An open letter from James Cryer, (pictured) associate member, to the board and executive of Printing Industries, in which he offers his perspective on recent events and on possible avenues towards the future.
If the PIAA (Printing Industries) were a country it would arguably be the most dangerous place on earth. If you're an employee there chances are your employment will soon be terminated.
In a recent statement by the PIAA, it listed those who’ve left, either voluntarily or not, in the past three months. Last week in a dramatic development, we learn that long-serving national board member, immediate past-president of the national body and former-president of PIAA in Queensland, Susan Heaney, has departed from the board!
Is it something in the drinking water? How can ten people in the space of a few months all fall on their sword? If they were all that bad, why were they employed in the first place? Or is a more likely scenario that they didn't conform to the new PIAA template (if there is one?) going forward?
As they say, to lose one of anything is carelessness but to lose ... ten in a row?
Maybe there's a hidden agenda at play: to strip down the PIAA, tighten-up its balance sheet and flog it off to another larger group, such as the AIG (the former Chamber of Manufacturers)? We're sitting on a gold mine from the sale of Auburn, we've flogged-off the overheads of having state offices and we're putting the axe through the head-count.
But running an industry association is a difficult and messy business. Certainly, one has to be mindful of managing the members' assets and finances carefully. An industry association is a finely nuanced entity, with four main objectives
- To lobby for, and protect the interests of, its members
- To provide a forum for members to come together and exchange ideas
- To provide technical, legal and other support services to its members
- To hold events to publicise or showcase the achievements of the industry.
I could add another … to promote the benefits our industry offers to school-leavers and other new entrants.
The PIAA has been losing members for years as the offset component of our industry steadily shrinks. And I'm not suggesting that's a bad thing, as it's probably part of a mega-trend towards smaller, not larger, industry associations.
Where I think the PIAA may have been remiss is in not approaching printing companies in other sectors. Last week a company who erect neon signs contacted me. They needed a Mac operator as they have acquired a wide-format capability. When I jokingly asked if they “put ink on paper?” and they agreed, I said, “that makes you a printing company.” They were somewhat taken aback by this new categorisation! But would they ever reach out to the PIAA?… possibly not. Would the PIAA ever reach out to them … definitely not!
In recent weeks, we've heard Harvey Norman excitedly advertising on radio, telling people to visit their stores and get stuff printed while they wait, explaining how they offer a comprehensive range of print services. Would they feel a need to join the PIAA? Probably not. Would the PIAA ever contact them … again, definitely not!
Print has become like an amoeba, morphing into a million forms and popping up in the most unexpected places. But a traditional reliance on a hard core of suburban, sheet-fed offset companies will sound the death-knell of the PIAA. Large sheet-fed printers who print cartons, like Hannapak and Colorpak, see more value aligning themselves with the Packaging Council of Australia (PCA), a weird amalgam of suppliers and customers, if ever there was one!
So, for what it's worth, here are my helpful comments to the Board. If I were running the PIAA:
- You can forget about the value of lobbying these days. Unless you're prepared to play the game of having a permanent office in Canberra, governments aren't interested: look at all the good it did us lobbying to Australia Post for lower business rates!
- Reach out to other graphic arts associations and engage with them on joint programs, such as: attracting school-leavers, staging training programs and other events, social as well as technical. You've created Future Print as a great platform and I've attended many workshops. I don't think I ever saw anyone who wasn't a member of the PIAA. There should have been invitations sent out to all print sectors.
- Remake friends with the PIAA's daughter organisations that currently feel unloved and unwanted. They, specifically the JPE, LIA and LATMA, can help you, but you'll have to invite them back into the fold after virtually telling them to go away.
- No more Updates sent out via spin-doctors! The use of weasel words like transformation, journey, realigning all suggests the writer is having a terrible battle with the English language! Fire the spin-doctors and hire people who can write informatively about issues that are of interest to members.
Which leads me to… promoting the National Print Awards. If ever there was a wasted opportunity, this is it! This could be a great showcase event if we did several things. One is to promote it to print-buyers generally, through the PIAA. Another, is to limit it to PIAA members only and charge a huge premium to those non-members who wish to avail themselves of the unimaginable value they get, virtually for free, by entering and winning gold. There is a whole raft of other things that could be done to turn this event into a giant money-spinner.
All of these things may be exciting and rewarding. I don't even mind the idea of downsizing. But why stop at this? You could always de-camp from the ‘gorgeous’ new offices at Chatswood and use an upturned packing case and a pot-plant. And why stop at just ‘reducing’ the services? Why not get rid of them altogether. It's a damn nuisance listening to bosses who ring-up seeking free advice on how to sack their ungrateful staff. Downsize I say! Reduce the overheads, and if the packing case doesn't work move into a phone booth and rebrand it as the Print Industry Legal Services, Inc. and then flog us off to the highest bidder.
But please, do us the courtesy of explaining why.
James Cryer,
JDA PRINT RECRUITMENT SYDNEY | MELBOURNE | BRISBANE