HR Administration

Workforce Management May 2004

By Staff Report

Sep. 7, 2011

	A matter of degrees By Andy Meisler
	Corporate America spent $10 billion on tuition reimbursement in 2003, but few companies track how those dollars are spent, or know whether they are getting any benefit by underwriting employees’ degrees. It’s not that ROI can’t be measured. It’s just that many companies don’t seem to care about it.

		More, more, more By Eve Tahmincioglu
		Whether it’s technology, fancy management techniques, financial incentives or bosses just pushing employees to step up the hours in a workweek, today’s mantra for boosting revenues is “worker do more.” Some productivity approached work. Others just get companies in hot water. And the risk of employee burnout still looms large.

	English rules By Gretchen Weber
	From the Army to the CIA to NSA and FBI, a shortage of foreign language speakers is hitting the U.S. hard. And it would be reasonable to think that fast-growing multinational corporations might be experiencing a similar need. But that’s not the case. While many global companies do support foreign language training for employees who can demonstrate a business need, others are not making a concerted effort to train their employees in tongues other than English. That’s because it’s still the language that business speaks.

	The good news about a bad fight By Douglas P. Shuit
	The fight by Oracle to take over PeopleSoft has dominated headlines and elevated the visibility of high-end enterprise resource planning systems. These programs, with their human-capital capabilities, have become so important to corporations that human resources executives who ignore them do so at their own risk. Experts say that workforce management executives who insist on keeping their focus on conventional functions could find themselves on the outside looking in, losers in the strategic battle by corporate leaders to extract ever greater productivity, profits and talent from the workforce.

	Between the Lines The real golden age If you want to see the pinnacle of human resources power, look at the 1970s.		Reactions From Readers Letters on guru ROI, expatriate blues and ethics awards at Lockheed Martin.

	In This Corner Kiss that checklist goodbye The government is tightening up its sentencing guidelines for corporate wrongdoers. Big policy binders and printouts of training attendance won’t reduce your penalties.

	Legal Briefings Personnel records make a firing suspect. Unlawful limits on employee communication.

	Data Bank Profits and pay part company


	The mixed message of long-term-care coverage Some employees realize the high costs of growing old and are asking employers to make long-term-care insurance available as a voluntary benefit. But adoption rates are low, a testament to both the policies’ costs and employees’ unwillingness to confront their own fear of aging.


	Health Benefits The mixed message of long-term-care coverage Some employees realize the high costs of growing old and are asking employers to make long-term-care insurance available as a voluntary benefit. But adoption rates are low, a testament to both the policies’ costs and employees’ unwillingness to confront their own fear of aging.

	Benefit Management Insurance captives can cut costs Insurance captives provide services such as claims handling, underwriting, pricing and accounting for their owner companies. While annual insurance-industry rate hikes are running as high as 20 percent, companies with captives can enjoy low rates, tailor-made coverage and other cost savings.

	Recruitment and Staffing Screening out bad high-level hires Organizations that once considered a recruiter’s recommendation, interviews with senior staff, and some sold references and perhaps a good skills test are now requiring the finalists for top-tier jobs go through even more vetting. Blame it on the fear factor.

	Health Benefits Alternative practices haven’t faced the test The argument for integrating such alternative health services as chiropractic and massage therapy into mainstream coverage is that they will reduce escalating costs by providing cheaper services with better results. But it’s unclear whether these treatments can truly reduce costs. Large-scale studies have yet to be conducted.

April 2004

March 2003

February 2003

If you’re not currently receiving Workforce Management magazine, click here to request a FREE trial issue today!

Schedule, engage, and pay your staff in one system with Workforce.com.

Industry