June 11, 2010

HR Fact Friday: Most Employers to Wait to Cover Adult Children

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , — Paul @ 8:38 am

Many companies do not intend to comply early with a provision in the new health care reform law that will require group health care plans to extend coverage to employees’ young adult children up to age 26, according to a survey released Tuesday, June 8.

Among the 501 large employers responding to a Hewitt Associates Inc. survey, 77 percent said they will wait until the effective date before offering the coverage. Ten percent of respondents said they will extend coverage early to all eligible adult children, 9 percent said they will continue coverage for graduating students already covered in their plans, and 4 percent were undecided.

The law requires the extension to be made on the first day of the plan year starting after September 23, 2010. For calendar-year plans, which are the most common, the effective date of the provision would be January 1.

Source: Jerry Geisel, Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management.

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January 15, 2010

HR Fact Friday: Americans’ Job Satisfaction Falls to Record Low

Filed under: General HR Buzz — Tags: , , — Paul @ 8:16 am

Even Americans who are lucky enough to have work in this economy are becoming more unhappy with their jobs, according to a new survey that found only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work.

That was the lowest level ever recorded by the Conference Board research group in more than 22 years of studying the issue. In 2008, 49% of those surveyed reported satisfaction with their jobs.

The drop in workers’ happiness can be partly blamed on the worst recession since the 1930s, which has made it difficult for some people to find challenging and suitable jobs. But worker dissatisfaction has been on the rise for more than two decades.

(more…)

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November 13, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Worker Engagement and Expectations Dropping

Filed under: Management Practices — Tags: , , , , — Paul @ 6:00 am

Cost cutting actions made by U.S. employers in 2009 to deal with the economic downturn have contributed to a sharp decline in the morale and commitment of their workers, especially top performers, according to an annual survey by consultancy Watson Wyatt and WorldatWork, an association of HR professionals.

The 2009/2010 U.S. Strategic Rewards Survey found that employee engagement levels among all employers dropped 9% since 2008 and have plunged close to 25% among top performers.  Additionally, 36% of top performers say their employer’s situation worsened over the past year; the number who would recommend others take jobs at their company has declined by nearly 20%.

“The fallout from the actions employers have taken in response to the recession is now coming to light, and it is significant,” said Laura Sejen, global director of strategic rewards consulting for Watson Wyatt. “Having less engaged and committed workers is a major concern for employers. This could have a long-lasting and detrimental impact on productivity, quality, and customer service, as well as an increase in the risk of companies losing their best employees.”

The survey was conducted in May and based on responses from 1,300 full-time workers at large U.S. employers.

Source: HR Magazine, Stephen Miller, November, 2009 pg. 16

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October 23, 2009

HR Fact Friday: HR Poll — Compensation Audit Frequency

Filed under: Compensation,General HR Buzz,Salaries & Pay — Tags: , , , — Paul @ 7:50 am

It’s no secret that here at HRN we practice what we preach regarding best practices in compensation administration and employee performance management.  For example, at HRN we utilize Compease for establishing salary grades and comp levels based on current and accurate market data. We regularly update Compease with new and current compensation data compiled from the most trusted and respected sources. 

In my regular review of HR news and information sources I came across a live online survey on hr.blr.com asking this simple question: 

How often does your org. audit its compensation plan to ensure fairness and equity in employees pay? 

The reason this question stopped me in my tracks was because it is one of the first questions our compensation consultants ask prospective clients when discussing their compensation plan and strategy. So I was quite interested in seeing the results. And what I saw was surprising; especially when you consider that all repsondents are HR professionals who should know better. 

Source: hr.blr.com

Source: hr.blr.com

 

The good news is that 30% do audit their comp plan at least once each year. Hopefully these are all Compease clients because this annual update and review function is included in the solution. But what really did surprise me is that an equal amount; nearly one-third have never audited their compensation plan! Never? The next highest number of respondents at 17% selected the ‘less frequently than 3 years’ option. Now I understand this is an unscientific and uncontrolled online poll but even with a margin of error of 10% it’s still a significant finding. 

How can a company remain competitive and justify their bottom line if they have no true understanding of what other companies of the same size, in the same industry and geographical region are paying staff members for specific job functions and taking into account experience, education, and performance? With no researched and current comp plan in place a company is at risk of either overpaying employees, resulting in lower profitability, or underpaying key contributors and risking high attrition and turnover. Turnover costs the company money to recruit, hire, and train new staff. 

When I see data like this I am motivated as a marketer to do a better job in communicating the benefits of Compease to HR professionals. 

Having an annually updated and reliable comp plan in place does not have to be difficult, expensive, or time consuming. HRN has the solution. It’s called Compease. Give us a call and talk to a compensation professional or check it out online at here. Or better yet . . . attend a demo.

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July 10, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Work-life Balance Rising Concern for Workers and Employers

Filed under: Work/Life Balance — Tags: , — Paul @ 8:30 am

The following is a brief excerpt from HRN’s July HR Industry White Paper written by Mike Dougal, HRN Director of HR Consulting. To read the complete white paper simply go to: http://www.hrnonline.com/promo/freeNewsletter.asp and sign up to receive HRN’s free monthly HR Industry White Paper and/or HR Legal Update via email.

The challenge of balancing work and personal life is a reality for most working families.  Although not a new challenge, the increase in dual career families, single parents and a stressed economy has accelerated the challenge into the forefront.  Work-life balance (WLB) has become an area of concern for both workers and their employers.

Consider these statistics from a 2008 Survey by FedEx Office:

  • 86 percent of survey respondents plan to actively pursue a better work-life balance in 2009.
  • 47 percent of respondents desire more of a balance between work and life outside of their job in 2009 than they did in 2008.
  • 58 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds believe it will be more important to find better work/life balance in 2009, compared to 46 percent of those aged 35 to 54, and just 30 percent for the 50-and-over group

The problem for some lies in the fact that many employers still view the “ideal worker” as one who works long hours and is supported by a spouse who takes responsibility for child rearing and other family issues.  But let’s face it, June Cleaver has traded her apron for business-casual attire and Ward is finally learning his way around the kitchen.

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March 20, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Bright Spots Exist in Job Market

Filed under: Hiring & Jobs — Tags: , , , , , , — Paul @ 5:00 am

Glad to see some positive news in the March 2009 issue of HR Magazine in regard to employment prospects.  An article by Bill Leonard in the HR News section caught my attention because it actually found a bright spot in an otherwise dismal quarter of staggering  job losses. Mr. Leonard writes . . .

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the health care industry increased by 32,000 in December 2008, making it the only major private industry sector to add a significant number of jobs at year-end. The health care industry added mor than 370,000 jobs in 2008, surpassing all other private-industry categories.

Although demand for health care workers is strong in nearly every position, including managerial and administrative jobs, nursing outstrips all other occupations and is listed as the top “in-demand occupation” by the federal Career Voyages web site, a project of the U.S. departments of Labor and Education (see Top Ten list below).

The strength of the health job market isn’t enough to offset the massive job losses in sectors such as finance, manufacturing and retail. However, demand for skilled workers in information technology and green and renewable energy industries could help stabilize the job merket as the need for qualified workers in those sectors should remain strong, recruiting and industry analysts predict.

A survey by ExecuNet, an online career service for executives found in December 2008 that 40% of the respondents reported that they saw signs of rising demand for managerial talent — a strong increase compared to 26% reported just a month earlier.

Education should be another strong sector, analysts agree. Qualified elementary and secondary school teachers will remain in high demand.

When it comes to green technnology the hottest job prospects will be in areas such as forestry, wind turbine manufacturing, solar-energy research and development, and environmental engineering. However growth in this industry will depend heavily on policies of the Obama administration, proposed tax incentives, and potential government funding.

Top 10 ‘In-Demand’ Occupations

1. Registered Nurses
2. General and Operations Managers
3. Physicians and Surgeons
4. Elementary School Teachers
5. Accountants and Auditors
6. Computer Software Engineers
7. Sales Representatives and Managers
8. Computer System Analysts
9. Management Analysts
10. Secondary School Teachers

Source: Career Voyages, www.careervoyages.gov

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March 6, 2009

HR Fact Friday: Survey Finds Nearly 20 Percent of Employers Plan to Drop Health Benefits

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , , — Paul @ 11:15 am

A sign of the troubled times is that most new HR related survey data tends to fall on the negative side. Here is the latest case in point and it is sobering news indeed for employees of small businesses who currently have the option of enrolling in an employer provided health benefit plan.

Nineteen percent of employers responding to a new Hewitt Associates survey are planning to stop offering health benefits over the next three to five years, nearly five times as many as the 4 percent that said they were planning an exit strategy last year.

For those employers planning to continue to provide health benefits, keeping employees healthy has become the primary workforce issue in 2009, up from the number 2 position in 2008, according to Lincolnshire, Illinois-based Hewitt’s survey, “The Road Ahead: Emerging Health Trends 2009.”

(more…)

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