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White Papers
Health Care Reform
Produced by the SHRM® Governmental Affairs Department
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Significant increases in health care costs are a serious problem for
employers and employees in Rhode Island. Public policy makers need to
work collaboratively with employers, employees, health insurers and
other stakeholders to improve access to affordable, high quality,
health care coverage. Addressing the building blocks for a better
health care system – health
information technology, greater access to consumer-friendly health
outcomes data, improved quality of care, and a focus on primary
care, prevention and wellness and a collaborative planning process
to balance Rhode Island’s
health care infrastructure – all have the potential to lower health
care costs through improved quality.
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Download article as a Word doc
Download article as a PDF
Several health care bills pending in the RI General Assembly
are of par-
ticular interest to HR professionals.
This
article summarizes the issues involved, explains SHRM-RI's
positions on these issues, and provides "talking points"
you can use when contacting your legislators about these pending
bills.
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Employer Mandated Health Care
Produced by the SHRM® Governmental Affairs Department
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Legislatures in at least 29 states are considering various types of
legislation that would impact an employer’s discretion and flexibility when
offering comprehensive benefits to its employees. Current employer mandated health
care proposals, also known as "Fair Share health care" or "pay or play," would
require private employers with a defined number of employees to spend
a certain percentage of their payroll on employee health benefits
or make a contribution to the state's insurance program.
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Download article as a Word doc
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Because
these proposals create a climate that jeopardizes the ability of
HR professionals to provide effective health care benefits, SHRM
opposes employer mandated health care initiatives.
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Is Mentoring For Your Company?
The Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership wants to remind all HR professionals
in our state that just one hour per week from your employees could dramatically
change a child's life. A survey of 248 US corporations reveals several benefits
to the company and employee.
Top 10 reasons your company should be involved in mentoring:
10) Helps to create a better prepared workforce for
the future
9) Promotes better morale among your employees
8) Improves employee teamwork
7) Improves public image of your company
6)
Helps to fulfill community involvement policy
5) Employees gain insight into the lives of youth and
develop more
positive reciprocal relationships
with youth
4)
Gives your employees a break from busy pro-
fessional lives with opportunity
to give something
back
to the community
3) Creates a network with other volunteers
2) Employees feel better about themselves, have
improved health,
and report getting along better
with their own families
1) Improves employee retention
To learn more or get involved, visit the Partnership's website at http://www.rimentor.org
Avian Flu -- Preparing for a Pandemic
Marsh Global Risk Alert on Avian
Flu
(This is a large file and may take a few moments to download.)
Best HR Resolutions for 2006
Article by Martha Finney,
Co-Author of HR From the Heart
Article by Martha
Finney, Co-Author of HR From the Heart
I realize that New Year’s resolutions are about as popular
as puns – both provoke the same brand of groansmanship among those
who like to think they’re beyond such antics. I, for one, like
resolutions so much, I make the exact same ones every year.
There’s
a kind of comforting familiarity to addressing the same problems.
The same problems seem to haunt the HR community as well.
For the last two decades, the list of things that need to change never
changes: a certain dearth of respect from the organization at large;
frustration that leadership doesn’t want to walk its talk; exasperation at how
the employees seem to be “calling it in.” Absolute rage at
the ever growing amount of administrivia and accountabilities that really
should be someone else’s problem. The chronic anxieties that come
from a general agreement that HR in its current iteration is an endangered
species, with no clear idea what general shape it’s evolving toward.
Okay. So with the birth of a new year, we have a fresh set
of opportunities for greatness. How are we going to take advantage
of them? Here is my proposed list of resolutions designed specifically
for HR. They may or may not obliterate the chronic bugaboos
that have plagued HR for years. But follow these resolutions
and you’ll
certainly have a more rewarding and fulfilling 2006.
(To read the rest of this article, use the links above.)
Pay for Performance
Link goals, performance, and rewards to impact the bottom line
Pay for Performance
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![[The Ceridian logo]](../../images/ceridianlogo2.jpg)
At some companies, a Human Capital Management strategy called "Performance
Management" is strategically integrating compensation and
incentives, goals and performance management tools, to identify
and motivate employees.
These standardized processes support
employee engagement at all levels of the enterprise. And
adopters of "Performance Management" report an additional
benefit: HR is free to become a strategic business contributor.
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Eight Essential Ingredients for a World Class HR Career
Article by Martha Finney,
Co-Author of HR From the Heart
Article by Martha
Finney, Co-Author of HR From the Heart
When "Fast Company" came out with
its August issue, the cover story was "Why We Hate HR."
...
why were so many HR professionals so quick and ready to line
up behind this message, saying, "See?
This is why we’re so bad." To which I have two words to say, "Not
acceptable."
If there is any mediocrity going on (and there is,
I’m not going
to try to say otherwise), it's because HR professionals need
to be reminded of what a truly world-class calling they have
chosen for themselves. So I thought I’d list the eight
essential ingredients for a world-class HR career as a reminder
that no matter where you are in your HR career, all these
things are within your reach...
(To read the rest of this article, use the links above.)
Crafting an HR Scorecard That Works
The Ten Dimensions of an Effective
Measurement System, March 2005
The Ten Dimensions of
an Effective Measurement System,
March 2005
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![[The Benchmark Partners logo]](../../images/benchmark_logo.gif)
These Ten Dimensions of Measurement Success are
the key to successful imple- mentation of an HR Scorecard
and Measurement System.
Whether you are just getting started, your HR Scorecard is already
being used successfully, or your results have been less than
you expected, assessing your efforts against these ten dimensions
will enable you to strengthen your measurement initiative
and exceed the expectations of senior management. An effective
and efficient HR Scorecard and Measurement System is the
surest way to demonstrate HR ROI.
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Corporate Performance Depends on Effectiveness of HR
Press Release on HR Benchmark Study, August 2004
Press Release on HR Benchmark Study, August 2004
A recently concluded benchmark study that examined
corporate performance and the role of Human Resources, confirmed that a
company's ability to grow and meet it's financial objectives are
directly tied to the effectiveness of its' Human Resources function.
The Benchmark Partners, a human resource benchmarking and consulting firm,
with more than 25 years of HR experience, conducted the study.
How to Keep Employees on the Team in a Time of Great Change
Article by Martha Finney,
Co-Author of HR From the Heart
Article by Martha
Finney, Co-Author of HR From the Heart
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Whether the economy (or your industry or your business
itself) is contracting or expanding, the principle is the
same: Your future depends on passionate, dedicated, innovative top talent
that is deeply and emotionally engaged in your company's critical mission.
Here's how you can cultivate the true engagement of your employees and
build your company's reputation as the place where their dreams go to
thrive – no
matter how bitterly the winds of change may blow...
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![[Martha Finney logo]](../../images/mfinneylogo2.jpg) |
www.marthafinney.com
Buy Martha's book in
the HRM-RI bookstore |
FLSA: Employers Gearing Up for Implementation
of Labor Department's New Overtime Rules
HRM-RI President, Elissa O'Brien, is quoted
in this article
FLSA: Employers Gearing Up for New Overtime Rules
FLSA: Employers Gearing Up for New Overtime Rules
Reproduced with permission from Daily Labor
Report, No. 153, pp. B-1 - B-3 (Aug. 10, 2004). Copyright 2004
by The Bureau of National Affairs Inc. (800-372-1033) www.bna.com
With the Labor Department's new overtime rules scheduled
to go into effect Aug. 23, employers are beginning to gear up
to implement the sweeping regulations, even those employers who
may have been putting off preparation due to the possibility that
Congress would rescind the rules before they went into effect.
The controversial rules, which became final April 20, increase
the minimum salary threshold beneath which all workers are eligible
to receive overtime to $23,660 per year. And among many other
changes, the rules now say that any white collar worker making
over $100,000 and performing one duty of an exempt administrative,
executive, or management employee is ineligible for overtime (76
DLR AA-1, 4/21/04).
Is a Violence-free Workplace in Your Forecast?
Article by Larry J.
Chavez, B.A., M.P.A, Critical Incident Associates
Article by Larry
J. Chavez, B.A., M.P.A, Critical Incident Associates
Workplace violence sits on the extreme end of the scale of
problems involving people. Like a stored up charge of energy,
it waits for certain conditions to exist to unleash its destructive
force. A single act of workplace violence exposes innocent people
to unimaginable horrors, and leaves its host organization reeling
in an aftermath of legal problems that can endure for years....No
organization can afford to maintain a climate of negligence where
lives of innocent people hang in the balance.
Despite Benefit Cuts, Mid-Sized Employers Still
Outspend Large Employers on Health Care
New England Region Has Highest Employee Healthcare
Cost/Employee
Marsh Survey on the Cost
of Healthcare (Full Report)
(This is a large file and may take a few moments to download.)
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The nation's small and mid-sized employers cut benefits in their
health plans in 2003, holding the cost increase to 9.8% among employers
with fewer than 2,000 workers.
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According to a survey report released on July 6, 2004, by
Marsh,
Inc., which analyzes data from 1,904 such employers, the
total cost of health benefits (medical, dental, and any other
health plans offered) averaged $6,130 per employee in 2003.
Use the link above to download the complete survey report.
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When Work Works: A Project on Workplace Effectiveness
and Workplace Flexibility
Project on Workplace
Effectiveness and Workplace Flexibility
Project on Workplace
Effectiveness and Workplace Flexibility
Families and Work Institute (FWI), with funding from the Alfred
P. Sloan Foundation, is conducting a nationwide campaign to highlight
the importance of flexibility in the work- place. Both research
and practice demonstrate that flexible work policies enhance businesses’
competitive advantage in the global economy and yield positive business
results. Use the links above to learn more.
FLSA White-Collar Exemption Reform
Workplace Changes Drive
Need for FLSA White-Collar Exemption Reform
Workplace Changes Drive
Need for FLSA White-Collar Exemption Reform
A report issued today by the Employment Policy Foundation (EPF), a Washington, D.C.-based research group, highlights workplace
and workforce changes that have made revision of the regulations determining who is exempt from overtime pay requirements necessary.
To view a brief summary of the report, use the links above to a white paper here on our site. If you prefer to read the
entire report, go to:
www.epf.org/research/newsletters/2004/pb20040421.pdf
Workforce Development
Sustaining Workforce
Development Through Business/Education Alliances
Sustaining Workforce
Development Through Business/Education Alliances
Human resource professionals need to take a more active role
within their businesses in sustaining workforce development initiatives
in their state and local communities if they want to be recognized
as strategic contributors/business partners in their organizations
and impact the economic stability and quality of life in their
communities. Use the links above to download this article by Linda
Lulli, SPHR.
Addressing the Talent Shortage
Addressing the Talent Shortage (Press Release)
Elissa O'Brien, SPHR, President of the Human Resource
Management Association of Rhode Island, appeared on "NBC10 Sunrise
Business Segment" with Frank Coletta on Febuary 26, 2004.
This press release includes a summary of information covered
during the broadcast, including predictions by the Bureau of Labor Statistic
for the 10 fastest growing occupations and the 10 occupations
with the largest decline (1998 - 2008).
Benchmarking: More Than a Numbers Game!
Benchmarking: More Than a Numbers Game, September 2004
Benchmarking: More Than a Numbers Game, September 2004
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The proper deployment of the benchmarking process can make
significant and dramatic improvements in organizational process.
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However,
benchmarking has become a misused and misunderstood measurement
tool. Benchmarking is NOT simply the comparison of metrics across
a group of companies. It requires thoughtful preparation,
discipline, tenacity, and an open mind. This article provides
suggestions for how to insure that benchmarking does produce
the breakthrough results experienced by top-performing companies.
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![[HRM-RI]](../../images/toplogo.jpg)
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