PARAMUS, N.J., JANUARY 29, 2007 – The NAPL Organization Development & Compensation Study 2007, the first in a series of reports on these critical areas, has been released by NAPL, the trade association for excellence in graphic communications management. The comprehensive study is a valuable strategic-planning tool, providing graphic communications companies with a roadmap to organization development as well as compensation for critical staff—the executives who set company vision, the supervisors who execute it, and the IT staff for whom we are competing economy-wide, not just with other printers. “Competing effectively in today’s hyper-competitive business environment requires more than the latest equipment and technology. Today’s graphic communications companies need talented management and a highly skilled and motivated workforce,” noted Andrew Paparozzi, NAPL vice president and chief economist and head of the Association’s Printing Economic Research Center (PERC). “Given the profound change our industry is undergoing, the time is right for a study of this scope that explores the critical areas of organization development and compensation—not just the numbers but the strategies that today’s printers need to apply to remain viable competitors,” said Joseph Vincenzino, NAPL senior economist. Conclusions in the Study are drawn from a comprehensive survey of more than 150 printing companies. “Some of the Study’s conclusions are encouraging, and some are not,” said Paparozzi. “But all remind us that no industry—no matter how technologically advanced—can prosper for long without an effective labor force, and that no one builds a sustainable competitive advantage only by investing in the same technology their competition can invest in tomorrow.” Featured are skill requirements for new and existing positions; how to overcome resistance to change; effective recruitment and retention methods; how companies view their compensation and evaluation programs; and practices from industry leaders. Also included: Base salary, total incentive, and expected salary increases for nearly 1,300 individual employees by title, company size, and region. In addition to this valuable information, the NAPL Organization Development & Compensation Study 2007 goes beyond the numbers by providing insights into whether today’s graphic communications companies are: - Competitive in terms of their executive and supervisory compensation. - Investing appropriately in employee education and training. - Effectively recruiting, retaining, and evaluating employees. - Cultivating the skills—organization-wide—that are essential for success in an industry that is getting more competitive and more complex. “The Study is designed to encourage companies to think carefully about the issues that will ultimately determine whether or not they ‘make it’ in our industry. How they approach organization development and compensation is an area that no organization—no matter how big, how well-established, or how successful they’ve been in the past—can afford to ignore,” Paparozzi said. To purchase the NAPL Organization Development & Compensation Study 2007 ($149 for NAPL members; $249, non-members), call (800) 642-6275, Option 4, visit www.napl.org/store, or stop by the NAPL booth (#228) at On Demand at the Boston Convention Center, April 17-19, 2007.