Women@Work Sep/Oct 2012

PLUS: Don’t miss our Connect and our healthcare reform events. Details on pgs. 35 and 36

C A P I TA L R E G I O N

A Times Union Publication capregionwomenatwork.com

September/October 2012

Generational Managing across Gaps the ages Going Up? The art of the great elevator speech

Work Buddies Good or bad idea?

Cloud Computing

Can it save your business time and money?

Tracy Metzger

TL Metzger & Associates

Publisher George Hearst III Editorial Janet Reynolds, Executive Editor Brianna Snyder, Associate Editor Rebecca Haynes, Contributing Editor Design Tony Pallone, Design Director Colleen Ingerto, Emily Jahn, Designers Contributing Writers Kristi Barlette, Cathleen F. Crowley, Laurie Lynn Fischer, Jennifer Gish, Jayne Keedle, Stacey Morris, Anne Saile, Cari Scribner, Megan Willis Contributing Photographers Colleen Ingerto, Emily Jahn, Suzanne Kawola, Tyler Murphy Sales Kathleen Hallion, Vice President, Advertising Tom Eason, Manager, Display Advertising Craig Eustace, Retail Sales Manager Jeff Kiley, Magazine Sales Manager Circulation Dan Denault, Home Delivery Manager Business Ray Koupal, Chief Financial Officer TimesUnion.com Paul Block, Executive Producer Women@Work Founding Advisory Board: Anne Saile, chair; Marri Aviza, Kristen Berdar, Debra Best, Nancy Carey-Cassidy, Karin Carr, Andrea Crisafulli-Russo, Heather Ford, Kathleen Godfrey, Lakia Green, Ann Hughes, Theresa Marangas, Lydia Rollins, Curran Street, Gail Wilson-Giarratano Capital Region Women@Work is published six times per year. If you are interested in receiving home delivery of Capital Region Women@Work magazine, please call (518) 454-5768 or visit capregionwomenatwork. com. For advertising information, please call (518) 454-5358.

Capital Region Women@Work is published by Capital Newspapers and Times Union 645 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, NY 12212 518.454.5694 The entire contents of this magazine are copyright 2012 by Capital Newspapers. No portion may be reproduced in any means without written permission of the publisher.

Capital Newspapers is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation.

Contents September/October 2012

Is cloud computing good for your business? See pg 28

www.capregionwomenatwork.com

@ WORK 10 Bitstream

37 I Did It

Business tidbits for all

Kathy Donovan on building a baking-equipment empire

14 Tips from the Top Anne Saile on making sure you take the right job

16 On the Cover

40 Want to Be Your Own Boss?

Maybe a franchise is in your future

44 Health Care Reform

Tracy Metzger on the reality of real estate

What you need to know for your business

@ HOME

18 Generational Gaps Managing across the ages

47 Moms@Work Ladies, start your engines

22 Going Up? The art of the great elevator speech

28 Cloudy Days How cloud computing can save your business time and money

32 The Year of the Girl After 100 years, the Girl Scouts look to the future

“

48 Meals on the Go

Tasty meals from Laura Reynolds

52 Work and Play Navigating workplace friendships

54 Getting Away What’s up in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.

”

— Cherokee proverb, and Tracy Metzger’s favorite quote. Read the story on pg. 16.

 ON THE COVER: Tracy Metzger of TL Metzger and Associates.

Photo by Suzanne Kawola.

6 | women@work

Is your company in this issue?

Affordable Business Concepts........................ 40 Bake-Rite International ..................................37 Bark Busters................................................... 40 Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Tech Valley ...............................18 BrightStar Healthcare......................................40 BroadBlast, Inc. ..............................................58 CAP COM Federal Credit Union .....................18 Capital Alliance of Young Professionals .........18 Capital Region Human Resource Association ..........................................18, 52 Careers in Transition, LLC .........................18, 52 Charlton Consulting Services .........................58 Deb Best Practices .........................................58 Dowling Law . ................................................18 Focalpoint Business Coaching........................40 Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York . ..........32 GoatCloud .....................................................28 Greane Tree Technology................................. 58 Hudson Valley Community College................ 18 Microknowledge, Inc. .....................................44 MiniLuxe .......................................................40 Mimmy’s House .............................................48 Next-Act......................................................... 52 Pinnacle Recruiting and HR Solutions ............22 Profitable Speech ...........................................22 Pyramid of Potential ......................................28 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute . ...................22 Rockit . ...........................................................28 Saile Group, LLC . ...........................................14 Sherry Lynn’s Gluten-Free Bakery and Cafe ....44 Snipits ............................................................40 TL Metzger and Associates ............................16 Walrath Recruiting, Inc. . ................................44 Women’s Health Boutique.............................40 Call 518.454.5366 or e-mail jreynolds@ timesunion.com with your story ideas.

editor's note

Short & Sweet O

ne of the great parts of my job is that I learn something new just about every single day. And one of the stories that especially got me thinking in this issue is the one on elevator speeches. (It’s on pg. 22.)

Of course, I’ve known about the idea of elevator speeches for years, but for some reason I had always thought it was for jobs other than mine. In particular I thought of sales jobs when I thought of elevator speeches.

Now I wonder about all the lost opportunities in which I could have made a better impression/more easily gotten my foot in the door/had a more successful networking session if I had had my elevator speech more finely tuned. (Okay,

okay, if I had even had an elevator speech.)

It was an aha moment for me because a good elevator speech is such a wonderful way to ensure you make exactly the kind of impression you want to make. It is a way to fully take advantage of every situation. And it is a skill that women — who often have trouble tooting their own horn — particularly need to fine-tune.

So I thought it was brilliant when the Women@Work Advisory Board suggested making our next Connect event an elevator speech contest. We can all connect and learn something at the same time: the proverbial win-win!

Hope to see you there on Sept. 18.

Details are on page 35. And be sure to say hello — so I can practice my speech. W

Janet Reynolds Executive Editor jreynolds@timesunion.com

BitStream Percentage of 25- to 29-Year-Olds with a Bachelor’s Degree

Compiled by Brianna Snyder

36.1%

Women Take the Lead

female male average

32% 30.1% 29.1%

28.6%

25.2% 24% 23.1% 22.5%

21%

23.2%

25.3%

24.9% 24.7% 24.5%

22.2% 21.3%

21%

22.8%

18.7%

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

source: http://tinyurl.com/ww12edu

Happy and You Know It

source: http://tinyurl.com/ ww12careers

10 | women@work

Happiest Jobs

Unhappiest Jobs

1

Software Quality Assurance Engineer Bliss Rating = 4.245

1

Security Officer Bliss Rating = 3.510

2

Executive Chef Bliss Rating = 4.152

2

Registered Nurse Bliss Rating = 3.549

3

Property Manager Bliss Rating = 4.147

3

Teacher Bliss Rating = 3.595

4

Teller Bliss Rating = 4.137

4

Sales Engineer Bliss Rating = 3.636

5

Warehouse Manager Bliss Rating = 4.125

5

Product Manager Bliss Rating = 3.648

2010

Graph illustration by Emily Jahn. Photos: Woman,© iStockphoto.com/Izabela Habur; Bag lunch, © iStockphoto.com/Pictac.

he Atlantic reported that it’s likely women will dominate “the economy of the future,” based on the steady progress of all women on college campuses across the country. The progress has spanned every demographic, the article says, including Asians, Hispanics, blacks and whites. Women have surpassed men every year in bachelor-degree attainment since 1995, and in 2000, women started earning more master’s degrees. Those trends continue today, and it seems, based on this trajectory, women will only continue to succeed at this rate.

fulfilling career is a big part of a satisfying and happy life. And a recent survey by the blog CareerBliss. com rounded up the 20 happiest jobs — as in, the people who hold these jobs are happiest with their work and their colleagues. Topping the list are jobs such as software quality assurance engineer and executive chef. (They also polled people on the unhappiest jobs. What is it? Security officer.)

28.4%

27.9%

T

A

32.2%

Be Y ours elf!

Lunch Matters A

I

study conducted by researchers at Rice University in Houston found that hiding your “true social identity” while at work can diminish job satisfaction and increase employee turnover.

That social identity might be your ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation or a disability. The study found that people perceiving discrimination in the work-

place are less likely to reveal much about themselves and therefore have a difficult time being comfortable. Researchers hope their work will show not only how important it is to be yourself but also how damaging discriminatory attitudes and practices can be. source: http://tinyurl.com/ww12you

“

No matter how successful I become as a playwright, my mother would be thrilled to hear me tell her that I’d just lost 20 pounds, gotten married and become a lawyer.

”

— Wendy Wasserstein, Playwright

n a recent online poll of North American workers, taken by workforce consultant experts Right Management, a third of respondents said they never (or rarely) take lunch breaks, and another third said they eat lunch at their desks. The report attributes this lunchtime infrequency to an overworked, over-multitasking office environment in which employees feel guilt or stress over taking breaks.

“We’ve certainly come a long way from the three-martini lunch of a generation ago,” says Senior Vice President of Right Management Michael Haid. “But we have to ask if we’ve gone too far in the other direction.”

CorporateWellnessAdvisor.com, who reported on the poll, suggests these hastened or skipped mealtimes erode productivity and cost employees an opportunity to refresh their minds and bodies. Nutritious lunches and a breath of fresh air do a lot to boost productivity and morale. source: http://tinyurl.com/ww12lunch continued on page 12 capregionwomenatwork.com | 11

Bitstream

continued from page 11

Board Wash A

2012 data survey by the womenand-business website Catalyst.org found board seats held by women still don’t quite match those held by men. source: http://tinyurl.com/ww12boards

Only 16.1% of US board seats are held by women.

Only 8.3% of Fortune 500 lead directors were women in 2011.

Multitasking Your Multitasking Y

ou’re overwhelmed. Everything’s beeping. You’re cascading through 15 open browser tabs. You’re constantly working, but nothing seems to be getting done.

A New York Times story on the modern-day pressures of the tech-loaded office offers a few tips for clearing your head, your desk and your to-do list: • Sit down and write out every single thing you know you have to get done, big and small, from picking up something small at the grocery store to finishing a big project at work.

• Analyze your list and decide how you need to manage each task. What steps are required to clean your house? What are the things you need to do to finish that big project?

• Set alerts and reminders for tasks on your list: for the phone call you need to make, the due date for the project, etc.

• Keep your list handy, updating it as you go and switching around priorities as the list shifts and shortens and morphs. source: http://tinyurl.com/ww12organize 12 | women@work

Boardroom table illustration and pink line graph by Emily Jahn. Photos: Meeting, © iStockphoto.com/flyfloor; Lunch, © iStockphoto.com/diego cervo.

Diet Distress The Thinning Pink Line AMOUNT OF MALES EMPLOYED SINCE 2000 5000

10,000

15,000 20,000

25,000

FASTEST GROWING JOB CATEGORIES for college-educated white men, ages 25-39 #1 Primary school teachers #2 Teacher’s aides and misc. teachers #8 Waiters and waitresses #9 Registered nurses #10 Vocational and Educational counselors #11 Bank tellers #15 Cashiers #20 Legal assistants

M

T

hose of us who are trying to diet and eat healthfully at work find another set of challenges. The Wall Street Journal cites an ongoing survey of thousands of dieters at the weight-loss website SparkPeople.com, in which respondents say work is the second-biggest source of negative pressure when dieting. (First is spouses or partners.)

The article reported examples of critical coworkers who comment on the lunches of their peers -- “Don’t you ever get tired of eating salad every day?” -- and others who make comments about their colleagues’ weight loss (“You look great. Do you have cancer?”).

The WSJ attributes these colleagues’ insensitivity to a lack of understanding of how difficult losing weight can be for some people, or even just to guilt or shame that they aren’t eating healthier themselves.

ore men are entering industries usually dominated by women, according to The New York Times. “An analysis of census data by the New York Times shows that from 2000 to 2010, occupations that are more than 70 percent female accounted for almost a third of all job growth for men, double the share of the previous decade,” the article says.

The trend began before the recession, and can be attributed to many variables, according to the story, most notable of which is the redefinition of the American

“

more than 70% of the people in these professions are women

Dream. Most people aspire for financial security, a college degree and a fulfilling career, and men have found room for themselves in women-dominated fields. Also noteworthy is that from 1970 to 1990, studies show that the men who entered these industries tended to be foreign-born and non-English-speaking.

Today, those men seeking so-called “pink collar” jobs are white, young and collegeeducated. source: http://tinyurl.com/ww12pink

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

” — MayA Angelou

source: http://tinyurl.com/ww12diet capregionwomenatwork.com | 13

tips from the top Anne Saile is an award winning CEO, entrepreneur, executive coach, author and owner of the Saile Group LLC, a leadership and business consulting company. For more information, visit www.sailegroup.com.

Should You

Take That Job?

Photo by Joan Heffler.

By Anne Saile

H

ave you ever taken a job only to find out once you started that it really wasn’t the job for you?

Most people can tell a story about a time when they thought they had done a thorough job researching a company, asked all the right questions at the interview, sized up their potential new boss and still ended up in a job that turned out to be totally different from what they signed on for. Once you take a position, it is hard to quit as soon as you realize a mistake has been made. Here are some thoughts on ways to make sure a job is right for you.

1

Start by doing some basic research on a company’s reputation. Is it known for being a good place to work or does it have a reputation for high turnover? While high turnover is expected in some industries, it is not the norm in most. One mistake people make is thinking that they are cut from a different cloth than all of those other employees who quit or were fired because they didn’t understand how to work with the boss.

2

Search the Internet; learn as much as you can about the company. Be sure it is something that you feel is a good fit for you. If you have absolutely no interest in what the company does, consider that a warning that the job might eventually be a problem.

3

See if you can find any articles written about not only the company but also the CEO and the management team. Learn as much as you possibly can about their history, mission, vision and philosophy.

14 | women@work

4 5

Consider whether the job will provide meaningful work for you and if you will be using your talent.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking all you need to get from a job is money to pay the bills. Studies show that nearly 60 percent of working women spend over 40 hours a week at work. Spending time doing something you like is just as important as the money. Working at a job you don’t like and doing work you don’t feel good about can have a negative impact on your mental and physical health.

6

Research the salary range for the position and don’t settle for less if you can help it. Taking a job just to get your foot in the door of a company can be a reason to settle for less money, but keep in mind that most people who are underpaid for the job do become resentful. If you are considering accepting a position that pays less than you had hoped for, first negotiate a milestone that you will need to reach to receive additional compensation.

7

Make sure you completely understand what the job entails before accepting an offer. This might seem obvious, but I know a lot of people who have taken jobs without seeing a job description or fully understanding all of the responsibilities only to discover that the job doesn’t interest them at all.

8

Taking a job that is not right for you can be dangerous for your career. I have seen people take jobs just to have

something only to wind up feeling totally incompetent. In some cases this results in their termination. Remember that you have a reputation to protect and it’s especially important to be good at what you are being asked to do. This often happens with promotions in a company. Someone who is very good at one job gets promoted to a totally different area and discovers she isn’t at all suited for it. She was swept up in the flattery of the promotion and the additional compensation only to end up feeling hopeless in her new job.

9

Go to the job interview with a list of questions about the position that are important to you. Consider the interview your opportunity to size up the potential employer.

10

It is almost never a good idea to take a job on the spot, no matter how appealing it may seem. Ask if you can have a little time ranging from a few hours to a day or two to consider the offer. If possible get the offer in writing before you decide.

And finally, as I always advise my coaching clients who come to me for advice on whether or not to take the leap and go for the new job, it’s important to trust your gut. Can you see yourself doing the job? Do you know enough about the people you will be working with and for? Is the compensation fair? If you don’t feel comfortable with any one of the answers to those questions, think twice or get some advice before you make the move. W

on the cover

Reality in Real Estate

By Brianna Snyder | Photos by Suzanne Kawola

W

hen we think of real estate agents, we’re likely to picture a woman. That makes sense, because the residential real estate industry happens to be dominated by them. Women outnumber men 2 to 1 in this field, according to Trulia, a residential real estate blog.

That’s residential, though. The commercial real estate world is still dominated by men, something Tracy Metzger, of TL Metzger and Associates, knows firsthand. According to CREW, a commercial real estate association for women, about 43 percent of the industry comprises female agents, and the pay-gap debate still persists.

Metzger, who’s been in the business for more than 20 years, got into real estate just after college when she began what she thought was just a summer job leasing and managing apartments with a company in Albany. She liked it enough to hold off on her plans to attend law school after graduating. Metzger worked with that company for five years, eventually becoming its vice president, overseeing operations and helping expand the company’s rental portfolio.

“That really expanded my knowledge in the real estate industry,” Metzger says.

She only held four jobs before beginning her own company back in 2000. “(In) each job, I was in charge of something and was able to grow the responsibility that I was given, and I rose through the ranks really as a result of that.”

Metzger says job flexibility is one of the key drivers for why so many women are 16 | women@work

Tracy Metzger is a woman among many men in the commercial real estate world

in real estate. Meetings can be held in the evening or on weekends, hours can be tailored to suit hectic home lives, and the work is usually part time.

But commercial real estate is more demanding. “It’s a business where it’s 100 percent commission,” says Metzger.

“Commercial real estate requires a more than full-time effort, for sure.” When she first began working in that side of the business, “there were so many times when I was the only woman in the room,” she says, “and I tell you that can still happen today.”

But Metzger loved the work enough to muscle through those challenges.

“When I was younger and in commercial real estate, I don’t think people took me

seriously,” she says. “Over the course of time, I proved myself, demonstrated my knowledge, and my abilities; I probably had to do so in a bigger way because I am a woman.”

S

ince starting TL Metzger 12 years ago, Metzger and her company have received many awards for her work in the field, including the Capital District Business Review’s Top 40 Under 40 Business Leaders in the Capital Region, the AlbanyColonie Regional Chamber of Commerce Award (Women of Excellence), and the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce Award (Small Business of the Year), among others.

As a woman in a male-dominated in-

Metzger’s top tips for women working in maledominated industries: dustry, and because that industry suffered a notorious bust a few years ago, Metzger has learned a lot of hard lessons along the way. The housing-bubble burst of 2008 led her to downsize and reevaluate how she approached her business. “When the market slowed down it was tough,” she says. “But I got through it. I reinvented the company … and just stayed focused on our core business.”

Metzger says one of the darkest periods of her career came in 2010. She sold the company to relieve herself of the many pressures that come with owning and running a business, with the idea that she would continue on with the company, focusing all her energy on doing what she loved: commercial real estate. But when the deal didn’t go as planned, she had to regroup and act fast. “It didn’t work out, but in no time I was back as TL (Metzger and) Associates,” she says.

What got her through that difficult experience? “Determination not to let anyone else get in my way,” she says, “and respect for myself.”

This year, TL Metzger moved to its current location on Broadway in Albany, where the office functions both as home base for Metzger and her employee, Sam Critton, and as a branch of the local “co-

The Download on

working” chain of temporary office spaces called Beahive.

When Metzger heard about Beahive, she saw an opportunity to make better use of her large office space. Workers in need of desk space, WiFi, conference rooms, fax and printers can pay daily, weekly or monthly fees to station themselves at Beahive. The atmosphere is hip — ergonomic chairs behind roomy, L-shaped desks, short-stack file cabinets and a laptop lap desk. A bar serves wine and beer and soft drinks. The concept is to provide comfortable, ready-to-go desk spaces and also to encourage some amount of group collaboration.

Beahive was founded in Beacon, N.Y., in 2009 by Scott Tillitt, and there’s a second office in Kingston. Metzger had heard about Beahive from a friend and liked the idea, so she decided to make her Albany office a third location. Metzger has a licensing agreement with Tillitt.

“I wanted to create an inspiring work environment,” Metzger says. “It really does appeal to that person who’s been working from home who really wants a change of scenery and wants to interact with other people.” Metzger herself works in the Beahive space,

• Be a good listener because information is power.

• Be really good at what you do, because that’s going to be what sets you apart from men and other women. along with Critton.

Metzger’s husband, a pharmacist, has a desk at the office, too. And their daughter, Leigh (the “L” in TL Metzger), is 19 and studying business at Villanova. Metzger says proudly that her daughter’s got a knack for real estate. Because Metzger and her husband are both self-employed, Leigh’s been in the work-talk dinner-conversation crossfire her whole life.

“There’s not a big dividing line between home and work,” Metzger says. “(Leigh) pays attention to things. She sees a vacant building on the corner and starts to think about what it’s going to be next.”

Like mother like daughter. W

Tracy Metzger

Age: 50 Title: owner, president, TL Metzger and Associates

What she enjoys most about her job: “Finding the right real estate solution for my clients.”

Hometown: Geneva, N.Y. (born in Roanoke, Va.)

Mistake she wouldn’t make again: “Assuming others are as honest as I am.”

Family: 19-year-old daughter, Leigh; husband, Richard

Biggest obstacle overcome?

“Worrying too much. I can now focus on what I control and I’ve learned to just do my best one day at a time.”

Lives: moving soon to downtown Albany from Loudonville. (“We’re going to be urbanites. We’re very excited about it.”)

Guilty pleasure: “Watching the Criminal Minds marathon on TV.” Surprising fact: “I have a twin sister, Kelly.”

• Be yourself.

What excites her about real estate: “Every day is different. I like change, and I’m not afraid of it. You just never know what client’s going to call or what their needs are going to be… I’m helping people find the right real estate solution and it’s very gratifying.” capregionwomenatwork.com | 17

Generational Gaps

T

he manager, a Baby Boomer, wants to schedule a meeting where she can sit across the table from her employees and discuss the latest project. Her longtime staff member from the World War II generation is ready to go, looking to share stories about what used to work well for the company. Her Millennial employees, meanwhile, have been bombarding her with e-mails sent while they are out picking up their dry cleaning and running home to feed their dog. They have questions about the project and want instant feedback on the work they’ve done so far.

The meeting is still down the road and everyone is already irritated — the Boomer because her employees are running personal errands in the middle of the day, and the Millennials because their boss won’t answer their e-mails in a 18 | women@work

timely manner, i.e. within minutes. And that’s without adding in the GenerationXers who would rather nix the meeting entirely so they can actually work on their piece of the project. Anything else, they think, is micromanagement.

Welcome to the world of work, 21stcentury-style, a world where — for the first time in modern history — four generations of workers can make up a company’s profile, according to a 2007 report by AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons). According to the report, by 2014 — due in part to delayed retirement — nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce will be age 50 or older, up from 27 percent in 2005. It’s a little like having an extended family of aunts, grandparents and adult children and their offspring all living under one roof.

By Jennifer Gish

And just like families, this multigenerational workplace and its inevitable variable work styles can lead to frustration, conflict and poor morale if it’s not handled effectively. At the same time, those same differences — managed well — can lead to a stronger organization.

The critical ingredient in the recipe for success, the experts say, is in knowing how to manage each generation the right way.

Gayle Healy, a 43-year-old Gen-Xer, knows the challenges firsthand. While the gap between her, as director of the Center for Careers and Employment at Hudson Valley Community College, and some of the youngest employees isn’t that wide, she sees the differences all the time.

For Millenials, texting isn’t just for making Friday-night plans or keeping in touch with a girlfriend. A Millennial,

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Brad Killer.

Gen X, Millenials, Baby Boomers — managing across the ages

instead, often prefers to have all of her questions answered via e-mail rather than have a face-to-face conversation with her boss about the latest budget projections.

To adapt, Healy makes it clear what they can and can’t expect.

Texting or e-mailing her at 10 p.m. is fine. They just shouldn’t expect an answer until the morning. Keeping the boundaries clear helps manage expectations.

“That’s not always my preferred means of communication.

I’m not attached to my cell phone,” she says. “They know not to expect a response until the next day, and I don’t expect anyone to react to my e-mail instantly.”

A

variation on that theme is playing out in offices around the country. Age has become such a hot topic in the world of human resources that some employers are including generational differences in their diversity training, says Joanmarie Dowling, a labor and employment attorney who owns Dowling Law in Albany and who serves as vice president of the board for the Capital Region Human Resource Association.

It’s a complicated dance because the frustration can come from both sides. For Millennials, some tension comes from the fact that work time and personal time aren’t as distinctly separated as they may be for a Boomer, who closes the door on her office at 6 and doesn’t think about — or at least doesn’t act on — that stack of performance reviews she has to finish until she unlocks her office the next morning.

Millennials’ lives are stored in and shared via smartphones.

They grew up with Facebook, posting what they had for dinner and who they saw at a party and getting instant feedback on it from friends at all hours. They’re used to being connected 24/7 via Twitter and text. The phone never shuts off, and so neither do they. Even when it comes to work.

Theresa Petrone, foundation and public relations administrator for CAP COM Federal Credit Union and president of the Capital Alliance of Young Professionals, says she often hears Millennials talk about how they’re frowned upon for texting or taking a personal call on their cell phones during work time.

But because they often answer work e-mails or text with a client on the weekends or off-hours, they feel as if it’s OK to take that time during normal business hours to address personal needs.

“With technology being the way it is, so many of us are hooked into work all the time,” says Petrone, who is 29 and manages three e-mail accounts, Facebook, texts and Gmail chat on her smartphone. “So we expect that allowance if something comes up with our life in the day. It’s the two worlds meshed together.” continued on page 20

“

Employers really have to be careful about not stereotyping or marginalizing a particular group.

— Joanmarie Dowling, Dowling Law in Albany

”

continued from page 19

Healy says she and other staff members in her office have discussed whether to embrace the 24/7 plugged-in mentality because that’s the direction of the business world, or whether they should maintain what they consider to be reasonable boundaries between work and home life. She’s opted for her no-e-mailanswer-until-the-morning rule. Others may decide to jump in. No one way is the right way — as long as each party is clear on what the other wants.

Being clear on boundaries is particularly important, Dowling says, because the tracking of generational traits isn’t hard science. Personality remains at the heart of most human resource issues and workplace conflicts, and assuming that all Gen-Xers are looking for a non-corporate feel at work, while Baby Boomers are slow to change and Millennials are always online can lead to problems.

“Employers really have to be careful about not stereotyping or marginalizing a particular group,” Dowling says, add-

Talking the Talk You’ve heard the expression “it’s not what you said; it’s how you said it.”

Here are some suggestions for getting across your ideas effectively to employees in different generations.

World War II, aka Greatest Generation: Your experience is respected here. It’s valuable to the rest of us to hear what has and hasn’t worked in the past.

Boomers: You’re important to our success. You’re valued here. Your contribution is unique and important. We need you. I approve of you, and you’re worthy.

Generation X: Do it your way. We’ve

20 | women@work

ing that going too far can result in age discrimination. Employers should think before making statements such as “Sally’s been with us for 20 years, and she’s getting too old for this because we can’t get her to use the latest and greatest computer program,” Dowling says, because employees can be resistant to learning new things at any age.

When generational differences exist, Dowling says mentoring programs can be a good way to bridge the gap and make two generations feel supported and appreciated. Whether it’s an informal or a formal pairing, partnering a longtime Boomer employee with a Millennial can help the younger employee get some needed company wisdom and experience and allows the Boomer to feel like a valued part of the team. It also opens up communication between the two groups and can head off potential miscommunications.

Miguel Berger, president of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Tech Valley in Albany and Saratoga counties, says

got the newest hardware and software.

There are few rules here. We’re not very corporate.

Millennials: You’ll be working with bright creative people. We can continue to train and develop you. We will help set you up with a mentor who can help you get where you want to go. (Millennials value mentoring and understand the power of networking more so than any other generations did when they first got out of school, a lot of which can be attributed to the role of social media in their lives.)

— From Tom Denham, career counselor and owner of Careers In Transition LLC in Colonie, based on work by Dennis Gaylor.

he prefers the “soft sell” when it comes to mentoring. In his offices, Millennials tend to be more proficient with social media applications such as Facebook, which have become a bigger part of the real estate game. But often they’re not as comfortable talking to clients face-toface, and he frequently has to remind his Millennials that “you cannot purchase a house over text.”

At the same time many Boomer and Gen-X employees may excel at personal interaction from their years of experience, he says, only to lag behind in social media. He knows, though, that “nobody wants to be taught anything new, especially when somebody’s been in the business 25 to 30 years.” So he lets employees informally learn from each other.

“I call it a two-way street,” says Berger, who is 50. “We do it in a very soft sell.”

Shared experience can feed into some generational traits, says Tom Denham, career counselor and owner of Careers In Transition, LLC in Colonie. Boomers want to feel valued by their employers, while Millennials hunger for mentors, a characteristic acquired during the countless internships they’ve served before arriving at their current jobs. Savvy pairing can help both sides, Denham says.

Millennial Petrone agrees — as long the mentor realizes her group wants its feedback now, not months down the road. “We’re so used to having things immediately. We want responses immediately,” she says. “(Having) sixmonth reviews and not having constant feedback is frustrating. I think that the Boomer generation and Generation X is more used to work, work, work, and in the end, you kind of review everything.

We don’t have attention spans for things.

We need to know immediately — what do you like about it? What do you not like about it?” W

Generations at a Glance World War II, aka Greatest Generation (born 1945 and before) • Preferred communication format: memos, letters and personal notes.

• Key traits: experience, enhanced knowledge, dedication, focus, stability, loyalty, emotional maturity and perseverance.

• Potential issues: may be reluctant to buck the system and uncomfortable with conflict.

• Really can’t stand: managers who are touchy-feely, indecisive, worry about making unpopular decisions, use profanity, slang or trendy management styles and are disorganized.

Boomers (born 1946-1964) • Preferred communication format: phone calls and face-to-face meetings.

• Key traits: dedication, team perspective, experience and knowledge.

• Potential issues: may not be “budget minded,” can be uncomfortable with conflict, reluctant to go against peers and sometimes put more emphasis on the process than the result.

• Really can’t stand: managers who aren’t open to input, are bureaucratic, send “my way or the highway” messages, don’t show interest or try to “one-up” everyone.

Generation X (born 1965-1980): • Preferred communication format: Voicemails and e-mail.

• Key traits: adaptability, techno-literacy, independence, creativity and a willingness to buck the system.

• Potential issues: may be skeptical and distrustful of authority.

• Really can’t stand: managers who micro-manage, are hypocritical, spend too much time on process and not enough on results, are flashy and bureaucratic and like to schmooze.

Millennials (born 1981-2000): • Preferred communication format: instant messages, blogs, texts and e-mails.

• Key traits: collective action, optimism, the ability to multi-task and technological savvy.

• Potential issues: May have a need for supervision and structure; inexperienced in handling difficult people issues.

• Really can’t stand: managers who are cynical and sarcastic, treat them as if they are too young to contribute, are threatened by their technological proficiency, are condescending and are inconsistent and disorganized.

— From the AARP’s 2007 report, “The Changing Landscape of Work.”

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/aldomurillo.

Going up?

Everyone needs a great elevator speech

By Kristi Barlette

22 | women@work

Y

ou’re at a chamber of commerce mixer and find yourself in line at the bar in front of the president and CEO of the company you’ve been trying to connect with forever. Maybe it’s because you’re trying to make a sale or maybe it’s more personal: This is the company you’ve dreamed of working for since college graduation. Whatever the

business purpose, this is your great moment of opportunity.

She’s standing there, not playing on her phone, not talking to anyone — just waiting for her glass of cabernet sauvignon. This is your chance, your moment to get a little face time and leave a memorable impression. continued on page 24

continued from page 22

You take a deep breath, introduce yourself, maybe ask what she’s drinking or discuss the guest speaker. Small talk out of the way, you ease into your elevator speech: that 60- to 90-second pitch where you give her an overview of who you are professionally and what you or your business can do for her company.

The elevator speech is essentially a condensed resume, focusing solely on those elements that would most impress someone — here, a woman busy running a company you’d give your place in the bar line (and more) to have on your letterhead.

It also can be the perfect chance to make a connection — and potentially a sale or some other business relationship — with a company representative you’ve been unable to reach via e-mail or phone. Whatever its purpose, it’s a tool every woman should have in her professional toolbox. “(An elevator speech) is a golden opportunity to start building a relationship,” says Dale Klein, owner of Profitable Speech in Clifton Park. The problem, she adds, is that potential employees often overlook this moment — frequently because they’re not ready.

“It’s hard to find jobs and hiring managers appreciate prepared candidates and people who don’t waste their time,” says Kathy McNamara, manager of the employment operations group at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. To help better prep her students for job searches post-college, McNamara critiques students’ elevator pitches each semester.

“What you want to do is essentially whet the other person’s appetite,” says Klein. “You know you are doing that effectively if the other person says, ‘Tell me more,’ or, ‘How do you do that?’”

E

levator speeches have only become more important in the Internet age, where so much business is done by email. How many times have you reached the gatekeeper of an important manager you’re trying to meet only to have her say “send him an e-mail” — which is then promptly ignored?

24 | women@work

The key, says Klein, is to establish a rapport with that gatekeeper with an abbreviated version of your elevator speech. This relationship-building, though brief, could help get you the face time (or at least the voice time) with the decision-maker you seek.

Start by asking the receptionist’s name.

Often, she will answer the phone with the name of the company, or her supervisor’s name, and not say who she is. Introduce yourself, and then tell her you didn’t catch her name.

The gatekeeper deals with many people daily, and there is a good chance she is dismissed or treated poorly by many. If you understand her position, and express as much, she is more likely to relax and be appreciative.

Monitor your tone, so you sound patient, not irritated. Looking in a mirror while talking can helps, says Klein, because intonation and body language often are linked.

Also, be kind and respectful of the gatekeeper, and give her a nugget (that abbreviated elevator speech) of what you’d like to speak about with her boss.

Instead of being brisk and saying “it’s a business matter,” say you have information that will save the boss money or bring on key staff.

Thank her for her time and be genuine.

If she insists that you send an e-mail, ask if there is a better time for you to call back, and be specific. Ask, for instance, “Does she tend to have more availability near the beginning or end of the week?,” rather than “When is she available?”

Specific questions that show you are respectful of everyone’s time — the gatekeeper’s and his or her boss — is appreciated.

All these elements will help the gatekeeper remember you, says Klein,

and maybe even be willing to help you connect with the person you are looking to speak with, instead of leaving you to drown in a sea of generic e-mail subjects.

“The gatekeeper’s job is to decide who gets through and who doesn’t,” says Klein. And being prepared to talk with everyone along the line — not just the person you have decided is the key player — is more likely to get you the results you want.

Klein has been in the business of helping people with their networking and interviewing skills — including elevator speeches — for nearly 20 years. In that time she’s seen many women secure their dream job or client because they were prepared, they were courteous and they were respectful.

One of her more successful clients was a woman who works in direct sales in dermatological products. To build her business, the woman needed to draw people into her business development meetings. Her elevator speech — or what she thought of as her 30-second “commercial” — was instrumental. She finetuned her presentation, kept it fresh and current and presented her ideas in a way that made people curious about what she did. Soon they were asking how to get into the business. They wanted to join her team. Now she has a successful group with nearly a dozen people on her staff.

“People who really master this and own this skill can propel their level of confidence. Once they’ve got the confidence, that becomes pivotal in helping them increase their book of business,” Klein says. “The networking begets the confidence and the confidence drives the business. People want to buy from people who are confident. When we are missing that, it can be a significant void.”

See more elevator speech tips on page 27

Want a chance to give your elevator speech in front of people you want to impress? Come to our next Women@Work Connect event Sept. 18 at Angelo’s Prime Bar + Grill at the Hilton Garden Inn, Clifton Park. Visit capregionwomenatwork.com to register.

continued from page 24

Top tips for the best elevator speech ever • Dale Klein of Profitable Speech recommends the CMS approach.

That’s an acronym for being creative, memorable and succinct — attributes potential employers appreciate.

• Ask a question if you can. People like to feel engaged and that you are as interested in them as you want them to be in you. A question, Klein says, can provoke an answer that leads to natural conversation.

• Open with your big goal and close with a small step, says Kathy McNamara, manager of the employment operations group at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Ex: Start by telling them you would love a chance to work with them on their research and close with a small, actionable step such as asking them who you could talk with for a follow-up. If you are focused on selling them something — a product or service — speak in active terms. Tell them you will follow up,

and do so with a customized set of ideas.

• Show them how you think you or your business can help, rather than telling them. If their call center retention isn’t that strong, talk about your skills as a retention manager, or how your company has had successes in this area, and how those skills could help their business.

• Give facts, not fluff, says McNamara, and speak in active verbs. Ex: “I built,” “I hired,” “I led” or “I closed.”

Avoid saying “I feel.” If you are more business-focused, replace the “I” with “we.”

• Choose your timing wisely, says Chris Wessell, owner of Pinnacle Recruiting & HR Solutions in Albany. Timing is crucial, especially in business, and you don’t want to be known in the industry as the woman who tried interrupting a potential employer while he’s

What not to do Looking to deliver a memorable elevator speech? Make sure not to make any of these mistakes:

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/kzenon.

• Don’t try and talk about everything under the sun or you will dilute your message, says Dale Klein, owner of Profitable Speech in Clifton Park. Zero in on something and customize it based on who you are speaking with.

• Don’t go overboard usurping the person’s time. Not every conversation is going to go somewhere, so know how to exit and move on gracefully.

• Don’t waste your time with generic small talk. Instead, go in prepared, knowing something about them, and customize that early part of the

conversation to show you are truly aware of who they are and what they do.

• Don’t go in cold. Stay up on the news in your industry so you are prepared when you have the opportunity to speak with a potential employer or business client. If you are unprepared, you’ll just be selling and their defenses will be up, says Chris Wessell, owner of Pinnacle Recruiting & HR Solutions in Albany.

• Don’t speak negatively about anyone you currently work for/ with, or anyone in your industry.

Being known as a gossip can affect you or your company negatively. W

trying to keep his German shepherd from fighting with the Maltese at the dog park.

• Make eye contact, but don’t stare them down. If looking someone in the eye makes you feel awkward, focus on the space between her eyes.

She won’t be able to tell, but you may feel more comfortable.

Practice, practice, practice so the conversation sounds natural, but not rehearsed. “It’s a 24/7 world and people interact in all sorts of ways,” says McNamara. “At the gym, at the grocery store — be ready.”

Cloudy Days How cloud computing can save your business a lot of time and hassle

By Brianna Snyder | Illustrations by Emily Jahn

C

loud computing has been getting a lot of noise these days as people look for the next tech-savvy solution to their personal and work lives.

The cloud, which is the term for a network or Internet service that allows you to access all kinds of stored data from anywhere, is fast becoming a preferred method of computing, replacing the older method of housing data on local, limitedspace servers and the even older method of storing zillions of documents in rooms devoted to file cabinets.

Studies done by the technology research company Gartner, a worldwide information technology research and advisory firm, and Merrill Lynch, a leader in financial management, found

28 | women@work

that cloud computing will be a $150- to $160-billion industry by 2013. The thumb drive is going the way of watching TV on a TV. It’s likely you’re already using the cloud, whether you know it or not.

If you’ve ever e-mailed yourself a document so you can get to it later, or if you’ve been using any kind of Web calendar (Google, for instance), you’re in the cloud, at least partway.

At this point, most of us have computers and cell phones and, increasingly, tablets, too. Because we have so many devices to help us be more productive, it makes sense that cloud systems proliferate: That tablet becomes 400 percent more useful if you can easily get to and

synchronize your contacts, documents, calendars, e-mail and other files between your phone, tablets, work laptops and personal computers. That same study by Gartner predicted 60 percent of businesses will store their data in the cloud by 2014.

The reason to consider the cloud goes beyond convenience, however. Cloud computing also saves money. The need for server monitoring and maintenance IT people diminishes with cloud services, which often have those same functions built into the system. Automatic virus monitoring, server upkeep and observation are part of the big cloud sell. Not to mention the savings in cutting back on all of that paper — and those thumb drives.

H

owever, many remain wary of the cloud. Kathy Johnson, owner and founder of Pyramid of Potential (PoP) in Burnt Hills, is among them. PoP is a company that helps educators and families learn to cope with and overcome learning disabilities. She has concerns about moving all her documents to the cloud. “I don’t trust it,” she says.

Instead, Johnson uses the cloud selectively. She refrains from sharing client data with other professionals in the cloud, and instead uses it for other tasks. Her introduction to the concept came about a year and a half ago, when a client started a treatment diary for her child in a Google document, which could be shared and collaborated on by her and other therapists who were hours away. Johnson also uses Google calendars and allows her administrative assistant access so that her schedule always syncs up with her home and work commitments. She describes the process as “seamless.”

“It’s really, really nice,” Johnson says. “We can communicate agendas and things for our meetings just using the calendars.”

Still, though, she says she’d rather not risk sharing medical information on the Web. She’s not alone. A LinkedIn survey found 54 percent of business owners were skeptical of data security in the cloud. That concern may not be well founded, however, as many cloud providers meet all kinds of security regulations — HIPAA, ISO 27001, PCI DSS. In part as a result, hospitals, police stations and other municipalities have all begun to jump in.

According to Crystal Allyn, a desktop network engineer at Rockit, an Albany-based cloud-service provider and facilitator, Rockit’s cloud service is monitored 24/7. “We eliminate security threats and viruses and prevent spam,” Allyn says. “We’re very proactive with our monitoring. Usually we know about a problem before a client is even aware of it.”

Rockit’s clients include local police departments, town halls, doctors’ and law offices, among many others. They house their own servers, which bank their clients’ data, and have routine redundancy backups, in case of catastrophe. “There is a lot of redundancy and precautions we take to make sure our data is restorable from multiple locations,” says Allyn. continued on page 30

let’s stay in touch

Cutting all that physical expense means cloud computing is also energy efficient. According to The New York Times, “Cloud computing … is projected to help large U.S. companies save $12.3 billion on energy costs and cut out 85.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually by 2020.” Not bad.

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Studies done by Gartner and Merrill Lynch found that cloud computing will be a $150- to $160-billion industry by 2013

54

A LinkedIn survey found percent of business owners were skeptical of data security in the cloud.

60

One study predicted percent of businesses will store their data in the cloud by 2014.

continued from page 29

Cliff Rohde, owner of GoatCloud in Niskayuna, helps people with their websites, social media and cloud services.

“Cloud technologies make (a client’s) business more efficient or saves them money,” Rohde says. “You name it, there’s a service for everything.”

The services can include data storage, data management, file sharing, calendars and event planning, webinar services, phone services, e-mail and voicemail. A business owner could theoretically run an entire company without ever buying a ream of paper or paying for a landline.

While many of the services are free, others charge money, some for more space or other premium perks or some just for the service in general. Here’s a breakdown of some of the best —free and service-fee — data-storage cloud services.

Google Drive If you have a Gmail account, it’s likely you’ve wandered into Google Documents or Google Calendar at least once or twice.

Google Drive is the newly packaged Google Documents, and is downloadable to your desktop. Drag and drop files (documents, spreadsheets, pictures) from your local hard drive into Google Drive, at which point they’re available in the cloud to be accessed and collaborated on with peers and colleagues. The share function in Google Drive allows users to instant message with other viewers of the document, leave comments and notes, and revert to previous drafts.

30 | women@work

Worried that sounds too cluttered?

Don’t. Files can be organized into separate folders, and the search function is as good as … well, Google.

Also check out: SugarSync, which gives users 5 GB for free; and Amazon Cloud Drive, which can only be accessed through the Web, but still works pretty well.

Available for: Mac and PC, Android phones and tablets, with iPhone and iPad apps on the way. Free for up to 5 GB storage, $2.49 a month for 25 GB, $5 a month for 100 GB; $10 a month for 200 GB, $20 a month for 400 GB, and, for big-data users, you can keep buying more from there if you need it.

EventBrite

Also check out: Microsoft SkyDrive — up to 7 GB free (which is enough to accommodate 99.94 percent of users, according to Microsoft) for many of the same features offered in Google Drive.

But the big perk of Microsoft’s cloud — according to Rockit’s Crystal Allyn — is that it’s compatible with all Microsoft Office files. (Google converts Microsoft files to Google files.)

DropBox DropBox is great for file storage and sharing, as well as for its easy image- and video-upload feature. Users get 2 GB free.

It’s handy for days when you keep getting reminder e-mails about how full your inbox is because it’s crammed with 8-MB PDFs. This is a better way!

Available for: Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhones, iPads, Blackberry and Droid tablets and phones. But it gets a little costly: $10 a month for 50 GB, $20 a month for 100 GB.

Cliff Rohde, owner of GoatCloud, likes EventBrite for meeting and event planning. He says the program “makes organizing an event with any number of attendees a beautifully intuitive process.” The service is actually a place for public event listings, and there’s a built-in ticket-sales feature along with its event-planning and organizing capabilities. Its interface is clean and easy to use and search. Events pages can be as ornate or sparse as you like: add pictures, price information, times, places, attendees, what to bring, what not to bring, etc. The site includes social-media features and Google integration so if you’re trying to promote your event on a larger scale, it’ll show up high in the search rankings.

Available for: desktop use, iPhones, Androids and tablets.

Also check out: Doodle, which lets all your invitees present their schedules/ available times at once, revealing the best dates and times for everyone; Google Calendar syncs up with your Gmail and lets you choose the number of reminders and alerts for all your events. Google Calendar also lets you share calendars for collaboration. W

Non Profit Spotlight

The Year of the Girl

After 100 years, the Girl Scouts look to the future

By Laurie Lynn Fischer | Photos by Emily Jahn

B

efore American women could vote, Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low sold her pearls to fund the organization. A century later, the Girl Scouts sell cookies annually to help fund everything from ziplining to travel abroad.

It’s just another sign of how the Girl Scouts, an organization celebrating its century mark this year, are reinventing themselves, says Kerry Connolly, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York. “We’ve been going through a major transformation,” says Connolly, who took a leave of absence this summer to serve as interim chief operating officer for Girl Scouts of the USA. “The message that we’re a leadership development experience is first and foremost,” the corporate-change expert says.

“Our council has become a leader within the movement. We see ourselves as offering more to girls of all ages.”

In the 21st century, the Girl Scouts emphasize cooperative learning, learning by doing and girl-led experiences. As Daisies (grades K-1) mature into Ambassadors (11th and 12th grades), they master age-appropriate skill sets — all with a contemporary focus.

In the 1920s, for instance, 10- to 17-year-old girls earned Telegrapher merit badges for sending and receiving Morse cord messages, Economist badges for keeping their clothing in good repair and buying quality stockings, shoes and gloves, and Health Winner badges for going to bed by 9:30 p.m. on school nights and eating no sweets except dessert.

Today, 6- to 8-year-old girls get Computer Smarts badges for surfing the Internet safely and using computers for work,

Economist badges for keeping track of what they spend on lunch, toys and phone calls, and Health Winner badges for brushing their teeth twice a day, not smoking and learning to deal with their feelings.

Today’s Girl Scouts discover, connect and take action. They take “Journeys,” such as It’s Your Planet — Love It!, It’s Your World — Change It! and It’s Your Story — Tell it!

W@W: How has Girl Scouting changed?

Connolly: It has expanded based on girls’ contemporary interests. We’re focused on being relevant to girls today.

They’re less inclined to stay in a troop when they hit middle school. Girl Scouting goes well beyond troops now. Girls can participate independently. A mentor keeps them connected to opportunities.

They meet other girls with their interests.

W@W: How? Connolly: In the Series Pathway, a

cohort group of girls goes through a learning experience together. We had a monthly cinema series with a university professor. They watched films about global girls’ and women’s issues, discussed their impressions and determined how they could act on those issues or something related.

The Events Pathway is usually one day or a weekend. We did a 5K noncompetitive run around the Sage Campus.

More than 400 girls participated. Another event focused on the court system. They went through a mock trial, working with female lawyers and a female judge.

The Travel Pathway isn’t just a trip; it’s everything that leads up to it. Up to a year beforehand, they’re doing fundraisers and studying what they’re going to be interfacing with during the trip. Recently, girls went to Alaska, Costa Rica and the Florida Keys. It’s assumed that they come back with something that they can offer at home. continued on page 34 capregionwomenatwork.com | 33

Get Involved

continued from page 33

They can also participate in programs virtually. We have a set of girls “twinning” online with Girl Guides in Ecuador.

It will culminate in 2014, when they all come together in Ecuador.

W@W: What are common misconceptions about the Girl Scouts?

Connolly: Cookies, camp and crafts.

Even something like the cookie sale is meant to be an entrepreneurial development program. It teaches financial literacy, goal setting and marketing. The point is they have funds to do other things, like travel programs.

W@W: Don’t they still attend camp?

Connolly: Under our new model, it’s

If you’re a professional woman with a particular area of expertise, why not share it?

If you belong to an organization, consider a partnering with the Girl Scouts. Many volunteer jobs can be done largely online and over the phone.

You might lead a troop, facilitate older girls’ activities, mentor an independently registered girl, recruit or coordinate volunteers, help plan events, help girls manage accounting and cookie sales or coach adults on leadership.

“You probably have a skill set you could volunteer for the Girl Scouts,” says Connolly.

“It’s a very rewarding experience. You’ll get the opportunity to see girls’ sparked awareness of something that they don’t otherwise have an opportunity to tap into. I believe the Girl Scouts really have the potential for social impact to bring girls great alternatives when they’re in short avail.”

Donate your time and talent to the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, (www. gsneny.org 518-489-8110) by contacting Volunteer Engagement Specialist Annemarie Papandrea (apapandrea@gsneny.org ext. 159) or Volunteer Information Coordinator Nicole Zieske (nzieske@gsneny.org ext. 128).

camp/outdoor experience. The outdoors is a great venue for being put to the test around the elements, making something out of nothing and learning to do something together. Girls might progress from hiking to mountain climbing to ice climbing. If girls learn boating, they may end up on a large sail craft for a multiple-day coastal sailing experience.

W@W: What about the crafts component?

Connolly: Rather than just say, ‘We’re going to make cupcakes today,’ it’s a project with a purpose. At Jam Camp, one

of the projects was to create a mascot to put outside your tent. It had to be green. It had to be recycled. It had to say something about how you would define your troop.

W@W: What are girls’ biggest challenges today?

Connolly: There’s still a gender influence, particularly when it comes to science technology, engineering and math.

They tend to move away from these things when they hit middle school.

W@W: When’s your 100th anniversary celebration?

Connolly: On Sept. 14 at the Dance Museum in Saratoga. We’re going to be a little funky on this. You won’t be wearing a black tie. It’s going to be interactive. W

The Download on Kerry Connolly Title: Interim Chief Operating Officer, Girl Scouts of the USA Family: five siblings; Mom lives with her; Dad was a federal auditor

Best decision: “Buying my house on Cape Cod when I was 31.”

Lives in: Saratoga Springs

Surprising fact: “I will do 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle in one day. Sometimes I’ll stay up until 4 in the morning.”

Education: B.A., SUNY Plattsburgh, Sociology-Anthropology; M.B.A. Bryant University, R.I.

Guilty Pleasure: “Give me a good movie and a bowl of popcorn with lots of butter on it and I’m happy.”

First job: Stewart’s ice cream shop at age 15 and a half.

Favorite Girl Scout Cookie Flavor: Samoa

Hometown: Scotia

34 | women@work

Toughest job: Managing partner of a Boston mergers and acquisitions firm. “That was my burnout job.”

FREE EVENT!

GOING UP?

Every businesswoman needs a great elevator speech.

Get your business message in front of the people who can make a difference at the next Women@Work Connect event!

SEPTEMBER 18 5:30-7 PM

at the Hilton Garden Inn Clifton Park

Give your elevator speech for our panel of judges and win! Top three speeches win prizes.

Michelle M. Annese, Owner, Annese & Associates, Inc. Ann Hughes, News Anchor, Fox 23 Theresa Marangas, Attorney, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP

Don’t miss your chance to CONNECT!

Register by September 13 at: womenconnect.eventbrite.com Questions? Call 518-454-5583

sponsored by

*Upon arrival attendees will be asked if they would like to give their elevator speech. Fifteen participants will be randomly drawn from those attendees.

Want to know more about

The Affordable Care Act before you vote?

COME TO OUR FREE SEMINAR

Wednesday, October 10, 2012 New York State Nurses Association 11 Cornell Road, Latham 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Panelists: KATE BRESLIN President and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy.

The center advocates for the state’s low income and vulnerable populations, and was a prime booster of the early creation of health exchanges in New York.

Moderator:

CASEY SEILER

Times Union state editor, his column appears in the Sunday Perspective section.

He also co-hosts WMHT’s weekly public affairs report “New York Now.”

RICHARD KIRSCH Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and the author of “Fighting for Our Health: The Epic Battle to Make Health Care a Right in the United States,” published in February 2012 by the Rockefeller Institute Press.

He is also Senior Adviser to USAction and an Institute Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute.

LEV GINSBURG Director of Government Affairs for the Business Council of New York State.

A former staff member for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, Ginsburg has also worked as a political campaign coordinator and marketing director. Most recently, Served for seven years as attorney and staff supervisor with the former Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform.

Space is limited, register at HealthcareAct.eventbrite.com

by October 5.

Questions, call 518-454-5815

i did it

Baked Just Right Kathy Donovan on building a baking-equipment empire

By Cari Scribner  |  Photos by Colleen Ingerto

K

athy Donovan is a masterful juggler of tasks. She owns two baking equipment companies and a marina with her husband Brian, has two children, Laura and J.P., a yellow lab named Chloe, and carves out free time to go boating with the family on the Hudson River.

From a cavernous 25,000-square-foot building buzzing with activity in downtown Schenectady, Donovan runs BakeRite International, selling top-brand industrial equipment including mixers, ovens, rotisseries, pizza ovens, bread slicers, panini grills, fryers and steamers.

A sister company, Horizon Bradco, provides training services for clients on how to use them, and servicing for repairs or upgrades. In tandem, the companies employ 94 people and have upward of 50 service trucks on the road for local clients ranging from Bella Napoli bakery in Latham to Price Chopper stores, to the chain stores Winn Dixie and Sweet Bay in Florida. continued on page 38

I Did It is a regular feature about a local entrepreneur who took the leap to create her own company. If you would like to be considered or know a company that would be profile-worthy, send an e-mail to jreynolds@timesunion.com. capregionwomenatwork.com | 37

i did it continued from page 37

The story of how the petite, energetic woman became maestro in the world of baking begins with a college job while studying marketing at Marist College.

“I started as a receptionist at a bakery equipment business, and right away found the equipment really amazing,” Donovan says. “It ran the gamut from small machines to full-size industrial equipment. Bakeries today need automation to bring their business to the next level. The equipment provides that.”

In 1990, Kathy and Brian Donovan met; five years later, they launched Bake-Rite International. In 2002, they bought out Horizon Bradco. It was a strategic move to gain a foothold in the states surrounding New York. They also own the real estate holding companies for their businesses.

“We were ready for a New England presence,” Donovan says. “We have cli-

Kathy Donovan’s Top

ents in New Hampshire and Massachusetts now, and also down in Florida. Our next goal is to fill in the entire East Coast all the way to Florida.”

The crystal trophies and plaques in the Bake-Rite entryway attest to the company’s success. Awards include Entrepreneur of the Year from the Schenectady Chamber of Commerce and Vendor of the Year from the American Culinary Foundation.

O

ne of the most enticing rooms in the Bake-Rite building is the test kitchen, a large open space where new equipment is given a road test. Staff bakers know what to look for, and learn how to use the machines so they can teach customers. And of course, finding willing taste-testers in the office to try out the donuts, bagels, breadsticks and other goodies the machines produce is

10 Tips for Success:

Be authentic in everything you do.

Never burn a bridge. No matter how big the industry, it’s still a small community.

Do what you say you are going to do. Reputation is everything.

Build a great team, both internally on

your staff and externally in your advisers.

They are critical to your success.

Trust your gut in hiring decisions — it’s a little like dating.

Network, network, network —

not just for sources of business, but for advisers and connections in your industry and the community.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Control what you can; make the best of what you can’t.

Forgive yourself when you make a mistake

or a bad decision. Learn from it and move on.

Hire above the curve when filling

key positions. Look for people who can help you grow rather than fill a void.

Plan, budget and know your numbers.

38 | women@work

rarely a problem. “We have a play day when there’s new equipment to try out,” Donovan says with a grin.

Donovan is succinct and confident when discussing her business life. She lists “determination” and “confidence” as two qualities women need to get ahead.

“You make decisions and have to try it; if it fails, ok,” Donovan says. “I’ve had failures. I’ve tried to go after certain markets that didn’t work. Failures are part of life. When you recognize it, it’s time to cut the cord.”

Donovan says it was a combination of her innate skills plus the concerted effort to network that helped the baking companies thrive. “I have a marketing background, and also fiscal sense, so we built the businesses strategically,” Donovan says. “But everything has grown from relationships. You have to use business contacts. We’ve made sure everyone who

works with us is happy with our products and service. Then we see where that can lead us next.”

The Donovans’ love of boating led them to their next business adventure. In 2011, they bought Shady Harbor Marina at a foreclosure auction. Situated 13 miles south of Albany on the Hudson River, the Donovans quickly upgraded the marina to serve a wider array of customers.

Today, the marina includes a restaurant, new state-of-the-art docks, gift and convenience store, fuel and electric services as well as parts and boating accessories, and an increased travel lift capacity to handle much larger boats and ships.

That’s just to name a few of the improvements. In the works are a floating Tiki

bar, new barbecue area and boat ramp/ boat launch.

For Donovan, the marina is part business venture, part family getaway. “There was a void for a full-service marina here,” Donovan says. “But we love it; it feels like a resort. We brought in palm trees from Florida. It’s the only place on the Hudson (River) with palm trees.”

B

ut business success hasn’t come without its share of unexpected complications. Shortly after buying the marina, Hurricane Irene hammered the docks, causing damages reaching the half-million-dollar mark. Then, a waterline break occurred on the second floor of the Bake-Rite building. Repairs required

gutting the entire floor.

“You never know what’s ahead,” Donovan says. “You can’t control it. It’s life. Maintain your composure and move on. Do what needs to be done.”

One of the things that needs to be done to run the companies is committing to working around the clock. “We’ll never let any customer down when they need us, and we’ve gotten emergency calls in the middle of the night and on Christmas Day from a baker upset with his machines,” Donovan says. “We do what we need to do. There will always be a stack of laundry at home, and we don’t cook meals at home as much as we’d like. Life is very short. You can’t do it all at once.

But you can always give it your best.” W capregionwomenatwork.com | 39

mind your biz

Want to Be Your

Own Boss?

By Jayne Keedle

D

enise Deitz-Morgan’s business venture began with a haircut.

Her 8-year-old son, like most kids, hated getting his hair cut. But because he has Down syndrome, a trip to the salon wasn’t just tearful — it was traumatic. That changed, Deitz-Morgan says, when she found Snipits in Clifton Park. This franchise hair salon is designed exclusively for children, with videos and video games at every station and stylists who are trained to work with special needs kids.

“He loved it,” says Dietz-Morgan. “And I thought, ‘What a great idea!’”

The more she thought about it, the more Dietz-Morgan saw a need for a Snipits closer to her home in Schenectady. After extensive research into the company, she decided to open one herself.

“What I like about it is they have the template in place and if you go by that template you should be successful,” DeitzMorgan says. “They don’t help you with the financing — I did that through the chamber of commerce — but they were talking to me every day and walked me through the whole process (including) the lease and the legal issues. And they came up and trained my girls, so they were very, very accommodating.”

Like many franchisees, Dietz-Morgan says the most arduous part of the whole 40 | women@work

Rachel Baum, owner of Bark Busters home dog training franchise in Albany.

Photo by Will Waldron/Times Union

Franchise opportunities abound and can take guesswork out of starting a business

process was finding a location. She had a place in mind that she thought would be perfect, but Snipits surveyed the demographics and found the site didn’t have the kind of traffic the company requires.

Once she found a location, there was a lot of back and forth over the rental agreement and then there was the expense of remodeling the space to make it look like every other Snipits. It was a long process from November 2010, when Dietz-Morgan first decided she wanted to buy the franchise, to the official opening of her Snipits salon in Guilderland Plaza, Schenectady, on Feb. 3, 2012. But for Dietz-Morgan, it was worth the effort.

“I love coming here,” she says. “Snipits is a fun, magical place and I’m really happy I’m able to help the community with kids with special needs because that’s really close to my heart.”

Lots of Choices Franchises abound in every field, from cleaning services to health care. Do you have a passion for photography, baking or organic gardening? Would you like to work with children or pets, run a spa or a fitness club, open a sandwich shop or sell flip-flops? Between 4,000 and 5,000 franchise companies offer those opportunities and more.

Franchise fees vary from tens of thousands to as much as $2 million if you want to own and operate a hotel, but the average cost falls somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000. Bear in mind, however, that’s just the initial fee. The cost of actually opening and operating a franchise will cost much more, particularly if it’s a brickand-mortar establishment that requires staffing.

Dietz-Morgan’s franchise fee was $25,000, but she says between the rent and cost of remodeling her space to meet Snipits’ specifications, buying equipment, marketing the business, and meeting payroll, she’s invested about $170,000 so far. “I did it with loans but when you do it with the U.S. Small Business Administration, they want your blood,” she says, adding she’s also tapped out her savings.

One of the deciding factors to buy the franchise for Dietz-Morgan was learning from other Snipits owners that she could still keep her day job working for the Albany School District and run the salon.

She’s lucky too, because her 23-year-old daughter is just finishing her training as a stylist and is able to run the salon when she can’t be there. For Dietz-Morgan, who also trained as a hairdresser when she was her daughter’s age, this is an opportunity to start a family business that she can pass on.

Even if your overhead is minimal and you are the only staff member, chances are you’ll still need the services of an attorney, an accountant, and a reliable IT person to help run your business. The one thing you won’t have, however, is a boss — and for many people, that’s a big plus.

Going It Alone Five years ago, Rachel Baum decided to buy a Bark Busters home dog training franchise. To say it was a big career switch is an understatement. Baum worked as a librarian for 30 years, most recently as assistant to the dean of University at Albany’s Library School, before she decided her true calling was to work with dogs.

“I wanted to stop having a boss and be on my own,” Baum says, adding that she had always volunteered at animal shelters.

“About the time I was thinking this, I was walking in a neighborhood and there was a red truck that said Bark Busters all over it. I knocked on the truck window and asked, ‘What is this?’”

When the driver said it was a franchise that offered in-home dog training, it seemed to be just what she was looking for. And, as it happened, the owner of the Albany-area franchise was looking to sell.

“I considered it to be fate,” Baum says.

“It was the gift I gave myself for my 50th

birthday. It was the best decision I ever made and I never looked back.”

As impulsive as Baum’s decision sounds, she did her due diligence. She sought out other Bark Busters franchise owners, particularly single women like her, to get the low-down. She secured a small-business loan, ensuring she had enough money to cover her start-up fees and living expenses as she got her business off the ground. She went to Denver for Bark Busters training and laid out the cash to have her red Toyota Prius emblazoned with Bark Busters’ logos.

As the previous franchise owner had already spent two years building his business, Baum wasn’t starting from scratch.

“The real challenge was to establish my own reputation as a good trainer,” she says. “I kind of found a niche. I feel very comfortable working with dogs that are aggressive, primarily one-on-one in the home.”

Six Things to Know If You’re Considering a Franchise Women own about 25 percent of all franchises, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the International Franchise Association, and that percentage is growing.

“Some of the top performers in these franchise systems are the women,” says franchise broker Traci Mousetis of Affordable Business Concepts. “I’m talking about the top one percent.”

If you’re thinking about opening a franchise, Mousetis says these are a few things you need to know before you start.

• Pick a franchise that speaks to you. There are thousands of franchise opportunities in every field imaginable, so pursue your passion but don’t blindly follow your muse. You may love photography, but if you’re buying into a photography business franchise you need to be just as comfortable with the business model.

• Most franchises require that you have a certain amount of liquid capital before they will take you on, but franchise fees are just the beginning.

Rent and renovations, equipment and supplies, training and staff (even if it’s just an accountant to help with bookkeeping) bump up the bottom line significantly. Make sure that any loans you take will cover all your expenses, including living expenses, for the first six months at least.

Still, she couldn’t predict the economy.

“I was never nervous about starting because I’d given myself enough of a cushion with my business loan, so I had some leeway there to live on,” Baum says.

“The first two years were actually very good. The next two years were really bad because of the economy and there were some sleepless nights because other Bark Busters were going out of business. But even in the recession, people spend money on their dogs, and if your dog bites someone or potties in the house, you get help.”

Baum says she was able to ride out the recession but she also found creative ways to market her business. Besides driving a vehicle emblazoned with “Bark Busters,” she writes a blog about dog training and she networks extensively with vets and pet groomers.

“Even in the tough times, I still loved every day,” Baum says. “It never feels like work.” continued on page 43

• Do your homework. Franchises are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, so you can look them up to see how many owners they have and where they are located. Beware of a franchise that has a lot of owners in your location, because that suggests the company may not be mindful of whether the demographics can support so many businesses.

Make sure the franchise offers the kind of training and support you need.

• Hire an attorney who specializes in franchises.

Franchise agreements are as long a book so you want a lawyer who knows how to read one. Franchise contracts are standardized because they have to treat everyone the same, so the fees and royalties aren’t up for negotiation. If you don’t think you can live with it, don’t sign it.

• Ask around. Established franchises with proven track records, good training programs, and a good support system are the safest bets. Talk to other franchise owners to find out more about the company and learn from their experience.

• Franchise companies with recognizable brand names — Subway, McDonalds, H&R Block or Days Inn — run national advertising campaigns, but if it’s not a well-established brand it’s going to be up to you to get the word out. Creative and grassroots marketing campaigns need to be an everyday part of your business. capregionwomenatwork.com | 41

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mind your biz continued from page 41

For Baum, every day is a new opportunity to hone her skills. At this point, she’s not only a Bark Busters trainer, but she’s also a certified professional dog trainer and regularly takes classes to become the best dog trainer she can be. Now that she really knows her business she no longer needs much support from the franchise. And like many franchise owners who have established businesses, that’s something she often thinks about when she writes a royalty check.

If you sign up for a franchise you’re on the hook for royalty checks for as long as you own the business. Royalties are a percentage of the revenues, but they vary greatly depending on the franchise, from as little as 6 percent to as much as 15 percent.

So is it worth it? For many people it is because being part of an established franchise takes all the guesswork out of starting your own business.

The franchise company has a vested interest in your success and a good one will offer the training, expertise and daily support you need to make your business work. Instead of trial and error, a franchise offers a tried-and-true formula that will enable you to be your own boss. For many people, especially those who are embarking on new careers later in life, that’s priceless.

“I really would encourage women to take a serious look at franchise ownership, because in general they perform very well. They are trainable and they pay attention to detail,” says franchise broker Traci Mousetis of Affordable Business Concepts LLC, who helps people find franchises in the Albany area. “The women I’ve worked with would probably say ‘I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner.’” W

Top Franchise Choices for Women In 2011, FranchiseHelp.com conducted an informal poll to find out which franchises are most appealing to women. Here are the top five.

1. Women’s Health Boutique caters to women facing particular health concerns (maternity products, personal care products, postmastectomy products and wigs). It began as a store opened in 1991 by two sisters who wanted to honor their mother, who died of cancer.

2. Focalpoint Business Coaching, founded by author Brian Tracy, gives people with expertise in the corporate world a way to share what they know with business professionals around the world.

3. BrightStar Healthcare provides home-based care for the sick and the elderly, offers child care, and provides medical staff for individuals and health care facilities. The Women Presidents’ Organization named this the second fastest-growing women-led company in the United States.

4. MiniLuxe, which offers spa-quality manicures, waxing and beauty products, was launched in Boston by a female-dominated team of Harvard and Wharton School of Business alums who used their business acumen to help make this one of the most successful franchises.

5. Bark Busters, first founded in Australia in 1989 by a couple who ran an animal shelter, this in-home dog training franchise offers specialized curriculum to teach pet owners how to deal with dogs with issues.

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A free panel discussion on the Affordable Care Act moderated by Times Union state editor Casey Seiler will take place Wednesday, Oct. 10, at the New York State Nurses Association in Latham. Space is limited; register at healthcareact. eventbrite.com by Oct. 5.

Health Care Reform What you need to know for your business

S

herry Lynn Birch spends most of her time with her head buried in an oven. The busy baker doesn’t have time to think about health reform and how it will affect her five-person business.

“I’m petrified,” says Birch, owner of Sherry Lynn’s Gluten-Free Bakery and Cafe in Latham, which is teetering on the edge of profitability. “Anything additional that I have to provide for employees would cripple my business.”

Birch works seven days a week and doesn’t have insurance for her own family. On her list of priorities, the next batch of bagels and paying her rent come well before figuring out what the Affordable Care Act means to her bakery.

Renee Walrath, owner of the Albanybased staffing agency Walrath Recruiting Inc., is reading everything she can about the law. Walrath has discussed the issue with colleagues and insurance professionals.

“This has been on my radar,” says Walrath, who employs more than 50 people.

She is still grappling with how to best cover her employees’ health care needs as the new law takes effect. “It’s not crystal clear how it’s going to impact us,” 44 | women@work

Walrath says.

Business owners’ heads are spinning as they try to digest the Affordable Care Act. Among their questions: Am I required to provide health insurance to my employees? Does my existing health insurance comply with the law? Can my workers get insurance through new health exchange the state is setting up? Will I have to pay a penalty — and is the penalty cheaper than insurance?

T

he good news for mom-and-pop business owners like Birch is they are exempt from the onerous penalties in the Affordable Care Act. These small businesses and their employees may even qualify for tax credits or subsidies to help pay for health insurance.

The exemption for companies that employ fewer than 50 workers shields 96 percent of all U.S. businesses because most of the nation’s companies are tiny.

Less than 1 percent of businesses will face penalties, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Companies with more than 50 employees, however, need to start thinking ahead, says Thomas Flynn, an upstate-

based principal with Mercer, a national human resources consulting firm.

The health care law doesn’t mandate that companies provide insurance, but businesses may have to pay penalties if they don’t offer it or if the insurance they provide is deemed unaffordable or inadequate by the government.

Figuring out whether your company’s existing insurance passes the government’s sniff test should be a priority, Flynn says.

To be considered affordable, employees can’t pay more than 9.5 percent of their household income toward their health insurance. To be considered adequate, the policy must pay at least 60 percent of benefits covered by the plan — basically, that means the plan pays at least $60 for every $100 in medical costs an employee incurs.

If your company’s plan fails either of those tests, the government may charge a fine of up to $3,000 per employee. “I think this time next year will be an overwhelming time for business owners who haven’t slowly taken bites of the apple,” Flynn says.

Kathleen Pingelski, president of MicroKnowledge Inc., a computer training

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Alex Slobodkin.

By Cathleen F. Crowley

BST Discover the Difference

company in Latham, is trying to stay abreast of health reform.

The day the law passed, Pingelski called her insurance broker.

“I went to her and said, ‘Tell me what this means, because I don’t want to read a 2,500-page document,’” she says. “You really have to rely on your experts, and I’m more focused on our customers and our core business.”

MicroKnowledge offers health insurance to its 12 employees and pays 75 percent of the premium for individual policies. “I don’t see that changing,” she says.

Pingelski is hopeful that her company will qualify for tax credits under the health reform law, but it’s not clear. “When you read some of the information out there, it says you may be eligible for tax credit,” she says. “To the naked eye it doesn’t give you the bulleted list of ‘You have to have this, this and this.’ That is what I need to have spelled out.”

Federal regulators are still writing the rules of the ACA, so clarity may be elusive for Pingelski and other business owners. W

Left to right: John Abbuhl, CEO, and Dawn Abbuhl, President, Repeat Business Systems, Inc. with BST Partners Kristen Berdar and Ron Guzior

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Affordable Care Act at a Glance • Employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from employer requirements and penalties.

• Employers with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 that purchase health insurance for employees may be eligible for a tax credit. To be eligible, the employer must contribute at least 50 percent of the total premium cost.

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• Employers with up to 100 employees will be able to purchase insurance through state-based health exchanges. The exchanges are supposed to offer affordable insurance plans.

• Large employers (over 50 workers) that do not offer health benefits coverage may be required to pay $2,000 per year for each full-time employee, excluding the first 30 full-time employees.

• Large employers (over 50 workers) that do offer health benefits coverage that is deemed unaffordable or inadequate may be assessed $3,000 per year for each full-time employee receiving federal financial assistance.

• Individuals who can afford health insurance but choose not to take it will pay a penalty of $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015 and $695 in 2016.

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Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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moms @ work

Megan Willis is director of marketing for a global software company. Her blogs, The Davenport Chronicles and Moms@Work, are hosted on timesunion.com.

Photo by Alina Pauksis

September Scheduling:

It’s a Greased Pig Rodeo

By Megan Willis

Mo Willis’ Best Pumpkin Muffins

T

he perfect storm of school starting — with homework, signup sheets, deadlines and carpool conundrums — and the inevitable Q4 race for business back at the office typically land me in a few Calgon moments. No doubt, I will miss one or two memos and wind up doing last-minute wrangling on top of the whole horse heap. This is typically a season that starts with the entire family unit being a tad out of sorts. High expectations for the new school year collide with less sleep and result in a general sense of discombobulation.

This is the perfect time for a little something I like to call “the snack dinner.” You could also call this meal “desperate,” but who wants to eat that?

Snack dinner is where you pull whatever you can find out of the fridge, arrange it in the center of the table for self-serve and get out the plates. Voila. It’s not glamorous, but a couple times a month, it saves the day.

Snack dinner ingredients Rolled up ham or turkey slices Sliced fruit and vegetables Crackers Cheese sticks or slices Dips and dressings Mo Willis’ Best Pumpkin Muffins (see recipe)  Frilly toothpicks or chop sticks, optional      

Makes 2 dozen When it comes to other survival techniques, I’ve heard getting everything done the night before works, but I’m just so-so with that. No matter how much planning you do, at some point you just have to hang on for dear life and hope you don’t get thrown off the beast. Still, nothing is better than seeing your kids shiny and fresh on the first day of school, making a new friend, or running into the house telling you one of those awesome, rambling kid stories where they halfhyperventilate from the excitement of something new and great happening.

Harvest up, hunker down Thankfully, by the end of September we — like the foliage — are transformed, having gone from greased pig rodeo to harvest heaven. I love everything about this time of year, including the fact that I live in the Northeast and get to literally gather it up around me and roll around in it. Cider mills call to me like lost tribe members (Indian Ladder is my fave) and I still love making wax paper leaves for the windows.

Every fall since the kids were babies I have made endless batches of my pumpkin muffins. I have evolved the recipe over the years so it’s a hearty little number and with milk, totally satisfies. The smell in the kitchen when these things come out of the oven would make a Yankee Candle want to end its own life. W

Working can be challenging for any woman. Add children into the mix, though, and the formula changes again. In Moms@Work, authors Megan Willis and Mary Malone McCarthy share their insights on working and raising a family. They will alternate column duties, and you can find them in between issues blogging at blog.timesunion.com/momsatwork.

Ingredients 1 can pumpkin puree 1 cup vegetable oil (or substitute half with ½ cup applesauce) 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites ½ cup water 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 cup wheat germ, flax seed meal, whole wheat flour or any combo of these 1 ½ cups sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon nutmeg 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon allspice 1 tablespoon ground cloves 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (if desired) Method Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all wet ingredients in a big bowl with a whisk or fork until pumpkin is fully incorporated. Combine all the dry ingredients in an even bigger mixing bowl and pour the wet ingredients on top. Stir only until mixed together. Line or oil two muffin pans, fill cups and pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick until it comes out clean. Make as bread in loaf pans, cook 50-60 minutes.

These freeze like a dream. Sidenote: My daughter calls me Mo. I think it’s short for Mommo but I can’t be sure.

If you’re on a fiscal year back at work, no doubt you’ll have plenty to do in the office as well. Mommo’s Best also work well in holding off the hungry between feedin’ times. No matter what kind of pony show you find yourself in this fall, the scenery is guaranteed to be a full spectrum, Technicolor miracle. Giddy up, girls. Stay steady in the saddle and enjoy the ride. capregionwomenatwork.com | 47

meals on the go

It’s Personal Personal Chef Laura Reynolds doesn’t want you to eat alone

By Brianna Snyder | Photos by Tyler Murphy

W

Essential Items for Your Pantry garlic and olive oil: “For me, those are the essentials.”

48 | women@work

hen Laura Reynolds started her personal-chef business, Mimmy’s House, she had been a single mother for 18 years.

“During that time, I did anything I could to provide for my family,” Reynolds says. “And that meant we didn’t spend a lot of time together. We were usually at a drive-through window or shuttling between babysitters.”

In 2003, Reynolds remarried. “My new husband asked me, ‘Laura, if you could do anything, work-wise, what would you want to do?,’” she says. “I had worn so many hats before I didn’t even know what I enjoyed doing.” She’d spent most of her adult life thinking about what she had to do, not what she wanted to do. “When I thought about it, I really felt that I enjoyed cooking so much that I didn’t feel like it was ever work.”

Reynolds spent two years researching how to start a personal chef service, joining the American Personal Chef Association and studying with a mentor

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and other aspiring chefs. She named her new business Mimmy’s House, after her grandmother who all the children in her family called “Mimmy.” (“Mimmy’s house was my favorite place to go,” she says.)

Today, Reynolds helps all kinds of people, from busy working families to elderly or disabled folks who have trouble putting meals together and people with medical conditions that demand hyper-specialized diets.

“A good percentage of people I was ending up cooking for were people who, as a result of bad eating habits for many, many years, ended up having a lot of medical needs,” she says.

Some of her clients have thyroid conditions, diabetes, have had gastric bypass or have recently undergone surgeries and treatments for cancer. For several years, she cooked for a college student whose food allergies were so severe that her parents hired Reynolds to get around the limitations of the school cafeteria.

“It worked out to be a wonderful friendship,” Reynolds says.

And, in fact, many of her relationships with her clients are personal. Food — and eating — is a personal, communal thing.

“The simple truth is that having the time with another person to talk to or share a meal with can often be a starting point of hope,” she says. “I find myself not only gaining a client but making a new friend. You build a bond with your clients that goes far beyond just cooking for them.” W see recipe on page 51

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meals on the go

Dinner in 30 minutes continued from page 49

Gluten-Free, Allergy‑Free Chicken Kiev Serves 4 Ingredients (4) 6 ounce boneless chicken breasts, partially sliced down center 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for browning meat 2 tablespoons vegan butter, Earth Balance ¾ cup gluten free all purpose flour ¾ cup gluten free brown rice bread crumbs ½ teaspoon salt and pepper 1 cup rice milk 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped ¼ cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped 4 tablespoons vegan butter 1 teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon black pepper 1 large lemon, sliced into 8 pieces 50 | women@work

Method In a small bowl mix 4 tablespoons butter, garlic powder and black pepper. Store in the fridge while the chicken is cooking.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut a slice on top of each chicken breast long ways, but not all the way through the meat. To coat the chicken use three pie tins: Pour rice milk into one pie tin, the all-purpose flour, dill, and parsley into the second tin, and the brown rice crumbs into the third.

Dredge each chicken breast into the rice milk, then the flour and herb mixture, then the rice milk again, and then the brown rice crumbs.

On the stovetop melt the oil and 2 tablespoons butter on medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts to pan. Cook 4-6 minutes on each side until browned on each side.

When done, transfer to a 9x13 baking pan.

Remove the butter from the fridge.

Separate into 4 equal parts and insert into the slit on top of each piece of chicken. Top with chopped parsley and two slices each

of lemon. Bake in oven, covered lightly for 8 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees. Let sit for 5 minutes and serve.

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Work and Play

A

mericans work an average of 33.6 hours per week. That’s more time than we devote to any other waking activity.

Spend all that time in the office, surrounded by the same core group of colleagues, and it makes sense that friendships form, right? A photo on your cube wall of your favorite music artists leads you and a colleague to realize you’ve attended more than two-dozen Dave Matthews Band concerts — each. Or, when the woman in the cubicle across from you asks why you’ve been limping for the past couple of days, you learn you’re both marathon runners in training.

Thanks to the commonalities, and the ease of access to a group of people who understand all the nuances of your workplace, it’s easy to fall into the natural 52 | women@work

rhythm that is friendship.

But while friendships are important, and make for happier, more productive employees, according to several studies, people should keep in mind that a workplace relationship differs from any other friendship, says Tracy Smith, the board president with Capital Region Human Resource Association.

“You categorize your friends as you get older,“ says Smith, adding that this is a good thing. You have your hobby friends, such as the women in your book club or the ladies you hunker down with to watch football on a Sunday afternoon.

Many people also have circumstantial friends, such as other mothers or fellow retirees. And, finally, you have your work friends, a group of people who, in some ways, know you as well as your family.

By Kristi Barlette

They probably see you at least five days a week. They know when you are sick and when you have something to celebrate.

In some cases, they know you so well it takes nothing more than a “good morning” for them to gauge if you are having a bad day.

While it’s easy to fall into a natural rhythm with office-mates, people need to be careful about getting too close to their colleagues. Professionally you are different than you are personally, and you need to maintain that divide, says Smith.

You don’t, for instance, want to blather on about how your husband is lazy and how the two of you are just sticking it out for the kids. You also shouldn’t share with your coworkers things such as the intimate details of last night’s sleepover, er, date, or your financial struggles, says

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/nyul.

What distinguishes a work buddy from a personal friend? Quite a lot.

“

Perception is reality.

While the relationship may be completely appropriate, the perception is that it is not and it can damage someone’s career.

”

– DAN MORAN, president of Next-Act in Colonie

Dan Moran, president of Next-Act, a career management company in Colonie.

“When you are in a work situation and you have a relationship between two women you need to realize you are at work and what you disclose at work is different then how you relate outside the office,” Moran says. “Oftentimes, there is information that is not appropriate for a work place and can affect how you are perceived.”

The importance of boundaries can become especially clear should a colleague friend be promoted or, worse yet, be demoted or laid off, says Thomas J. Denham, a career counselor and owner of Careers in Transition in Albany. If you two have shared everything over the years — including all the taboo topics Moran mentions above — and one of you is promoted, it may be hard to look at someone as a boss — and respect her — if you know all the minute details of her sexcapades or high ranking on the Capital Region Beer Pong Tour.

Your friend who was promoted may also struggle. She is now in a position where she needs to make decisions — decisions such as who is best for a particular assignment or, say, who should be fired.

As good friends, both of you are wedged in an uncomfortable position, one where emotions should be void but where years of friendship make that nearly impossible.

The toughest position often comes when one of the people in the pairing is laid off. Often, the person who kept her job distances herself from the staffer who is no longer with the company.

This can be a result of fear (probably irrational) that the colleague who hung on is fraternizing with “the enemy.” Or, says Denham, employees worry they will be judged for being friends with someone who is let go — as if that somehow reflects their own performance or dedication to the company.

Other times, these friendships dissipate because the former colleagues realize that now that they no longer can laugh over Bob’s ties, complain about Stacy’s odiferous lunches or whisper about the suspected affair between two senior managers, they really have nothing in common.

And, really, what is a friendship without commonalities? The answer: nothing. W

And What If the Workplace Friend is a Guy? We live in an era when gay marriage is legal in our state, nearly making out with your dog — and posting the evidence on Facebook — is the norm and partying with your boss acceptable. But, as a society, we’ve yet to embrace one relationship: the platonic male/female friendship — especially in the office.

When a man and woman spend time together outside of the obligatory meetings and strict morale of the workplace, people talk. Speculation builds and rumors spread. And if the pair are married (not to each other), soon coworkers have the two of them jetting off to Fiji and living happily ever after as a couple.

“Perception is reality.

While the relationship may be completely appropriate, the perception is that it is not and it can damage someone’s career,” says Dan Moran, president of Next-Act in Colonie.

If statistics are to be believed, that perception — as skewed as it may be, in some cases — may not be hard to understand. Nearly 40 percent of people have dated coworkers, according to a survey from Career Builder, and onethird have married a coworker. No wonder colleagues quickly think a budding friendship between a male and female coworker is likely to go from analyzing spreadsheets to getting together between the sheets.

Sometimes the person you relate to most in the office will be of the opposite sex. And, if you want to pursue that friendship, caution is paramount.

“I wouldn’t go out to lunch every day with someone,” says Thomas J. Denham, a career counselor and owner of Careers in Transition in Albany. “Once a month is not going to cause suspicions, but anything more than that will.”

You could go out once a week and it could be completely benign, he says, but, as Moran noted, people will talk about it. And, really, with perception being key in the business world, what others are thinking and saying matters, and can affect your success.

The biggest issue is a lack of trust among subordinates, says Moran. Colleagues become suspicious of promotions and professionalism is tainted.

Sometimes the situation boils to the point that one of the two people has to leave the company — and usually that’s the woman, says Moran.

While it’s natural for people who spend a lot of time together — obviously easy to do in the workplace — to form a bond, the friendship can quickly get sticky for people who are married, says Tracy Smith, the board president with Capital Region Human Resource Association. While she’s not entirely opposed to the pairings, she says the real issue can be at home.

“If you are married, make sure it’s open what your relationship is with your spouses,” says Smith. “If you are in a relationship and your spouse is not comfortable with it, you don’t have that relationship.”

capregionwomenatwork.com | 53

Getting Away:

Chattanooga

F

rom its Native American beginnings to the iconic Chattanooga Choo Choo, a thriving arts community, music scene and plenty of parks, trails and beautiful rock formations, Chattanooga, Tenn., offers plenty of free-time options for residents and visitors, alike.

Even the city’s name is traced to its Native American roots, derived from a Creek Indian word that means “rock coming to a point.” Since the 16th century, Chattanooga and the Tennessee River that flows through it have attracted Spanish explorers, French tradesmen and Revolutionary War soldiers. After the Civil War the city experienced an economic surge with the advent of iron manufacturing. Eventually, it became a southern hub, with the Chattanooga Choo Choo Terminal Station opening in 1909.

Industry continued to expand until a fateful evening in 1969, when famed newscaster Walter Cronkite declared Chattanooga to be the country’s dirtiest 54 | women@work

city. His announcement prompted a call to action that included urban renewal projects and extensive riverfront revitalization efforts.

A few decades later, Chattanooga is widely known as an outdoor-lover’s dream. The city’s undisputed centerpiece is the Tennessee River, which cuts a scenic swath through the city, dividing its downtown and North Shore areas. Riverboats cruise the waters throughout the day.

Tourists and residents walk the 2,300-foot expanse of the Walnut Street Bridge, one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world, as kayakers paddle serenely below, headed toward the towering bluffs on the river’s south side. Crowning the bluffs is a bustling art district, and just past the Hunter Museum of American Art is the 12-mile Riverwalk Path that’s routinely filled with joggers and cyclists.

Between a mostly temperate yearround climate, a host of outdoor activities, and an affordable cost of living, it’s

no surprise that many a Chattanoogan is a transplant, lured to southeast Tennessee by the promise of a better quality of life and plenty of fresh air and sunshine.

Chattanooga is also an intriguing vacation spot. Whether you want to explore the bluegrass music scene, take in a whitewater rafting adventure, visit the art district, or shadow the Civil War trails, here are some of the most compelling reasons to visit the southern city that stimulates and relaxes — depending on how you want to play it.

Best Family Attractions Ruby Falls 1720 South Scenic Highway, Chattanooga (423) 821-2544 www.rubyfalls.com These stunning rock formations that surround Chattanooga are among the region’s most defining features geographically. The city was named for the

Photos courtesy Chattanooga Visitors Bureau.

By Stacey Morris

pointed edge of a massive rock mountain that begins at Lookout Mountain and spans 88 miles through Alabama and Georgia. The region has several caving and rock-formation attractions, but Ruby Falls is arguably the most popular. In an underground cavern a third of the way up Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls got its name for the majestic 145-foot underground waterfall that visitors reach only after a snaking (but guided) underground journey through limestone cave formations. The dark, rocky tunnels are tourist-friendly (but wear comfortable shoes) and are rigged with the convenience of electric lighting throughout, as well as an elevator that whisks visitors 1,120 feet below for a subterranean adventure. The formations evolved naturally over millions of years, thanks to ground water seeping into the caves and slowly eroding the limestone. Guided tours of the caves have been operating since 1930.

Battles for Chattanooga Museum 1110 East Brow Road, Lookout Mountain (423) 821-2812 www.battlesforchattanooga.com In November of 1863, major Civil War battles — that ultimately sealed the fate of the Confederacy — were fought in and around Chattanooga. Several were fought at the top of Lookout Mountain because of its strategic location. At 1,200 feet above the valley, it was protected on three sides by vertical rock. Through the museum’s artifacts and displays, including an electronic, three-dimensional battle map, visitors get an almost first-hand account of the history-making battles as they were fought more than a century ago. A short walk from the museum is Point Park, the site of the infamous Battle Above the Clouds. Lookout Mountain is accessible by car or the mountain’s famous Incline Railway. For information, call (800) 825-8366, or visit www.lookoutmountain.com.

The Tennessee Aquarium 1 Broad St., Chattanooga (800) 262-0695 www.tennesseeaquarium.org The aquarium is practically its own day trip, starting with the 10,000 animals housed in habitat displays of varying sizes. Visitors get an up-close look at tropical rain forest frogs, penguins, screech owls, river otters, turtles, snakes and, of course, creatures of the deep, from dwarf sea horses to sharks.

There’s also the option of an IMAX 3D movie or a cruise on the aquarium’s 70-passenger River Gorge Explorer to check out wildlife along the banks of the Tennessee River.

The aquarium’s new tank exhibit is River Giants, a collection of mega-sized river fish — from shark-sized catfish to giant freshwater stingrays more than 12 feet in diameter.

Must-Sees for Everyone The Children’s Holocaust Memorial and Paper Clip Project Whitwell Middle School 1 Butterfly Lane, Whitwell (423) 658-5635 www.whitwellmiddleschool.org The memorial and project are the subject of the award-winning 2004 documentary, Paper Clips, which recounts a school project that began in 1998 by then-principal Linda Hooper. She wanted to create a program that taught students about compassion and respecting others’ differences.

When faculty members decided to use the Holocaust as the basis for the after-school program, they had no idea their efforts would skyrocket to global fame. Appalled by the sheer number of Jews exterminated in the Holocaust by Nazis, students de-

cided to drive the enormity of it home by collecting six million paper clips as a physical representation of those who perished.

The project attracted worldwide attention and as a result, visitors to the memorial can comb through the letters, mementos and historical objects sent from around the world to the school’s Holocaust Artifacts Library. On display are binder notebooks of letters ranging from survivors sharing their stories to detractors who deny the Holocaust happened. Other items filling the small room include objects culled from concentration camps, including Nazi currency for the prisoners and smuggled prayer books; cloth yellow Stars of David that Jews were forced to pin to their clothing; artwork made of paperclips; and a century-old Torah from Lithuania.

Near the school’s entrance is a rail car used by the Nazis to transport prisoners to camps. A pair of German journalists donated it to the school in 2008 and it houses 11 million paper clips to represent the total number of people killed in the Holocaust. In total, students received 30 million paperclips from around the world. continued on page 56 capregionwomenatwork.com | 55

continued from page 55

Surrounding the rail car are various butterfly sculptures, an homage from the book, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, a collection of poetry and artwork done by children prisoners in the Terezin Ghetto (a concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic).

“We also wanted butterflies surrounding the rail car because it is no longer a symbol of death,” Hooper says, “but of new life.”

The rail car is available for self-guided tours anytime, but the student-led tours of the artifacts library are available on Fridays only during the school year. For details on both self-guided and student-led tours, visit the school’s Web site.

Bluegrass Underground at Cumberland Caverns 1437 Cumberland Caverns Rd., McMinnville (615) 406-8142 www.bluegrassunderground.com tickets@bluegrassunderground.com

One of the most primordial concert experiences on the planet, Bluegrass Underground is a radio show recorded live in the rocky underworld of Cumberland Caverns, more than 300 feet below ground.

Some of the country’s most notable bluegrass and country artists perform on a stone stage to perfect acoustics. There’s little to distract these performances thanks to the concert venue being an iron-clad dead zone for cell phones. And you just may find yourself in the presence of a camera crew because some of the shows are broadcast on PBS stations across the country. An elegant touch is a massive chandelier that hangs from the cave’s ceiling to provide ambient lighting in an otherwise pitch-black venue. Upcoming shows include Town Mountain and Frank Solivan and The Dirty Kitchen on Saturday Sept. 22; The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band on Saturday, Oct. 13; and bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley on Saturday, Oct. 27.

Best Spots for Couples The Hunter Museum of American Art 10 Bluff View Ave., Chattanooga (423) 267-0968 www.huntermuseum.org Overlooking the south side of the Tennessee River, the district is aptly named for its birds-eye perch atop a two-block stretch of rock bluffs. This compact neighborhood starts with the striking modern architecture of the Hunter Museum of American Art and its views of the Walnut Street Bridge and Tennessee River. The quaint and compact district also features restaurants, cafes, manicured gardens dotted with modern sculptures, art galleries and the Bluff View Inn, an historic bed and breakfast set in three adjoining turn-ofthe-century homes overlooking the river.

Spend an afternoon browsing the museum and galleries, and follow it with the amazing flourless peanut butter cookies and an espresso at Rembrandt’s Coffee House.

The Chattanooga Market

The market has the usual array of technicolor fruits and vegetables, but what makes it particularly notable are the artisan vendors selling items such as hand-blown glass necklaces and Alchemy of Sol’s handcrafted soaps. Edible treasures include homemade moon pies and the barbecue booth at Lockhart’s Fire & Smoke Catering. Don’t miss their signature barbecue sundae: a Mason jar layered with baked beans, coleslaw and saucy pulled pork, topped with a pickle spear. The market was recently voted one of the top 10 farmers markets in the country

by Frommer’s, in part because of its imaginative theme weeks. Themes in September and October include the Cast Iron CookOff, Harvest Festival, Culturefest, Oktoberfest and Haunted Market.

56 | women@work

Photo by Stacey Morris.

First Tennessee Pavilion 1829 Carter St., Chattanooga (423) 402-9960 www.chattanoogamarket.com 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 2

Where to Stay

The downtown area has plenty of modern hotel chains, all within easy walking to city attractions. Part of Chattanooga’s appeal is the history and the city boasts two historic hotels, both of which offer a one-of-a-kind vacation experience:

Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel 1400 Market St., Chattanooga (800) TRACK 29 (872-2529) www.choochoo.com One of the Historic Hotels of America, the Choo Choo is so named because it’s actually the converted and highly spiffedup version of what was once the city’s Terminal Station. Ever since Glenn Miller immortalized the terminal with his 1941 hit “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” the landmark has been an object of fascination. The hotel features traditional rooms and suites, as well as the option of dreaming the night away in one of its 48 Victorian train car rooms.

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Delta Queen Hotel 100 River St., Chattanooga (423) 468-4500 www.deltaqueenhotel.net Moored on the north side of the Tennessee River, this stately hotel was once a working riverboat that logged more than 2 million miles carrying ordinary citizens as well as political dignitaries and celebrities to their destinations. Rooms range from the opulent Captain’s Quarters to more modest Bunk Rooms, but no matter which option you take, a bountiful southern breakfast is included each morning.

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When to Visit Chattanooga…

Worst time: July or August. This is the deep South so the summer months feature significant humidity and temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s.

Best Time: Eastern Tennessee is known for stunning foliage, which usually peaks the final two weeks of October. The varying elevations of the Chattanooga region make it especially scenic for leaf peeping, and the state itself has four national parks and 54 state parks. For information on scenic routes and the state’s fall color forecast, call (800) 697-4200. Information is available on the first day of autumn and updated weekly through the end of November. Also visit www.fall.tnvacation. com/foliage. W For more information on Chattanooga, visit www.tnvacation.com, www.chattanoogafun.com, or call (800) 462-8366.

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A Head Question: In an era in which annual raises are increasingly rare, what’s your reward system for top-performing employees?

What’s one tip you have if raises aren’t happening?

Compiled by Brianna Snyder nowing what to do in sticky situations is one of the hardest parts of being a manager. In each issue of W@W, we’ll feature a tricky issue with answers from area HR professionals, managers and business owners.

If you have a question you’d like answered, drop us a line on Facebook, facebook.com/capregionwomenatwork, or send an e-mail to jreynolds@ timesunion.com. Your question will be kept confidential.

Annmarie Lanesey, president Greane Tree Technology

Schedule flexibility and time off for high-performing employees is engagement and retention gold.

Some jobs are a natural scheduleflexibility fit for strong performers, e.g., recruiters and writers, who are as (if not more) productive working remotely from home on a Friday. Several local employers also offer a 4-day/10-hours-a-day work schedule during the summer, yearround or every other week, giving a Friday or a Monday as a day off, allowing for a three-day weekend.

– Debra J. M. Best, owner Deb Best Practices

58 | women@work

– April Hicks, executive coach Charlton Consulting Services, LLC

People love to be noticed and, more than that, sincerely appreciated. Notice a job or an effort well done and appreciate it! A little appreciation and positive feedback can go a long way.

– Amy Friedman, president BroadBlast, Inc.

K

Smart, productive, happy teams are the life-blood of all companies, including software programming firms like ours. We understand that our employees have lives, families and responsibilities outside of work, and we work hard to assure a quality work-life balance. Though we do still believe in raises, we reward our employees with flexible schedules when needed. The result is more balance and productivity both at home and at the office.

Nonfinancial rewards are an important component in any employee performance program, and two of the most appreciated themes are workplace flexibility and career development.

Career development can be no cost or low cost, rewarding high performers with cross-training, stretch assignments in other areas of the organization, industry mentoring, networking opportunities, and individual coaching. My one tip to management is to stay in active dialogue with their team members about what else they need in addition to their financial compensation. One size does not fit all, so rewards should be customized to the individual and then modified as their careers evolve and their lives change.

First, a company may not have enough capital to give everyone a raise. I personally don’t believe in giving percentageacross-the-board raises, even in good times. This is an opportunity to reward only the best contributors with a bonus.

When your bonus pool is shrinking, the bonuses allocated to your “stars” will aid in their retention. Second, when it’s clear monetary raises or bonuses are not possible at all, then look for ways to recognize employees with other rewards, such as new chairs, discounts to health clubs, upgrading computers or with reward cards. Last, make sure you communicate what you have done. Don’t assume employees will connect the dots.

Let them know: “We were not able to give raises this year. To show our appreciation for your hard work, we have decided to give you (reward).”

– Rose Miller, SPHR, president, Pinnacle Human Resources, LLC

Illustration: © iStockphoto.com/artvea.

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