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BASE
PAY EXPECTED TO RISE MORE SLOWLY IN 2009:
Even with rising food and fuel costs, and a less-than-rosy
economic picture, salary increases are expected to remain
flat for this year, according to a recent Mercer study.
American employers plan to award average pay increases
of 3.7 percent in 2009, compared with 3.8 percent in
2008. Raises likely will be higher for top performers
and well-performing industries, despite poor economic
conditions.
More...
SLOW
ECONOMY WEAKENING EMPLOYEES' HEALTH: As food
and fuel prices skyrocket and the economy continues
to take its toll on the American pocketbook, some people
are cutting back in the wrong places – they're skipping
medical care to save a few dollars, according to recent
research by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
More...
MANAGERS
MIGHT WANT TO ENCOURAGE WATER-COOLER MEET-UPS: The
morning meet-ups at the office water cooler may seem
like a waste of valuable time to some employers, but
W. P. Carey management professor Blake Ashforth says
the employees who engage in the idle chit-chat may be
adding value to your company, according to a recent
article in Knowledge@W.P. Carey. Instead of discouraging
these informal social gatherings, he says, employers
should nurture – and actually encourage – these office
klatches. To read more,
click here.
TALENT
MANAGEMENT A CHALLENGE AT NONPROFITS, MIDSIZE FIRMS:
With baby boomer retirements looming, expected
talent shortages and the need for succession planning,
effective talent management is more important than ever
before, says a recent BusinessWeek article.
A recent study by IBM's Institute for Business Value
and the Human Capital Institute shows that nonprofits
and midsize companies have some work to do in the employee
management arena. The study revealed that companies
with strong financial results tend to be more effective
in the talent management arena. Large companies tend
to be more efficient when it comes to managing existing
employees, and planning ahead for the number of employees
and skill sets they will need in their workforce for
the future. To read more,
click here.
MOST COMPANIES
PAY FOR TUITION, DEVELOPMENT: Education isn't
just for school kids anymore. Most workplaces offer
tuition reimbursement and professional development opportunities
to employees too. Based on a recent survey by Accountemps,
a staffing services firm, 94 percent of senior executives
interviewed said their firms offer tuition benefits
for their employees. And 95 percent said their companies
also reimburse for other types of professional development.
More...
WELLNESS
PROGRAMS BOOST ENGAGEMENT, LOYALTY: Many companies
now are offering workplace wellness programs to help
lower health care costs and improve employees' health,
but a recent study also finds that these programs offer
another benefit: They boost employee loyalty and engagement.
The study, conducted by St. Louis-based Maritz Inc.,
a marketing research company, found that employees who
work at companies that offer wellness programs generally
are more satisfied with their jobs, tend to remain with
an employer for a longer period of time, and are more
likely to recommend the company as an employer to others.
More...
COMPANIES
REDUCE PHARMACY COSTS WITH EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT: An
increasing number of employers are enlisting their employees
in long-term strategies to help control rising prescription
drug costs, a recent survey says. Conducted by Buck
Consultants, a human resource and benefits consulting
firm, the survey was designed to identify the strategies
that employers are using to help manage rising prescription
drug benefits and costs and included 150 respondents
from various industries and company sizes.
More...
DOJ OFFERS EMPLOYERS
GUIDANCE FOR ‘NO MATCH’ PROGRAM: The U.S.
Department of Justice recently published anti-discrimination
guidance for employers who follow safe harbor procedures
in response to the Department of Homeland Security's
“no-match letter” program of employment verification.
The guidance is intended to clarify when the Office
of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment
Practices might find reasonable cause to believe that
employers might be engaging in unlawful discrimination
under the Immigration and Nationality Act. For more
information about the guidance,
click here.
WORLDWIDE
AUTOMOTIVE REPORT PODCAST: General Motors returns
to employee prices for everybody. Will Ford's closed
Wixom plant go Hollywood? Good news for Ford's new Escape.
BE OUR FRIEND ON FACEBOOK: The Daily Dash
now has a profile page and a group on Facebook. If you
have a Facebook account (or have been looking for a
reason to set one up), we'd like to hear from you. To
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here. To join the group, click
here.
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Every
office seems to have at least one – somebody who
chronically drags down the morale and work of the rest
of the team. But even if they are common, such toxic
employees need not be a fact of life forever.
