If you’re anything like me, you don’t spend too much time thinking about how much money is in your retirement account. Yes, I know, I’m a tax and benefits lobbyist, so you’d think that I’d know what my balance is down to the penny! But the truth is, like many employees, although I know that I’m contributing to my retirement account, I don’t fret about the details on a daily basis. That’s about to change, as pending tax reform could significantly impact not only the types of investment options available but whether employees will have access to a retirement account at all.
Archive
February 2014
By SHRM Staff
On July 1, 2014, the first phase of California’s minimum wage increase will go into effect, and the wage will rise from the current $8 per hour to $9. Then, in January 2016, the minimum wage will go to $10 per hour.
News Updates
February 27, 2014
Plan designs are rewarding cost-savvy choices
Most U.S. employers plan to continue sponsoring health benefits for active employees and retirees but expect to change the way those benefits are managed and delivered in the coming years, according to research from Aon Hewitt.
News Updates
February 27, 2014
On February 26, SHRM We Know Next (@WeKnowNext) chatted with special guest Robin Schooling (@RobinSchooling) about HR and Recruiters - Contestants in an Amazing Race?
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat:
February 26, 2014
By June Bell
The best job applications do far more than gather a prospective employee’s work history and educational background. They’re a valuable screening tool as well as protection against litigation. They complement a thorough interview and become an integral part of the hiring process.
News Updates
February 26, 2014
The popularity of electronic cigarettes (aka e-cigarettes) continues to increase across the country. An e-cigarette is a battery-powered device that provides the user with inhaled doses of a vaporized liquid. Generally, the vapor contains nicotine and is inhaled as an alternative to a tobacco cigarette.
News Updates
February 25, 2014
Nearly every Monday for three years, Paul Guthery III caught a 7 a.m. flight from Raleigh, N.C., to Chicago, arriving at his Northbrook, Ill., office between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
By 2 p.m. on Friday, the U.S. director of information technology at Potash Corp. was headed out the door for a 4 p.m. flight home to spend the weekend with his wife and grade-school-age son.
News Updates
February 25, 2014
On the reality TV series “The Amazing Race” teams of of two people compete in a race around the world as they battle to arrive first at specific destinations and hope to avoid elimination from the competition by completing tasks that test their strength logic, courage and ability to negotiate.
February 24, 2014
Related proposal addresses employment-based orientation periods
News Updates
February 24, 2014
2013 was the year of catapulting HR into the boardroom. The emphasis on employee engagement has been an organizational driver for several years. We are now seeing rewards and recognition become part of the performance management suite. The most prominent question being pondered in 2014 is:
February 24, 2014
Throughout 2014, WeKnowNext will be spotlighting inspirational HR professionals from around the world!
February 21, 2014
By Toni Vranjes
Store cashiers spend a lot of time on their feet while operating cash registers. Bank tellers also stand for long periods, cashing checks and handling other transactions. Are employers required to provide these workers with seats?
As of now, the answer is unclear. For that reason, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is seeking clarification from the California Supreme Court. The federal appeals court is trying to determine employers’ precise obligations in these types of circumstances.
News Updates
February 21, 2014
By Dana Wilkie
At Google’s offices in Chicago, swinging benches, the kind you see on porches, are suspended from the ceilings, painted bright primary colors and positioned around the two-story workspace.
News Updates
February 20, 2014
By Steve Browne
Something has been bothering me for some time now. When did we realize that we have generations in the workplace? Haven’t we ALWAYS had people from various generations in the workplace?
It truly is disappointing that we have taken to labeling people due to when they happen to have been born. For instance, technically by my birth year, I am at the tail end of the Baby Boomers. I more strongly identify with Generation X personally. But, I would have to say that, I have a touch of Millennial and whatever the newest generation is being called in me as well.
February 20, 2014
On February 19, @WeKnowNext chatted with XPertHR Legal Editors Marta Moakley and Beth Zoller about Workplace Bullying.
In case you missed it, here are all the informative tweets from the chat:
February 19, 2014
Whether or not Congress votes to boost the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, plenty of employers are responding to minimum-wage increasesbeing imposed at the state and local levels, some of which are subject to automatic raises tied to inflation.
News Updates
February 19, 2014
How about cutting the 50-employee requirement for covered employers in half?
So, if you have 25 or more employees working within 75 miles of one another, they would be eligible to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
And that's just part of the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2014, which Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week.
February 18, 2014
If you’ve ever been bullied in the workplace, know that you're not alone.
February 18, 2014
By Joe Coombs
Recent improvements in the job market have been overshadowed by the fact that millions of Americans remain out of work. Many of them haven’t had a job for months, or perhaps years.
February 18, 2014
By Roy Maurer
Since 2003, 25 states have introduced workplace bullying legislation that would allow workers to sue for harassment without requiring a showing of discrimination.
News Updates
February 18, 2014
By Dana Wilkie
They can be charming, presentable, socially skilled, professionally successful and well-regarded by superiors. They can also be workplace bullies.
News Updates
February 18, 2014
News Updates
February 17, 2014
By Allen Smith
Employers curious about how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is likely to be enforced might look at how enforcement agencies in Massachusetts went after companies when its employer mandate was in place.
News Updates
February 17, 2014
By John Hudson
Today is Valentine’s Day. It’s that one time a year where we buy cards, chocolates, flowers, cheesy teddy bears and pajamagrams for our loved ones and dazzle them with romance. It’s also the time of year when we see career articles comparing our jobs to a successful romantic relationship. They point out all the similarities a career and a relationship have. And while there are some similarities on the surface, a career is nothing like a relationship, or at least a relationship that matters to you.
February 14, 2014
By Philip L. Gordon, Zoe M. Argento ©Littler Mendelson
News Updates
February 14, 2014
Whether you're a start up, small business or a "Fortune" organization, having a winning talent acquisition strategy and wonderful brand ambassadors can help you attract the right talent to your organization.
Latest social tools and technologies and new ways of finding talent through social recruiting, talent communities or through various recruiting platforms are always emerging. And talent attraction has become more competitive than ever. It's time for you to rethink your talent acquisition strategy in a way to attract top talent to your organization.
February 13, 2014
On February 12, @WeKnowNext chatted with Jonathan Segal (@Jonathan_HR_Law) about Romance, Lust and Litigation in the Workplace.
In case you missed this informative and interesting chat, you can read all the great tweets here:
February 12, 2014
Last updated February 11, 2014
Below is the article posted in July 2013, regarding the inital employer mandate delay.
News Updates
February 12, 2014
We live in an interesting time... our personal and professional lives are more intertwined than ever. We can now research individuals as easily as we can the organizations for which they work. The line between work and life is ever-indiscernible. Smart organizations are designing in equal part to personalities as they are critical skills.
February 12, 2014
Conflicting priorities, convoluted or outdated protocols, and mutual frustrations largely due to budget cuts and time constraints can hamper relations between HR and line managers. But there are things that can be done by those on both sides to quell the animosity and reduce the inefficiencies inherent to such situations, according to a recent report and experts on the subject.
News Updates
February 12, 2014
In February hiring rates will rise and layoff rates will fall in the manufacturing and service sectors, compared with February 2013, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) report, released Feb. 6.
February 11, 2014
By SHRM Staff
Most companies today have access to reams of data: marketing, supply chain, finance, as well as critical data about their workforce. Yet research shows that leaders at these companies lack the confidence to effectively integrate and use this data to compete more effectively in the marketplace. While executives know the results they need to achieve, they often fail to analyze the impact of their decisions on the firm, its processes, and its people.
February 11, 2014
By SHRM Staff
More than 10 million Americans are unemployed. But 4 million jobs languish with no one to fill them. Part of the reason is the skills gap – the divide between the skills job seekers have and the skills employers need.
February 11, 2014
By Kyle Lagunas
Last week, John Sumser, principal analyst at HRxAnalysts, hosted a great debate with Ed Newman, vice president of Strategy at iMomentous, about mobile recruiting.
February 11, 2014
By SHRM Staff
These survey findings examine workplace romance policies and the organizations’ response to romantic relationships in the workplace. The percentage of organizations with written workplace romance policies has doubled since 2005. Few organizations currently have “love contracts” in place; these contracts are signed by employees involved in a workplace romance and indicate that the relationship is consensual.
Research
February 11, 2014
By Dana Wilkie
Do they rob younger generations of jobs, or are they in the same boat?
True or false: Older people who refuse to retire are stealing jobs from younger workers.
News Updates
February 10, 2014
By SHRM Staff
More than 10 million Americans are unemployed. But 4 million jobs languish with no one to fill them. Part of the reason is the skills gap – the divide between the skills job seekers have and the skills employers need.
February 7, 2014
Premiums for employer-provided health coverage in California have risen 185 percent since 2002—more than five times the state's overall inflation rate—according to a new report by the nonprofit California HealthCare Foundation.
News Updates
February 7, 2014
By Ben Eubanks
When I tell people I work in Huntsville, I usually get a glassy-eyed stare in return. I mean, really, I work in Alabama. How great could that really be, right? Cotton fields… Relatively low population density… Who cares?
February 6, 2014
By Aliah Wright
Let the games begin!
But don’t let your employees stop working because of them.
News Updates
February 6, 2014
On February 5, @Weknownext chatted with special guest John Hudson (@JohnPHudson) about Hidden Bias in the Workplace.
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat:
February 5, 2014
Last month, I wrote a blog on leadership: Influence=Leadership. I emphasized the importance of leaders sharing their human side and making emotional connections with the employees whom they lead. To quote leadership maven John Maxwell: leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
February 5, 2014
With flu season at its peak and certain strains of the flu requiring longer recovery periods, workplaces are experiencing a spike in the frequency and duration of flu-related absences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that it may take anywhere from a few days to two weeks to recover from the flu this season.
News Updates
February 5, 2014
Social media is no longer a nice to have. It’s a must have as part of your recruitment strategy. Here’s why:
- 92% of recruiters plan on using social media in their recruiting efforts over the next 12 months
- 49% of recruiters said social media increased candidate quality
- Recruiters saved $370,000,000 in recruitment expenses with social media in 2012. (See the inforgraphic from iMomentous to more insights about this stat below.)
RECRUITING USING SOCIAL MUST INCORPORATE MOBILE TODAY
February 4, 2014
Unconscious or hidden bias is the subconscious attribution of particular qualities to members of a certain social category such as gender or race and typically develops along the lines of our values and life experiences.
February 3, 2014
There’s a heightened focus in the HR and Recruiting sphere on the effective use of employee referrals in order to make effective hires and we see numerous reports informing us that referrals tend to get hired faster, are often a better fit with the organization culture and are less likely to quit their jobs.
February 3, 2014
As human resource professionals increasingly take advantage of employee and manager self-service technologies, there’s a belief that HR departments once consumed with transactional tasks are now free to focus on more strategic work.
News Updates
February 3, 2014