military BowlingTournament at Holiday Lanes fromnoon to 3pm pairs civilians with serv-ice members in a friendly competitionof strikes and gutter balls. All

Bossier Chamber members andBarksdale personnel are invited toparticipate, and businesses can spon-sor a military team or one of theirown.

Bowling Teams of Four are $250,which includes two games withshoes, lunch and networking! Thetop six teams will compete in a thirdgame for bragging rights and awards.The 2012 Lane Sponsor is BarksdaleFederal Credit Union. For moreinformation, contact [email protected]. The Bossier Chamber will end the

month with a free job fair on October23rd at the Bossier Civic Center from9am to 12pm. The Chamber haspartnered with the US Chamber ofCommerce, Goodwill Industries andthe City of Bossier City for a HiringOur Heroes event. Less than 15months after Hiring Our Heroes’inception in March 2011, the initia-tive has helped more than 10,000 vet-erans and family members findmeaningful employment. Businessesand Military Job Seekers can registerfor free at www.bossierchamber.comor hoh.greatjob.net.The Bossier Chamber is dedicated

to serving the military and their fam-ilies. Their sacrifices are not ignored,and we hope you’ll join us in sayingThank You this October. For busi-nesses with marquees and displaysigns, please consider changing yourmessage to “Celebrate Barksdale”with a note of support for those whoserve us every day.

LISA JOHNSON is President/CEO of the BossierChamber of Commerce.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE BOSSIER CHAMBER

Let the Chamber ConnectYou to the Military Community

LISA JOHNSON

Opinion


In my last two monthly columnsfor NWLA Business Monthly, we dis-cussed the essential elements of amarketing plan and the importancethereof. This is a vitally importanttopic for any business. A marketingplan should never be overlooked. Theabsence of such a plan could possiblyspell doom for your business, espe-cially if you are a brand newbusiness trying to get off of theground. Like I mentioned inthese columns, if you fail toplan, you can plan to fail.That being said, we must

now look at funding your mar-keting plan. To do this, youneed to create a marketingbudget. Pardon the analogy,but creating a marketing planwithout a marketing budget iskind of like buying a vehiclewithout tires or without the neces-sary fuel needed to make the vehicle’sengine run. You have to have yourmarketing plan funded as a part ofyour overall budget. It does not mat-ter what the budget number is, butcome up with a number (percentage)and stick to it! If you are a new busi-ness trying to get established, youmay want to dedicate a higher per-centage of your overall budget tomarketing. For the small or mediumsized business, this percentage willvary depending upon which businessor industry that you are a part of andalso by the size of your business. Itwill also depend upon how much youwant to grow your business and howfast you want to achieve this growth.Research statistics from both the

Service Corps of Retired Executives(SCORE) and the U.S. SmallBusiness Administration (SBA),show that the variable for your mar-keting budget should range some-where between 2% and 10% of sales.In certain industries, this percentagecan even be higher (sometimes up to20%) during the all-important “brandbuilding” years.In reality, almost all companies

under-spend in terms of their mar-keting budget. This move may saveyou money in the expense section ofyour Income Statement, but it will

cost you money in the revenue sectionof your Income Statement in terms ofthe lost revenues/sales you will expe-rience as a result of failing to bothproperly and adequately market andpromote your business. As the sayinggoes “you have to spend money tomake money.” The key then becomesspending your marketing/promotion-

al dollars wisely. To once again referback to my previous columns for thelast couple of months, you have todevelop a marketing plan. This mar-keting plan should incorporate all ofthe essentials of marketing that wehave previously discussed.Furthermore, your marketing planshould also incorporate how the prop-er marketing and promotion of yourcompany will help to fulfill your com-pany’s goals and vision for the future.All of these efforts will most definite-ly pay off for your company as theywill have a direct impact upon yourfuture sales and revenue. If you failin these efforts, no one will know thatyour business exists!Next month, we will discuss mar-

keting planning for 2013. We are fastapproaching the time to plan andbudget your 2013 marketing plan.You should start by assessing bothyour marketing successes and fail-ures for 2012. What worked well,what did not work??More on this next month.

RANDY BROWN. is Advertising Manager of theBossier Press-Tribune and a 11-year veteran of mar-keting and media in Northwest Louisiana. He maybe reached via email at [email protected].

RANDY E. BROWN

Opinion

How Do You Fund aMarketing Plan?

PERSPECTIVE MARKETING B-S (BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT)


When the Bossier ArtsCouncil hosted DigiFest South,the area’s first digital arts festi-val and career fair, it not onlyshined a spotlight on the fast-growing technology industry.DigiFest South, held in

September, also offered the com-munity a glimpse of what’s instore for the 32-year-old organi-zation under the leadership ofits new Executive Director,Leigh Chambers.Chambers, who was named to the

post in June and began in August, haslined up a series of exciting events andeducational programming designed toappeal to people of all ages.“My primary goal is to serve the

(Bossier Arts Council) mission state-ment – to promote, support and pro-vide cultural activities to enhance thequality of life for Bossier Parish,” saidChambers. “I’m one of those peoplewho tries to live up tothat and do what I canto find ways to engagepeople on multiple lev-els.”Some of the new pro-

grams include Stop-Over Saturday, amonthly series that willoffer a variety of classes, tours andactivities to connect with the commu-nity and showcase the facility. Theseries will kick off with The Art ofImprov, Oct. 13, a lesson in improvisa-tional acting featuring a class for chil-dren and a separate one for adults.Then, there’s the Studio Spotlight,Nov. 3, which will include an introduc-tion of featured artists and a guided

tour of their studios as well as thegallery. Finally, the series will con-clude for the year with a Kids-OnlyDrop Off Party, Dec. 1, where chil-dren, ages 5 and older, can enjoy arts,crafts, movies, snacks and more. Starting in October, the BAC will

host Artist One Stop, a businessresource center that will provideartists with important entrepreneur-ial tools through a series of free class-es. “They’ll be able to get tips on howto do their resumes, write a budget,make presentations for gallery show-ings… And it’s not just for visualartists, but for all artists, includingactors, writers, etc.,” Chambers said.The BAC will also team up with the

Robinson Film Center to host fourMovies and Moonbeams events, whichinclude a children’s movie, fun activi-ties and more.In addition, they’ve established an

internship program for high schooland college students. The programhas begun with four interns, so far,who assist with everything from coor-dinating volunteers for DigiFestSouth and running the BAC gift shopto designing graphics for marketingmaterials and managing grants.“Everything we do is about empower-

ing the community and showing thisas a place for the arts,” she said. Chambers is no stranger to the arts

world. The Broken Arrow, Okla.native earned her undergraduatedegree in theater at NortheasternState University before obtaining herMaster of Arts degree in non-profitadministration at Louisiana TechUniversity. Prior to coming toShreveport-Bossier, she served forthree years as Executive Director ofthe North Central Louisiana ArtsCouncil in Ruston.Though she’s hit the ground run-

ning, the 29-year-old said she’s enjoy-ing the ride. “I’m moving and groovingand loving it,” she said.Chambers said she’s especially

encouraged with how the communityhas welcomed her. “I’ve been sopleased with the connection we havewith BPCC and LSUS. And so manyfrom the private sector helped with

DigiFest South,” she said. “It’s justnice to know I live and work in a placewhere people not only recognize thearts, but recognize the part it plays inour culture and economy.”The Bossier Arts Council is located

at 630 Barksdale Blvd. in BossierCity. Call them at (318) 741-8310,visit their blog atwww.bossierarts.blogspot.com/ or findthem on Facebook and Twitter tolearn more details about their upcom-ing events and programs. Visit theShreveport-Bossier Fun Guide atwww.shreveportbossierfunguide.comto learn more about other Shreveport-Bossier events.

DONECIA PEA works with media relations at theShreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau.

PERSPECTIVE TOURISM

New Bossier Arts Council DirectorAims to Engage Community

DONECIA PEA

Opinion

Courtesy Photo/Nancy LarnedThe Bossier Arts Council hosted DigiFest South at the Bossier Civic Center in September.The event highlighted the ever-growing digital arts industry in the area.

Chambers

New DirectorNew Direction


Years ago I was interviewing a topflight candidate for a sales position Ihad open. I knew her well and thoughtI had answers for all of her questions.At one pause in the conversation, sheleaned forward, looked me directly inthe eyes and asked me… “Doyou want me to work for youand your company?” There hadto have been a surprised look onmy face. She maintained the eyecontact. So did I. “Yes” I said. “Iwant you to work for me.” It was a teachable moment

for Jerry. She already knewabout the money. Her decisionwas being based on if she wastruly wanted. We worked suc-cessfully together for many years. Itwas profitable for both of us.I should have known better. I

should have remembered my experi-ence in the business school at theUniversity of Texas in Austin. My pro-fessor asked the class to reviewresearch on what motivates people. Ithought that I already knew. Money!As I stared at the list, I couldn’tbelieve my eyes. Money didn’t showup on the list of motivators until num-ber five. As I grew my career and faced the

challenge of finding, hiring andretaining good employees, I remindedmyself that it is not all about the pay-check. Employees want and needmore. That brings me to you. Whatelse do you or your company offer thatwill attract the good, if not great,employees? As you read, see what you might

add that is cost free and meaningful:

Listen Show interest in me and my workObserve what I doAppreciate what I doRecognize what I do well in front of

others

Allow me to contributeAllow me to make mistakes and

learnHelp me growEncourage me to share ideas Share your ideas with meAsk for my opinionLearn about my goalsHelp me reach my goalsIf these seem like good ideas to you,

share them and implement. Sharewith candidates. Implement for yourteam so they can do twothings….Want to stay withyou….Want to share them with poten-tial future employees.

JERRY FRENTRESS, AKA: "The Power Tools Guy," is aSpeaker and Trainer for Sales, Service and Life. Visit hiswebsite at www.WinWinPowerTools.com, or onFacebook: www.facebook.com/winwinpowertools.

PERSPECTIVE WIN WIN POWER TOOLS

JERRY FRENTRESS

Opinion

Wanted to be WantedChanging jobs can be stressful, between

wrapping up tasks with your former employ-er and adjusting to your new position andresponsibilities. But when you pack up yourpersonal belongings to move on to your newplace of employment, don’t forgetabout your retirement plan.While these funds are valuable

now, they’re invaluable for yourfuture, so making an informed deci-sion about what to do with them isimportant. Thankfully, you haveseveral options, although somemay be more financially advanta-geous than others.

Rollover To A Traditional IRAYou can take control of your

funds with a rollover to a Traditional IRA.This is a lump-sum distribution from yourprevious employer’s 401(k) that is depositeddirectly into a Traditional IRA.The amount you rollover to a Traditional

IRA isn’t subject to income taxes, nor does ittrigger a 10 percent penalty tax for an earlywithdrawal. Plus, with a Traditional IRA,your assets remain in a tax-deferred plan.You may opt for a Traditional IRA if you

like greater control over your retirementassets. After all, employer plans aredesigned to meet the needs of many people,not just yours, and you may have differentinvesting ideals. In addition, you may wantto simplify your retirement planning by hav-ing all of your investments with one financialprovider.

Leave Your Money With YourPrevious EmployerQuite possibly, you can do nothing. The

easiest action may be leaving your assets inyour previous employer’s retirement plan,but keep in mind that you’ll remain limitedto that plan’s investment choices and payoutoptions. If you do this, be sure to keep yourcontact information up-to-date so you’ll con-tinue to receive statements and other perti-nent information.Generally, you’re only able to leave your

money in your previous employer’s plan ifyour account balance is over $5,000. Reviewyour current plan carefully for its specificconditions.

Rollover To New Employer’s PlanYou may be able to move your assets

from your former employer’s plan directlyinto your new employer’s plan. This directrollover allows your money to remain invest-ed in a tax-deferred plan, and you incur notaxes or penalties for the move. (Transfer is

a different process and that term causes con-fusion in this context.)You’ll want to review the investment

choices and flexibility in your new employer’splan. Investment choices and withdrawalsmay be more limited than your previousemployer’s plan. In addition, you may haveto wait a year or more to be eligible to partic-ipate.

Cash Out Of Your Old PlanYou don’t have to wait until you retire to

access the money in your retirement plan.It’s yours, and cashing out will provide youwith a lump-sum cash distribution in theform of a check payable directly to you.Be forewarned: There are many caveats

to this option, mainly that you’ll have deplet-ed your retirement savings account and willneed to start over again. Also, you won’treceive the balance of your account ? thatamount will be taxed significantly. Not onlywill you pay income tax on the distribution,your employer will be required to withhold20 percent for federal income tax purposes.You may also be assessed a 10 percent penal-ty tax for making a withdrawal from a401(k) before age 59½.

Keep An Eye On The FutureRemember, saving and planning is key to

a comfortable retirement. Whatever youchoose to do with your 401(k) when youchange jobs, be sure your decision is in linewith your retirement goals.

KARY LANDRY is a State Farm® agent in Bossier City.

KARY LANDRY

Opinion

Looking to Change Jobs?Don’t Forget Your Retirement

PERSPECTIVE INSURANCE MATTERS


You have certainly heard it before –if a job opening exists but a job seekernever sees it, does it really exist at all?Well, you’ve heard something alongthose lines anyway.What you have definitely

heard, and likely experiencedin your own life as a parent,aunt, brother or friend, is thatloved-one is moving away fromNorth Louisiana to one ofthose big shiny cities wherethey say jobs are plentiful,opportunities for a career arebetter.At the North Louisiana

Economic Partnership, we reg-ularly visit with existing employers inour region, sometimes just to check inand see how business is holding up,and other times because there is a spe-cific opportunity or challenge they arefacing. In many of these meetings,employers are stressed because theyare having trouble finding the employ-ees they need to keep business run-ning smoothly.Upon further questioning, we often

discover that the employer prefers touse word of mouth from existingemployees as their primary recruit-ment tool, because it has worked forthem in the past. For many smallbusinesses, the business owner servesas the HR manager and recruiter.They often argue that if they post a jobopening out there in the world – in thenewspaper, on Monster or another joblisting site – they receive a barrage ofresumes from people clearly not quali-fied based on the job description, andthey have to spend lots of time weed-ing through all of them to find maybeone or two worth calling. That is valu-able time they are not spending oper-ating their business, and for them it’snot worth it.Another common complaint from

employers is that in addition to nothaving the time to screen the resumesof inappropriate candidates, they donot market job openings because it isexpensive to list them in the newspa-

per, or on highly visible job sites likeMonster.Let’s look at this situation from the

job seeker’s perspective. You have justgraduated from a university, commu-

nity college or technical school, ormaybe are a few years into your firstreal job and are thinking about tryingto grow your experience portfolio soyou can move up the career ladder.You get on the Internet and search forwhat is available in the local market,but you find little out there for peoplewith your skill set. So you naturallyassume there are no jobs for you herein North Louisiana and decide to moveto a city where you hear jobs are plen-tiful.This is a very real scenario. It hap-

pens every day. You’ve heard itreferred to as “brain drain,” the loss ofour most skilled and educated resi-dents to other communities.To employers in North Louisiana

that struggle to find qualified candi-dates, I offer a few suggestions. First,consider using a staffing agency.There are many well-regarded staffingagencies in our region that will beeager to work with you. Visitwww.workthisway.org/job-seeker-links/ to view a list of them and linksto their websites. Another inexpensive solution is to

establish relationships with CareerServices offices at regional collegesand universities. Most often it is freeto post your job openings with them,and it is rare to find a college studenttoday that is not required to have an

PERSPECTIVE ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRONT

ANGIE WHITE

Opinion

Let Job OpportunitiesSee the Light of Day

See, WORKTHISWAY, Page 14


internship as a requirement for grad-uation, so you know they haveacquired some experience in a worksetting. And most all career servicesoffices market their services to alum-ni as well as current students, so youmay be able to find candidates withsignificant experience.At a minimum, if your company

has a website you should be postingjob openings there (it’s free), so thatwhen a qualified candidate is lookingfor jobs online there is a higherchance they will find you. If yourbusiness has a Facebook page, that isanother excellent way to let job seek-ers know you have an opening.This will seem like a lot of work to

small businesses. And it is. Butwhat is the risk to your business ifyou continue to struggle to find tal-ent? What is the risk to our region ifwe don’t halt the brain drain? Inorder to address these very real con-cerns, jobs that offer family-sustain-ing wages and opportunity for careergrowth will have to come out of hid-ing.

ANGIE WHITE is Vice President of Workforce Marketingat the North Louisiana Economic Partnership. She over-sees the North Louisiana Employment OpportunitiesNetwork, or NEON, which uses online tools to marketNorth Louisiana and its employers to job seekers. Learnmore at www.workthisway.org.

Continued from Page 13

WORKTHISWAY: Companiesneed to be be active insearch for employees

able to 50 percent of workers in smallestablishments, 79 percent of work-ers in medium size establishmentsand 86 percent of workers in largeestablishments.But the idea of incentives has

changed over time. Now, especiallyyounger employees, are cherishingAlternative Benefits — optionsoffered to employees outside thescope of traditional benefits such as avacation savings program, pet insur-ance, or even paid “nap time.”Alternative Benefits trends

include:n Cafeteria plans — Employees

typically receive a certain dollaramount from the company for bene-fits each year and the employee thenhas the choice of the benefits and pro-gram levels in which they wish toparticipate.

n Supplemental insurance —Employees can group different insur-ance needs such as disability, hospi-tal indemnity, accident, or cancerwith their other benefits through theemployer.

n Pet insurance — A policy thatcovers medical problems for dogs,cats, birds, and other exotic pets.

n Vacation savings programs —Payroll deductions that allow

employees to save up for their vaca-tions.

n Health savings accounts —Paying for any medical expenses notcovered by regular health insurancewith the option to withdraw thesaved money when time for retire-ment or to move on.

n Wellness programs — Plansthat cover gym memberships, mas-sages, stress relief products, orhealthy lifestyle education courses.

n Breaks/entertainment options— A regular option for employees topartake in company-sponsored team-building or educational trips (such ascamping trips or visiting conferencesout of town), free lunches, or built-inbreak time (naps, free snacks in thebreak room, an office pool table, avideo game system in a pre-deter-mined lounge).In these troubling economic times,

it is proven that money doesn’talways speak the loudest. There areways to keep morale high among staffwithout spending a lot of money inthe process.

SEAN GREEN is managing editor of the Bossier Press-Tribune and a contributor to Business Monthly. He maybe reached via email at [email protected].

Benefits: It’s Not JustHealth Insurance AnymoreContinued from Page 5

The Bossier Press-Tribune hasannounced the addition of DeniseOgletree and Cyndi Crocker to itsadvertising and marketing team.“This is a big step forward for the

BPT. We are very excited to haveboth Denise and Cyndiwith us as a part of oursales team and ourteam at large here atthe BPT,” saidAdvertising ManagerRandy Brown. “I lookforward to workingwith them and to usbecoming Bossier's marketingteam.”Crocker, a Wisconsin native, mar-

ried her husband, Todd, in Marchand the pair now calls Bossier Cityhome.Mother of two daughters and one

son — Chrystine, 19; Emily, five;and Johnathan, 17.Her hobbies include photography,

computers, meeting new people, see-ing new sights, and spending timewith her husband and families.“I am very excited to make

Bossier City my new home and tostart my career at the Bossier Press-Tribune,” exclaimed Crocker.Born in Freehold, NJ and raised

in San Diego, Calif., Ogletree movedto Haughton in 1997.

She met her husband andHaughton native, of 17 years whilehe was stationed on a ship in theNavy in San Diego. They have abeautiful daughter named Mirandathat is a junior at Haughton High

School and three dogs— two labs and a“goofy” great danenamed Lilie. A 2005 graduate of

Bossier ParishCommunity College,Denise said she was “inthe company of some of

the greatest educators (she'd) evermet.” Her hobbies include watching her

daughter play softball, makingrecipes she has discovered onPinterest, and dabbling in craftssuch as sewing and scrapbooking.She recently began playing tennisand is also an active member ofQuota of Shreveport, serving as thevice president.“I am excited to see our team at

the BPT grow and meet the needs ofthe community,” said PublisherDavid Specht, Jr.The Bossier Press-Tribune pub-

lishes NWLA Business Monthly.

— BUSINESS MONTHLY

Business Monthly PublisherExpands Advertising Team

NEWS BUSINESS PEOPLE

Ogletree Crocker

nwla business monthly - october 2012

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