Author: Site Staff

Only one-third of all midsize and large employers offer retiree health benefits, and a growing number of those are terminating coverage for future retirees or shifting to an access-only approach with retirees paying the full cost.

Eight percent of employers with retiree health plans terminated coverage for future retirees in 2004, and an additional 11 percent are very or somewhat likely to end coverage this year, according to the new Kaiser Family Foundation/Hewitt Associates survey of 333 large employers with retiree health plans.

“The prospects for retiree health coverage are slowly disappearing for America’s workers, and retirees who have it will be paying more,” says Kaiser president Drew Altman.

Last year, 13 percent of employers with plans ended their subsidies and offered retirees access to benefits with retirees paying 100 percent of the costs. Eighteen percent of employers expect to do so this year. Companies that continued subsidized coverage in 2004 raised the retirees’ share of costs by an average of 25 percent, and almost all expect to raise the retirees’ share again this year. More than half of all the companies with subsidized plans have capped their contributions, with half of these hitting their cap in 2004 and 28 percent anticipating that they will hit it within the next three years. The survey report is available at www.kff.org.

–Fay Hansen

Use this self-scored worksheet to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s strategic planning process. For each step in strategic planning listed in the left column, rate the effectiveness of the step as it currently exists. Use the following scale:
 

1 = Very Ineffective	4 = Somewhat Effective
2 = Ineffective	5 = Effective
3 = Somewhat Ineffective	6 = Very Effective

Step in the Strategic Planning Process	Effectiveness
	Very Ineffective	Ineffective	Somewhat Ineffective	Somewhat Effective	Effective	Very Effective
How well have the organization’s decision makers and employees:	1	2	3	4	5	6
1. Established a clear mission statement of why the organization exists and what it should be doing?	1	2	3	4	5	6
2. Formulated clear, specific goals and measurable objectives that are logically derived from the organization’s mission?	1	2	3	4	5	6
3. Identified and addressed future threats and opportunities resulting from external environmental change?	1	2	3	4	5	6
4. Identified and addressed the organization’s present strengths and weaknesses?	1	2	3	4	5	6
5. Considered possible grand strategies to guide the organization?	1	2	3	4	5	6
6. Selected a realistic, optimal grand strategy, given the constraints within which the organization must operate?	1	2	3	4	5	6
7. Implemented the grand strategy over time by ensuring that:	1	2	3	4	5	6
A. The organization’s reporting relationships (structure) match the strategy?	1	2	3	4	5	6
B. Appropriate leaders have been identified and empowered based on the competencies necessary to make the strategy successful?	1	2	3	4	5	6
C. Appropriate rewards have been tied to desired results?	1	2	3	4	5	6
D. Appropriate policies have been formulated (or revised) so that internal coordination exists across divisions, departments, work groups or teams, and individuals?	1	2	3	4	5	6
E. The strategy is effectively communicated to employees and other relevant groups?	1	2	3	4	5	6
8. Established a means by which to evaluate the strategy before, during, and after implementation?	1	2	3	4	5	6
SOURCE: Excerpted fromBeyond Training and Development by William J. Rothwell. Copyright © 2005 Williams J. Rothwell. Published by AMACOM Books, a division of American Management Association, New York, NY. Used with permission.

Dear In the Dark:



Although you report to corporate human resources, it sounds like the individual leading the retention initiative is your true customer or, at minimum, a very important influencer of your relationship with the company. Everything you need to begin a dialogue with her flows directly from that starting point. Once you accept that, you’re on the road to success. This is the first step on the journey to a great relationship with your “customer.”

Start by inviting her to lunch. Set the tone by being open with her and telling her you recognize that she’s not only a customer, but also a very important one. You might say something like: “I’d really like to better understand your perspective and priorities on how human resources can best support you during the initiative.” Also, let her know that you have ideas on how human resources can support business performance.

You’ll also want to determine why human resources was not included.

Three key habits will do more than anything else to open the dialogue.

1. Proactively bring your customer a steady stream of new ideas through human resources. Dig into your merger and acquisition files and search the Internet. Describe the situation (without mentioning names) to friends you trust and to colleagues in your firm. The best advice will come from people who have been directly involved in other situations like yours, and will be familiar with a range of best practices.

2. Speak the language of money. Prepare yourself to talk specifically and anecdotally about how every program and initiative you champion either cuts costs or increases revenue. Collect success stories. Develop return-on-investment models and business cases for your largest expenditures. Employees are the single largest expense for most businesses, and employee engagement (along with customer engagement) is one of the best indicators of future business performance, so it’s important to discuss how this workforce-management-related money is being spent. There’s a lot of research on the degree to which various expenditures (on training, rewards, workforce technology and more) affect business results.

3. Ask questions. Pay attention to the answers. Here are a few that ought to be very helpful in opening up a dialogue.

• “Personal Connection” Questions. The intent of these is to help you find something in common with your customer by establishing a personal connection. Anything you genuinely care about and would be willing to answer is OK.
  
• “Working Relationship” Questions. These questions–strategic as well as tactical–will help you learn how this individual prefers (or demands) to work with others inside or outside the company. On a strategic level, ask her to think of someone who provides services to her unit in a particularly effective way. If she’s willing, you can go to that person directly and get his or her input. If she doesn’t name the person, ask her to describe what behaviors, actions or approaches make that such a good working relationship.
  

Assume that going forward you’ll both share information and meet regularly. Ask questions to find out how she prefers to work, such as: “I’d like to touch base with you on a regular basis. If I need some time, can I just work with your administrator to get on your calendar?”

• Questions to Identify Unmet Needs. Spend most of your time here to add real substance and energy to your relationship. Over time, you’ll develop your own questions, and your own style of asking them.

Here are some to consider:

“What worries you the most about this process you’re working on? Why?”

“Is there anything that human resources could be doing to free you up to run the business or make better use of your time?”

“What people-related tasks are the most time-consuming for you?”

“What are the two to three most time-consuming pieces of those tasks? Why does it take so much time?”

“Ignoring any constraints for the moment and doing a little bit of blue-sky thinking, what would the perfect retention/compensation/redeployment process look like if you could have anything you wanted? Why?”

SOURCE: Edwin “Buck” Baker, principal, Capital H Group, Detroit, April 7, 2004.

LEARN MORE:Seven Steps Before Strategy.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. Also remember that state laws may differ from the federal law.

Dear Head-Scratcher:



Comedian Tom Lehrer once said: “Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it.” The same goes for open-house initiatives. There’s no generic answer for the value of an open house. Those that are well-designed and professionally executed usually are great events. Poorly executed events thrown together with the passion of a tax document are woeful failures. As usual, we tend to blame–or credit–the venue, not the planner.

If you want to have a successful open house, follow these guidelines.

Determine the type of candidates you want. Are you recruiting candidates who will come to such an event? Executive VPs of marketing rarely go to fairs. Nor do candidates from companies with close cultural histories with yours, for fear of meeting a coworker or boss.

“If you build it, they will come.” Many open-house events are little more than thinly veiled mass interviews, with all the charm and elegance of a mass deportation. Plan an event. Work with your marketing and sales folks to set up product demonstrations. Use past press videos to offer continuous information. Give candidates color-coded badges based on skill profiles, and give your employees similar color badges. Set up a “meet and greet” area where everyone–candidates and employees–can come in contact. Establish private meeting rooms where two or more of your employees can sit down with a candidate and do an informal interview/information exchange.

Security is the rule. Require photo identification for admittance to the event. Require that bags, boxes or knapsacks be checked at the front desk. Provide adequate security to deal with potential issues before they escalate.

Control expectations. Do not sell an open house as a panacea for all recruiting ills. Tell your managers it’s simply another tool for tapping top candidates. Sell the concept as an opportunity for them to judge and assess the “pool in which the bucket is dipped.” This is their chance to wade in the waters where you swim every day. Are you in the right pool?

Have real jobs to offer. Nothing spreads through a crowd faster at an open house than the fact that no jobs are to be had.

Invite the guests you want. Just because it’s an open house does not mean everyone is invited. Use your online recruiting tools to develop “guest talent profiles” and send e-mail invitations to those you select. Go after the candidates you lost 6 to 12 months ago. Search out candidates at competitors. They may not come, but if you create a buzz about your company at their place of business, the effect is the same as if they had attended.

SOURCE:Ken Gaffey, principal, Kenneth T. Gaffey Consulting, Melrose, Massachusetts, April 9, 2004.

LEARN MORE:Internship Programs: What Candidates Find Appealing.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. Also remember that state laws may differ from the federal law.

Nurses unhappy with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s policies concerning nurse-to-patient ratios and his interest in moving state retirement plans to a defined-contribution system protested this week during his visit to New York.

The California Nurses Association, the National Nurses Organizing Committee and the American Association of Registered Nurses vow to follow Schwarzenegger around with picket signs.

Schwarzenegger is only one of many government officials grappling with human resources issues as they affect the nursing field.

In Scotland, the Royal College of Nursing is lobbying for a new law that would reduce patient-to-staff ratios in that country. Employees in Scotland say patients are at risk and employee morale is sliding because of a lack of nurses, according to Europe Intelligence Wire.

Caribbean companies have their own problems. The Caribbean Media Corp. reported this month that nurses in St. Lucia and other countries are taking jobs in the United States and Europe. Frustrated with their pay and working conditions at home, the nurses’ exodus could eventually cause a health care crisis in the Caribbean.

Best practices
Despite hospitals’ challenges, there are success stories. In South Carolina, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System reduced turnover from 24 percent to 4 percent through a combination of incentives, better training and education assistance and more nurse-friendly workplaces, according to the local Herald-Journal. The Herald-Journal reports that the most effective program in the hospital is an online auction that allows nurses to bid on shifts that are going understaffed.

In Nebraska, Saint Francis Medical Center has reduced turnover by implementing a job-shadowing program, recruiting more from other fields and by simply listening better to employees’ needs and suggestions.

Frank Heasley, president and CEO of MedZilla, a job board focused mainly on the health care industry, tells Workforce Management that many of the nurses looking for work are hoping to do “anything but nursing.”

Many, he says, are looking for jobs at pharmaceutical companies, either working in labs or otherwise involved in drug trials, or working as salespeople. Drug company postings, in fact, are splashed all over Medzilla’s home page, including ones from Wyeth, Schering-Plough, Lilly, Amgen and Pfizer.

Dear Kiss:



We presume that you have carefully considered the implications (legal and otherwise) of discontinuing accrued vacation as an employee benefit. Our first suggestion: send someone you’re really mad at to make the announcement, and be sure to provide the person with a large object to hide behind.

Failing that, here are a couple of suggestions that may help.

Don’t wait until the last second to announce the change. You’ll fare much better by making the announcement as soon as a decision is reached and a comprehensive implementation plan is fully developed. And, taking a lesson from some recent CEO trials, be unfailingly honest about what you’re doing and why. You stand to gain nothing by waiting, waffling or fibbing.

Your plan must address the conditions necessitating your decision, alternatives considered, relative fairness, timetables for using up vacation time, and provisions for taking unpaid leave going forward (because people still will take time off). You must communicate these objectives with an abundance of credibility, too.

Face-to-face town hall-type meetings, preferably conducted by senior company leaders who finalized the decision, might be the best format. Even for those who feel comfortable with contentious issues and are adept at dealing with them in a public setting, a few practice sessions with some bone-honest coaching wouldn’t be a bad idea. The meetings should begin as soon as possible after your management signs off on the idea.

This will be a hot topic of discussion between employees and their families, so provide them with some written material to take home to facilitate discussion. Expect to field media inquiries about the matter. Your media-relations representative needs to be clearly identified and well prepared.

Finally, listen for unusual signs of employee discontent. Schedule an employee survey for 120 days after the announcement. In the meantime, ask members of your human resources and leadership teams to keep you apprised of what they’re hearing. Good luck.

SOURCE: Richard Hadden and Bill Catlette, co-authors,Contented Cows Give Better Milk, April 7, 2004.

LEARN MORE:No Relaxation for Your Vacation Policies.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. Also remember that state laws may differ from the federal law.

Ask a Question

Dear Workforce Newsletter

The departure of Carly Fiorina from the top slot at Hewlett-Packard last month launched a frenzy of public speculation and media coverage analyzing every aspect of her tenure, her leadership style and whether or not her gender played a role in the ouster.

Fiorina was at the helm of the $80 billion technology giant for five and a half years and was arguably the most powerful woman in corporate America. That made her an icon and the ultimate role model for women in business as she navigated the male-dominated technology industry and steered the 11th-largest company in the Fortune 500 through an industrywide downturn and a controversial proxy battle over the company’s $24 billion merger with Compaq.

But as the dust settles, and as most concur that Fiorina’s firing was based on performance and not gender-related, a larger issue looms. With her departure, the number of female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies would have dropped from eight to seven, had Sara Lee not appointed Brenda Barnes chief executive the very next day. Even as the number remains static at eight, Fiorina’s exit is bringing new attention to the gender imbalance that remains at many of the largest corporations.

“Carly’s departure has been such a big story not because there is a gender-related message in her leaving,” says Elissa Ellis, executive director of the Forte Foundation, a group working to increase women’s leadership in business. “This is a story because one of only eight women CEOs left, and the question is, why do we only have eight, and what can we do to grow that number so it’s not a story anymore?”

Recent data compiled by Catalyst reveals that at Fortune 500 companies, women hold 15.7 percent of corporate officer positions and 9.9 percent of corporate line officer positions and make up just 5.2 percent of the top-earning corporate officers. And the eight female CEOs make up just 1.5 percent of all CEOs at the nation’s largest companies.

Unless companies begin taking a conscious look at who they have filling the profit-and-loss positions in their pipelines, the number of women at the top won’t change anytime soon, says Betty Spence, president of the National Association for Female Executives.

Spence believes a lack experience in the jobs that have P&L responsibility is a major reason so few women command top slots.

“Traditionally, women have been benignly steered into staff positions like communications, human resources and, more recently, legal and finance,” she says. “Those are dead ends. Without profit-and-loss experience, you can’t move on.”

A recent Catalyst study of 353 Fortune 500 companies reveals that companies suffer when there is a lack of women at the top. The data shows that from 1996 to 2000, companies with the highest representation of women in top management achieved 34 percent to 35 percent better financial performance (as measured by return on equity and total return to shareholders) than the companies with below-average female representation.

—Gretchen Weber

 

An overview of human resources–including demographic information, budget information, workforce qualifications and experience, as well as training and development–at the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Dear Grooming Director:



Before figuring out percentages, decide what you really hope to accomplish with these training efforts. Do you expect to develop leaders? Do you expect to develop salespeople? Do you expect to develop better communication skills, project-management skills or something else?

A commonly cited benchmark for development budgets is upwards of 5 percent of executive payroll. I recommend, however, that you calculate budgets only after looking carefully at your talent-development objectives, keeping in mind how hitting those goals contributes to the business.

It’s best to start with the end results you’re seeking and work backward. Be specific about your objectives. In the past, most executive-development programs were too generic and not easily measured. Often, programs were administered en masse because of some fad or perhaps because a top manager had attended a learning session a year earlier and thought the whole company ought to go through the same experience. Executive development is definitely an area where one size does not fit all. The more specific you can be about your expectations, the better the training experience will be and the better the return on your training dollars.

Let’s say you want to teach your executives to be better communicators. Identify those execs who have specific shortcomings regarding communication–be it written, verbal, one-on-one or in front of groups, externally with clients or internally with peers. A training professional can then provide a specific cost for addressing the gaps or needs.

Some training may be done for a group of executives. Other individuals may require training by an executive coach.

A common problem with training programs is that we expect to accomplish too much in too short a time. The result: training is of too low a quality to benefit anyone. Learning occurs over a long period, and learning programs should be thought of as ongoing and not just one-time events.

SOURCE: William J. Morin, chairman & CEO, WJM Associates, Inc., New York City, April 7, 2004.

LEARN MORE:A Sample Leadership Strategy.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. Also remember that state laws may differ from the federal law.

Attached is information from the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College on the challenge, the solution and the business benefits ofTJX’s welfare-to-work partnership with Goodwill.