With many members being asked to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements by project, and the slim labor pool of qualified workers, the MTI Board of Trustees appointed two task force groups to look into the following issues:
- Best practices in Non-Disclosure Agreements and designing template agreements members can use for people doing business with their plant, as well as Employee Engagement Letters that protect employers from former employees disclosing their intellectual property.
- Tapping into the pool of retiring military veterans who are seeking to move back into private enterprise.
Both task force teams work through numerous meetings and presentations to see if it could assemble programs that would add value to members in these two big areas. MTI is pleased to announce the Board approved, at the recent September Board meeting, the following new programs for each of these areas:
Non-Disclosure Agreements and Employee Engagement Hiring Letter
With many members not able to put the investment into a legal team to produce a sound document that protects them in the area of non-disclosure, MTI invested its resources to draw up a set of template documents that any member can use on their letter head.
The task force identified three key issues they wanted to address:
- Having every employee sign off on a letter that keeps your IP from being discussed or distributed upon an employee leaving your company.
- An effective NDA for anyone entering your plant for tours, helping to protect your IP from what they learn on the tour in an effort to do business with you.
- A best practices document that outlines key phrases that you should be aware of when signing larger company’s NDAs.
After numerous meetings with the legal team of White & Williams, LLC, the task force finalized the following four documents with the approval of the Board:
- Employee Engagement Letter - each current and new employee will sign that they agree to some standard elements of confidentiality and non-disclosure on intellectual property that they learn as they work for your company. This is a fill in the blank form that you can put on your letterhead.
- Best Practices Document - outlines employee/employer contracts and non-compete arrangements.
- Non-Disclosure Agreement - you can put on your letterhead to have anyone sign who is visiting your plant. It protects your IP during the tour and conversations you have within that visit.
- Best Practices Document - outlines key elements and language to be aware of when signing another manufacturer’s Non-Disclosure Agreement.
MTI is finalizing the documents for release in next week’s e-news, as well as being emailed directly to every key executive at all member companies. These documents will also be available in MTI’s Online Resource Library 24-7 at www.heattreat.net.
To help members understand the work behind these documents and how to use them, MTI will host the legal team of White and Williams, LLC and NDA Task Force Chair, Bill Disler from AFC-Holcroft, on the October edition of Heat Treat Tuesday on October 31 at 2:00 pm EST.
On the live webcast you will be able to hear the keys to protecting your company’s IP through these documents, as well as ask the team questions you may have. CLICK HERE for details and to RSVP for the webcast.
Staffing of Retired Military Veterans
As the labor pool of qualified workers has dwindled, MTI has been exploring options to finding a qualified labor pool for members to tap into. In exploring options, the idea of tapping into the 250,000+ retiring military veterans surfaced. MTI formed a task force to investigate options, and after months of meetings and presentations, has agreed to a partnership with Bradley-Morris, Inc.
Bradley-Morris, Inc. is one of the country’s leading staffing firms for placing military veteran’s into the workplace. With 72% of retiring veterans being under the age of 30, this partnership will help MTI members tap into a highly disciplined pool of the next generation of employees. Many of the young retiring veterans have proven skills in engineering, science, technology, machine maintenance, electrical, quality, and logistics.
The market rate for using typical staffing services is 30% to 33% of the first-year salary of the new hire. The MTI – Bradley Morris partnership provides great value to members with a reduced fixed rate of 22.5% of first year salary for their full line of recruitment and vetting services.
MTI will be launching a webpage on HeatTreat.net next week, with full details on tapping into this large potential pool of new hires. All MTI key executives will receive an email with the link and how to contact Bradley-Morris.
The MTI Board is excited about the opportunity to help put military veterans to work in the heat treating industry, and would like to thank the task force for their hard work on this effort. Stay tuned for full details next week.