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| New Employer Trends in Retirement | |||||||||||||
| Continued changes to the retirement landscape — including recent legislation, tighter reporting and funding rules, and the gradual shift of risk from employers to employees — is prompting companies to more actively manage their retirement plans this year, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates. In light of these changes, companies are increasing their focus on reducing retirement plan risk and ensuring that employees take appropriate advantage of their retirement plans. Hewitt's study of 190 mid- to large-sized U.S. companies reveals that new funding rules for pensions and increased scrutiny on retirement plan operations in general are prompting more companies to take additional steps to administer their plans within a risk framework in 2008. Among those companies offering pension plans, almost two-thirds (63 percent) said they are very likely to perform funding and accounting projections, 30 percent plan to perform an asset liability study, and 29 percent are very likely to assess the risks that their pension plans are running based on current strategies. More than half (55 percent) of companies offering a defined contribution plan intend to review their fund operations, including expenses and revenue sharing. Fiduciary responsibility is also a focus, with 35 percent of companies saying they are very likely to review their 401(k) plan governance structure or hire a third party monitor to review their investment options. At the same time, more than half (56 percent) of companies still rank employees' taking accountability for retirement as a high priority this year, and half (50 percent) say they plan to focus on helping employees better understand their retirement benefits. Much of their efforts will be carried out through communications. Two-thirds (66 percent) of companies are very likely to undertake a communication initiative on 401(k) plan participation, and 64 percent are likely to communicate to their employees about diversification and fund usage. In addition, 58 percent plan to focus their communication efforts on 401(k) contribution levels. Despite impending increases in the potential costs and the cost volatility of pension plans, the pace at which employers are modifying their defined benefit plan design will slow dramatically this year. According to Hewitt's survey, almost three quarters (72 percent) of companies that offer a pension plan say they will make no changes to those plans in 2008, compared with just 41 percent last year. Only 3 percent said they are very likely to close their plans, and 2 percent said they are likely to freeze their plan, down from 6 percent and 4 percent respectively. Instead, companies are focusing on ways to manage financial and other risks of their plans more effectively, given the requirements of the Pension Protection Act. In addition to performing funding and accounting projections, and reviewing funding strategies, 29 percent said they are very likely to assess the risks that their pension plans are running based on current strategies. As a way to ensure employees take appropriate advantage of the retirement plans offered to them, automated tools are becoming standard features in 401(k) plans. Today, 44 percent of companies offer automatic enrollment to their employees, compared with 36 percent in 2007. Among those plans that do not currently offer automatic enrollment, 30 percent said they are very likely to offer it in 2008, while 27 percent are somewhat likely. More than one-fifth (22 percent) of companies currently enroll both existing and new participants in their 401(k) plans, up from 15 percent in 2007, and another 27 percent are very likely to do so in 2008. Interestingly, companies who have frozen or closed their pension plans are more likely to offer automatic enrollment to their employees than companies who offer only 401(k) plans or who offer an open pension plan. | |||||||||||||
| [Full Article] Mar-06-2008 | |||||||||||||
| Less than Half of Female Professionals Feel Prepared to Succeed in Global Business Environment of 2011 | |||||||||||||
| Just 43 percent of women professionals feel well-equipped to compete in the business economy of the future, according to a report issued by Accenture as part of its celebration of International Women’s Day. The report, One Step Ahead of 2011: A New Horizon for Working Women, is based on a survey of more than 4,000 male and female business professionals in 17 countries across Europe, Asia, North America and South America. According to the findings, women in several key emerging markets believe they are better equipped to succeed than do their female counterparts in many developed markets. Specifically, the majority of businesswomen in India, South Africa, China and Brazil — 68 percent, 63 percent, 61 percent and 52 percent, respectively — said that they feel equipped to succeed in the global world of 2011. The survey asked respondents to consider “skills readiness” across six categories — agility, social responsibility, global skills, technology, inclusion & diversity, and business relationships — with “skills readiness” representing the respondents’ perceived importance of the specific skill to success in 2011, as well as their readiness in that skill. Interestingly, both women and men rated technology at the top of their skills readiness assessment, cited by 75 percent of women and 73 percent of men. Additionally, more than eight in 10 women (83 percent) said they were willing to learn and use new technologies, such as blogs or social networks, as a means of achieving future success. More than three-quarters of women (76 percent) forecasted a high degree of importance in leveraging those technologies, and two-thirds (66 percent) of women said they expect relationships managed through technology will change significantly between now and 2011. The research also explored factors related to career advancement and identified some differences between male and female respondents. Women were more likely than men to attribute their career advancement to ambition and drive (cited by 59 percent of women versus 54 percent of men), to passion for their chosen careers (42 percent of women versus 39 percent of men) and to family support (30 percent of women versus 26 percent of men). On the other hand, men were more likely than women to cite technical capabilities and fostering professional relationships as having helped their career advancement, cited by 59 percent and 33 percent of men, respectively, versus 47 percent and 29 percent of women, respectively. However, only 47 percent of men said that they feel equipped to compete in 2011, slightly higher than the 43 percent of women who answered similarly. Additionally, more than half of both female and male respondents (58 percent and 61 percent, respectively) reported that men and women are equally effective at building professional networks that help advance their careers. Yet vestiges of gender boundaries still exist: more than one-quarter (28 percent) of all respondents said that men are more effective than women at building those professional networks, compared with just 13 percent of respondents who said that women are more effective than men at building these networks. The research also found that: | |||||||||||||
| [Full Article] Mar-06-2008 | |||||||||||||
| Work, Life Significantly Affect Sleep | |||||||||||||
| About 10 percent of adults report not getting enough rest or sleep every day in the past month, according to a new four-state study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data from the four states — Delaware, Hawaii , New York , and Rhode Island — may not reflect national trends. But an additional study conducted by CDC utilizing data from the National Health Interview Study indicated that across all age groups the percentage of adults who, on average, report sleeping six hours or less has increased from 1985 to 2006. CDC estimates that 50 to 70 million people suffer from chronic sleep loss and sleep disorders. Sleep loss is associated with health problems, including obesity, depression, and certain risk behaviors, including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, and heavy drinking. Variation for insufficient rest and sleep may be due to occupational or lifestyle factors. The causes of sleep loss could include busy schedules or shift work; irregular sleep schedules; or lifestyle factors such as heavy family demands, late-night television watching and Internet use, or the use of caffeine and alcohol, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. The National Sleep Foundation reports that most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night to feel fully rested while school children aged 5-12 years require 9-11 hours, and adolescents aged 11-17 years require 8.5-9.5 hours each night. The study also found that the prevalence of insufficient sleep decreased with age. An estimated 13.3 percent of adults aged 18-34 reported insufficient rest or sleep everyday in the past month compared to only 7.3 percent of adults ages 55 and older. While some studies have found sleep disturbance more prevalent among older adults, results from this study are consistent with other research that supports the idea that older adults (who are more likely to be retired) make fewer complaints regarding impaired sleep and adapt their perception of what encompasses sufficient sleep. In addition, the study showed that only one out of three (29.6 percent) adults said they did get enough rest or sleep every day in the past month. The report said the definitions of "enough" (sufficient) sleep and "rest," and responses to the survey question were subjective and were not measured or equated to reports of hours of sleep per night. The report said the analysis cannot be compared directly with studies measuring hours of sleep. The survey question also did not define or distinguish between "rest" and "sleep." | |||||||||||||
| [Full Article] Mar-06-2008 | |||||||||||||
| Dissatisfaction with HR | |||||||||||||
| A survey on employee engagement by Ceridian, a provider of human resource services, reveals that half of office workers feel HR teams make no difference to their jobs, while nearly a quarter, at 22 percent, actually say their HR function makes them less than satisfied by getting things wrong. Male office workers, at 26 percent, were more likely to feel dissatisfaction with the function, while younger employees (aged 16 to 24) were more positive about the function's contribution, with 19 percent declaring they could see some benefit from the HR initiatives introduced. Nearly half of all employees (45 percent) did not think their employer understood how well they were managed and older workers, over 45, were more than twice as likely to say they would look for a new job in the next year because they had a really poor manager. Less than a third thought they suffered from inadequate training, with younger employees (aged 16 to 24) far more positive than the rest of the workforce about the helpfulness of performance reviews and of the quality of training provided. As a result, training opportunities for workers under 34 were more likely to influence a decision to move. Interestingly, being better recognized and thanked for their contribution would be the third most influential factor in moving to a new employer. | |||||||||||||
| [Full Article] Mar-06-2008 | |||||||||||||
| Salary Is Top Draw for Job Candidates but Benefits Nearly As Popular | |||||||||||||
| A recent survey suggests that successfully wooing job candidates takes more than salary alone. While 37 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed said offering higher compensation than competitors is the most effective incentive for attracting accounting professionals, nearly as many (33 percent) felt the benefits package had the greatest influence, up from just 2 percent five years ago. The findings also suggest traditional incentives are a higher priority today: While the popularity of benefits surged, the number of financial executives who feel telecommuting and flexible work schedules are the top draw fell 20 points, from 33 percent in 2003 to 13 percent in 2008. The survey was developed by Robert Half International, a staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance, and conducted by an independent research firm. It was based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs across the United States. The survey results further suggest that rising medical costs have increased the value workers place on healthcare benefits options, and employers need to respond accordingly. Companies that do not provide comprehensive employment packages, including competitive compensation and insurance programs, risk losing top job candidates to other opportunities, says the company. | |||||||||||||
| [Full Article] Feb-17-2008 | |||||||||||||
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