Company surveys employee morale in down economy
MONROE - QPS Companies, a local staffing and recruiting firm located at 1115 16th Ave., surveyed more than 300 manufacturers, banks, printers, distributors and information technology firms throughout Wisconsin and Illinois as part of its employment forecasting survey in May.
The survey, released June 24, is an indicator of local employers' expectations of the employment climate.
The average company size reported was 91 employees.
What companies are doing to maintain morale:
• Communication/meetings - 65 percent
• Leadership visibility - 35 percent
• Flexible scheduling - 33 percent
• Recognition - 29 percent
• Casual days - 16 percent
The major motivational methods local companies are using to maintain morale have one common factor - they are non-monetary. Other methods mentioned were lunches, group outings, tickets to sporting/community events and seminars or training opportunities.
Another aspect of the survey looked into how often companies shut down for more than one day during holiday weeks:
• Fourth of July week: 33 percent said yes
• Labor Day: 22 percent said yes
The survey found that an average of 27 percent of companies plan to shut down for longer than normal during the holiday weeks. Companies also wrote that they expect to shut down for a week here or there in the summer, and some even anticipate multiple full-week shutdowns.
MONROE - Not all businesses in Green County are cutting back in the face of a faltering economy.
Russ and Nadine Brown, Monroe, are forging ahead with a new eating establishment, Pancho and Lefty's, on the city's Square, even as it begins to undergo major reconstruction. The Browns are expecting to hire six to seven part-time employees when the restaurant opens this summer.
In Monticello, Ernie Gempeler is expanding Gempeler's Supermarket without adding on to his building in Monticello, where he has been in business since 1972. He wants to offer customers more, not fewer, products and keep them shopping locally.
"We're trying to stay ahead of the competition," Gempeler said.
Gempeler is removing his old produce coolers and freezers for larger, efficient ones and, in the process, gaining more space for customers and products.
The energy savings of the new coolers and freezers are offset by the bigger units which will hold a larger variety of products
Gempeler also sectioned off an area of the store for the Beer Cave, a walk-in cooler for alcoholic beverages, which will save on labor of stocking coolers.
The store eventually will get a new look in decor and flooring. The cost of all the upgrades will be "a lot," he laughed.
Some things will not change, like free carry-out service and retaining an in-store butcher.
"We don't intend to become a Walmart, where all the meat is prepackaged," he said.
Even though the Monticello area's population has not increased dramatically, Gempeler is hoping the additional variety of products he can offer will pull in more customers.
More customers will mean hiring more employees, he added.
Making the changes now, in the shaky economy, doesn't concern Gempeler.
"I don't think we have the problems other places have. Janesville is not a good place to be expanding right now," he said.
If more than 35 years in business gives Gempeler a sense of when to remodel his store, Russ and Nadine Brown, owners of Pancho and Lefty's, still are developing their business savvy. They are stepping fresh into the market.
Russ describes Pancho and Lefty's as "a fun joint with a sense of humor."
The Browns took ownership of the building that had long housed Wolfe's Office Supply on the Monroe downtown Square, and are remodeling it. They are doing most of the work themselves, and by doing so are saving a lot of money, they said.
"Really, we're able to do this right now because of a perfect storm of situations," Brown said. "Everything was as it was meant to be."
The Browns served six years as the chef and the nanny for one family, and moving with them from Georgia to Los Angeles.
"We lived the life, 24/7," Brown said.
They came back to Green County (Russ has family in Browntown), because Russ loves the Square and Baumgartners.
Their new store, and the home above, is like having "a little piece of the whole thing," Brown said.
The Browns found the office supply store the day after it was put up for sale, but had no idea the Square would be torn up this summer.
Debt free and without children, and with a solid idea for their business venture, they found financing was easy to obtain.
"We met one time with Woodford State Bank. The rest of the deal was done over the phone," Brown said.
Brown expects his small restaurant will appeal to a broad range of customers, and especially to those who are turning to cheap fast-food, carry-out places.
"In this bad recession, we are on the Square offering inexpensive food at a good value," he said.
Brown, a trained chef, will make all the food they serve from scratch. "As good as I know how to make it," he said.
And in keeping with the theme of its name, Pancho and Lefty's will be playing "outlaw music" in the style of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Jr.
With the theater just across the Square, they plan to remain open until 11 p.m. or later on Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Items on the American/Tex-Mex menu include, burritos, tacos, pulled pork sandwiches and BBQ ribs, and will be made fresh, accompanied by beer and wine, homemade salsa, and, of course, cheese.
"Oh, we're gonna have cheese," Brown said.