Thursday, October 28, 2010

To Allow Telecommuting or Not?

A lot of office places are grappling with the pros and cons of allowing their employees to telecommute. In this age where cost-cutting is a premium, minimizing used office space and allowing employees the flexibility of working from home seems to be growing in popularity. But with it comes pitfalls such as chance of lost productivity, a lack of oversight, and decreased amount of teamwork and camaraderie, among other negatives.

FINS has the 5 worst and best things about telecommuting from an employees side. The last negative is one to warn employees about if the option is given to them: "It could totally backfire. We hope it doesn't, really, but it's hard to know how you'll do working at home until you make a real commitment to it. Spending all day at home could leave you feeling cooped up, it can create tensions in your family life, especially if there's not a well-thought-out system in place, and you could find yourself really overwhelmed, or really bored."

If you allow co-workers to work remotely and issue them a smartphone, beware of the legal implications of overtime having to be issued to those workers as Workforce Management writes. The article cites one case from the Chicago Police Department but warns that it is "one of a handful nationwide in which employees have claimed overtime pay for smart-phone use—and apparently the first involving public employees. But lawyers say such cases are a clear warning to employers to put a smart-phone usage policy in place before they end up in potentially costly litigation."

And lastly, if you plan to have your employees work in the office or out of it, Monster.com has some tips for successful meetings (H/T Wendy). Warding off the "meeting vampires" is the key to making sure that meetings are effective and efficient.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Women in the Workplace

The past few months, two somewhat conflicting reports about women (and their looks) in the workplace have come out.

In August, Reuters reported that attractive women were being overlooked for certain jobs. The study by the University of Colorado Denver Business School published in the Journal of Social Psychology concluded "Attractive women faced discrimination when they applied for jobs where appearance was not seen as important. These positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor."

Then, earlier this month, the New York Post reported that skinnier women earn significantly more than those who are of average weight or classified as obese. The study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that "being 30 pounds below the average American female weight of 164 pounds can result in roughly $10,719 more in annual salary -- above the average woman's pay of $40,000. Being 30 pounds overweight can mean making $9,873 less than average." I think that this may be more of a case of skinnier people being more energetic, healthier, and confident than the case of discrimination, but it is interesting indeed.

Lastly, the EU parliament voted in favor of a number of measures to strengthen maternity protection in Europe including a 20-week full maternity pay for new mothers according to HR Magazine. The proposal also contains "rules employers will be banned from dismissing pregnant workers until six months after the end of their maternity leave."

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Astronology - 2011 Compensation Budget Forecasts

Astron Website Top

Astronology

Volume XI

Issue 17

 

October 19, 2010

Dear Andrew,

Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software.

 

Fact or Fiction

 

Car Horns beep in the tone of F.

FACT!

American car horns beep in the tone of F. That's helpful to know if we need to tune an instrument!

Today's article focuses on the cash compensation element of total rewards. However, total rewards encompasses so much more. What are some of the fun and unusual things your organization does to keep your employees engaged and motivated? Perhaps you have a company band, excluding any company cars? Please share with us some of your favorite total rewards offerings, and we may feature you in an upcoming issue of Astronology!

 

2011 Compensation Budget Forecasts

mandollarsIt's that time of year again - time to begin setting compensation budgets for 2011. As we move towards the fourth quarter of 2010, we are left with mixed messages regarding the state of the US economy. In one case, the stock market has returned to the 11000 levels, and companies are reporting record profits. On the other hand, unemployment is stuck at 9.5% or higher. It is evident that many organizations have "re-tooled" in terms of staffing, and have discovered that they can provide their goods and services with less staff. If you add in the uncertainty surrounding healthcare reform and its impact, one can clearly understand why it is very difficult to make predictions for 2011 with any confidence.....more

 

Have a Question?

If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us!  Simply reply to this e-mail.  See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an upcoming issue of Astronology.

Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting?  Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues.  For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com.

 

The Fine Print

We hold your e-mail address in trust.  Astron Solutions promises never to share or rent your personal information.  We also promise never to send you frivolous e-mails and will allow you to leave our list, at your option, at any time.

To remove yourself from this list, please follow your personalized subscriber link at the bottom of your Astronology alert e-mail.

Copyright 2010, Astron Solutions, LLC

ISSN Number 1549-0467

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Bringing you Human Resource news from around the globe...compliments of Astron Solutions.

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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Back to New York and Collaboration

After spending the week at a conference in Richmond, Virginia, I'm in a cab heading back to Manhattan. The conference I went to was the "Global Compliance, Legal and Government Relations" conference for my company. Two takeaways that I want to share on the blog are "Cool-aboration" and the "GFC".

"Cool-aboration" was a fun term for a presentation about collaborating with others. While most companies preach this, the conference had a big difference to talk about: actually listening to other people. When we discussed the great things each group had done the past year, it was all because of collaborative efforts--but even more important it was the communication and the listening of our associates that allowed for these great things to continue. Being able to feed off others and work with them in a collaborative manner is a sign of a great organization.

The other term I used above--the "GFC"--was a term I learned that the rest of the world was using for this recession which either stood for the Great Financial Crisis or Global Financial Crisis. But the important takeaway here was to understand the impact of Dodd Frank and other international regulations to your organization. Just because you are not located in your European office does not mean that what they are doing there doesn't effect your job, especially if you work in Human Resources and deal with employees' whistleblowing or executive compensation.

Although there were many other things I took away from the conference, those are two that I wanted to share here on the Astron blog. Although many companies are already thinking about it, some "cool-aboration" is always needed to make sure good policies and procedures are implemented and enforced.

-Andrew

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Literal Self-Promotion and Human Resources

Besides being the baseball playoffs, tonight is also The Office night. The show is nowhere near as funny as it was in the earlier years, but it still is a funny, enjoyable half hour and well-worth the watch (at least until Steve Carrell leaves at the end of the year). Last week's episode was an interesting one, though because of Pam's literal "self-promotion" and Toby's mediation with Michael due to his "corporate punishment" from the week before.

Usually when we think about "self-promotion" we think of someone promoting their own brand. What happened on the last episode of The Office was quite different. When a sales person walked into the office and asked who the office manager was, Pam stepped up and took the position even though it wasn't hers. She then set out to convince the rest of the office that she had the position but had not received her salary bump. In the end, she got her way, but through less-than-savory means (well, she lied). 

Now Human Resources should be encouraging employees to promote themselves to other members of the office. Taking responsibilities that are not there's to help out in the office is great as well and should be encouraged. But that's where this should end. Actually giving yourself a promotion and a raise was funny on the show, but is not exactly ethical.

As for Toby, he had another classic showdown with Michael. Toby is Michael's punching bag and usually doesn't bring a good face to Human Resources, but he shined much of this episode (except when he had Michael fill out his own form). Toby's inability to stop Michael from acting out has been one of his toughest thing to deal with but his ability to work with Michael despite all the abuse gets kudos from me.

We'll see what types of office hijinx happen on tonight's episode, but last week's episodes was certainly chock-full of laughs and Human Resource topics.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Jobs in the Financial World

With Warren Buffet coming out today (via Telegraph) and saying that next time the financial world goes bust, the chief executives of those banks and their wives should go broke too, I figured it was a good time to delve back into the job market in the financial world.

Within the same article came this ominous forecast: "Despite the difference in the fortunes of those on Wall Street and many Americans in other industries, analysts have said that banks may decide to cut jobs in coming months as trading revenues decline. Meredith Whitney, for example, has forecast that up to 80,000 finance jobs could go over the next 18 months." Eek

More specifically, Morgan Stanley came out last week and said they were going to freeze investment bank hiring in 2010 according to Bloomberg (H/T Wendy).

For those looking for a job in this market, FINS has some advice for college graduates about how to find a job in the financial world (one of the pieces of advice "Take on Internships" is a good one).

Also from FINS, a different type of sheriff is coming to town: the IRS is hiring special agents for their Criminal Investigation Division, one of its prime divisions.

Lastly, Corporate Compliance Insights has two Dilberts that hopefully don't hit too close to home for many compliance professionals.

Astronology - Head Games

Astron Website Top

Astronology

Volume XI

Issue 16

 

October 5, 2010

Dear Andrew,

Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software.

 

The Astron Road Show

The Astron Road Show continues on!  Our next stop?  National Director Michael Maciekowich will present at the 20th Annual SHRM-Atlanta HR Conference, October 18- 19th.  Mike's session is entitled "Building a Compensation Program Based on Changing Strategic Objectives, Focusing on Cost Controls and Real Life Solutions."  Mike will also have a booth in the exhibit hall, so please stop by and say hello!

We'll see you on the road!

 

Fact or Fiction

The same person wrote the famous State Farm and Band-Aid jingles.
 
FACT!
 
Before his "Copacabana" days, Barry Manilow
wrote jingles. Of his jingles the most famous are the ones for Band-Aid: "I am stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me!" and State Farm: "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!"
 
Do you have any special memories triggered by Barry Manilow's music?  Please write us so that we can share your stories in the next Astronology!
 
Speaking of Barry Manilow, he's been performing in Las Vegas for several years.  Will you see him perform next June when SHRM holds their annual conference in Las Vegas?  Visit SHRM's websiteto learn more about the 2011 annual conference!

 

Head Games

surveyby Jan Greene

Benchmarks will never be the same for Robert Mansfield. Enrolled in a course under that title, the New Jersey healthcare executive essentially put his psyche and management style up for grabs by his coworkers -- all for the sake of career development. Each filled out a lengthy survey asking about Mansfield's workplace quirks and behavioral basics, ranging from whether he cracks under pressure to how he works with others.....
more

 

Have a Question?

If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us!  Simply reply to this e-mail.  See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an upcoming issue of Astronology.

Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting?  Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues.  For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com.

 

The Fine Print

We hold your e-mail address in trust.  Astron Solutions promises never to share or rent your personal information.  We also promise never to send you frivolous e-mails and will allow you to leave our list, at your option, at any time.

To remove yourself from this list, please follow your personalized subscriber link at the bottom of your Astronology alert e-mail.

Copyright 2010, Astron Solutions, LLC

ISSN Number 1549-0467

Quick Links

 

World of HR Blog

Bringing you Human Resource news from around the globe...compliments of Astron Solutions.

More

 

Join Our Mailing List

 

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