Daily Dash - June, 11, 2007

June 11, 2008

The Latest Business Headlines from WWJ Newsradio 950

Ford Retooling Truck Plants | Ford is planning to shift entire truck plants to car production in a bid to keep up with changing consumer demand, The Detroit News reports. | Story

Investors Flock To Kerkorian Offer | Reflecting pessimism over Ford's near term prospects, they responded to the billionaire's offer by tendering nearly half of the automaker's stock. | Story

Nardelli On Chrysler | The automaker's chief expects it to be an independent company three years from now, and says Cerberus isn't second guessing its acquisition of Chrysler. | Story

Toyota Plug-In Plans | The company says it's introducing a plug-in hybrid with next-generation lithium-ion batteries in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by the year 2010. | Story

Financials Help Dow | The Industrial Average rose 9 to 12,289. AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Chase all advanced, providing support for the blue chip index. | Story

This Week in 'Your People'

HR Outsourcing: Third-party vendors can save money, increase legal risks

Study: How companies are managing ethics, third-party vendors

Virtual Job Fairs: Wave of the future?

Some workplaces impose strict penalties on gossipers

Today's Worldwide Automotive Report podcast.

HR OUTSOURCING: THIRD-PARTY VENDORS CAN SAVE MONEY, INCREASE LEGAL RISKS

For many HR professionals, outsourcing administrative tasks like payroll and benefits administration to a third-party vendor is a welcome division of labor – it helps clear the path for a more strategic role in the company. But this fact remains: You can outsource the work, but you can't outsource the responsibility. The buck still stops in the HR department.

Outsourcing HR administrative tasks can help reduce costs and boost efficiency. But relationships with third-party vendors also can expose a company to greater risk – both from a legal and reputation standpoint, said attorney Rebecca Walker, co-author of a report by The Conference Board called, “Finding the Right Balance: The Risks and Rewards of Third Party Ethics Programs.”

The key is to have the right controls in place at the outset so that there is a clear understanding between both parties about what is expected, said Walker, also a partner with Kaplan & Walker LLP, a law firm based in Santa Monica, Calif. So how do you ensure that a third-party vendor is delivering quality work and complying with laws at the same time? More...

HR Outsourcing Checklist: How to Ask Before Taking the Plunge

Many companies are outsourcing administrative HR tasks these days, but is your organization ready to take that next step?

This HR World checklist can help determine whether your company is ready to take the next step, and whether you are considering the right vendor for your needs. Here are some questions to ask that will help you make your decision. More...

Study: How Companies Are Managing Ethics, Third-Party Vendors

With outsourcing increasingly more common in the corporate world, many companies have had to develop best practices to help manage those relationships and make sure that third-party vendors are engaging in ethical practices. More...

ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES LEAKING SENSITIVE COMPANY INFORMATION?: Email can be an efficient communication tool, but it also can be the delivery system for information leaks from your company. And based on a recent study, companies have cause for concern — 44 percent of U.S. companies investigated a suspected email leak of confidential or proprietary information in the past 12 months. More...

VIRTUAL JOB FAIRS: WAVE OF THE FUTURE?: Online recruitment tools, like job boards and social networking sites, are contributing to the growing popularity of online job fairs. Job seekers and recruiters meet online at a designated time and date, and communicate via online texting or Web camera. This method allows recruiters to meet hundreds of candidates without leaving the office, and it appears to be especially effective in attracting Millennials and other tech-savvy candidates. Big companies like Microsoft, Cisco Systems and IBM are jumping on board and trying out the new technology. To read more from this Workforce Management article, click here.

EMPLOYERS CAN STILL BUILD MORALE WHEN TIMES ARE TOUGH: Despite layoffs and dour economic headlines, it's still possible for managers to motivate employees. Morale doesn't require employees to be happy, but they do need to feel that their work helps make others' lives better, their ideas matter, the tough times are temporary, and that better days are on the horizon. To read more from this Harvard Business Online article, click here.

LARGEST IMMIGRATION RAID IN U.S. HISTORY DRAWS CRITICISM: Worker advocates and lawmakers are criticizing a May 12 federal immigration raid at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, when nearly 400 workers were arrested for violating the law. Critics say the federal government was tough on the workers, but easy on company officials. Some allege that company officials knew they were hiring illegal immigrants. To read more from this Associated Press story, click here.

SOME WORKPLACES IMPOSE STRICT PENALTIES ON GOSSIPERS: Fed up with the water cooler chatter that was destroying workplace morale and resulting in information leaks to competitors, the CEO of a Chicago-based public relations firm decided to stamp out the harmful gossip in his workplace. He fired three employees and imposed a no-gossip policy. The Chicago firm is not alone — other employers are taking a hardline approach to their resident gossipers as well. To read more from this Christian Science Monitor story, click here.

WORLDWIDE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT PODCAST: WWJ Newsradio 950's JEff Gilbert takes a look at globalization.

Note: While the Daily Dash editor, James Melton, is on vacation, this is 'The Dash Lite.' James will return along with your complete Daily Dash newsletter on Monday, June 16.