Indiana Chamber Blogs

The Business Blog of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce

Indiana Chamber Blogs

BizVoice Web Site Gets a Fresh Coat of Paint

Sometimes, as the ’80s band, Motley Crue, said: “it’s time for change”. Whether out of necessity or desire, there comes a moment where you need to shed the old wardrobe, your clunker car or your outdated web site.

For BizVoice®, the time for a new look to the magazine’s web site is now. If you haven’t visited www.bizvoicemagazine.com lately, you will find that it’s quite a bit different from what you’re used to seeing.

BizVoice, the Indiana Chamber’s premier publication, needed a premier site. It needed to be more interactive and responsive on all mobile devices. The content you’re familiar with is still there and we’re adding new materials for the reader, in addition to what you get in the print version. From time to time we’ll offer exclusive content on the site, so please check back regularly.

We hope you notice a few things right away; first is big, bold colors and images! We want your trip to the site to be an experience. Take your time and dive into the current issue – we will highlight some of the feature content and cover stories on the main page, but the full issue will take you on a broader journey.

Also, down the road we want to continue to add videos – either expanding on stories or highlighting additional content that can’t be found in print.

You can also still explore our archives dating back to 2003. We’ve told thousands of stories in our nearly 20 years of publication and hope you’ve enjoyed reading and will continue to check us out. Share BizVoice with your friend and colleagues – there’s something for everyone.

Tech Talk: Resources to Keep Your Business on Fast Track

Technology and innovation might be driving growth, but a successful organization can’t ignore several business necessities. The Indiana Chamber offers three valuable partner programs for members, the most recent announced this week and addressing the top challenge – workforce – for many companies no matter their industry.

We encourage Chamber members to take advantage of the following. If your company is not a member, reach out to Brett Hulse at (317) 264-6858 to learn more about all the Chamber benefits.

Achieve Your Degree: This program from Ivy Tech Community College makes the employee education and training process seamless. Chamber members receive a 5% discount on existing or future tuition assistance programs. Deferred payments and direct assistance from Ivy Tech on admission, financial aid, tutoring and more are part of the mix.


ChamberCare Solutions: Health care options in partnership with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield to meet your needs, including a PEO offering (ChamberCare Business Resources) that allows you to offer competitive benefits with expert assistance from a partner that focuses on that mission each day. This allows you to concentrate on continued business growth.

Staples Business Advantage: It’s not just office supplies, but furniture, print capabilities, promotional products, facility needs and more. A group purchasing programs allows you to save as much as 30% on products you are already using or new items.

Check out other Chamber member benefits!

Indiana Chamber Unveils Rankings for the 125 Best Places to Work in Indiana

The Indiana Chamber of Commerce honored a record 125 companies tonight at the 2018 Best Places to Work in Indiana celebration dinner, with rankings announced in four categories.

Taking the top spot:

  • Hanapin Marketing, a Bloomington-based digital marketing company – small category (between 15 and 74 U.S. employees)
  • E-gineering, a technology consulting firm on the northeast side of Indianapolis – medium category (between 75 and 249 U.S. employees)
  • Blue 449, an open source media company from Indianapolis – large category (between 250 and 999 U.S. employees)
  • Edward Jones, an investment firm with branch offices throughout the state – major category (1,000 or more U.S. employees)

It’s Hanapin Marketing’s first-place debut, while Blue 449 is a repeat honoree from last year. E-gineering and Edward Jones are no strangers to No. 1; they last took top honors in 2015 and this marks the third and fifth time, respectively, in leading their category.

“These four companies are the gold standard for creating a successful culture in which employees can thrive. Company leaders particularly understand the importance today of work-life balance, treating workers with respect and offering benefits or perks that really resonate,” states Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar.

“Attracting and keeping a talented workforce is top of mind for all Hoosier employers. Every company on the list made people the priority in its workplace, backing that up with policies and practices geared toward employee success and satisfaction.”

The companies received the Best Places to Work award of excellence at a dinner held at the Indiana Convention Center and sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College.

Winning companies ranged in employee count (at the time of application) from 16 to more than 1,700. Out-of-state parent companies were eligible to participate if at least 15 full-time employees are in Indiana.

Organizations that have displayed sustained excellence during the program’s 13-year history are also awarded Best Places to Work in Indiana Hall of Fame and Pinnacle designations.

Hall of Fame companies are those that have been named a Best Place to Work in Indiana at least 60% of the time in the program’s history; a total of 20 organizations on the 2018 list meet that criteria. Two companies – Edward Jones and Katz, Sapper & Miller – have made the Best Places to Work list all 13 years of the program.

The Pinnacle designation is reserved for those that have finished first in their category three or more times in a five-year period. The four Pinnacle companies in the program’s history are: Edward Jones, Hollingsworth & Zivitz, P.C., Microsoft and Sikich.

More information about the Best Places to Work companies is available via a special section of the May/June issue of the Indiana Chamber’s BizVoice® magazine, a statewide publication released tonight and accessible online at www.bizvoicemagazine.com.

Other program partners are Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, the Best Companies Group, HR Indiana SHRM and the Wellness Council of Indiana.

In addition to Ivy Tech Community College being the event sponsor, Purdue Global is the spirit sponsor and FirstPerson is the opening reception sponsor. Platinum sponsors are CareSource and Moser Consulting. Silver sponsors are Comcast, Eaton Corporation, Formstack, Human Capital Concepts, OurHealth, Pacers Sports & Entertainment and Smithville. Visibility sponsors are Bedel Financial Consulting, Inc., Delta Dental of Indiana and ESCO Communications, Inc.

These top companies in the state were determined through employer reports and comprehensive employee surveys. The Best Companies Group, which handled the selection process, oversees similar programs in 25 other states.

All companies participating in the 2018 Best Places to Work program receive an in-depth evaluation identifying strengths and weaknesses according to their employees, who are surveyed anonymously.

The report is often used in developing or enhancing employee retention and recruitment programs.

For more information on the Indiana Chamber’s Best Places to Work program, go to www.bestplacestoworkIN.com.

The full list of the 2018 Best Places to Work in Indiana companies by ranking:

*Hall of Fame companies
**Pinnacle companies

Small Companies (15-74 U.S. employees) (57)
Company / Primary Indiana Location

  1. Hanapin Marketing / Bloomington
  2. Sharpen Technologies Inc. / Indianapolis
  3. eimagine / Indianapolis
  4. That’s Good HR / Indianapolis
  5. Big City Cars / Fort Wayne
  6. University High School of Indiana / Carmel
  7. Lakeside Wealth Management / Chesterton
  8. * Cripe / Indianapolis
  9. * Indesign, LLC / Indianapolis
  10. Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) / Indianapolis
  11. * Apex Benefits / Indianapolis
  12. Leaf Software Solutions / Carmel
  13. Visit Indy / Indianapolis
  14. Magnum Logistics / Plainfield
  15. mAccounting, LLC / Indianapolis
  16. Wessler Engineering / Indianapolis
  17. Goelzer Investment Management, Inc. / Indianapolis
  18. T&W Corporation / Indianapolis
  19. The Garrett Companies / Greenwood
  20. * FirstPerson / Indianapolis
  21. JA Benefits, LLC / Bedford
  22. Insurance Management Group / Marion
  23. Probo Medical / Fishers
  24. Jackson Systems / Indianapolis
  25. RQAW / Indianapolis
  26. LHD Benefit Advisors / Indianapolis
  27. OfficeWorks / Fishers
  28. Peepers by PeeperSpecs / Michigan City
  29. The Skillman Corporation / Indianapolis
  30. Community First Bank of Indiana / Kokomo
  31. BlueSky Technology Partners / Noblesville
  32. CleanSlate Technology Group / Carmel
  33. Hamilton County Tourism / Carmel
  34. Clinical Architecture / Carmel
  35. Brite Systems / Indianapolis
  36. Greenlight Guru / Indianapolis
  37. DK Pierce and Associates / Zionsville
  38. Guidon Design / Indianapolis
  39. Nix Companies / Poseyville
  40. BLASTmedia / Fishers
  41. Accutech Systems / Muncie
  42. Pondurance / Indianapolis
  43. Sigstr / Indianapolis
  44. Grote Automotive / Fort Wayne
  45. VOSS Automotive / Fort Wayne
  46. Merritt Contracting / Lebanon
  47. netlogx LLC / Indianapolis
  48. General Insurance Services / Michigan City
  49. Bloomerang / Indianapolis
  50. Inovateus Solar LLC / South Bend
  51. Bedel Financial Consulting, Inc. / Indianapolis
  52. Springbuk / Indianapolis
  53. ClearObject, Inc. / Fishers
  54. OrthoPediatrics / Warsaw
  55. CENTURY 21 Scheetz / Multiple locations
  56. Public Safety Medical / Indianapolis
  57. RESOURCE Commercial Real Estate / Indianapolis

Medium Companies (75-249 U.S. employees) (30)
Company / Primary Indiana Location

  1. * E-gineering / Indianapolis
  2. Formstack / Indianapolis
  3. Oak Street Funding LLC / Indianapolis
  4. Moser Consulting / Indianapolis
  5. Blue Horseshoe / Carmel
  6. Gregory & Appel Insurance / Indianapolis
  7. American College of Education / Indianapolis
  8. First Internet Bank / Fishers
  9. Lessonly / Indianapolis
  10. Emarsys North America / Indianapolis
  11. * Software Engineering Professionals (SEP) / Carmel
  12. Weddle Bros. Construction Co., Inc. / Bloomington
  13. J.C. Hart Company, Inc. / Carmel
  14. HWC Engineering, Inc. / Indianapolis
  15. CREA, LLC / Indianapolis
  16. Visiting Nurse and Hospice of the Wabash Valley / Terre Haute
  17. * Schmidt Associates, Inc. / Indianapolis
  18. Parkview Wabash Hospital / Wabash
  19. IDSolutions / Noblesville
  20. * Elements Financial Federal Credit Union / Indianapolis
  21. Midwest Mole / Greenfield
  22. Peoples Bank SB / Munster
  23. Butler, Fairman & Seufert, Inc. / Indianapolis
  24. Morales Group, Inc. / Indianapolis
  25. * United Consulting Engineers / Indianapolis
  26. United Way of Central Indiana / Indianapolis
  27. ESCO Communications / Indianapolis
  28. Merchants Bank of Indiana and PR Mortgage & Investments / Carmel
  29. Fort Wayne Rescue Mission Ministries, Inc (DBA The Rescue Mission) / Fort Wayne
  30. Envelop Group / Indianapolis

Large Companies (250-999 U.S. employees) (25)
Company / Primary Indiana Location

  1. Blue 449 / Indianapolis
  2. Kemper CPA Group LLP / Multiple locations
  3. Onebridge / Indianapolis
  4. ** Sikich / Indianapolis
  5. Hylant / Multiple locations
  6. * FORUM Credit Union / Fishers
  7. The Kendall Group / Fort Wayne
  8. * Katz, Sapper & Miller / Indianapolis
  9. IPMG / West Lafayette
  10. Appirio, A Wipro Company / Indianapolis
  11. * Centier Bank / Merrillville
  12. * WestPoint Financial Group / Indianapolis
  13. Carbonite / Indianapolis
  14. Parkview Whitley Hospital / Columbia City
  15. * Blue & Co., LLC / Carmel
  16. Parkview Noble Hospital / Kendallville
  17. * Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company / Fort Wayne
  18. American Structurepoint, Inc. / Indianapolis
  19. Bastian Solutions / Indianapolis
  20. Parkview Huntington Hospital / Huntington
  21. MutualBank / Muncie
  22. Ontario Systems / Muncie
  23. Aluminum Trailer Company / Nappanee
  24. Pacers Sports & Entertainment / Indianapolis
  25. * Monarch Beverage / Indianapolis

Major Companies (1,000+ U.S. employees) (13)
Company / Primary Indiana Location

  1. * ** Edward Jones / Statewide
  2. * Horseshoe Casino Hammond / Hammond
  3. * Salesforce / Indianapolis
  4. Aerotek / Multiple locations
  5. CareSource / Indianapolis
  6. Ameristar Casino + Hotel East Chicago / East Chicago
  7. Total Quality Logistics / Indianapolis
  8. Perficient / Carmel
  9. Colliers International – Indianapolis / Indianapolis
  10. Kronos Incorporated / Indianapolis
  11. Comcast Corporation / Multiple locations
  12. First Merchants Bank / Muncie
  13. * Capital Group / Carmel

Share Your ‘Best Places’ Story

If you’ve ever been stuck in a terrible working environment, you know a good one when you find it. The difference could not be more obvious – not only how the employer treats employees, but how happy co-workers are to be working together to accomplish a singular mission.

Since the Indiana Chamber of Commerce hosts the Best Places to Work in Indiana program, we are obviously not putting ourselves in the race to be named one of the top workplaces in the state. We love shining the light on the companies that are true difference-makers in their industries; those that are innovating and making Indiana a better place for not only the products or services they provide, but for their employees to live, work and play.

Each year we highlight many of the companies on the Best Places list in BizVoice magazine. Through interviews and interactions with employers and employees, one of the themes that is evident is the personal connections happening at these companies. Employees are more than just a number. More than just a workforce.

To shine the spotlight even brighter, we’re going to be sharing some of our personal stories with you over the next three weeks as we gear up for the Best Places to Work in Indiana celebration on the evening of May 3. (You can go ahead and reserve tables or tickets here.)

And we want you to share your stories with us and with our followers on social media. If you’re interested in sharing why your workplace is special to you, please take a short video of yourself, tag us @IndianaChamber and use the hashtag #BPTWIN in your posts. We’ll retweet and share those so others can see what makes your company a great place to work.

As an example, here’s my story about why I’ve been proud to work at the Indiana Chamber for the last seven years.

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Keep an eye out for more and we can’t wait to hear from you!

Don’t forget to register for the Best Places to Work in Indiana event on May 3. Find more information at www.indianachamber.com/specialevents

Getting to Know: Marci Price

The Indiana Chamber Foundation has been making a difference for Indiana employers and beyond for more than 30 years. In addition to the Chamber’s Indiana Vision 2025 initiative, the Foundation’s studies, surveys and programs provide the information and resources to enhance the state’s business and workplace climates.

Marci Price brings her talents and experience to the Foundation as the new executive director. Get to know Marci in this brief Q&A:

Tell us a little about your background.

“I have been a development professional for the past 15 years, focusing on individual, corporate and foundation philanthropy for regional and national organizations. After earning my master’s degree in nonprofit management from IUPUI, I lived in Chicago for several years.

“My husband and I then decided to settle down in Indianapolis to be closer to family. I have since fallen in love with Indiana and have built strong relationships with so many incredible people here.”

What was one of your favorite previous jobs and why?

“One of my favorite positions was at Feeding America, where I developed partnerships with private foundations to support national hunger relief efforts. I truly enjoyed dedicating my talents to improve food security for vulnerable populations throughout the country. It’s an area of great passion for me, and I continue that service as a volunteer for Gleaners Food Bank.”

What attracted you to join the Indiana Chamber team to lead the Foundation efforts?

“Having worked for higher education and human services organizations for several years, I have become acutely aware of the role that research plays in informing solutions to broad societal problems, as well as the role that good public policy plays in developing and sustaining those solutions.

“The Indiana Chamber Foundation has a great reputation for securing research that has led to impactful change through Indiana Vision 2025, and I’m excited to dedicate my time and effort in a way that will support continued economic growth for Indiana’s future.”

What’s one of the most important skills in your role?

“One of the keys in my role is the ability to listen and communicate with diverse audiences. The best partnerships are built on trust and a shared vision for what is possible.”

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

“I try to spend as much time as possible with my husband and two young children. I love exercise and do my best thinking on long runs. I also enjoy going out with friends and listening to live music.”

If you could have dinner and conversation with any one person, who would it be and why?

“I would love to have a chance to have dinner with Michelle Obama. She is such a captivating and strong female leader, who leveraged her challenging position to inspire people to action.  It would be a true honor to spend time with and to learn from her.”

Chamber Adds Cybersecurity Conference

People are most familiar with the Indiana Chamber as an advocacy organization. After all, that has been a primary concentration for 96 years.

But business information – in the form of employee training and regulatory compliance publications – has been an important and growing part of the mission for more than a quarter of a century. Many of those offerings have focused on human resources and safety topics, with a more recent emphasis on skill development.

A new addition in 2018 is a partnership with the Indiana attorney general for the inaugural Cybersecurity Conference (May 1-2 at the Indiana Chamber Conference Center). It’s a good sign that the topic is a timely one when the conference expands to a full two days before it even kicks off.

Cybersecurity needs in today’s business world are robust; potential solutions are complex. Business, government and legal viewpoints and conversations will take place.

Among the key topics:

  • Governor Holcomb’s Executive Council on Cybersecurity
  • Cyber threats: The No.1 risk to small businesses
  • Fighting the security battle
  • Responding to litigation and enforcement actions following a data breach
  • The dark web
  • Best practices you can implement now
  • Cyber insurance
  • Legal consideration in the Internet of Things (IoT)
  • How will General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) be enforced?
  • Ransomware: Wire transfer fraud and phishing are hitting Indiana businesses

Check out additional information, the full agenda and sponsorship opportunities. Register to attend here. Our thanks to presenting sponsor Ice Miller and additional sponsors: University of Southern Indiana Romain College of Business, WGU Indiana, Qumulus Solutions, Matrix Integration and Purdue University.

More Than Just Policy Advocacy

The advocacy efforts of the Indiana Chamber are not limited to the state level or laws passed by the Indiana General Assembly or Congress. In early 2017, members provided input into the most onerous federal rules and regulations that were impacting their businesses.

At the end of 2017, we reported significant progress in a number of areas. In case you missed it, here is that review (https://www.indianachamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/RegulatoryPrioritiesforTrumpAdminDONE.pdf) of actions taken by the President, federal agencies or the courts.

In addition, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy gives an additional example:

It concerned the application of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act to movie theaters. After receiving input from theater operators, the Department of Justice reduced the amount of closed captioning and descriptive equipment that theaters are required to purchase. The change resulted in small business savings of $66 million between the proposed and final rule.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) was enacted to address the disproportionate burden of regulation on small businesses. The Office of Advocacy reports that efforts to promote federal agency compliance with RFA resulted in $913.4 million in regulatory cost savings for small entities in fiscal year 2017.

Tech Talk: Special Locations; Special Outcomes

Yes, we understand technology allows business processes to take place today that were never possible before. Yes, we know that people – no doubt about it – are the most important asset in any organization.

But location still plays a factor. And location is a central theme to two recent EchoChamber conversations. The guests: Rich Carlton of Data Realty in South Bend (where tech is thriving on the site of the former auto manufacturing giant Studebaker) and John Hurley of SmartFile and the Union 525 (the scale-up home in Indianapolis that is becoming the centerpiece of innovation and activity).

A few nuggets from each are below. But we encourage you to check out their full conversations.

Carlton

  • Data Realty family of companies is making 40 million calculations a day on data coming in from around the world
  • Talent from Stanford, MIT, Carnegie-Mellon and more now calling South Bend region home
  • Goals include becoming the first company out of South Bend to be valued at $1 billion
  • “If South Bend was a stock, I’d be buying. We’re in the infancy of what we’re going to be able to do.”

Hurley

  • Celebrating its ninth anniversary – “we’re like a grandfather in tech” – SmartFile manages digital content to meet regulatory and compliance standards for 1,400 organizations in 80 countries
  • Hurley loves the “collisions” at Union 525 where “great risk takers and thinkers are all there creating a lot of energy”
  • He is now receiving near daily communication from venture capitalists looking at Indiana and the Midwest. Union 525 is a part of helping to make that happen
  • The next phases of tech development on the southern edge of Indianapolis’ downtown are being formulated

And be sure to check out this week’s new episode featuring Brian Schroeder of Eskenazi Health. The subject is wellness – utilizing workplace wellness as a business strategy and the idea that we can move from treating chronic disease with a pill to utilizing lifestyle medicine.

Subscribe to the EchoChamber via iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts to be sure not to miss out on future guests from the innovation, business, education and political worlds.

Indiana Chamber Comments on SaaS Tax Clarity Bill Signed Into Law Today

Bill Waltz, Indiana Chamber of Commerce vice president of taxation and public finance, comments on Senate Bill 257 being signed into law, providing clarity on the tax exempt status for software-as-a-service (SaaS) transactions:

“Since last summer, the Indiana Chamber has been leading the charge to see this clarification become law, with language originating in our tech policy committee. Our advocacy team and several members of the committee met with all the interested parties to build momentum and consensus. We put a lot of work into the effort because the stakes were high. The state’s significant momentum as an attractive place for innovative and entrepreneurial companies was in jeopardy without a sensible solution.

“And this policy is important not just for tech companies, but for those who do business with them. The new law is straightforward on what transactions are exempt. Having clarity around that will help grow Indiana’s software development economy, as well as prevent onerous taxation of other necessary business expenses throughout the business community.

“We thank Governor Holcomb for his leadership and legislators for listening to our members and taking this important step forward to further demonstrate Indiana’s technology commitment. The state is now in a very favorable position to reap very real economic benefits and attract more and more of the software-as-a-service industry.”

Sen. Travis Holdman, author of SB 257 (left) and the Chamber’s Bill Waltz 

Wrap-up: 2018 Indiana Safety and Health Conference

If you attended last week’s 2018 Indiana Safety and Health Conference & Expo, you most certainly came away with enhanced knowledge, new industry connections and the determination to make your workplace a safer and healthier one.

The largest safety and health conference in the state provided over 70 education sessions, leading industry speakers and access to more than 100 exhibitors and safety vendors over the course of three days in downtown Indianapolis.

The conference was sponsored by Gibson and presented by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Central Indiana Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), in partnership with INSafe and the Coalition for Construction Safety (CCS).

Kina Repp, keynote speaker for the opening general session (“It’s Your Safety, Don’t Give It Away”), shared her story of lessons learned from losing her arm to a moving conveyor belt 40 minutes into her job at a fish processing plant. She spent two months in the hospital and endured 11 surgeries.

At the time, Repp knew what she was doing was not safe. Today, she describes the ripple effect – the impact the accident had on her family, co-workers, supervisors and more.

“I made choices that day that hurt all those people,” she told the hushed conference attendees before posing two questions: “Whose life are you willing to change? What is it that you’re willing to trade your safety for?

Life – and safety – come down to choices, Repp attests. In looking back at her decision to take advantage of her second chance, while at the same time offering guidance to others in determining their safety outcomes, she relies on a Henry Ford quote: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”

March 14 keynote speaker Sgt. Sammy L. Davis delivered a poignant recollection of the Vietnam War. A powerful philosophy guided him during the battle that won him a Congressional Medal of Honor: “If I don’t do my job, the guys behind me don’t stand a chance.”

Davis’ actions on November 18, 1967, inspired the wartime service depicted in Forrest Gump, including his citation ceremony with actor Tom Hank’s head added on top of Davis’s via computer-generated imagery. Last week, Davis was bestowed Indiana’s highest honor, the Sachem Award.

The Governor’s Workplace Safety Awards were presented to organizations and individuals that have made health and safety a priority. Find the press release with a list of winners here.

See photos from the awards luncheon and the conference here.

Ice Miller is the conference’s platinum sponsor. Gold sponsors are Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP); Community Employer Health; and RMS-Safety. Silver sponsors are Athletico Physical Therapy; CLMI Safety Training; Faztek, LLC; Indiana Safety & Supply; Indiana University School of Public Health Safety Program; KHA Online SDS™; Safety Management Group; and Sentry Safety Services, Inc.

The dates are already set for the 2019 Indiana Safety and Health Conference & Expo! Mark your calendars for February 26-28, 2019 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find conference materials and more at www.insafetyconf.com.