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Recruiters to affected NCR workers: Get busy

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 10:30 PM Thursday, June 4, 2009

DAYTON — Mourn, if you must, but do it quickly.

Then get moving.

That’s advice recruiting professionals offer in the wake of NCR’s announcement that it’s shifting its corporate headquarters from its Dayton home of 125 years to Georgia.

An NCR spokesman said the company will offer severance packages to Dayton employees who do not accept or are not offered transfers. Severance will be based on “existing NCR policies,” he said.

NCR employees are telling the Dayton Daily News they’re being offered one week of pay for every year of service, up to 26 years.

As for the number of employees being transferred, that will be determined, the spokesman said.

NCR employees staying in the Dayton area need to get to work on getting to work — today, said Tom Maher, president and chief executive of Manpower of Dayton Inc.

“Don’t wait,” Maher advised Wednesday June 3. “Begin that job hunt process.”

Maher said he already has resumes from NCR employees.

It’s no secret Ohio is suffering in what some call “The Great Recession.” In late May, the state put its April jobless rate at 10.2 percent, up from 9.7 percent in March. The U.S. unemployment rate in April was 8.9 percent.

Relocation might be a solution for some, Maher said. And Doug Barry, president of Barry Staff Inc., is talking about another possibility: entrepreneurship.

“If you look at it, what really drives the Dayton area any more is small business,” Barry said.

Echoing comments made by local development officials in recent days, Barry said he’d rather rely on 12 employers with 100 employees than one large company with 1,200 employees.

Barry pointed to his own family’s experience. When his father Warren and mother Pam started Barry Staff in 1980, they moved to Dayton, living on equity from a home they sold in Goshen, Ind.

“Take a hold of your career and go out and do something with your own business,” Barry said. “Become an entrepreneur.”

And spread the word.

“Start networking,” advised Steve Offord, supervisor of the Montgomery County Job Bank. “Tell everyone and anybody that you know that you lost a job and you need to start looking for another job.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Tips for newly jobless

Mourn if you lose your job. But don’t dwell on it. Get up, get going.

Get finances in order. Prepare a budget. Contact creditors if you see problems ahead. See if you qualify for unemployment benefits. Don’t wait until your severance is exhausted.