Archive for February, 2010

  • An Advisory Board How-To

    As most entrepreneurs can attest to, getting a business up and running is a feat in and of itself. To do so, all on your own, can be an even greater challenge. That’s why putting in place an advisory board – a select few outside individuals who can help provide specialized input and counsel – often is a smart move. This article details how to do it right. Among other things: have an objective; be open to challenges; turn to a network; put it in writing; pay for the advice.

    2010.02.27 / no responses / Category: Helpful Tips

  • More Sound Advice… If/When to Sell a Biz

    Some things to think about (factor in) when contemplating exiting a business, based on the book “The Offer” by Norm Brodsky (entrepreneur and Inc Magazine columnist) and summarized here.

    - Understand how buyers will value your business
    - Deals fall apart, come back together, fall apart, come back…
    - Timing is important, but it’s not everything

    Related posts here and here.

    2010.02.26 / no responses / Category: Helpful Tips

  • Utah’s Online Health Exchange – Still Under Fire

    A quick update … As written about earlier here, Utah’s foray into state-based insurance reform – good intentions aside – continues to face substantial obstacles. The latest comes in the form of pushback from conservatives worried that the creation of Statewide Risk Adjuster represents bureaucratic overreach, a government takeover of what should be left to play out in the private marketplace. Read more here.

    2010.02.25 / no responses / Category: Benefits, In the News

  • A Touchy Subject

    Perhaps employers should start being more touchy-feely when it comes to their employees… quite literally, but of course within the bounds of proper workplace proprietary. End-of-the-week, company-sponsored massages may do more than one might think to improve morale.

    New research out suggests humans are wired to respond to physical contact more than traditionally thought – and that all types of organizations may benefit. This article summarizes the findings of various studies, one of which examined the power of touch in the National Basketball Association. Good teams (Lakers, Celtics) tended to be touchier than bad ones (Kings, Bobcats). This extended to players too.

    2010.02.24 / no responses / Category: Human Resources, In the News

  • Happily Anticipating Vacation

    Some interesting research out (summarized here) that points to planning and anticipating vacation may actually make you happier than actually taking it. As a study author commented, “The practical lesson for an individual is that you derive most of your happiness from anticipating the holiday trip… What you can do is try to increase that by taking more trips per year. If you have a two week holiday you can split it up and have two one week holidays. You could try to increase the anticipation effect by talking about it more and maybe discussing it online.”

    2010.02.23 / no responses / Category: Benefits

  • Shutter Index … Data Management with an HR Twist

    The Power of Automation

    Payday Resources (PDR) has launched Shutter Index (SI), an online HR hub for managing employment activity.

    Supporting PDR’s larger HR service offering to clients, SI leverages cutting-edge technology to enable companies and their workers to interact in an entirely unique way… one that is more informed, more involved and in many ways more meaningful (a common platform and language). The end result is an engaged workforce and an empowered employer.

    After all, an engaged employee is likely to be more cooperative and productive, a worker who has gotten beyond the clock-in clock-out mentality and is actively contributing to the ongoing success of the company. SI sets expectations at the outset (after the employment “handshake” is struck) between employers and employees, helping to make workers active participants in the business rather than just passive observers.

    In particular, SI uses Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), as well as setup wizards, to organize and structure (essentially, warehouse) most aspects of work-related data in digital format.

    Among other things, with SI in place, employers are able to:

    • Complete new hire paperwork
    • Update (and archive) employee information
    • Track employees performance across their lifecycle
    • Leverage a vast HR Library of support materials

    Employees can:

    • Download paystubs and W2s
    • Review hours worked
    • Acknowledge disciplinary actions
    • Submit time off requests

    Technology-Driven

    As exemplified by the SI product, PDR has made substantial investments in developing a technology-rich information systems infrastructure, with online applications at the fore. Our aim is to make data more accessible and thus more impactful (data making sense) for clients, the right information driving the right workforce decisions.

    Visit www.shutterindex.com or contact your Sales Rep to learn more.

    2010.02.22 / no responses / Category: Human Resources, Products

  • Time to Draft That Data Theft Policy

    Our .02 Cents

    In today’s information age, data is everything, and everywhere, transmitted in real-time and then stored, data pretty much a fact of life. As such, it’s increasingly important for individuals and companies to be proactive in protecting their data. Identity theft is a real concern. In a given year, nearly 10 million people fall victim to it, at an average fraud of over $5,000, with countless untold hours spent trying to fix the problem, prosecute perpetrators and repair credit. Talk about a headache. Employers, in particular, should take time to review their internal controls (flow of information, who has hands on what types of information) and put in place a policy that helps prevent data theft and loss. Below is sample language that might be used to get started.

    Sample Policy Language

    “The company makes every effort to prevent ‘identity theft’—the misuse and / or fraudulent use of an individual’s personal information. Personal data, e.g., social security, driver’s license and bank account numbers, as well as other private information, is considered private and in need of safeguarding. Internally, in regard to the company’s staff, such data is kept in secure locations (accessible only to a few pre-screened individuals), and its capture and transmittal (via paper or digital formats) kept to a minimum.

    The company takes a similarly proactive approach to ensure data integrity among clients. Attention is paid upfront, coupled with ongoing educational efforts, to inform clients of the importance of appropriately granting and / or restricting access to their own organization’s data.

    An employee who suspects his / her personal information is being misused or mishandled should report this concern immediately to management, who can then take appropriate steps in response. Likewise, if a company employee suspects a data breach among at a company’s client company, or if a contact at a client company reports as much, this information should be reported immediately to management, which will take appropriate next steps.”

    2010.02.20 / no responses / Category: Helpful Tips, Our .02 Cents

  • Fed Scrutiny of Worker Misclassification Continued…

    More details emerging on the Federal government’s new push to uncover employer misclassification of workers. The joint Department of Labor and Department of Treasury initiative allocates $25 million in funds and dedicates 100 investigators to tackle the problem. The Obama administration estimates upwards of $7 billion could be added to federal tax receipts over 10 years due to increased enforcement.

    While often a definitional bone of contention – what differentiates an employee from an independent contractor (there is no one universal definition, standards vary across statues and state lines) – employers might be well-advised to err on the side of caution… when in doubt, treat your workers as employees, providing them with all the related workplace rights and protections they are due. PDR can help companies apply appropriate means tests (related to degree of control over your workforce, behavioral and financial) to help determine appropriate worker status.

    Interested in learning more? Click here (earlier blog postings) and here (summary article from workforce.com).

    2010.02.19 / no responses / Category: Human Resources, In the News

  • Pervasive Joblessness = Lifelong Consequences

    In the just-released March issue of The Atlantic, a rather dispiriting look at the long-term impact of joblessness – how being out of work can set one down a difficult path for years to come.

    The author, Don Peck, marshals data (excerpted below) and insights to drive home his argument in compelling fashion… describing chronic joblessness as “a pestilence that eats away at people, families, and, if it spreads widely enough, the fabric of society. Indeed, history suggests that it is perhaps society’s most noxious ill.”

    His piece is a must-read.

    - For every open job, 6 people are actively looking for work
    - In October 2009, 17.4% of the populace was un/underemployed (the highest figure since the 1930s)
    - 44% of families had experienced a job loss, a reduction in hours, or a pay cut
    - An estimated 1 in 4 homes may be underwater (more owed on a mortgages than what the house is really worth)

    2010.02.18 / no responses / Category: Human Resources

  • Safety Pays

    Click here (PDF) for an in-depth and lengthy study, put out by the Institute for Work and  Health, on the impact of education and training on workplace safety.

    2010.02.17 / no responses / Category: Safety

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