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Yesterday, the Neponset River Regional Chamber along with statewide and regional business associations from across the Commonwealth have launched the Massachusetts Business Coalition on Skills (MBCS). The new statewide coalition will advocate for policies that develop the skills of our current and future workforce.
The MBCS formed because there are two sides to the skills gap and both can drag job and economic growth. On the employer side, it is difficult to find qualified talent: a 2019 survey by coalition member Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) found that 73% of Massachusetts employers find it “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” to find people with the right skills to fill open positions. For workers, new skills are the springboard to job opportunities and growth: a 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that 87% of working adults believe developing new skills throughout their work life will be “essential” or “important” to career success. Over the last year, members of the Coalition’s steering committee researched, discussed, and refined policy proposals to address both the employer and employee side of the skills gap. The recommendations aim to leverage the state’s entire workforce, not just graduates with 4-year degrees, by creating a statewide standard of essential skills, expanding access to career and vocational technical education (CVTE), and incentivizing employers to provide ongoing skills training to employees. Closing the skills gaps in Massachusetts requires targeted solutions. As part of the coalition’s launch, the MBCS releases its policy agenda aimed at ensuring every resident can acquire the in-demand skills needed to be successful in the workforce. The MBCS’s policy agenda includes the following seven priority areas:
We look forward to working with our partners across the state to advance this agenda and begin to match worker's skills with existing job vacancies. Tom O'Rourke, CCE President and CEO The Chamber is combining physical wellness with financial wellness.
By now you have heard about our new membership offering of 401(k) plans for small business. To help celebrate and promote the program, we are hosting a 4.01k virtual road race on, you guessed it, 4/01. April 1st! And we are not fooling. To participate in the virtual race, simply sign up on our website here. You can run alone or as a company team. 4.01k is just 2.5 miles, so almost anyone can do it. You run at the time and place of your choosing any time between 4:01 pm on Thursday, 4/1 through 4:01 pm on Saturday, 4/3. Take a selfie of your watch and send us your time. It's that simple. Not a competitor? No problem, just get out and walk or run at your own pace and send us a selfie anyways. After a long cold winter we could all use it. Thanks to Norwood Bank's sponsorship we will have t-shirts for all participants and prizes for the winner's. Our goal is to encourage folks to get out and exercise in a COVID safe manner, have some fun and also to promote our new 401(k) retirement program. You can learn more about this money saving program here. Tom O'Rourke, CCE President and CEO The Chamber's 127th Annual Meeting celebrated the accomplishments of several area businesses and was highlighted by remarks from Scott Nickerson of Moderna.
Normally we recognize a few of our members for their contributions to the community and to the Chamber, but the past year was anything but normal, so instead, we felt it was appropriate to recognize “COVID Heroes Among Us”. We presented awards to a business or person who had done something special to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic or who has changed their business model to find success in new ways. Congratulations to the following award winner's!
We also heard from Scott Nickerson from Moderna about the incredible story behind their successful efforts to develop a vaccine against COVID-19. This included the development of their mRNA technology and expanding their manufacturing facility in Norwood, where the vaccine is being produced. Never has such an impactful vaccine been produced so quickly and effectively. View the Annual Meeting Recording Thanks to Norwood Community Media for producing a piece on the Annual Meeting. View the NCM video. Tom O'Rourke, CCE President and CEO Happy New Year!
How nice to have finally kicked 2020 to the curb and welcome in a New Year filled with promise, as millions of Americans become vaccinated against COVID-19, thanks in no small part to one of our own members, Moderna. While we know that we are not out of the woods by any stretch, and many will continue to struggle for several months, it is heartening to know that the end is in sight. Personally, I wish you all the best in the New Year and I cannot wait to begin in-person meetings with so many of you that I have come to know through the years. I am also excited to announce that with the New Year, we have two valuable new member benefits to announce: Two major barriers to small businesses access to retirement programs are cost and the hassle of administration. Our new offering removes those barriers and allows small businesses to offer their employees the benefit of long-term financial security. This Chamber's partnership with the U.S. Chamber has allowed us to share with you a number of valuable tools to help your business navigate the many challenges presented by the pandemic. We are now opening up access to many more of the benefits of membership with the U.S. Chamber and it won't cost you a dime, through our Federation Partnership. Details on both of these offerings and how you can benefit will be announced later this week. As we look forward to better days ahead, the Chamber is continually striving for ways to add value to your membership and your bottom line. Here's to a New Year that brings hope, stability, health and full recovery to all. Tom O'Rourke, CCE President and CEO Yesterday, Moderna filed for emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine trials have shown the drug to be 94% effective against the disease.
We are pleased to announce that Scott Nickerson, the Site Head of Moderna’s Manufacturing Facility and Senior VP of US Manufacturing, will be the guest speaker at our Annual Meeting and Awards event on Friday, January 22nd from 12:00 - 1:00 PM. Mr. Nickerson will share with us information about Moderna's ability to develop a successful vaccine in less than a year. The Annual Meeting will be held virtually this year and in addition to the guest speaker will feature our election of officers and directors and our annual awards presentations. Registration will be open soon. We are adapting our Annual Awards this year to focus on businesses and individuals who have responded uniquely to the challenges presented by COVID-19. Please help us recognize a business or person you know that has done something special to help others during the pandemic or who has changed their business model to find success in new ways. This could include making or distributing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), frontline workers, or anything else that is a positive response to the pandemic. Download the Nomination Form Tom O'Rourke, CCE President and CEO The Chamber continues to add resources for our members to help navigate their way through these challenging times.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced the launch of its comprehensive new Save Small Business resource center—including federal, state, and local financial assistance programs, emergency financial relief resources, grant programs and more—to help provide the assistance and guidance small businesses need right now amid Congressional inaction to provide additional, much-needed financial relief to Main Street. Click here to view the new Save Small Business resource center. SHOP SMALL During this difficult time, let’s make sure we are all patronizing our local small businesses like never before. Join us in shopping small every day. We can all help small businesses by:
Find local businesses on the Chamber website or utilize the state's new resource MyLocalMA to keep supporting our member businesses. MOTT and the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative will present a virtual “My Local MA” campaign workshop November 2, 10:00-11:30 am. The workshop will provide an overview of the statewide campaign, and provide detailed examples for local involvement, focusing on hyperlocal personalization using the lovemylocalMA.com website and toolkit materials. Register here. Tom O'Rourke, CCE President and CEO Step 2 of Phase III Begins October 5th
The Governor announced this week that effective Monday, October 5th, lower risk communities will be permitted to move into Step 2 of Phase III of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan. All other communities will remain in Phase III, Step 1. Changes to Protocols and New Reopenings Effective October 5th, a limited number of sectors will be eligible to reopen, with restrictions, in Step 2 of Phase III for lower risk communities only. Updated protocols for the below industries and businesses were posted on the Reopening website this week. Industry specific guidance and protocols for a range of Phase I, II, and III businesses have also been updated.
This includes the extension of the deferral of regular sales tax, meals tax, and room occupancy taxes for small businesses due from March 2020 through April 2021, so that they will instead be due in May 2021. Read more here. Updates to Restaurant Protocols Effective September 28th, restaurants can seat 10 people to a table, an increase over the previous limit of six; this will apply to both indoor and outdoor seating. These protocols also reflect updates to guidance on bar seating for dining. Updates to Retail Protocols Regarding Self-serve Beverages As of September 28th, self-serve beverage stations may reopen in retail businesses in line with guidance provided in the protocols. Tom O'Rourke, CCE President and CEO Last week Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito announced the launch of an effort to encourage residents of the Commonwealth to support their local economies by shopping at local Massachusetts businesses and attractions, safely – in person, online, and using curbside pickup or takeout.
Post submitted by Gerry Criscenzo, Founder, Advanced Service Knowledge.
Great customer experiences that build long lasting customer relationships are the Holy Grail for business success. As if everything from your competitors to your own employees made it challenging, pre-Covid, to create great experiences, now post-Covid, you must overcome probably the greatest challenge of all time … fear. Covid-19 created a customer experience “gate” where your customers must first feel safe to enter before you can begin serving them. Regardless of the industry, however, there is a tool you can use to determine what you must change for your customers to feel safe; the Customer Journey Map. A Customer Journey Map is a time-tested tool that helps identify every “touch-point” of when and where your customer comes in contact with your business but most importantly identifies their potential emotions during that point of contact. In short, a Customer Journey Map identifies pain-points so you can resolve them and improve customer experiences. Fear is now a serious pain-point where it never was for many industries. A Customer Journey Map will help you create a fundamentally different level of trust for your customer that dispels their fears. You must build a strategy and define tactics to move your business toward the “new normal” where your customers will trust you to keep them safe. Only after you resolve this new pain-point can you begin again to provide them with great customer experiences. Use the Customer Journey Map to consider every way that a customer comes in physical contact with your business. Determine if you can eliminate contact or how to assure the customer visually that you have sanitization procedures in place. For example, some gyms have staff walking around spraying equipment with sanitizing “guns” after each use. Some auto service departments cover the steering wheel, seats and door handles with plastic. Some of these will increase your operating costs. Forget “back to normal” and think forward of how to assure your customers they are safe, which is different for every business. Creating trust and sense of security will vary from providing hand sanitizer to completely rethinking how to get your customer to use your service or product. Technology can help some industries. Deliveries can help others. Whatever your industry, communication is crucial. Reach out to your customers. Use signage. Do not let your customer wonder what you are doing to keep them safe because they will go to the competitor who assures them that they are. Please also visit the NRR Chamber website which has a wealth of helpful Covid-19 Business resources to help move your business forward to the new normal. This month's post is provided by Jackie McMenimon, Profile by Sanford.
When faced with uncertainty, it’s normal to go on a roller coaster of emotions and to feel like no one understands. Whatever you’re feeling as a result of your daily routine changing is valid, and it’s important you show yourself kindness. Self-compassion means being kind to yourself when faced with challenges, adversity, or the discomfort of an unknown future. Treating yourself with the same compassion you offer others can help you accept your circumstances without being overwhelmed by them. The first step in practicing self-compassion is to acknowledge and honor your thoughts and feelings. Think about how you show others (a close friend or family member) kindness and extend that to yourself. Remember: you are not alone during this. We are in this together. Dealing with frustrations and challenges if part of being human, and we are all interconnected in this way. We all strive for comfort, and we can offer kindness to each other as well as ourselves. If you find yourself worrying about the future or feeling upset, here is how you can anchor your awareness back to the present and feel peace: Step 1) Stand up and feel the soles of your feet on the Earth beneath you. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Focus on the contrast between the soles of your feet and the floor below you. Step 2) Rock forward and backward a little. Next, move the weight your feet carry side to side. Notice the sensations in your feet as you do so. Make small circles with your knees, feeling the changes of sensation in the soles of your feet. Step 3) When your mind has wandered (which is normal!), return your focus and attention to the soles of your feet. Step 4) If you choose, you can begin to walk slowly. When walking, notice the change in sensations in your feet. Pay attention to how you lift your foot, step forward, and place your foot on the floor. Step 5) As you walk, take a moment to reflect on how small the surface area of your feet is, and how hard your feet work daily to keep your body upright and uplifted. Try to reflect on these things with a sense of gratitude and appreciation. Step 6) Return to standing when you’re ready. Take a few deep breaths and continue about your day. Finally, remember the common humanity piece of self-compassion: We are all doing the best we can to work through changes in our daily life. Offer a smile or small act of kindness to a stranger in passing. And if you’re striving to be more self-compassionate, offer a smile to yourself, too. |
