Thursday, October 30, 2008

Even Google

Even Google had to cut one of their most famous employee perks as their stock price has dropped almost 50%: click here
 

Monday, October 27, 2008

Does a company’s culture affect organizational performance and effectiveness?

Interesting answer to this question "Does a company's culture affect organizational performance and effectiveness?": click here

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Why Talent Is Overrated

A good article from Fortune to read on why talent is overrated: click here

And some more from Geoff Colvin on a guest blog post: click here

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Astronology: Halloween At Your Place of Employment

 
Astron Website Top
Astronology
Volume IX
Issue 17
 
October 21, 2008
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.

Astron Road Show
The trees are beginning to go from green to their crimsons, oranges, and golds. At least in Jersey they are. As the leaves begin to find their way to the ground, Astron Solutions begins to wrap up our 2008 trade show tour.

Our very last trade show exhibit for the year will be at the 2008 Virginia SHRM State Conference, which will take place on October 22nd through the 24th; exhibiting hours are held on the 22nd and 23rd only. There, Director, Client Services Paul Hart Miller and Marketing Specialist Stephen A. Lella plan on meeting and greeting with everybody. Then on November 19th, we have National Director Michael Maciekowich presenting at the PMA meeting (NY State Association of ARCs). If you have any inquiries about the meeting, please e-mail here.

Enjoy the fall and we'll see you there!

Astron in the News
Last Friday, October 17th, Astron's National Director Jennifer C. Loftus was featured in an article published on the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) website regarding long-term care insurance as an employee benefit. You can view the article here: http://www.shrm.org/rewards/library_published/benefits/nonIC/CMS_026885.asp (note: only members of SHRM will be able to access this website). Enjoy the good reading!

iShuffle

This week on the iShuffle, we got a remix from National Director Jennifer Loftus. As always, Jennifer's tastes run the gamut...more
Daylight Savings Time

A friendly reminder for our faithful readers: On November 2nd, Daylight Savings Time ends as we all set our clocks back one hour. Yes, that means we all get one hour of extra sleep; enjoy your extra hour!
 
Halloween At Your Place of Employment

candyOctober 31st will be here in a few short days. As it approaches, HR departments may be presented with an interesting challenge. Is it possible to celebrate Halloween at work without unintentionally upsetting some employees? Some may think the answer is no. However, with a look into the tradition and understanding why some employees may have concerns, it is possible to strike a balance between having a celebratory atmosphere with professionalism. Perhaps this year, your organization can come up with a creative way of meeting this challenge!...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 2008, Astron Solutions, LLC

ISSN Number 1549-0467

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Slashing OT and Hiring Freeze Hits Everything

A story about slashing overtime and a hiring freeze to meet a budget shortfall brought on by declining revenues and a spike in costs...but instead of a local business or a multinational corporation, this time it's about the city of Baltimore: click here

Friday, October 17, 2008

What I’m Hearing…Your Hearing May Be in Danger

This morning on the radio I heard about a new study out of Britain. According to the research, someone who listens to their iPod or other music device for 1 hour a day for five years will go deaf.

Scary.

The study got me thinking. If someone listens for longer periods each day – like many of our Gen X and Gen Y colleagues in our offices – will he or she go deaf sooner?

Free will is an important part of life here in America. If someone wants to risk their hearing to listen to music, that’s his / her choice. However, as HR Professionals, what can we do to help our employees make informed choices? What should we do? I’m thinking about going beyond traditional policies that restrict the use of musical devices in the workplace. We currently provide opportunities to educate employees about wellness, financial planning, and other topics. Perhaps preserving one’s hearing should be included in that mix. If we don’t – and this study’s results turn out to be true – our workplaces and ways of doing business will radically change in the next 10 or so years. Being bilingual in American Sign Language is one aspect that comes to mind. What are your thoughts?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Social Security, GM Layoffs and More

We'll start off on this Thursday with news from the Associate Press that Social Security benefits are going to increase by 5.8% per month (the largest COLA increase in more than a quarter of a century): click here 
 
Marketwatch continues by telling us that GM is set to lay off 1,500 workers in Michigan and Delaware: click here
 
The New York Times has a really interesting article about those who are certainly left out in the cold by this financial crisis and job market--finance students: click here
 
This is a huge dilemma for finance students...not only are they going up against a huge population of unemployed workers, but they're also the least experienced in that group. And with a hiring freeze and many of the big banks, these people are sitting with huge debt, without the huge payoff they expected at the end of the rainbow: click here
 
Lastly, a New York Times column that gives the advice that when job hunting, be your own salesperson (on the other side, this will have to make Human Resources more adept at picking through the sales pitches): click here

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Can green jobs save us?

It's a good question for this election cycle especially because both candidates seem to agree on a position:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14551.html


-Andrew

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Monday, October 13, 2008

Thursday, October 09, 2008

More Job Market Data

Jobless claims drop from 7-year high but remain elevated due to weakening economy

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
AP Business Writer
547 words
09:26 am, 10/09/2008
Associated Press Newswires
English
(c) 2008. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

WASHINGTON (AP) - New applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week from a seven-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, though they remain at elevated levels that indicate recession.

Initial claims for jobless benefits dropped 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 478,000, the department said, the same level that Wall Street economists expected.

The department said Hurricanes Ike and Gustav were responsible for adding about 20,000 claims on a seasonally adjusted basis. That's down from approximately 45,000 the previous week.

The four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations, rose to 482,500, the highest since October 2001. The number of Americans continuing to claim unemployment benefits rose to 3.66 million, above analysts' estimates of 3.6 million. That's the highest total in more than five years.

Meanwhile, the financial markets are expected to rise in early trading in response to comments by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other administration officials indicating the government is considering taking ownership stakes in troubled U.S. banks.

The move would be intended to unclog the credit markets that have made all kinds of loans, from interbank lending to consumer loans, harder to get.

Some economists have argued for such a step as a way to more directly provide capital to ailing banks, as opposed to the administration's initial bailout plan of buying bad mortgage-related assets from the banks.

The housing slump and resulting credit crisis has hit the economy hard, causing consumers to cut spending and businesses to eliminate jobs.

In response to what has become a global credit crisis, the Federal Reserve and six other central banks on Wednesday announced a coordinated interest rate cut. The Fed reduced its target interest rate to 1.5 percent from 2 percent.

The Fed's cut means borrowing money becomes cheaper. Home equity loans, credit cards and other floating-rate loans all fluctuate depending on what the Fed does.

Jobless claims have come in above 400,000, a level economists consider a sign of recession, for 12 straight weeks. Claims stood at 316,000 a year ago.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday joined a chorus of private economists and predicted the U.S. economy will contract in the final quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2009, meeting one classic definition of a recession.

Many economists expect that consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of economic activity, will decline in the July-September quarter. That would be the first quarterly decline in 17 years.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday that economic activity will likely remain "subdued" for the rest of this year and into next year.

The Labor Department said in a separate report last week that the economy lost 159,000 jobs in September, the fastest pace of job cuts in five years. Employers have eliminated 760,000 jobs so far this year.

The unemployment rate remained at 6.1 percent in September, up from 5.7 percent in July and 4.7 percent a year ago.

Several companies announced job cuts in the past week, including eBay Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and MetLife Inc.


APRS000020081009e4a9004ve




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What I’m Hearing…Take a Vacation, Get a New Career

Learning vacations are one of the hottest trends in time off. Instead of sitting poolside for a week, participants in learning vacations try their hand at a variety of activities, running the gamut from archaeology to yoga.

Vocationvacation.com takes the adult learning experience a step further by allowing participants to get a preview of what it’s like to have that “dream job.” Want to test drive being an alpaca rancher? How about a sword maker? Or a country music singer? Here’s your opportunity to try something new in a relatively risk free environment. According to vocationvacation.com, 20% of participants switched their careers as a result of their experiences.

I’ve always been a fan of learning new things, so the idea of a “working vacation” appeals to me. Reading about vocationvacation.com got me thinking about 2 broader possibilities for the HR space:

1. What can we as HR professionals offer through the vocationvacation.com process to others who might think of our organization as a dream job?

2. How can we capture the excitement a learning vacation offers in our own organizations? Mentoring is a start as we look to even broader experiences.

Given the choices on vocationvacation.com, it’s a tossup between Forensics and Meteorology for me. Something to think about for starting that second career after retirement.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Astronology: Democrat/Republican HR Positions - Election Preview

 
Astron Website Top
Astronology
Volume IX
Issue 16
 
October 7, 2008
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.

Astron Road Show
    Ahh...the crisp, cool air, the changing from green to gold or crimson, football: it must be the great month of October. This year, October will be even better since Astron Solutions will be hitting the road, and hitting it hard.
    Our first stop in October will be on the 6th and 7th, where Astron will be exhibiting at the 18th Annual SHRM-Atlanta Conference. You can find Director, Client Services, Paul Hart Miller and Marketing Specialist, Stephen A. Lella here, enjoying some warmer weather.
    The very next week, we see National Director, Michael Maciekowich and Paul Hart Miller at the 2008 Wisconsin SHRM State Conference held from October 15th through 17th in Green Bay. In addition to exhibiting, Mike will also present a concurrent session on Friday morning. Paul and Mike are both looking forward to the Thursday evening event at Lambeau Field!
The very next week, we see Stephen A. Lella and Paul Hart Miller at it again at the 2008 Virginia SHRM State Conference, which will take place on October 22nd through the 24th in Richmond. Exhibiting hours are held on the 22nd and 23rd.
    With so much of the country being covered over the course of October, we will definitely see you on the road!
Mythbusters
by: Stephen A. Lella

Myth: Adults [Canadians] are unhappy about their education system and their personal education they received.

Reality: Most Canadian adults are happy with the secondary education system, and quite a few adults think that their secondary education was helpful. Found on
http://hr.blr.com/hrstrangebuttrue.aspx?id=78933
, 83% of Canadians said their secondary education helped them with their careers. 64% of Canadian adults are happy with their career choices, with percentages in the 90s coming from those in IT, science, or pharmaceutical industries.

However, 41% of Canadians said they would study something completely different given the opportunity. 12% said they flat out picked the wrong career.

So on the whole, most Canadians are indeed happy about their education and Canada's education system. We'll be on the lookout to see if a similar study exists for the US education system.

iShuffle

This week on the iShuffle, we got a hold of Marketing Specialist Stephen A. Lella's 10 shuffled songs. A bit polarized in genres, but for Stephen, it's all about the guitar...more
Democrat/Republican HR Positions - Election Preview

VoteEarlier this year, Astronology examined the views of our presidential candidates in preparation for Super Tuesday. As voting day closes in on us, it's imperative that we visit the political subject again. How does this year's presidential campaign affect the world of Human Resources? With our magnifying glass at the ready, we took an even closer look at our two candidates, examining where they stood in February, and where they stand now...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 2008, 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

Monday, October 06, 2008

Hiring and Firing

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution starts us off with an article about whether you should dress business casual for an interview: click here

A Human Resource Management Solutions article following up on a HR World article for our next entry on five quick hiring tips: click here

The Houston Business Daily has next for us a Human Resources Guide to employment issues resulting from Hurricane Ike: click here

The Gazette of Colorado Springs says that everyone, especially the employer, benefits by handling layoffs fairly and honestly: click here

Lastly, the Orlando Business Journal cites a study that says that most workers are puzzled about their benefits: click here

Friday, October 03, 2008

Some More Financial Jobs News

UBS to cut 2,000 more jobs, scale back investment-banking arm


Last Update: 10:02 AM ET Oct 3, 2008

Switzerland’s UBS says that it will slash a further 2,000 jobs at its investment banking arm as it cuts costs and scales back its fixed income and commodities operations. ...Read the rest of the story

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Job Data continued...

And maybe some of that data has to do with the effect on the job market of the hurricanes: click here

Job Data

Weak economy pushes jobless claims to 7-year high

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
AP Business Writer
430 words
09:08 am, 10/02/2008
Associated Press Newswires
English
(c) 2008. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

WASHINGTON (AP) - New applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week to a seven-year high due to a weakening U.S. economy and the impact of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The department reported that initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 497,000. That's significantly above analysts' estimate of 475,000. The total is the highest since just after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The hurricanes, which hit Texas and Louisiana earlier this month, added about 45,000 claims from the two states for the week ending Sept. 27, the department said.

The hurricanes have led to higher claims for several weeks. As a result, the four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, jumped to 474,000, up 11,500 from the previous week.

In the week ending Sept. 20, Texas reported a 22,235 jump in claims, while Louisiana said claims rose by 9,671.

The number of people continuing to receive benefits increased to 3.59 million, up 48,000 and higher than analysts' estimates. That's the highest total in five years.

Jobless claims are at elevated levels even excluding the hurricanes. Weekly claims have now topped 400,000 for 11 straight weeks, a level economists consider a sign of recession. A year ago, claims stood at 324,000.

The economy is struggling with the financial crisis and slowing consumer spending, leading to increased layoffs by the nation's employers.

Economists expect a separate Labor Department report Friday on payrolls to reflect further weakness in the labor market. They predict the report will show that the nation's employers cut 100,000 jobs last month. That's on top of 605,000 jobs that were eliminated in the first eight months of this year.

The report is expected to show that the jobless rate remains at 6.1 percent. The rate jumped above 6 percent for the first time in five years in August.

The financial crisis will likely cause greater job cuts in the coming months. Several large, troubled banks have been bought by competitors and layoffs are likely.

Citigroup Inc. on Monday purchased Wachovia Corp., which had about 120,000 employees. JPMorgan Chase & Co. last week bought Seattle-based Washington Mutual, which employed roughly 43,000.

Several companies have announced layoffs in the past week, including aluminum company Alcoa Inc., auto retailer CarMax, Inc. and chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride Corp.


APRS000020081002e4a20024z




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