To maintain its position as a top supplier in the promotional products industry, Tekweld has hired Gregg Szpicek as Vice President of Business Development to help further scale and strategize on its growth trajectory.

Hauppauge, New York.  Tekweld, a leading supplier in the promotional products industry, is proud to announce the triumphant return of Gregg Szpicek in the role of Vice President of Business Development.  Szpicek had previously joined Tekweld over a decade ago and served as Vice President of Sales until 2016, at which point he branched out as a formidable force in the industry leading sales and business development for a number of premier companies. 

Over the past 6 years, Szpicek has implemented effective growth initiatives and marketing and business plans for multiple organizations in a variety of roles—his intuition, strategic thinking, and fundamental understanding of the promotional space has allowed him to effectively scale and exceed sales goals and objectives.  

“We are thrilled to have Gregg back in the fold at Tekweld,” said Scott Slade, Chief Executive Officer.  “In this new role, Gregg will collaborate with leadership to strategically identify new channels, business opportunities, and revenue streams to further solidify Tekweld’s position as a trusted industry leader.”

Szpicek is a native New Yorker, with a vision for creative solutions and an innate ability to build strong relationships with colleagues, customers and associates.  He is well known and respected within the promotional products industry, and will oversee the development of Tekweld’s new channels and strategic initiatives.

Ohio-headquartered distributor Proforma (PPAI 196835, D13) has promoted Greg Armstrong to the post of chief sales officer. Armstrong, a veteran of the promotional products industry with more than 20 years of experience with a variety of companies, served as the served as Proforma’s vice president of sales development for nearly two years until 2018 when he left the company before returning in 2021 in a different VP role.

The Promotion

• The title and role adjustment became official earlier this month. Armstrong had been vice president of sales, but in the new capacity will have more strategic oversightin recruiting distributors to Proforma’s owner network.
• Armstrong has an extensive CV in the industry, but he tells PPAI Media that he left Proforma in 2018 on good terms with an eye on his dream of starting his own business in sales coaching. After juggling a stint as vice president of sales for supplier Logomark, he focused solely on that dream as the owner of Right Turn Advisors.
• Eventually, Armstrong says his relationships with his former clients “pulled me back” into the promotional products industry, where he was worked as vice president of sales for supplier Evans Manufacturing.
• The mutual decision to return to Proforma early in 2021 was based “100%” on the relationship that he had with Proforma’s founder Greg Muzzillo, CEO Vera Muzzillo and President Doug Kordel, according to Armstrong.
• Prior to his first stint at Proforma, Armstrong spent a combined 15 years working with Alcone Marketing Group, Gemline and AIA Corporation.

The New Role

• Much of Armstrong’s role as chief sales officer will involve attracting distributors, independent or otherwise, to Proforma and giving them the tools they need to succeed within the company. He describes the position as, “more of a role that allows me to look at it from a more visionary standpoint.”
• “What we’re trying to do with our owner network is establish a scalable, measurable and meaningful process to not only grow their business, but manage the business, all the while utilizing our own prior proprietary technologies,” Armstrong says.

Strategy

• “We’re not being disruptive just to be disruptive,” Armstrong says of the company’s mindset. “Let’s look at things differently. Let’s face it, the world kind of tilted on its axis a little bit in the last couple of years. So we’re not looking at it in a reactionary state; it’s more of an opportunity to rethink how we go to market.”
• “One of the biggest challenges and one of the best opportunities of this industry is that you can sell pretty much anything to anyone,” Armstrong says. “So where do you pick your swim lanes? How do you go about what is, in essence, infinite opportunities? That’s one of our taglines; ‘One source, infinite resources.’ We’re really embracing that and incorporating that.”

Logomark, the industry-leading promotional product supplier, has entered into a partnership with Snowfox to add their branded barware to Logomark’s growing hydration offerings.

Founded in Newport Beach, CA in 2017, Snowfox, Inc. is a woman-owned company established with the idea that beverage temperature retention could be achieved without sacrificing the design and drinking experience provided by traditional elegant glass barware. With each of its drink-specific product designs, Snowfox concentrates on four basic elements; simple yet sophisticated styling, weight that is up to 50% lighter than typical everyday glass, a thin, 1mm rim that provides a similar sipping experience to premium glassware, sizes and shapes that are comfortable to hold for both men and women, and sufficient insulation to keep a drink cold without the need for a lid. Made with high-quality 304 (18/8) food-grade stainless steel, and using double wall vacuum insulated construction, Snowfox barware is crafted to keep drinks cool while keeping hands and table surfaces dry and are available in designs and colors chosen to look great and perform well at cocktail parties and poolside gatherings alike.

“Logomark is excited to enter a partnership with an innovative drinkware brand like Snowfox. The brand provides a fresh take on drinkware, blending performance stainless steel with high-end barware,” says Trevor Gnesin, Chief Executive Officer at Logomark.

Logomark will be releasing 8 stainless-steel barware products from the brand including Beer, Martini, Rocks, Wine, and Highball glasses, along with Ice Buckets, Cocktail Shakers, and Wine Carafes, that will be available in white and black with rose gold trims and unique shimmer finishes among other color offerings.

“With their focus on design and value, we believe Logomark will be a great partner for us within the promotional products industry. We look forward to working with them to provide customers with our unique drinkware options,” says Cici Perrier, Founder and CEO of Snowfox.

To learn more and view the complete offering please visit logomark.com/snowfox.

Ad Bands Plus Celebrates 100 Years And Continued Growth

Ad Bands Plus, a leading global supplier of ad specialty products such as custom imprinted rubber bands and wristbands, is celebrating its 36th year in business. Officially launched in 1986, Ad Bands Plus has grown to service ad specialty distributors in twelve countries.

Credited as the inventor of the world's first stretchable wristband in 1987, Ad Bands Plus created the Pepsi Challenge wristband which transformed the wrists of people around the world into miniature billboards. The concept was then adopted by fashion labels, NBA stars, food and beverage brands, and promotional media/ad agencies.

Proforma Members Gather for Largest Educational and Networking Event of the Year

“It was an unforgettable four-day event!” said Terri Tolmack, Owner of Proforma Hi-Rez. “The days were filled with networking, continued education, a Supplier Showcase, and the opportunity to learn from fellow Owners and gain insight on the latest technological and marketing innovations Proforma has to offer in the industry.”

Proforma, the $500 million technology and business success leader, hosted its largest event of the year, the Proforma Annual Convention and Family Reunion, Ignite 2022. This event reunited more than 400 members of the Proforma Family including Owners and their teams, Supplier Partners, industry leaders, and the Support Center Team at the beautiful Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.

This year, Proforma introduced several new awards to recognize their Supplier Partners’ standout performance within the print and promo industry. A few of the awards highlighted their sustainable and eco-friendly approaches, those with the most cutting-edge products, and Suppliers who were able to make the “impossible” possible by going above and beyond for their customers.

“Our Proforma Family wouldn’t be complete without our incredible Supplier Partners,” explained Proforma VP of Supplier Relations Michelle Dalton. “Getting to be in an environment where there is so much positivity and collaboration going on always leaves us eagerly awaiting next year’s event so we can reunite again!”

On the eve of Dale Denham’s one-year anniversary as PPAI president and CEO, he presented in front of many of the industry’s top leaders at the North American Leadership Conference (NALC) in a “Fireside Chat” about the challenges and progress the Association has faced, while offering plans for the future.

It was fitting that Denham’s first year capped at NALC. One of the earliest calls that Denham had to make, after joining PPAI on Aug. 16, 2021, was to cancel the 2021 NALC due to a COVID-19 spike. It was one of the most difficult decisions of his tenure, but it was likely not his most important. A few months later, with COVID-19 still affecting plans around the country, Denham moved forward with The PPAI Expo in Las Vegas, an in-person return in January of 2022 that the industry sorely needed after two years apart.

Denham also addressed significant staff reductions that took place during the pandemic, before he arrived at PPAI, and the many hirings and promotions over the past year that have begun to counter those reductions. Denham, of course, is only the most notable addition representing the new direction of the industry’s non-profit Association.

“The people are changing,” says Denham. “PPAI is changing.”

In some ways, the most visible changes have been to branding and marketing, such as advancement to the Association’s content and media offerings. These initiatives are designed to allow PPAI to be recognized as the voice of the industry. But much of the focus that Denham has guided the Association toward represent a different way of looking at things.

This particular moment in the industry, following the disruption caused by the pandemic, required a PPAI leader who would direct the Association toward something beyond business as usual. Denham’s time in the promotional products market, including his previous role as senior vice president and CIO at distributor Geiger, suggested he planned to push PPAI toward more.

“We are not going to sit still,” Denham said Monday. “You will see a lot of changes.”

With company leaders listening, Denham also addressed Promo Data Exchange (PDX), what he described as “the most unpopular change that we announced.” PDX’s goals, which run parallel to industry tool PromoStandards, ruffled some feathers upon its announcement.

“We both share the same vision,” Denham says. “We want to get rid of all those phone calls. We want to stop errors. We just have different strategies. Some of you have different opinions on what we are doing with Promo Data Exchange. We are doing it because we believe we have a strategy that is going to help solve a problem, and we continue to talk to PromoStandards and look for ways to work together for the good of the industry.”

In spite of some resistance to PDX, Denham confirmed PPAI’s commitment to streamlining future business, and the Association’s hope to lead the industry into tools and possibilities that will push it forward.

“We are committed to digital transformation for the industry,” Denham said. “We are going to drive digital transformation.”

In evaluating potential leaders for the Association, PPAI's Board of Directors highlighted figures who could push the industry toward improved technological solutions.

"It is hard to believe a year has passed since Dale took the helm at PPAI," says board chair Dawn Olds, MAS+. "His vision and passion for Association staff, members, and the industry are at the core of all he does. On behalf of the entire PPAI board, I thank him for the leadership he has provided this past year and look forward to seeing the seeds of success he has started to plant blossom."

Denham concluded his Monday remarks by stating that CSR was “perhaps the most important thing for this industry” and that it has been mandated by the PPAI Board of Directors to be a top priority, while teasing that new plans and ways to drive progress in that area will be developed at the Product Responsibility Summit in September.

Digital transformation, CSR and the Promotional Products Work campaign – with its first buyer-facing event set for Sept. 29 - are the three pillars to what PPAI is focusing on going forward under Denham’s leadership.

“Our mission is to be the force and the voice to advance the promotional products marketplace for the benefit of our community,” Denham says. “Our members are the community. The marketplace is everyone who is buying or selling promotional products. We want everyone in the community. We’re working for the whole marketplace.”

For PPAI, 2022 has marked a return to in-person events. Following the success of The PPAI Expo 2022 and Women’s Leadership Conference 2022, the PPAI North American Leadership Conference returned to its in-person format this week for the first time since 2019.

Industry leaders came together at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, beginning Sunday, for educational sessions, keynote speakers and the opportunity to connect with each other face-to-face.

“It’s so great to see everyone coming back together, talking live,” Dawn Olds senior vice president of industry relations and DEI at HALO and PPAI’s board chair. “It can feel nearly impossible to do over Zoom or by email. That creative energy, you can just feel it here. It’s palpable in the room. It’s great to have it back.”

After an outdoor welcome reception Sunday evening taking in the Broadmoor’s famous scenery, the event officially kicked off Monday morning with a packed schedule of informative sessions capped off by the evening’s networking dinner at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum with a talk from Paralympic skier Tyler Carter.

Monday’s sessions tended to focus on technological progress. Earlier in the day, Mike Pfeiffer of American Solutions for Business, who is also chair of PPAI’s Technology Committee, explained the ongoing challenges of cybersecurity. Tech expert Vala Afshar of SalesForce provided the room - full of high-level promo professionals - with a presentation on near- and short-term possibilities afford by technology, including AI, that should be top of mind for company leaders. Afshar also joined Dale Denham for a Q&A diving deeper on the subject of digital progress.

“Every year it’s different, and the topics seem to shift in focus,” says Christopher Duffy, MAS, the CEO of Signature Group Consulting, who has now been to 10 NALCs. “Today seemed to be technology and people, and I find that good. I look for tidbits, and I got pages of tidbits today; things I can apply.”

Keynote speakers from outside the industry were a big part of NALC’s first education day, asking company leaders to think outside of what has been directly in front of them recently.

Claudia St. John of Affinity HR Group – a PPAI partner - proposed hiring practices and employee benefits that might have seemed radical to the company leaders just a few short years ago. Tamara Ghandour, president of LaunchStreet Consultancy even asked each table to build a rocket ship with the scant material accessible at their table. The event also included a “fireside chat” with PPAI CEO Dale Denham, who marked the non-profit trade association’s progress and challenges.

PPAI’s goal to bring together many of the industry’s top-level executives creates inevitable opportunities for networking and ideation, which NALC doesn’t shy away from. An “Executive Exchange” between speakers asked attendees to discuss issues at hand with a small group of peers they were randomly assigned to sit with, leading each attendee to hear multiple perspectives on shared issues that have come up in the industry over the past three years.

“That has been a lot of the conversation,” Olds says. “Conversations around ‘How did you deal with this? How are you driving innovation in a hybrid work environment?’ There were some really great ideas that our table exchanged that I’m excited to go back and apply.”

According to Duffy, the exchanging of ideas at NALC always takes a familiar pattern but with fresh ideas.

“The other benefit is the networking and the connecting,” Duffy says. “I know 90% of the room, and after three years, sometimes it feels like we hadn’t been away, but I just like the connecting and the catching up. This is a room of like-minded people.”

PPAI’s aim with NALC is to encourage the industry’s leaders to push new ideas forward and solve problems together, putting mutual solutions over competition.

“We all just want to do better,” Duffy says. “We all go back to our offices and have obstacles to tackle.”

After almost 35 years with the company, Sharon Eyal is stepping down from ETS Express (PPAI 135148, S11). His departure, set for later this year, is part of a planned transition following the Oxnard, California-based supplier’s acquisition by PCNA (PPAI 113079, S15) in 2019.

Eyal’s family has been in the glass and ceramics business for generations. His father founded ETS Express in 1985 and he joined in 1988.

When Eyal came onboard, ETS had five employees, three of which were members of his immediate family. He became the company’s CEO in 1994 and prior to the sale to PCNA, ETS had grown to more than 500 employees at its Southern California headquarters and Concord, North Carolina, fulfillment center.

Eyal led ETS through its 2018 trademark dispute with retailer S’well. The case, formally known as Can’t Live Without It, LLC dba S’well Bottle Company v. ETS Express, Inc., went to a jury trial in the Southern District of New York in March 2018. Following the nine-day trial, the jury ruled unanimously in ETS Express’ favor on all counts.

Speaking to PPB at the time, Eyal said, “For me, settling wasn’t an option. If we had settled, that would have given the green light for retailers and outsiders to come into our industry and claim something is theirs where it may not be.”

In the wake of his departure, Eyal intends to take six months off from working.

The Transition

Following Eyal’s departure, Brandon Bell is stepping up to lead ETS as president going forward. He has been with the company for almost a dozen years, first coming onboard in 2010 as director of sales. Since March 2019, he has been the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.

“Sharon and his family have built an amazing company that values its customers and employees alike,” Bell says. “It is thrilling to be part of a team that is so passionate about what our company does. There is such a positive energy to build and continue the family values established over that last 37 years. I am grateful to be part of it.”

Backfilling Bell’s position at ETS as vice president of sales is Adam Stone, the company’s national account director. Stone has been with ETS since 2014 and before that, PCNA as a field sales manager. His background also includes several years with The Magnet Group in a sales role.

The Acquisition

PCNA’s acquisition of ETS closed on November 29. It joined industry supplier brands Leed’s (PPAI 112361, S13), Bullet (PPAI 113079, S12), Journalbooks (PPAI 110769, S10) and Trimark (PPAI 198982, S10) under the company’s umbrella.

ETS, reportedly the largest supplier of promotional drinkware in North America at the time and a recognized leader in product design and innovative decoration, extended PCNA’s presence and leadership in the fast-growing drinkware category.

Following the acquisition, ETS continued to operate out of its Oxnard headquarters under the leadership of Eyal, who joined PCNA’s executive team. ETS operations, sales and marketing remained independent.

Tri-Mountain announced today that it is set to close later this month. The Irwindale, California-based supplier has been in operation for almost 30 years.

In a statement announcing the closing, the company said, “Since starting Tri-Mountain in 1993, we’ve had the honor and privilege of earning your business and support. We cannot fully express our gratitude for the opportunities to work with you over the decades. On behalf of our entire Tri-Mountain family, please accept our deepest thanks and our best wishes for your continued success.”

Tri-Mountain will continue to accept orders through Thursday, August 18. More information is available on trimountain.com.

• The company was founded in 1993 by Daniel Tsai.
• Tsai told PPAI Media that the company will soon provide an update on where its merchandise will be available after this week.
• Tri-Mountain had regularly ranked as one of the industry’s larger suppliers in the latter half of the 2010s. It ranked as the 25th largest supplier by revenue in 2017 sales, according to a Counselor estimate. However, it had fallen out of the top 40 by 2021, with estimated revenue slipping by more than $17 million.

Nearly 48 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021. Through the first five months of 2022, 20 million Americans did the same. The Great Resignation is playing out across the economy and it’s not over; globally, one in five workers are expected to quit before the end of the year. People in all industries are reprioritizing things and in a hot job market are able to explore their options, so quitting isn’t as scary as it once seemed.

The promotional products industry is not immune from this trend and like any other sector, can suffer if it doesn’t respond. Businesses across the field are implementing new policies, seeking new talent and working to better connect with their employees, while promo professionals are weighing the directions open for their careers.

The Great Resignation and the trends driving it are felt as readily in a marketplace as large and diverse as the promotional products industry as any other sector of the economy.“Employees know what they want and need to be happy,” says Erika Ruehlman, vice president of talent and strategy at St. Louis-based PromoPlacement Recruiting. “Companies that are taking a modern approach to work-life balance, remote work, benefits and are being competitive with compensation are winning by attracting and retaining top talent. One hundred percent of the people I talk to love the industry with a passion I believe to be unrivaled.

“Companies must step up their game to hire and retain the ‘A players,’ and those that do will come out on top.”

Businesses large and small have registered key talent departures. In February, Jason Lucash stepped down from his position as chief development officer at Braintree, Massachusetts-based supplier HPG. He still serves on the company’s board in an advisory capacity and sees many of The Great Resignation’s trends at play in the industry.

“During the pandemic the labor force shifted dramatically,” Lucash says. “Many people were out of jobs and receiving the high unemployment benefits associated with it, so they didn’t want to return to the labor force, and that hasn’t changed dramatically in the last two years.

“The biggest impact these trends will have on the industry is for suppliers in the operations side of their business. Just as the airlines currently can’t handle the amount if bags passing through airports every day due to staffing shortages, the same is to be said about suppliers in the promo industry. When you layer on increased demand, with labor shortages to decorate and ship orders, it makes for the perfect storm. Also, as many more remote work opportunities opened up during the pandemic, the typical warehouse employee now had a much larger pool to select jobs from which further exacerbates the staffing shortages.”

No organization is immune to the effects of this unfamiliar economic paradigm. Even PPAI has been affected. It has registered a handful of veteran contributors parting ways with the Association in recent years as they move on to new chapters in their lives. High profile departures within the organization include Director of Publications and Editor Tina Filipski, who stepped down at the end of 2021 after 26 years, and Executive Vice President Bob McLean, who left last month after a 14-year run to enter consulting work. In 2021, McLean led the Association in an interim capacity following the departure of Paul Bellantone from his post as president and CEO for an executive role at leading distributor HALO.

Regardless of how long The Great Resignation and the trends behind it remain in play, it will likely have a lasting effect on how promotional products companies’ recruiting and retention practices.

“Human resource professionals are noting a delineation in resignations between companies that offered remote work opportunities versus those that enforced a return to the office,” says Jaci Badzin, a business futurist who has worked with NIKE, Google and YouTube. “While some positions and teams strongly benefit from a return to the office, work from home flexibility, even part time, proves to currently be one of the most important policies for retaining and attracting top talent and entry level talent.

“The other big area is healthcare benefits. Increasing and publicizing stellar healthcare policies is one of the best ways companies can attract great talent. We even see employees sharing about their great benefits on social media. Benefits that stand out can include mental health support, holistic medicine benefits, and fertility and family planning.”

McKinsey has grouped those that leave their jobs during the Great Resignation into three broad groups:

• Almost half (48%) of those who quit are going to positions in different industries. And this isn’t affecting all industries in the same way—talent is draining excessively from some and others are challenged to bring in new workers. Some sectors have both problems.

• Many employees who quit go into nontraditional roles like gig or part-time work or start their own businesses. While about half (47%) return to the workforce, only 29% resume full-time work in the traditional sense.

• Some leave the workforce to focus on other areas of their lives—caring for children or elderly, or even themselves. This group may have stepped out of the labor pool entirely.

Ruehlman notes that promotional products field workers typically don’t want to leave the industry. She says, “I think they would fight long and hard to stay in it before attempting to look elsewhere. Sadly, those that do look outside of the industry tend to feel like that may be one of the only ways to reach the compensation they desire. I have noticed many of the people that were forced to leave the industry due to pandemic-related layoffs are now looking to return. Many are willing to even take a step back from their previous role to be able to achieve that.”

• Responses were similar across all parts of an organization: front-line staff (36%), managers (34%), directors (32%) and executives (33%).

And the Great Resignation and the attitudes behind it are likely to remain a factor for a while. A survey by AI-drive job search platform Joblist found that 42% of those who quit and found new jobs say the new positions aren’t living up to their expectations. This group is unlikely to stick around at a job that isn’t working for them.

• The survey found that 16% will stay at a job not meeting their expectations for three months or less, 34% for less than six months and 48% will stay less than a year.

• Worker age can exacerbate these numbers—47% of people in their 20s and 40% of those in their 30s say they will leave a job that doesn’t measure up in six months or less. However, less than 25% of those over the age of 40 will leave in less than six months.

• Meaning: PwC’s poll found that following compensation, finding a job fulfilling (69%), working at a place where one can truly be themselves (66%) and a feeling that the team cares about their well-being (60%) were top drivers in the decision to seek new employment.

• Confidence/Competence: Employees want to feel that they can be creative/innovative at their job (60%) and that they can exceed what is expected of them in their role (58%).

• Autonomy: Employees want to control when they work (50%) and where they work (47%).

• Results show that 65% “agree” or “strongly agree,” 17% “neither agree or disagree,” and 19% “disagree” or “strongly disagree.”

• Quizzing participants on burnout, it found that 45% experience burnout “often or extremely often,” 31% experience it “sometimes” and 24% experience it “rarely” or “not at all.”

• Even among “burned out” employees, appreciation goes a long way—19% of employees who face “chronic workplace stress” but also feel that they are valued on the job are planning to leave, compared to 65% who don’t feel valued.

“Every major company has stated brand values, often on their ads or company homepage,” Badzin says. “For example, Apple’s company motto is ‘Think Different’ while Disney’s is ‘The Happiest Place on Earth.’ If a company is struggling with retention one first step is to put their efforts into creating a culture that truly brings a brand’s values to life. Employee experience matters.”

Following the pandemic rebound, employment growth has been rapid—in July, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.5% and the country added 528,000 nonfarm jobs, in part fueled by a voluntary turnover rate up 25% from pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, there were 11.3 million open jobs at the end of May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 9.3 million open jobs at the end of April 2021.

One thing that hasn’t changed since 2021, according to McKinsey, is the percentage of workers planning to leave their jobs within the next three to six months—40%.

Aligning with McKinsey’s findings, an April survey by YMCA WorkWell, a workplace well-being expert for businesses, governments, and non-profits, asked 682 employed adults if they intend to be working at their current organization in six months. It found that 34% of respondents were expecting to leave or open to leaving their current role in the next six months.

As in so many other sectors of the economy, the Great Resignation has brought new faces to the promotional products industry, familiar faces to new corners of it and in some cases departures.Lucash recognizes many of the factors influencing the Great Resignation in his decision to step down from his role at HPG.

“I was working crazy hours for 13 years straight, traveling 150,000+ miles a year and prioritizing work before everything,” says Lucash. “When the pandemic hit and I was suddenly home and not in the office or on the road it was quite the adjustment. Over the two years of being grounded and working from home, it made me re-prioritize what was the most important to me. I wanted to spend more time at home with my family, take a break from working to reevaluate what I am passionate about and spend more time figuring out where I can make my next big impact.

“All of the factors led to my decision to leave HPG, and I think a lot of people have had similar thoughts and experiences fueled by the pandemic.”

Kim Bakalyar, CAS, formerly the chief compliance officer and director of vendor relations at Los Angeles-based distributor PromoShop and PPAI’s 2022 Woman of Achievement, retired earlier this summer. While the trends at play in the industry did not influence that decision, they did reinforce it. “If anything,” she says, “the pandemic made me more certain that it was the right time for me to take a step back and give myself permission to slow down a little.”

However, Bakalyar would not be alone if the pandemic had been a factor in her retirement. Data from investment management company Vanguard suggests that in 2020-2021, the pandemic prompted an additional 1.6 million retirements among workers 55 and older.

Industry companies report interest in open positions at the firms but are moving to accommodate the increase in mobility among the workforce at larger.

“In 2022, our employee retention has improved with our attrition rate falling by almost 50%,” says Leonid Rozkin, CEO of Dallas-based service platform provider OrderMyGear (PPAI 704581). “We have seen a decrease in the number of external applicants applying for our open positions and believe it is because of the current employment state of the economy. We are always hiring and find it important to hire and promote from within, when possible, to create opportunities for career growth and personal development.

“We’ve also adjusted our talent sourcing to connect directly with the community and potential candidates in smaller, often face-to-face settings like college job fairs.”

Chris Anderson, CEO of HPG, says, “The changes first manifested a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic. We have witnessed a continued trend of increasing employee mobility driven partially by the work-from-home phenomenon, and partially by high demand for talent in certain areas of our enterprise—such as technology.”

There is also a more open attitude toward new opportunities. Ruehlman says, “Interestingly the biggest shift I have seen is in the passive candidate market, meaning people are far more open to hearing about what’s available but not necessarily aggressively searching on their own. Those candidates are generally not willing to jump unless the new opportunity checks all the boxes both professional and personally.”

In its 2022 Great Attrition, Great Attraction 2.0 survey, McKinsey measured the top reasons respondents gave for quitting their job in the April 2021-April 2022 time period. The most commonly given reason was the lack of career development and advancement (41%), followed by inadequate total compensation (36%) and uncaring and uninspiring leaders (34%).PwC reported similar findings. Its Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, polling more than 52,000 workers in 44 countries and territories, and conducted in March, highlighted salary’s role in workers’ decisions. It found that, by and large, pay is the big reason driving the decisions to change jobs—71% of those surveyed cited it as a main factor.

However, it also identified three additional issues that were part of employees’ decisions as to whether they or not they change their working environment.

These motivations are reflected in promo industry workers’ own decisions.

“Ironically the main reason I see for people wanting to make a change is that companies are understaffed,” Ruehlman says. “Support people are feeling overworked and stressed out. On the sales side business is booming again, but staff was likely cut during the pandemic and not replaced. Salespeople are feeling the stress of taking on many of the support tasks which take away time from selling and their bottom line.

“I think everyone is feeling burnout from the extra effort it took to survive the last couple of years and now looking for relief. If they don’t see their company making the effort toward correcting that, then they are looking.”

YMCA WorkWell’s survey looked closer at employees’ decisions to leave and found that their sense of well-being can play a significant factor. The organization’s earlier research, the 2021 YMCA WorkWell Workplace Well-Being Report, identified workload and burnout as clear challenges to employee well-being going into 2022, and its most recent survey identified a similar trend.

YMCA WorkWell asked survey respondents to share their reaction to the statement “Thinking back on the last three months, I feel as though my workload has been a significant source of stress for me in my role.”

Among those considering leaving their job, almost half, 44% described themselves as burned out.

The Great Resignation has driven many businesses to reexamine what they offer their employees. Workplace flexibility, meaningful work and support for health and well-being were some of the most powerful draws for employees in McKinsey’s survey, for example.

YMCA WorkWell suggests that turnover risks drop substantially when an employee feels appreciated. Only 15% of employees who feel appreciated at work are looking to leave their positions in the next six months.

“The Great Resignation has sharpened our focus on the holistic value proposition of choosing to work for HPG,” says Anderson. “Whether it be increased benefits—such as a generous health insurance and retirement plans—or hybrid/work-from-home flexibility, we continue to evolve to meet the changing needs and expectations of our team members.”

HPG is not alone in assessing what it offers its employees. OrderMyGear is working to better understand its employees’ motivations, what drives them to stay at the company and their perspectives on areas of opportunity.

“We’ve accomplished this by gathering their perspectives through monthly surveys and interviews,” says Rozkin. “This helps us get ahead of matters before they become issues.”

Earlier in 2022, OrderMyGear provided raises approximately three times its normal budgets and put career pathing and coaching/development plans in place. Rozkin says, “This helps us ensure there’s proper career pathing for roles across the organization so employees are clear on what’s next and what it will take to get there. We have also continued to invest in our culture and build a strong sense of community through employee-led culture events, company-wide events like office Olympics, and encouraging people leaders to get outside of the office with their teams, like lunches and group activities.”

Company culture and its role in connecting and attracting talent is worth the scrutiny. Evidence from YMCA WorkWell, McKinsey and elsewhere suggests that a positive organizational culture can also reinforce an employee’s relationship with their employer.

“Companies that thrived through the Pandemic and beyond have recognized the vital need to put employee well-being and experience at the center of company culture,” says Badzin. “We will see a dramatic shift away from ‘perks’ like unlimited free snacks, in-office massage and ping-pong tables. Employees are showing with their choices that they want a company that has respect-driven policies—respect for their time, their life choices, their work product and freedom to show up as themselves. This is a new realm of policies, stated and observed. Smart brands know that how customers get to feel starts with how employees feel at work.”

Fostering a company culture that connects employees to the organization is also an opportunity for a business to live its brand values.

The pandemic has complicated the growth of company culture and its value proposition, and what that means during the Great Resignation. Promotional products businesses are still working to understand what that means in terms of culture and retention. Badzin suggests companies lean into these changes.

“Many highly skilled employees got a taste of the freelancer or entrepreneur lifestyle with work from home time,” she says. “Now they want to feel like partners or collaborators, with autonomy and a focus on results, skills and creative solutions rather than a clock-in culture.”

The annual inflation rate for the U.S. is 9.1% for the previous 12 months ending in June, which accounts for the largest annual increase since November 1981, and is certainly something on the mind of many in the promotional products industry. At the same time, sustainability efforts have been a top expectation of promotional products distributors and suppliers as buyers increasingly prioritize products that will not have a negative impact on the environment.

Parsing out whether inflation is affecting sustainability efforts is difficult, but looking at recent consumer habits can begin to paint a picture.

One study of the collision, the U.S. Sustainability Consumer Dilemma Report, was released recently, detailing how inflation is impacting consumers’ sustainable actions.

• The report, initiated by consumer data provider GWI, relies on a survey of over 20,000 U.S. internet users age 16 or older each quarter, in addition to supplementary data.

• The “Consumer Dilemma” aims to take a closer look at what the cost-of-living crisis means for sustainable behaviors and attitudes from consumers.

• It attempts to look at what’s on consumers’ minds during this current landscape, what sustainable actions consumers are taking amid inflation, and whether inflation will have an impact on sustainable spending.

• One essential finding is that the sustainable actions that has seen the most growth are linked to reusing items. In one sense, this a sustainability effort that is practical for consumers during a difficult economic period because it avoids repeat buying.

• Inflation or not, more than a fifth of consumers, led by younger generations, feel that brands have the most responsibility in supporting sustainable initiatives. They want to see efforts, especially from big-name companies.

• Fifty-seven percent of consumers feel that the cost of living has “increased greatly” in the past six months, and 67% feel inflation has had a “dramatic” or “moderate” impact on themselves personally.

• While some people have reported a “fatigue” in hearing about climate change, younger generations, including Gen Z and Millennials, still list climate change has a top-two concern for them. This drops off with older generations but paints a clear picture of the concerns of current and future consumers.

• Twenty-seven percent of consumers say they are buying more brands and products made in the U.S.

• Twelve percent of consumers are actively avoiding brands and products that don’t have recyclable packaging.

• Sixty-eight percent of consumers claim to be price conscious when it comes to buying food or groceries.

It might seem a relevant question to ask whether consumers are still prioritizing sustainability during a time when they are forced to be more budget conscious. Denise Taschereau, a PPAI board member and the CEO and co-founder of distributor Fairware, says that, from an ethical standpoint, accountability remains important, even through a time of inflation.

“Sustainability is no longer an option to drop when times are tough,” Taschereau says. “It’s fundamental to the way business is being done.”

The Fairware CEO also says that the demand for sustainable products remains high, as it is an issue that transcends problems of the moment, no matter how difficult.

“We’ve seen the historical interest in ‘eco-products’ come and go, but this time around, our clients’ commitments to sustainability as core to how they choose their suppliers and their products is not wavering, even in the face of inflation and the threat of a recession.”

PPAI Public Affairs Manager Maurice Norris says that he is hearing from a larger share of members that more and more of their clients are asking about sustainability and ESG (environmental, social and governance).

“I think inflationary pressures, combined with tariffs, supply chain backlogs, and climate impacts could move sustainability-related endeavors from the front burner for a lot of companies, especially small businesses,” Norris says. “However, many end buyers seem to be holding focus on sustainability, so I think in those cases promo companies will have to follow suit.”

It’s also worth noting that the study’s findings on certain reusable products are positive in nature for many promotional products. For example, the study found that consumers who claim to carry reusable water bottles or use a metal or glass straw has grown 10% and 9% respectively since Q4 of 2020.

Kevin Kanimyar, founder of Yellow Tree Marketing and a social activist, told PPAI in July that sustainability gives consumers agency concerning the world around them, simply by purchasing something they might already want or need. The call to action that a brand can ask of its consumers once providing it walks the walk is an attempt at solidarity toward something bigger.

“People also want to be given something to do,” Kanimyar says. “They see the issues and the cries for help and then think, ‘Well, what now? What can I do about it?’ Companies must provide the call to action and next steps for them to further reach their goals.”