Page 39 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian
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 a stronger sales team, marketing strategy and improved forecasting.
• Workforce—Learn from this report how best-in-class companies are managing the talent crisis, and understand new strategies for attracting and retaining workers. (Note: this report consists of two separate studies and report— one for wage and benefits and another for executive com- pensation).
"We have used PMA benchmarking data to gauge our performance for decades,” says Aznavorian. “In fact, the IATF auditors love the fact that we benchmark using industry data from PMA.”
HR Management as Critical as Ever, and PMA Helps Here, Too
With employee attraction and retention top of mind for every metal former, including Clips & Clamps, PMA has developed plenty of opportunities to help its member com- panies expand the skill sets of their human-resource exec- utives. Clips & Clamps’ HR manager Laura Mullin is a perfect example, as she regularly participates in the dedicated PMA HR listserv where HR managers from dozens of member companies share best practices.
Beyond the HR listserv, PMA also produces an annual Human Resource and Training Professionals Roundtable, a hybrid event (in-person or virtual registration) offering an opportunity to network with industry peers and participate in discussions on key HR and training-related topics.
Lastly, PMA’s workforce development director Connie King announced recently that PMA has become a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Gold Recertifi- cation Provider.
“Like many other positions, HR professionals who join SHRM can become certified by sitting for an SHRM exam,” King explains. “They can earn an SHRM-CP (Certified Pro- fessional) credential or SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Pro- fessional) credential. Once certified they then must earn 60 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) in a 3-yr. cycle, which is where PMA now can help, by awarding PDCs for HR-related events and courses.”
Among the PMA events registered to provide PDCs:
• MDA
• HR and Training Professionals Roundtable
• Leadership/HR-based webinars/events and METAL-
FORM EDU courses.
“Among the areas available to provide PDCs,” King adds:
“leadership and promoting organizational change; promoting core values, integrity and accountability throughout the organization; and creating a diverse, inclusive culture and ensuring equity effectiveness.”
PMA Moving Forward, with One Voice
“The PMA staff truly cares about the members,” Azna- vorian says. “The culture at PMA has been nurtured and we can feel it as a member. We feel like we have a partner in
PMA that’s a webinar away, a phone call away, a click away. And my goal as chair, and even beyond my term, is to con- vince others to feel the same way.
“Moving forward, the association must continue to stand strong for its members, while at the same time standing on the strength of its members,” he continues. “A lot of change is coming to our industry; rate of change will not slow down. Our trade association then needs to be the port in the storm, where members can turn for direction and guidance.”
A large part of that responsibility falls on the PMA advo- cacy team, under its One Voice partnership with the National Tooling and Manufacturing Association. That team, led by The Franklin Partnership and one of its founding partners Omar Nashashibi, will spend 2023 focused on several issues deemed top of mind by a recent survey of PMA and NTMA members. The top three:
• Workforce recruitment and training
•Taxes
• Raw material prices.
Other issues noted in the survey include health care,
energy supply/costs, OSHA and other regulations, and trade. “In addition, we are proud to be bringing back the Wash- ington, D.C., fly-in this year, albeit in a different format,”
says Aznavorian.
This year’s fly-in, set for March 28-29, includes a briefing
with the PMA lobbying team and a reception, and Capitol Hill visits. It will be a targeted event with attendees primarily being members of the One Voice Government Affairs Team, and board members of PMA and NTMA. That said, the mis- sion remains consistent with previous fly-ins. That is, to actively lobby Congress and the administration for reforms that will help the metal forming industry compete long into the future.
“This year’s format is designed for the Capitol Hill meet- ings to be more efficient and effective than ever,” Aznavorian explains, “with a core group of attendees, while also limiting time spent out of the office.”
Last Word
Reflecting on the last few years and all of the challenges that metal formers—and all manufacturers, in fact—have faced, including supply-chain disruption, Covid-19 and wildly fluctuating raw-material prices, Aznavorian says:
“Credit goes out to the PMA staff, leadership and every member company, in helping all of us work through the pandemic and weather a storm of supply-chain and material chaos. Through it all, we have been able to build momentum and strengthen our association. By leaning on the collective experience and knowledge that resides in our member com- panies and people, our connections will be strengthened, and our knowledge and potential will grow. We will be a Precision Metalforming Association that is united in our goals to support the best companies in the world of metal forming.” MF
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