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 Murphy
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“It has morphed into more of an activist role, especially with our work with the ERC5,” she noted, adding that such involvement is important in that
it helps bring the perspective of the small-business owner — often lost on those in power, in her view — into the forefront.
But the pandemic has done more than bring unprecedented levels of business — and visibility — to the company. Indeed, Murphy said it has also pro- vided lessons in how work can be done, and where.
Elaborating, she said her company, like many oth- ers, has adapted a hybrid/remote model of work, with many employees working from home. But because of the technology available, home doesn’t have to be in the 413, or even in Massachusetts. And as employers look at whom they might hire and where they live, unemployment-tax rates and policies will likely play an increasingly significant factor in those decisions.
“Massachusetts will have to compete with every other state now — and there are 21 other states that have chosen to use federal stimulus funds to offset their losses on their unemployment trust funds,” she explained. “Massachusetts has used zero dollars for that purpose, and has chosen to strap employers with a 20-year assessment.
“We have two positions to fill,” she went on. “And now, we can interview and hire people from Michi- gan or Texas or California, and those will be the juris- dictional states for unemployment. As more employ- ers with remote workforces become aware of this, they may be more prone to hire people from states where the unemployment-tax burden is much less.”
This changing playing field allows UTCA, and all companies, for that matter, to cast a wider net, said Murphy, and attract talent that was formerly out of reach because of geography.
“We used to talk about getting people from the eastern part of the state to relocate to Western Mass., and that was a difficult task,” she told BusinessWest.
“All that has shifted; we can now focus on recruiting directly in the market where our competitor is — or wherever we want to be. We can do our homework and attract people within our industry who have niche experience and knowledge, or we can attract others who are in a demographic we want to focus on to make our company more diverse, as well as productive. And I would be surprised if businesses do not see the opportunity there to have a very robust workforce that will give them a competitive advantage.
Doing her homework and staying on the cutting edge of trends and new developments in business has enabled Murphy to take that ‘small shoebox’ ref- erenced by that jilted competitor all those years ago and turn it into a much bigger shoebox — and, more importantly, one of the region’s more intriguing busi- ness success stories. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
  Gallery
Continued from page 33
“This is really meant to be some- thing people can access all the time, however they need to. The goal is
for people to see great art and great work,” she went on, noting that a mas- ter cabinet maker from Cowls Build- ing Supply built all the gallery’s walls, shelving, and fixtures on wheels, so the configuration of the gallery can be changed. Artists who want to apply
to rent space may do so at bit.ly/
HannahsGalleryApplication. Rechtschaffen also envisions shar-
ing art outside the gallery at pop-up displays, art fairs, holiday events, and other gatherings — again, with the goal of connecting local art to as many people as possible. And they’re hungry for it, she added, like one woman who came to the gallery opening and said it was her first social event in a long time.
“She was like, ‘I’m good, I’m good; this is helping.’ It’s not just about get-
ting people back out there; for busi- ness owners and people creating these events, we have a responsibility — if we’re inviting someone into a space, we need to be mindful of what that space feels like, that it feels comfortable.
I take that very seriously, creating a space like this where people can come enjoy themselves.”
As people emerge from COVID iso- lation, Lopes said, one positive is that many have learned a lot about them-
selves, and that’s especially true for art- ists, who can now move forward with new understanding and new vulner- ability — and a new audience at the Mill District.
“We are into telling stories and making sure people get to see art,” Rechtschaffen said, “but also learn something about their community.” u
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
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