In an "employee's market" with record low jobless rates and rising costs for businesses, Britt Landrum Jr. and his staff have their work cut out for them.
"Competition for available, qualified applicants is real. Small and large businesses are scrambling to attract and retain the best employees," he said.
Landrum, 69, said his staffing company typically maintains about 120 open job orders.
Assessing the local economy is a crucial part of his job as president and CEO for Pensacola-based Landrum Human Resource Companies Inc. It's also part of his role as chairman of the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Jacksonville Branch, which plays a role in setting the nation's monetary policy.
Here are some excerpts from a recent question-and-answer with Landrum:
Q: What was your first job and how did you get it?
A: My first job after college (Florida State University 1959) was teaching algebra and general math to ninth-graders and general subjects to seventh-graders at a junior high school in Panama City. I got the job through a former Sunday school teacher who had become principal of the school.
I moved to Pensacola in January 1963 to take a job as a Florida probation and parole officer. After four years of that, I became a vocational rehabilitation counselor, doing career counseling/planning and job placement for individuals with vocational handicaps.
Q: What inspired you to start your job placement company in 1970 and who was your first client?
A: After four years at voc rehab, I got the urge to open my own business. My dad had always been self-employed and I guess I saw myself following in his footsteps, so to speak.
I spent a year or so researching business possibilities. I had earned a master's in vocational counseling at that point and thought about career counseling. My research led me to a friend in the job placement business in another city ... and to franchise owners who were anxious to sign me up.
Ultimately, I chose to go it alone. On Aug. 3, 1970, I opened a small office at 21 S. Tarragona St., right across the parking lot from the News Journal ... that soon became my first client. I placed a young lady in a receptionist's position. She was thrilled and so was I.
It was my first fee.
Q: Landrum is a good example of a local family-owned business that is now getting state and national attention for its success. What are the challenges in keeping that success going?
A: No business ever "has it made." There are always challenges of all kinds that must be overcome in order to survive and thrive. For that reason we will always be reaching for the next highest goal; benchmarking our progress against other outstanding companies; still striving to be the best that we can be, and the best in our industry.
The discipline of the (Governor's Sterling Award) program has helped our small company behave more like a big one ...with documented systems and procedures, management training and development, employee involvement in planning and decision-making and better avenues of communication between management and staff.
Q: For years, this area had a reputation for being less expensive in both cost of living and in the wages employers were expected to pay. Now that housing, taxes and insurance have increased -- and unemployment remains low -- are employers boosting their wages accordingly?
A: Employers are boosting wages and still having difficulty finding the right employee. It is an "employee's market," meaning that job seekers are now more particular, are demanding higher wages and often getting them. At the same time, small businesses are experiencing some of the greatest increases in costs that they've seen in years. Business insurance, taxes, operating costs, group health insurance and other employee benefits are driving up the cost of doing business.
Having to pay higher salaries and increase benefits to attract and keep employees just adds more pressure and shrinks the bottom line for many small businesses.
Q: Describe some details about your role with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Jacksonville Branch.
A: As a branch director I play a small role in the broad process used in setting the nation's monetary policy. As you know, the Federal Reserve System is made up of the Board of Governors, the Federal Open Market Committee, 12 district banks and 25 branch banks.
The Jacksonville Branch is one of five in the Atlanta District. Branch board members are given questions about the economy each month. To get answers to those questions I contact businesses, banks, retailers, manufacturers, auto dealers and others in Northwest Florida.
The Fed is interested in what's happening on the ground with regard to sales activity, price increases, wages, business costs and a lot more. Ultimately the FOMC makes the decision using the anecdotal information from the branch and district directors, along with extensive analyses done by a host of very well- qualified economists.
When I began my term in 2005, I attended an orientation at the Federal Reserve in Washington. Alan Greenspan was chairman at the time, and he explained that the information provided by the economists was a look through the rearview mirror at the economy, whereas the information provided by the branch directors helped them to see through the windshield ...where it was headed. It's been my observation that the Fed pays close attention to what local businesses are saying.
Q: What are some of the top economic issues you see for Northwest Florida, and are they unique to this part of Florida, or are they similar to those faced statewide?
A: Some of our top issues are the high cost of property insurance, high real estate taxes, and a very sluggish real estate and residential construction market. These issues are the same all over the state. On the other hand we have a very robust job market with some local companies expanding and new ones moving their operations to the area.
Tourism is strong and, from what I've seen so far, we're having a very good season there. Although some business sectors are slow, it's my personal observation that the overall economy is still strong. (I cannot give an opinion as a board member...only as an individual).
