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1 in 5 Companies Have No Plans to Increase Pay Latest Results from The Harris Poll   Expectations for wage increases have jumped roughly 20% since 2020 as 70% of companies plan to offer higher salary adjustments through the end of the year. Benefits, however, will gain less ground as only 50% of businesses anticipate their offerings to increase compared to 2021. This is according to a survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals. Expectations for wage increases have steadily increased over the past two years (52% in the first half of 2020, 58% in the second half of 2020, 63% in the first half of 2021 and 69% in the second half of 2021). Yet a fifth of companies (20%) feel there will not be a change to their wages for the remainder of 2022. This comes as a recent nationwide survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data reports the average “reservation wage,” the lowest wage workers would be willing to accept, soared to $73,873 in July.   Benefits Landscape Currently, more than half of companies (55%) offer paid leave, including paid maternity (39%), paternity (31%) and/or paid parental leave for parents fostering and/or adopting (22%). Other benefits offered to employees are flexible work hours (43%), flexible work location (34%), unpaid parental leave (31%) and/or the ability to work part-time (31%). When it comes to these benefits, half of U.S. hiring decision-makers (50%) expect these offerings at their company will increase for the remainder of 2022 compared to 2021. However, around 2 in 5 (42%) expect their benefits to remain the same. The growth of benefits packages may include offering aspects that were previously not available to employees, such as paid leave and flexible work hours/work sites. Looking ahead five years, nearly half of hiring managers (48%) report their company plans to offer paid leave. Others say flexible work hours (40%), flexible work locations (34%), part-time work (27%), unpaid leave (27%) and/or shortened work weeks (24%) are also on the table. “Wages and benefits continue to increase in Central Oregon,” said Chris Petty, Franchise Manager of the Central Oregon Express franchise office. “While health insurance benefits are important, we are finding that a healthy company culture and paid time off benefits can be the most important offering for recruiting and retention.” Finding the right balance between wage offerings and spending limitations is one of the biggest challenges employers are facing right now, according to Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller. “So many businesses are stretched thin between salary demands, inflation and supply chain blockades,” he added. “The next several months will be pivotal to companies to see if they can survive the high cost of success.” Survey Methodology The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between May 3 and May 23, 2022, among 1,003 U.S. hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in the U.S. who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. If you would like to arrange for an interview with Chris Petty, call 541-389-1505.   About Express Employment Professionals At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 586,000 people globally in 2021 and 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com, and find more employment insights at ExpressPros.com/AmericaEmployed. The Central Oregon Express office is located at 61379 S Hwy 97, Bend, OR 97002 and serves the entire Central Oregon region.  Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to stop by, visit www.expresspros.com or call 541-389-1505.   About Bill Stoller William H. “Bill” Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The Bend Chamber is pleased to showcase the ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration at Prime IV Hydration and Wellness at 1288 SW Simpson Ave, Ste K, in Bend on September 30. Congratulations on the opening of your new business in the Westside Village and thank you to our Ribbon Cutting Sponsor BendTel! The owner, Dr. Chris Neary, has been utilizing IV therapy in his practice and is looking forward to making this service more accessible to a larger population. Prime IV Hydration & Wellness offer intravenous (IV) vitamin & nutrient therapy to improve the health, wellness & vitality of our clients.  Check out all of their services Bend, OR – Prime IV Hydration & Wellness Contact: (541) 329-1832 or  primeivbend@primeivhydration.com   Bend Chamber Ribbon Cuttings are Connected by If you are a Chamber member and would like to talk about holding a ribbon cutting, please contact Cyrus Mooney, Events and Programs Lead. The Chamber will provide materials, photos and a short video and will promote your ribbon cutting on social media and our website.

    Business Flex Passport Allows More Flexibility for Employers   The Bend Chamber’s Young Professionals (YP) Program, sponsored by US Bank, announces a new enhancement to its YP Passport offering for 2023. First introduced in 2020, the YP Passport allows team members to easily participate in all programming for the year. Cody Cloyd, Bend YP Member and Advisory Council Chair, shared, “When a YP Passport option was first offered two years ago, I was one of the first to sign up. I was planning on going to most of the content anyways, so the YP Passport ended up saving me a ton of money throughout the year, and the added perks, like being matched with a mentor from Leadership Bend and YP Passport exclusive events, are almost invaluable. If you add in the discount on the yearly Bend YP Summit, then the Passport option is a no-brainer for someone like me.” The YP Passport includes half-off the daylong YP Summit in June, four Development Labs, eight Expert Chats, twelve Socials, and a variety of other networking and educational opportunities. Individual YP Passports start at $350 each for over $1100 worth of program content. New for 2023 is the Business Flex Passport. This version allows total flexibility for employers, and is a great option for a newer team, a business that needs flexibility with schedules, or a group trying to navigate professional development in Bend. It enables a supervisor or HR staff the flexibility to have various employees attend the most relevant Bend YP and Bend Chamber events. Business Flex YP Passports start at $550. “Each year when reviewing the YP Passport, Bend YP gathers feedback from young professionals and their employers to best meet the needs of our community. After hearing that businesses want more flexibility for their teams, we added the Business Flex YP Passport to our offerings,” said Jenn Greco, Bend Chamber Leadership Development Programs Coordinator. “As we’ve seen over the last several years, it’s important for businesses to invest in their employees, not only for retention, but to grow a strong and talented workforce. The YP Passport and programmatic offerings meet that need by providing relevant and timely professional development to our community without putting pressure on companies to do it all themselves.” YP Passports are available for purchase now through January 6, 2023. Bend YP will host a Passport Holder Welcome Party in early 2023, with information on how to use your Passport and other fun surprises. More information and YP Passports are available at BendYP.org.

Insights into how state, county, and city policies have shaped the process will be shared. The goal of Bend 101 is to provide a channel for helping new(ish) residents better understand where Bend has come from, what it’s facing today, how to get involved and make new connections, and, ultimately, have an impact. The next quarterly Bend 101 session will be at the Tetherow Pavilion on Tuesday, October 11, at 5:30 p.m. The general public is invited to join us for an exciting evening of community engagement and education. Our evening will be spent getting to know the roots of our beloved city, how it has grown to what we see today, and how we can all contribute to a thriving society in the future. There will be time to socialize and indulge in bites, beverages, and incredible views on the patio overlooking the Tetherow Golf Course and Cascade Mountains. “It’s been so encouraging to see the trajectory of how Bend 101 continues to grow and be such an impactful resource in our community,” shared Cyrus Mooney, Bend Chamber Events and Programs Lead. “There were so many great takeaways that were captured from the first two events and our Steering Committee has been extremely diligent in keeping a strong foundation in the program, while also allowing the content to evolve in order to provide relevant and timely information to our audience.” The seasonal program will emphasize land use and allocation and how our community has handled rapid growth as we have developed to the point we are at today. There will be discussion to raise awareness about how the state, county and city policies have shaped these processes and how we can work together to be intentional in our next steps with other involved stakeholders. Guest speakers include: Damon Runberg, State Economist, Business Oregon Kelly Cannon-Miller, Executive Director, Deschutes Historical Museum Bev Clarno and Todd Taylor, long-time successful Bendites Eric King, City Manager, City of Bend Laura Fritz, Executive Director, Envision Bend Brian T. Rankin, Long-range Planning Manager, City of Bend Brian Ladd, Principal Broker, Cascade Sotheby’s, Owner of Ladd Group Space is limited at the Tetherow Pavilion, so registration is required and is now open at www.bend101.org. The cost is $15 per person to attend. Bend 101 is supported and funded by a consortium of organizations, including: Bend Chamber, Cascade Sotheby’s and the Ladd Group, Central Oregon Association of Realtors, Bend Broadband, City of Bend, and Tetherow Resort. To download a Word version of this media release, click here.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) today hosted a virtual town hall to brief NAB members on advocacy and business issues facing the broadcast industry for the remainder of the year. NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt was joined by senior executives and public policy staffers to offer updates on the association’s work, priorities and initiatives.