WhatTheyThink

Premium Commentary & Analysis

Salem One Takes “University” Approach to Workforce Development

Salem One, the largest independently owned packaging, print, and direct marketing/mail operation in the Southeast, believes it will gain a significant competitive edge by committing to a new model for internal training and cultivating up-and-coming leaders within its ranks. Patrick Henry explains how the company’s “leadership pipeline” has become an integral part of its business strategy.

Thursday, November 07, 2024

“We believe in being proactive,” declares Phil Kelley, Jr., CEO of Salem One. That attitude has helped to make the company the largest independently owned packaging, print, and direct marketing/mail operation in the Southeast as well as one of the industry’s most recognized firms for excellence.

A determination to look ahead is also why for more than a decade, Salem One’s leadership group has reached out to universities, community colleges, and high schools throughout the Carolinas as a part of its recruitment strategy. “We've poured our own time into supporting any and all teachers, professors, programs that want some help,” Kelley says.

These relationships have led to hiring, but the company realized that more needed to be done to develop the workforce it needed.


Continue reading your article
with a WhatTheyThink membership.

WhatTheyThink Annual Membership

Less than $4/week.

Get unlimited access to in-depth commentary and analysis covering the latest trends, emerging technologies, operational strategies, and key events across every segment of today's printing industry.

Stay informed. Stay competitive. Stay ahead.
WhatTheyThink Day Pass

$5 for 24 hours

Unlimited access to all of WhatTheyThink. Get your Day Pass

Already a member?
Sign In

About Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry is a journalist and an educator who has covered the graphic communications industry since 1984. The author of many hundreds of articles on business trends and technological developments in graphic communications, he has been published in most of the leading trade media in the field. He also has taught graphic communications as an adjunct lecturer for New York University and New York City College of Technology. The holder of numerous awards for industry service and education, Henry is currently the managing director of Liberty or Death Communications, a content consultancy.

Recent Articles from Patrick Henry

Groups File Suit vs. California Law That Would Chase

Groups File Suit vs. California Law That Would Chase "Chasing Arrows" Away from Packaging

Only in California: a law that claims to support recycling by removing recyclability symbols from recyclable materials. A coalition that includes print and packaging businesses is pushing back Read More

No Relief in Sight for Printers as Consumables Prices Keep Spiraling

No Relief in Sight for Printers as Consumables Prices Keep Spiraling

Wars, tariffs, supply chain breakdowns, you name it—they’re all kicking up what printers have to spend for raw materials, and the upward trend shows no sign of abating. Patrick Henry rounds up some examples. Read More

How Printers Should Confront the Creeping Threat of Cybercrime

How Printers Should Confront the Creeping Threat of Cybercrime

No printing business is exempt from hacking attacks and the online con games known collectively as “social engineering.” Technology safeguards, cyber insurance, and relentless vigilance are mandatory for firms that don’t want to risk having to close their doors in the aftermath of a cybercrime incident. Read More

Postmaster General Paints Dire Financial Picture; USPS Watchers React

Postmaster General Paints Dire Financial Picture; USPS Watchers React

Is it really true that the U.S. Postal Service could run out of money in the next 12 months? In theory the answer is yes; in realistic terms the answer is no. But the system’s problems are genuine, and without serious intervention, they could prove insurmountable. Read More

Augmented Reality Remains the Real Deal for Making Print Interactive

Augmented Reality Remains the Real Deal for Making Print Interactive

Marketers and printers haven’t run out of innovative ways to infuse print with digital content with the help of augmented reality, an if-you-can-dream-it, you-can-do-it technology if there ever was one. Read More

Recent Printing Industry News

Wednesday, June 03, 2026