CEU Course:
Healthy and Smart Learning Environments

Location:

Atrium Hotel Wednesday November 4, 2009
Time: 10am – 12 Noon (Lunch Provided)

Instructor: Phil Pearce, LEED AP

Phil Pearce Instructor Profile:
Phil brings twenty-eight plus years of customer relationship management skills, program development, market development and people management skills to his role as Manager, Strategic Markets for Groupe Lacasse and formerly for Haworth. His responsibilities include leading the company’s market development efforts for the Education and Healthcare market initiatives. He has been actively engaged in researching the trends and issues facing Education and Healthcare. Phil believes his role is to work with the Corporate team and dealers to understand our customers’ needs and then leveraging our combined resources to meet those needs, solutions that improve occupant health, reduce operating costs and create a more marketable organization for these customers. His experience also gives him a unique perspective on International business. Phil holds a B.A. in History with a minor in Economics from the University of Virginia. Phil is a LEED Accredited Professional, a member of the Board of Governors for The Office Furniture Dealers’ Alliance, IFMA, The United States Green Building Council, The American Management Association and Strathmore's Who's Who of Business Leaders. He has also been a guest lecturer to various sales and management organizations. Prior to joining Haworth, Phil spent five years with Steelcase, two years testing the entrepreneurial waters as an equity member of a freight brokerage and eight years with the Gallo Winery and its distributors.

Some of the Topics that will be covered:
Audit Home/Workplace
Why Green Design
Consequences & Characteristics of Green
Keys to Success
Your “Action Plan”
Indoor Air Quality

***Space Is Limited***

***Register by October 30th, 2009***
Register Via: Fax 318-388-4606 or email: sales@monroeoffice.com

□ I will attend Luncheon & Learn on November 4, 2009
□ I would like more information on LEED & Green Products

Buying Office Furniture: 10 Mistakes to Avoid (Part 2)

Not Buying with Future Growth in Mind.
· Whether you are starting a new business or adding furniture due to expansion, you should take into account how every piece will fit into your current and future environment. Explore the entire line to see what you may be able to do long-term, even if you can only afford a few things at a time. Consider: How will the furniture adapt to Technology & will this furniture keep my workspace flexible? Also remember, most office furniture dealers will offer leasing options to help offset up front out of pocket expenses.

Not coordinating the Products Life with the Accountants Depreciation Schedule.
· Ensure your depreciation schedule is in line with the products life expectancy. For instance, purchasing a chair with a 5 year warranty and you have a 10 year depreciation schedule your purchasing will be out of sync with your accounting practices.

Not Evaluating the True Cost of Ownership.
· The base price of the furniture is just the starting point. In order to fully evaluate true costs, add in such items as: freight charges, taxes, packaging or special handling. Even the term “delivered price” can mean many things. Will the product actually be installed or just dropped at the dock? Also, who will take care of my warranty issues if the need arises? These are just a few things that account for the true cost.

Not Having Your Dealer keep Your Standards on File.
· Once you have established specifications for your office ensure that your dealer provider keeps a record of your standard choices. This will allow authorized purchasing agents to call and order “task chairs” when in reality it will be the Multi-function task chair with #55 Navy fabric. This will save time and labor hours in the long run.

Not Doing Business with a Vendor that Offers Support after the Sale.
· Ask the simple question “do you warranty the installation and for how long? This may save you time and energy down the road when making your purchasing decision. Many times we receive calls regarding product purchased through a different company and they no longer support the product. This can happen quite often due to purchasing through the internet or with large warehouse environments. Ask your sales consultant to provide a copy of their companies warranty not only on the product but for their installation services.

Buying Office Furniture: 10 Mistakes to Avoid (Part 1)

Buying office furniture requires practical considerations that go far beyond aesthetics. The comfort and safety of your employees and your guests must be factored into every decision. By avoiding a few common mistakes, you can ensure that the furniture you select will yield improved employee satisfaction, productivity and profits for your business.

Buying without a Vision or Plan: Accurately assess your needs.
· Before beginning the selection process, think about how an item will be used. If it’s a chair, for example, will it be used occasionally (guest chair) or all day (desk chair). Does it have to be height-adjustable or fixed? Should it be light enough to be moved or will it be stationary? The more thought you give to a purchase, the greater likelihood you’ll get what you need.

Not Considering Employee Comfort:
· When it comes to office furniture, comfort equals productivity. Ergonomic design is critical to the comfort and productivity of your staff. Features such as contoured seats, lumbar backrest support, adjustable seats and armrests can help minimize work-related injuries and lost workdays. In turn, those factors can help reduce your costs for worker’s compensation and medical insurance.

Selecting the Wrong Fabrics:
· It’s important to evaluate the utility and use a piece of furniture is going to have before choosing a fabric. If cleanliness is paramount, wipe-able vinyl might be the right choice for you. This can be especially important in a healthcare or medical environment. Leather, however, remains the most desired fabric for executive suites, conference rooms and guest areas. Mesh fabrics have also gained in popularity, especially in task seating. That’s because mesh allows airflow keeping employees comfortable while they sit for long periods of time.

Purchasing Product not Rated for the Task:
· If everyone had the same build or body type, buying desk chairs and lobby furniture would be easier. In the real world, instead you need to purchase product that will accommodate individuals of all shapes and sizes. For example, a desk chair that is only rated for use by someone up to 250 pounds can lead to problems if the employee is larger. Choosing a product that is not correctly rated can result in costly damage to the chair and possibly injure the person using it. Any saving you realize by purchasing a lower-rated chair would be exceeded by the cost of the liability of the person injured.

Choosing Price over Value:
· Everyone loves a bargain! But, when you evaluate price make sure you give equal weight to value. Consider the cost of ownership over the expected life of the furniture. Repairs and replacements could easily cancel out any up front savings during the initial purchase. Have your sales consultant give you realistic forecasts on the length of time a product should last under “your” normal work day. Most products are rated for a normal 8 hour day, therefore if your days are longer plan ahead.

Consultant vs. Sales Representative

For many years we have started to see a significant change in the way we, as sales representatives, try to earn business. The newest trend, consultative services, I believe is the best approach. It takes us back in time to a day when you got to know your neighbor and you truly knew people are there to help you.

Consultant Webster’s defines as: a person who gives professional or expert advice on something.

Questions to know the answers:
1. Does my current sales representative know anything about my long-term company plans?
2. Have they taken the time to study our work flow, our staffing levels and help design a solution, or do they just talk about selling new equipment?
3. Do they know anything about our company, what we do, how long we have been in business, our roots?

Sales Consultants would want to know the answers to the above questions and even more to help you find solutions rather than just sell you more stuff.

At Monroe Office Equipment we have been professionals in our industry since 1923, ranging in products from office equipment to office furniture. MOE’s consultants are experts in their field and have combined over 50 years of experience. To aid you in your decision making process we offer to you: design services, CAD layouts, live demonstrations, document storage & delivery solutions, tracking and retrieving documents in a very unique design suited to your companies needs.

Monroe Office Equipment has a new initiative including analyzing your current document workflow to help you maximize your team’s productivity. Our FleetCare ™ Experts will look at your document workflow, staffing required, device placement, maintenance spending and even look at your office design. All of these things work hand and hand to ensure you are getting the most out of your company.

To further enhance your ability to make informed decisions, Monroe Office Equipment is launching into the world of blogs. We have set up for your convenience a site that will post industry information, general rules of thumb about purchasing and a place to post your questions. All designed to be non-product specific, rather; to be informative about the work environment in general.

Our current line up of product includes: Lanier Digital Copiers, Printers & Document Solutions Software, OFUSA Furniture with over 30 lines of Office Furniture to choose from and Neopost Mailing Equipment. Each designed to allow our consultants to help you and your team be forward thinking towards long-term goals

http://moesolutions.blogspot.com