Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 61

COURIER i i EXECUTIVE 2 ON THE JOB 2 STOCK FORECASTS 3 JERRY PATTERSON 3 BOARDWALK NOTES 3 HELP WANTED 13 N. Y. EXCHANGE 4 AMERICAN EXCHANGE 5 OVER THE COUNTER 5 AMERICAN OPTIONS 6 PHILA. 6 MUTUALS 7 YW Employment i7l a sj Advertising SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1979 eller turnover plagues Jersey banks 1 Courier-Post photography by Bob Bartosz The ranks at South Jersey banks are thinning as more tellers are leaving for better-paying jobs. cult- Working with money can be very difficult too, and there's a certain amount of physical threat" from robbers, says Murray.

"The teller's job is very portable," he adds. "They can go from bank to bank with a minimum of pre-train-ing." And many do. "We prefer to hire experienced tellers," say many personnel directors, who point to considerable advantages in training costs and worker output. BANKS HELP fuel the turnover rate since most quickly fire or transfer any undependable tellers. And because most tellers are women, pregnancies are a common interruption.

High teller turnover can be costly. Please see TELLER, Page 2D lowest-paid tellers at $125 a week, estimates most tellers earn no more than $10,000 to $13,000 annually. While pay for some tellers has increased recently, wages could go higher still as banks compete for workers with better-paying industries, including Atlantic City's gambling industry. "The teller position in the next five years will probably be one of the most-adjusted positions in terms of salary," says Murray. MURRAY SAYS the pinch of inflation has pushed his bank's teller turnover rate to about 40 percent for 1979, above the usual rate of 25 to 30 i percent.

But tellers don't always leave for more money. "The public contact can be diffi workers at the cash drawers. They report some success, but none expects to end an industry-wide problem blamed for decreased productivity, wasted expenses and poor customer service. "IT DOESN'T seem to be that hard to find tellers," says Albert E. Smith, a senior vice president at Fidelity Bank and Trust Co.

in Penn-sauken. "It's just hard to keep them." "It's not an easy job. It's a specialist-type job," adds one personnel director. "But it's also an entry-level job and that causes One big problem is pay, says Scott Murray, vice president of personnel for The Bank of New Jersey in Camden. Murray, whose bank starts its By JAMES A.

WALSH Of the Courier-Post Many bank tellers work behind cages, but that doesn't keep them from fleeing their jobs. Area bankers say they're plagued by a teller turnover rate that seems to soar like inflation and probably results from it too. But that turnover rate pegged above 30 percent in some South Jersey banks reflects more than the financial concerns of frequently low-paid Banker Say many pressures and problems including psychological, occupational and even biological factors keep tellers on the move. Bank personnel directors have coined many strategies to keep Courier-Post photography by Bob Bartosz Bank managers say teller turnover can affect service. Hit Market steady despite international tumult low The Market S14 08 815 70 Closed Analysis DOW JONES 30 INDUSTRIALS THE MARKETS' WEEK Week of: Nov 12-16 accept dollars in payment for its oil.

But the Wall Street markets steadied shortly afterward as the Iranian oil minister denied that such a decision had been made, saying, "I did not order this yet." Please sea MARKET, Page 2D 830 By CHET CURRIER Associated Press NEW YORK After two weeks of the political and financial war of wills between Iran and the United States, the stock market is still holding its ground. In the first few trading days, -aftr Iranian students seized the" U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 60 Americans hostage, the market sank briefly to a new low for the year. But since then it has recovered, to close Friday just about where it stood when the confrontation began. "It is hard to imagine what the next hour will bring in the Ira- rr nian hostage situation," said Newton Zinder at E.F.

Hutton Co. "But, so far, the market is weathering all the twists turns in commendable fashion." FRIDAY'S SESSION provided a case in point. Stock and bond prices fell at the opening, along with the dollar, on reports quoting Iran's foreign minister as saying the nation would no longer i Tue Wed Thu fn Mon Obmiianv learns to change its ways to continue reaping nigner proms SOUTH JERSEY BUSINESS By JAMES C. LAWSON Of the Courier-Post Ten years ago, an acquisition-minded SGL Industry Inc. purchased a small microwave firm.

"After we acquired the firm," remembers John C. Instone, SGL president and chief executive officer, "the top executive of the microwave company gave us a sales presentation, explaining the technology behind the products. After the presentation, we learned that half of the drawings he had shown us had been upside-down." That experience taught SGL officials how much they did not know. "We sold that company in less than a year," says Instone. "From that point on, we decided that we w6uld not buy companies for the sake of buying companies.

We've spun some companies off because we've found some weren't compatible, didn't fit with our plans." NOW SGL, a diversified manufacturer that recorded net profits of $2.2 million and sales of $48 million dur-; ing its last fiscal year, has once more learned to change its ways. acquisitions, like a recently added sparkplug division, that will help increase sales here and abroad. "We're acquisition-minded," Instone told stockholders at SGL's annual meeting in Cherry Hill last Thursday. "We're looking for acquisitions that will fit in with our marketing strategy." Those future acquisitions are likely to come through cash purchases. "In the future, all our allocations will go to the winners profitable products," explains the 20-year SGL veteran.

"We also want to find better ways to produce our products." SGL, primarily an industrial producer, also wants to increase retail product sales, currently an 8 percent share. Instone implemented SGL's new system to improve corporate communications and planning. "Before, I had 22 people reporting to me and 13 operating divisions," he notes. Now only seven persons have the president's ear and the 13 divisions are organized under Please see SGL, Page 9D Aiming to boost sales and improve management functions, SGL has revamped its executive staff, revised its planning system and renewed its search for acquisitions. The new philosophy, SGL executives say, is designed to double profitability within the next five years.

Company officials want to see sales at $100 million annually, but they also hope for higher returns on SGL investments and on shareholders' equity. To make that happen, Instone says, SGL must weed out marginal products and develop new ones. The firm plans to increase investments in existing moneymakers, while it reduces production costs. THE CORPORATE overhaul conducted by company executives earlier this year divided management into four operational groups and created a three-phase planning system. It also emphasized the introduction of new SGL products, like the electrical outlet strip recently unveiled by one division.

And it stressed JOHN C. INSTONE corporate evolution TV 11 7 Cottage industry thriving JIT with senior citizen power 1 fl mini i erdon County) and North Bergen also have been successful. After visiting those three stores, Castiglia became convinced a market for senior citizens crafts also existed in South Jersey. He was assisted by Rep. James FWio, and an initial $12,000 grant from the Office of the Aging.

Castiglia then put out a call for original crafts of all kinds, providing they were made by senior citizens or the handicapped. He then found a small store at 738 Haddon Ave. and opened with 31 persons making products and.no formal experience in retail merchandising. The goods now come from 168 persons, and the store has moved to larger quarters at 717 Haddon Ave. He remodeled the interior himself, designing and constructing the shelves and counters.

Please see COTT AG Page 7D By BILL KENT Special to the Courier-Post COLLINGSWOOD When 72-year-old John Castiglia isn't doing carpentry, electrical repair and gpneral home remorlpling work, he dons a tie and presides over Golden Hands, a small shop that sells crafts manufactured by senior citizens and the handicapped. Castiglia is the founder and executive director of Golden Hands. He takes crafts from the handicapped and "from anyone 55 on up" on consignment, agreeing to display the merchandise at a 25 percent markup. The persons who make the products are paid when they sell. Golden Hands is a non-profit corporation supported by grants from the Camden County Office on Aging.

The store has had gross retail sales of $7,500 since It opened in ber 1978 and net profits of $1,870. The earnings are returned to the Office on Aging, where they are applied to future grants. Three of Castigilia's four employees are paid by the county Employment Training Center. and the fourth worker, Nils Sunwall, draw a salary of $75 a week each for the three days they spend in the store, which is open Monday through Saturday. Unpaid volunteers from the Woodlynne Senior Citizens Club also staff the shop.

The three-year-old club was founded by Castiglia. "THE STORE is sort of a hobby," he says. He got the inspiration for Golden Hands a year and a half ago after reading of a similar store in Philadelphia that was so successful that it became self-supporting in four years. Other senior citizens crafts shops in Flemington (Hunt Courier-Post photography by Sem Kustiner John Castiglia rests' a moment in his busy schedule to inspect the wares of Golden Hands, a craft shop he founded in Colllngswood. The shop sells the handiwork of senior citizens throughout the area.

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