Cape Business Trends newsletter April 26, 2007
Join our marketing guru on Wednesday
We are very happy to welcome our marketing and customer service guru, Doug Fleener, to the Cape this Wednesday, May 2. Please join us for a breakfast session beginning at 8 a.m. at the Bayside Resort on Route 28 in Yarmouth as part of the Yarmouth Area Chamber of Commerce’s speakers’ series.
We must cut off RSVPs by 3 p.m. on Monday, so call (508) 385-3811 ASAP to reserve your seat. There will be a nominal $5 charge at the door to defray the cost of breakfast for the chamber.
Fleener has been an invaluable contributor to Cape Business since its inception; and he was our keynote speaker at the 2005 Business Connect conference. Fleener can help any business – especially retailers – with critical marketing and customer service issues.
He has written about how to compete with the big-box stores; how to motivate your staff to serve your customers better; how to develop relationships with customers by inexpensively collecting data on their purchases and preferences; and how to market in the most targeted and cost-effective fashion.
With the busy summer season almost upon us, this is a perfect opportunity to connect directly with Fleener and leave with tips that will go right to your bottom line in 2007.
Demand for long-term care growing fast
Growing demand for long-term care, a trend that reflects the aging of the baby boomer generation, means nursing homes in Massachusetts will need 10,000 more licensed nurses in three years.
The Massachusetts Extended Care Federation reports that there will be overall demand for 30,000 nurses across all health-care fields by 2010. The federation estimates that 15 percent of nursing positions in Bay State nursing homes – more than 1,800 Registered and Licensed Practical Nurse positions – are currently vacant statewide. The federation says adequate funding of Medicaid, which covers 70 percent of nursing home residents, and workforce incentives and grants are steps the state can pursue to help meet the industry’s personnel needs.
The vacancy rate on Cape Cod is 8 percent – a figure that is less than places such as the Berkshires, the South Shore or Boston.
Cape Business is publishing Baby Boomers and Their Retirement in July. To learn more about this publication, reaching 75,000 readers, please call Bob Viamari at (508) 385-3811.
Signs of progress on employment front
March is signaling some positive news on employment, supporting anecdotal evidence from employers.
A year ago March, Barnstable County’s unemployment rate stood at 6.9 percent. Last month, it registered 6.4 percent. Interestingly, the number of people without jobs was up slightly, but that is partly because the number of those in the workforce – actively seeking jobs – was lower than a year ago.
Meanwhile, the gap between Cape Cod’s joblessness and the state’s rate remains about the same. A year ago, the state’s unemployment rate was 1.7 percentage points less than the Cape; it now stands at 1.6 percentage points.
Some positive notes on the real estate front, too
Cape Business’ real estate price index shows that the median price of all residential property in March rose by nearly $14,000 from the month before. It currently stands at just above $340,000. That is the highest price registered since last October.
Still, the median price last month was some $29,000 less than in June 2006. It had dropped to as low as $320,000 last December.
The improvement in March is significant because it reinforces positive signs registered in January before a February frost cut back activity. Seasoned real estate veterans such as Jack Conway, who has owned his company for 50 years, are predicting recovery by the third quarter of this year.
Other reports reinforce Cape Business numbers from the Warren Group, which closely follows the housing market, and the Massachsuetts Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service.
TD Banknorth’s co-president moves to Cape Cod Five
TD Banknorth's regional co-president, Bert Talerman, has resigned to join Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank.
Talerman focused on commercial banking at TD Banknorth, where he shared the top post with Larry Squire, who remains. Talerman becomes Cape Cod Five’s first chief planning and business development officer. The newly created position is designed to broaden and deepen customer relationships, further develop new products and services, and enhance Cape Cod Five’s ability to acquire new customers, said CEO Dorothy Savarese.
In his role, Talerman will facilitate many cross-functional activities in the organization.
Talerman has been in banking for 18 years, with 11 in management. He had worked for Cape Cod Bank & Trust before it was acquired by TD Banknorth.
Two weeks ago, TD Banknorth laid off seven employees on the Cape as part of a companywide reduction of more than 400 positions.
Both banks will be profiled as part of our special report on banking in the May/June issue of Cape Business.
Promote your company via newsletter sponsorships
We are proud to bring you this timely e-mail newsletter, which now reaches some 3,000 readers. It has grown steadily over the last year – and we receive very encouraging feedback from many of you.
Our goal is to supplement Cape Business magazine, which arrives at your offices every two months. It also creates a community among us so we stay abreast of news important to your everyday business decisions.
If you would like your business to cosponsor this newsletter, please contact Glenn Ritt at glenn@capebusiness.net to learn more. Your banner ad will appear in each newsletter, and you will have opportunities to cosponsor our growing list of network, marketing and learning events throughout 2007.
Women and business, finance, and leadership
Cape Business plans a November conference on Women@Work: Business, Finance and Leadership. If your company is interested in sponsoring this event and providing its insight into an upcoming edition of our magazine that will focus on these topics, please call Glenn Ritt at (508) 385-3811.
Commissioners complete 21st Century Task Force report
The Barnstable County Commissioners have instructed the Cape Cod Commission to begin implementing key reocmmendations of the 21st Century Task Force.
Whether the steps will be sufficient to defuse growing disenchantment - and even anger - among some towns and business leaders, time will tell.
The commissioners concurred with three broad themes identified in the Task Force report: the need for better coordination and communication between the Cape Cod Commission and town officials; the need for the commission to place more emphasis on planning and technical services to towns; and the need for it to make its regulatory process more transparent, predictable and friendly.
The commissioners also emphasized that the Cape Cod Commission give stronger consideration to economic development, in particular the creation of livable wage jobs, when weighing the benefits and the detriments of proposed developments.
The press release announcing the commissioners' report did not explicity address two major concerns addressed by businesses as well as a minority report among some of the 19 task force panelists: The Cape Cod Commission lacks sufficient business expertise on its staff and it must provide a more rapid, predictable set of processes and standards for businesses to calculate costs and time for the approval process.
Deaths on the job
Seventy-six workers were killed last year on the job, including many individuals whose deaths could have been prevented with “basic and inexpensive” measures. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupation Safety and Health found that understaffing and exploitation of immigrants and day laborers were among key findings. Car, truck and train accidents, as well as falls, were the most common causes of deaths.
The authors are advocating more stringent workplace safety regulations and enforcement, including improving workers compensation and prosecuting employers who recklessly endanger workers. The report also recommends staffing levels and workloads that would help prevent injuries at worksites and a Web site containing information on workplace safety programs for all employees.
The report also noted that for every worker killed on the job, 10 more die of occupational diseases. Last year, 750 workers in the state died due to diseases related to “workplace exposures” and another 1,900 were diagnosed with cancers “caused by workplace exposures.”
Upcoming events
Newly named Secretary of Housing & Economic Development Daniel O'Connell speaks on May 4 at the Radisson Inn as part of the Cape Chamber’s Healthy Start Breakfast series. He is seeking feedback from the business community.
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is set for June 6, 2007, at the Chatham Bars Inn. Cocktail-style reception begins at 6 p.m., with installation of new directors and officers to follow. The event promises to be light on the speeches and heavy on the networking and fun. The cost to attend is $60 for members; $75 for non- members.
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