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March 05, 2007  |
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| ConnectYourCare Launches Self-Service CDH
Findings from the study include:
According to a socializing-in-the-workplace-themed survey released by Randstad USA, a workforce solutions company, the flirtiest co-workers reside in the Western United States, and men are most likely to be the culprit. Forty-five percent of working adults residing in the Western U.S. said they have flirted with a colleague, compared with respondents in the Midwest (32%), Northeast (34%) and South (37%). Nationwide, 41 percent of working men admitted that they have flirted with a co-worker, compared to 32 percent of women. Men are also twice as likely as women to be set up on a date by a colleague (12% of men indicated a colleague has played matchmaker for them) and three times as likely to have a secret crush at work (12% of men, compared to 4% of women). For some employees, the workplace is as much a pool for dating as it is a reservoir for social activity. The survey shows that two-thirds (66%) of working adults enjoy socializing with co-workers outside of the workplace. Overall, the preferred environments for socializing with co-workers outside the workplace suggest a close tie to work, either a work-related event or activities in conjunction with the work day. In fact, those in the South (41%) and Midwest (35%) like socializing with co-workers at company parties and Northeasterners favor dinner (37%). Happy hour was also a popular response for working adults nationwide (28%). However, when it comes to mixing work friends and private lives, the Randstad survey indicates that nearly 78 percent of respondents do not feel obligated to invite co-workers to personal events. While men, according to the survey, may be the office flirts, women tend to establish more meaningful relationships. Of the women surveyed, 53 percent have had an “office spouse” or someone at work with whom they confide about personal matters and relationship issues, compared to 42 percent of men.
The survey found that employers continue to overlook the high value that employees place on retirement benefits compared to salary. Fifty-six percent of employers believed employees would choose a higher salary over excellent retirement benefits, while only 34 percent of employees agreed with that statement. Very little dialogue between employers and employees on retirement issues may be fueling this gap: Only one in five employees (22 percent) have spoken to their supervisor or HR department about their retirement benefits in the last 12 months. Coincidentally, 77 percent of employers believe their employees would prefer not to think about retirement until they near retirement age, while 73 percent of employees disagreed with this statement. Employers have much to gain by offering robust retirement benefits. Among employees whose company does not offer a retirement plan, 62 percent of employees said they would leave their job for a similar position with an employer that offers a retirement plan. Better communication also may drive participation and savings rates among all employees, which can help make it easier for employers to pass nondiscrimination testing. According to survey results, 26 percent of employees are not participating in their employee-funded retirement plan. Fortunately for both employers and employees, the 2006 Pension Protection Act has created new opportunities for companies to offer more comprehensive retirement benefits geared at increasing participation and savings. But while employees are indicating interest in many of these opportunities, employers are failing to recognize it. For instance, survey results indicate that employers are not aware of employee interest in retirement accounts, such as the Roth 401(k) option, that may allow them to pay income taxes up front and withdraw funds at retirement tax free. As of August 2006, 89 percent of employers were not offering the Roth 401(k) feature and only 13 percent had planned to do so in the future. The number one reason for not offering it was the perceived lack of employee interest (29 percent). However, 44 percent of employees said they would prefer to pay taxes now instead of later, suggesting that there is a strong interest in an investment vehicle such as the Roth 401(k) option. Despite the current disconnect, employees are clearly demonstrating an eagerness to engage more with employers on retirement issues. Fifty-seven percent of employees stated they would like to receive more information and advice from their company on how to reach their retirement goals.
The market for talent acquisition and staffing services demonstrated moderate growth in 2006, albeit slower growth than in 2005 over the prior year. An improved employment outlook in North America fueled much of the growth, with U.S. unemployment at a five-year low. Employers are reporting that fewer viable candidates are available to fill key positions in a number of industries. In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), unemployment remains higher than in the United States, but employers in these regions are also experiencing shortages in some talent areas. Key findings of this study include:
Brookings, a Washington-based think tank, has attempted to put job loss numbers around one of the most worrisome issues for IT workers today, while also recommending steps the government can take to slow the trend. Where this report, The Implications of Service Offshoring for Metropolitan Economies, differs from others that have tried to assess the implications of offshoring is its analysis of how the trend will affect metro areas with high concentrations of IT-related jobs. Overall, Brookings found that 28 metropolitan areas with 13.5% of the nation's population are likely to lose between 2.6% and 4.3% of their jobs to service offshoring. Those metro areas that could see the highest job losses, above 3.1%,, are Boulder, Col.; Lowell, Mass.; San Francisco; San Jose; and Stamford, Conn. Several other cities, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, could lose between 2.1% to 2.5% of their service jobs. Among the areas where workers could fare better are Las Vegas and Riverside, Calif. These two metropolitan areas with more than 1 million people are likely to see no more than 1.5% of their jobs moved offshore. Indeed, Las Vegas in particular is in need of IT workers. Although overall “a small share of all U.S. jobs will be lost to service offshoring in the next decade,” the report said that some types of service jobs are more likely to go than others, including those that rely heavily on IT and routine or rule-based work. Some occupations, “especially those in IT or back-office services, could lose up to 24% of their jobs in particular metropolitan areas by 2015 as a result of offshoring,” the report said. Breaking its results down by occupation, Brookings found that at least 17% of computer programming, software engineering and data entry jobs are likely to be offshored from certain metro areas. Areas that appear to be particularly susceptible to IT and back office job losses from offshoring, include Bergen-Passaic, N.J.; Boston; Boulder, Col; Danbury, Conn.; Denver; Hartford, Conn.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Nashua, N.H.; Newark, N.J.; Orange County, San Francisco and San Jose, all in Calif.; Stamford, Conn., and Wilmington, Del.
[Source: Computerworld]
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| Your Employees Are Out to Get You
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 Strategic Human Capital Management: Creating Value Through Peopleby Jon Ingham Strategic human capital management (HCM) is not just a measurement-focused approach to human resource management (HRM). It is certainly not a decision science in which people can be managed as a result of quantitative analysis and financial valuation. In fact, it is probably more of an art than a science and is a way of leading people to unlock great business performance. Pulling together seemingly disparate strands of thinking, the book calls for a paradigm change in which people really are seen as an organization’s most important asset, and are managed in a way that reflects this fact. The text includes case studies from leading private and public sector organizations and commentary from HR practitioners and academics. |
| 2006 Service & Support Technology Showcase
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