The alarm industry in New Jersey hit the jackpot this year as the New Jersey Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (NJBFAA) 2010 Symposium held in Atlantic City continued to grow strong, surpassing expectations and providing a well rounded convention filled with attendees, exhibitors, training, important guests and camaraderie.

Held January 27-29 at the Tropicana Hotel, the 2010 Symposium shattered attendance records with more than 600 people attending the training, Expo, and General Meeting.

With the August 2010 licensing deadline quickly approaching, the three-day event was built around training and license renewal. The association offered 21 training classes, for a total of 16 NJ-Approved CEUs, allowing many of the NJBFAA members to complete their training requirements.

Classes ranged from technology, legal and sales sessions and included courses such as Basic Alarms and Card Access, Electricity 101, Six Sigma for the Security Industry, Fire Alarm Inspection Test and Maintenance of Existing Systems, NFPA 72 – The National Fire Code, The Art of Buying and Selling an Alarm Company and Customer Needs Focused Selling. Classes were given by well-known industry veterans including Bob Shoremount, Eric Pritchard, Esq, Jeffrey Zwirn, John Drucker and Joe Russotto.

Outside of each training class, fingerprint biometric machines were placed to help streamline the state-required sign in process. This gave each member an opportunity to interface with technology that relates to the security industry and to add to their company’s offerings.

The Expo portion of the symposium also was increased dramatically. The 28,000 square foot expo floor area was over 4 times the size of the venue in 2009.  The floor was filled with 62 vendors, nine carving stations, and five open bar areas.   A total of $10,000 in door prizes was raffled to attendees.

The ESA (formally NBFAA) supported the NJ state association with representatives attending the Symposium.   On the tradeshow floor, ESA distributed important industry information, and spent some one-on-one time with the members.  They helped close the General Meeting with a reminder of all the benefits of belonging to ESA and the NJBFAA.

“We are truly proud of the dedication and collaboration of every member of our association who attended the Symposium and who helped in making it possible,” said Chris Mack, NJBFAA president. “I’d like to add a special thanks to ESA for their support, attendance and encouragement.”

The last day of the event included the NJBFAA General Meeting Session and Luncheon.  A new Board of Directors was elected, and prominent members of the Association were recognized.

Ira Hosid from I.R.A Security was voted Dealer of the Year, Joe Camarata from Mid-Atlantic Reps was chosen as Associate-Member of the year.  From the public sector, the NJBFAA recognized Chief John F. Lightbody of Ocean County, NJ and special guest, the Honorable Vincent Prieto was the recipient of the NJBFAA Distinguished Public Service Award. The final presentation honored Chris Mosley, past president and owner of Complete Security Systems with the President’s Award.

“The 2010 Symposium was well run and the training classes were top-notch,” said attendee Bill Chernack, owner of Alarms Plus of Flanders, NJ. “The association did a phenomenal job of putting on one of the most professional and well attended conventions I have been to. As an alarm company owner, I received more than I could have hoped for, especially being able to complete the licensing requirements.”

Following more than two years of determined effort, and overcoming steep opposition, the Electronic Security Association (ESA) is pleased to announce that the New York State Apprenticeship Council has approved the New York Burglar & Fire Alarm Associations application for a Unilateral Apprenticeship and Training program for the occupation of Protective Signal Installer (Fire Life Safety and Electronic Security Installer).

The approval of the apprenticeship program will guarantee New Yorkers working in the electronic security industry an opportunity to submit bids on construction work in New York. A series of new local ordinances requires companies to have an apprenticeship program, whether prevailing wage or not. Because of these ordinances large security and fire alarm jobs were previously beyond the industry’s reach.

ESA’s apprenticeship standards were federally approved in September 2006. Following federal approval, interested ESA Chartered Chapters are required to locally adopt these standards and file with the state agency for approval. The acceptance of the application gives NYBFAA member and non-member companies the ability to fill the void for qualified security and fire alarm technicians in New York and to provide structured, quality training to the industry at a reasonable cost.

“It took 28 months from application to approval but the ESA apprenticeship program was finally accepted,” said Ron Petrarca, former chair of ESA’s Apprenticeship Committee. “During our lengthy application process we watched and applauded the ESA Chartered Chapters Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada as they obtained their registered apprenticeship programs. Their success also reinforced our conviction that this was an important effort to the future of our industry and gave us the incentive to continue on with the job of securing a registered program in the state of New York.”

Michael A. Miller, president of the Electronic Security Association, said, “This is exciting news for NYBFAA. We want to commend Ron Petrarca who has worked so diligently on this apprenticeship program, along with members of the NYBFAA. We know, at the New York state level, that Ron has been the main driver of this effort and we truly appreciate all he has done.”

Looking for new employees? The Security Industry Recruiting center is the only job bank specifically designed for electronic security installation and manufacturing companies. Go to www.alarm.org and click on Security Industry Recruiting Center to find the qualified and talented help you need to fill your job vacancies.

As the founder or owner of your business, you create the vision but your employees define what the business is to customers. Are the majority of your employees meeting your expectations, and delivering the consistent level of service and professional productivity that you and your business require?  Are you satisfied with the revenue and profitability that each of your employees is generating for your business?

If your answer to both of these questions is “yes”, you are very fortunate indeed!

On the other hand, if you’re frustrated by employees who don’t reach your expectations…aren’t happy with your revenue and profitability, and are continually looking for good job applicants, you are not alone.

Because labor costs are typically second only to material costs, the tools and systems provided by Willow Creek Consultants (www.willowcc.com) have been proven to reduce labor costs and improve profitability.  By combining the best tools on the market with the latest technology in Internet-based delivery, even the smallest company has access to human resource capabilities typically found only in large corporations.  Programs from Willow Creek Consultants include:

• Labor law compliance
• On-line job applications
• Employee selection and background screening
• Performance evaluations
• Leadership development programs

Changing business practices involves risk.  Willow Creek Consultants has been successful at taking the risk out of change.  Our tools and systems meet or exceed all government requirements and are used successfully by over 35,000 companies worldwide.  We provide training seminars and newsletter articles to educate on simple tips and techniques that improve productivity at little or no cost.  Then, at no cost, we provide a 30-minute Confidential Needs Analysis to identify specific problem areas and improvement opportunities.  A no-cost demonstration allows you the chance to see how their programs provide immediate improvements, without adding administrative burden.  There is no long-term subscription or service contract to fulfill.  Assessment tools and support services are charged at an as-used price, with additional discounts for volume purchases.

To learn more visit our website: www.willowcc.com.  Or, give us a call at (208) 762-8638 or email Vicki@willowcc.com to request your free Confidential Needs Analysis. As an ESA Member Value Program, ESA members will receive a discount on consulting fees, from $120 per hour to $90 per hour, and a 10 percent discount on other services and products.

Willow Creek Consultants specializes in “maximizing workforce potential”.  The principals of Willow Creek Consultants, Steve and Vicki Wilson, have over 50 years of combined human resource experience.  Steve has been certified as a Staffing Specialist (NAPS) and a Professional Employer Specialist (NAPEO).  Vicki has been certified as a Professional in Human Resources (SHRM).

Don’t miss out on a single benefit of NBFAA membership. Go to the Web site often and check out the coupon savings and our member discount programs. If you’re not using these companies, you might be leaving money on the table.

Members, get more information on each of our discount programs and access your discount codes here.

Take a look at this week’s Member Benefit Spotlight:

Security Industry Recruiting Center is Open for Business
Looking for that perfect employee? Many qualified people are currently looking for a job opportunity, making now a great time to post your current job openings on the Security Industry Recruiting Center job board. It takes only minutes to list open positions and in no time, you could be reviewing resumes and finding the right employees for your business. Try it today – go to www.alarm.org and click on Security Industry Recruiting Center.

Security Sales & Integration magazine and NBFAA are looking for NBFAA member company photos for our print, electronic and website communications.

While stock photos have their place – we prefer to run action shots of actual installing and service technicians, engineers, central station personnel, etc… doing what they do on a daily basis – running wire, mounting hardware, configuring software, drilling holes, pulling gear out of a truck, interacting with customers or holding a meeting.

So if you have recent high-resolution photos of your operation, people, offices, vehicles, and/or jobsites, you may be on your way to 15 minutes of fame! Please send them to Laurie Knox, NBFAA Director of Communications either by email – lauriek@alarm.org – or on disc by mail to:

Laurie Knox
NBFAA
2300 Valley View, Suite 230
Irving, TX, 75062.

Submission of photos implies authorization for NBFAA and Security Sales & Integration magazine to use the photos in electronic, print and website communications. All photos must be at least 300 dpi resolution and at least 3 inches by 3 inches in size at that resolution, in either jpeg, tiff or eps format.

This is not a one-time opportunity – feel free to share photos of this nature on an ongoing basis!

By Harvey Clark, Lewis and Clark Enterprises LLC

The United States workforce has changed dramatically. Employers have the difficulty of finding qualified and talented people to work in the continental U.S., and therefore, many U.S. corporations have moved part or their manufacturing, assembly and call center operations to other countries. Some experts blame the cost of labor and benefits, others argue Americans are lazy and some claim that corporate greed, driven by expectations of profits to shareholders, is to blame.

This departure to other countries for labor has created problems for management, now faced with an extensive diverse global workforce. It has forced employers to recognize and implement cultural diversity awareness training.

Cultural diversity has several dimensions and they need to be examined and considered in developing programs for the workplace. An individual’s character, values, ethics, communication styles, and attitude toward authority are derived from a combination of these dimensions. Programs should include information on religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomics and disabilities. Additionally, education, income, where they live and work experience should be included.

As an example, when traveling to a foreign country where a person knows and understands little of the native customs, language, or its culture, he or she might make a statement with good intentions only to learn afterward it caused embarrassment, or worse, insulted someone.

Recently, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Russia and offered a gift of a “Red Button” to indicate the “resetting” of the commitment of the two countries to work together in peace. The Russian translation was supposed to read “reset,” however, “reset” was mistranslated and printed as “overcharged,” on the button. This was not only embarrassing for Clinton but also the United States.

In another more common case, when attempting to make someone understand what is being said, a person just raises their voice, repeating it louder the second time, thinking the other will understand it better, only to find out he or she is not deaf and that hearing is not the problem.

In a 2005 article, A Workplace Diversity Training and Management Model, Mitra Toossi was quoted as saying, “The composition and growth of the labor force in the United States from 2002 to 2012 will be significantly impacted by the aging of the ‘baby boom’ generation made up of those participants who were born between 1946 and 1964. It is projected that by 2012, youth will be made up of 15 percent of the labor force. The Hispanic labor force will reach 23.8 million by 2012.” (Toossi, 2004) This increase is in part due to the massive immigration levels America is experiencing at its borders, particularly from Mexico. “The United States Department of Labor in 1987 made projections that minorities and women would make up 80 percent of the workforce by 2012.” (Toossi, 2004)

When developing a cultural awareness training program in the workplace, research is clear. In order to foster honesty and trust in the workplace environment, employers should create a non-threatening management training program. This fosters a more positive and productive work atmosphere. In order to be successful, senior management must value and support this level of training, understanding that changes in culture take time. Training modules need to be taught not only to existing employees but also to all new hires. Some companies may consider a program director that would be responsible for the design, implementation and training of cultural awareness in the workplace.

The National Academy of Engineers (NAE) recognized the problem years ago and has done extensive research and development into programs of cultural diversity. In 2001, NAE provided workshops in Washington D.C., hosted by the academy’s committee on diversity in the engineering workforce. The workshops were designed to stimulate interaction and share information about successful corporate programs. More than 70 representatives from companies were present.

NAE’s president, William A. Wulf, stated, “As a consequence of lack of diversity, we pay an opportunity cost, a cost in designs not thought of, in solutions not produced.” (Diversity in Engineering: Managing the Workforce of the Future. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press, 2002; on line at {www.nap.edu}).

A few notable companies present were IBM, Motorola, Consolidated Edison (ConEd), Texaco, and Ford Motor Company. Jim Padilla, vice president of Global Manufacturing for Ford said, “As company leaders, we are challenged daily to be flexible and to recognize that there are as many ways to do a job as there are people in the world. True diversity, I believe, celebrates the rich qualities and experiences employees bring to their jobs each day and considers those qualities to be among the company’s greatest assets. This, of course, is a matter of fairness and justice, but is also good business.”

As our country and the global economic conditions continue to fluctuate and many businesses reduce workforces, the need and challenge to find qualified workers will continue to demand business owners and corporate America to commit to non-traditional sources for new hires and the development and implementation of a good diversified training program. Employers understand the high costs and value of recruiting, hiring, training and keeping good employees. The costs are even higher if an employer must replace even one employee. Having and maintaining a diverse workforce may give employers a competitive advantage in being able to provide better service. With proper training employers can expect to improve and increase working relationships with their staff, clients and suppliers.

References:

Russette, J., Scully, R., & Preziosi, R. (2008, January). LEADERSHIP ACROSS CULTURES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 7, 47-61. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from Business Source Complete database

A confidential survey presented by NBFAA, Security Dealer & Integrator and SecurityInfoWatch.com seeks data on industry wages.

This survey should take only a few minutes to complete and will provide valuable information for the security industry to use in the future.

It is designed for employees and employers from security and fire systems installing, monitoring and servicing companies. Your answers are completely anonymous. Once the survey is completed, statistical results of the survey will be available from NBFAA, as well as from Security Dealer & Integrator magazine and SecurityInfoWatch.com.

Please start the survey now by clicking on the link below:

http://securitywagesurvey.questionpro.com/