Author: Site Staff

A s moving costs have soared and relocation volume has shrunk in recent years, more companies are seeking alternatives to moves such as allowing employees to work from home or participate in short-term assignments.

    The number of relocations has dropped 10 percent since last year, from an average of 308 moves in 2001 to 276 moves in 2002, according to the Employee Relocation Council. Fear of terrorism and an aging workforce are factors that contribute to employees’ reluctance to move. The weak economy also is making organizations less inclined to relocate employees.

    But there is a new element, says Margery Marshall, president of Prudential Relocation. Today, relocation is more about getting a person to do a job that requires specific skills than about moving an employee to give her exposure in a new market and help develop her career path. Rather than relocate a manager to train a new group of salespeople, help develop a new product or help facilitate a merger, for example, companies are sending that manager on 6- to 12-month assignments to get the job done. It’s less expensive for the company, and employees don’t have to permanently uproot their lives, Marshall says.

    “We’ve seen a major uptick in the use of short-term assignments,” she says. “Before, it was either ‘we relocate or we don’t.’ Companies now are saying, ‘Instead of moving employees for three to five years, maybe we just shorten it.’ ” In a Prudential survey, 42 percent of over 170 companies questioned said that they use short-term assignments instead of relocating, 35 percent allow employees to work from home and 32 percent offer telecommuting, a combination of working from home and in the office. Some companies also have focused more on hiring locally instead of relocating someone to fill a job.

    These alternatives, though, do create a more scattered workforce, Marshall says. Employees who work from home can feel disengaged and unsure about their career path. It’s also tough to monitor performance and communicate with employees who are located in a dozen different locations. “You really have to know how to hire and manage people that telecommute,” Marshall says. “HR folks struggle with identifying people who can and want to do it.” On the other hand, offering these options gives employees more flexibility. For organizations, it’s a way to recruit and retain talent that they might not be able to otherwise, and it places employees in more markets. It also can help organizations save money on office space and other facilities.

Workforce Management, November 2003, p. 50 — Subscribe Now!

From Buck Consultants’ “Total Compensation in Integrated Healthcare Systems.”

This document can be used in the workforce planning process by helping to gather data from workgroup leaders about the talent within specific workgroups.

This data can then be compiled for the whole organization by rolling up each individual workgroup template into a single document. You can use a program such as Microsoft Excel to compile and combine this information. The overall data that is gathered can be used to create staffing strategies, business plans and make strategic decisions.

Source: Jeremy Eskenazi, Riviera Advisors, Inc.

Dear Debate Settler:



A bonus program will encourage employees to focus on the things that will help them get the bonus. If you want employees to pay attention to particular aspects of their jobs, an individualized bonus program can encourage them to do just that. But it may also result in workers doing what they need to get the bonus at the expense of team or other needs.

If employees work independently of one another and don’t depend on others for resources, information, or support, this may work for you. If jobs are interdependent and you need people to work more as a team, you will want a team reward. But be aware that with a team plan, you may also get some employees who will slack off and ride on the work of others. It’s a bit of a trade-off either way.

A hybrid bonus program is somewhat more complicated to administer than either an individual or team bonus, but will help reduce the negative aspects of choosing one plan over the other. For example, you might offer two-thirds of the bonus based on individual results, but retain one-third for overall team results. This helps employees to pay attention to the activities that affect their own performance without losing sight of group needs.

When determining bonus criteria, a good rule of thumb is to pay a team bonus for those things you want people to accomplish as a team, and pay an individual bonus for things you want individuals to accomplish. If others have an impact on an employee’s success, the bonus almost always has to be based on the work of the whole group if it’s going to be an incentive.

An alternative approach to motivating performance with bonus plans is to create an organizational culture that supports individual initiative and commitment for the success of the whole, and then share the profits the organization reaps as a result. This keeps the focus on overall business results, encourages greater employee commitment to the business, reduces the problem of employees doing things at the expense of the whole, and provides rewards as a natural outcome of a supportive culture.

SOURCE: Kevin Herring, president, Ascent Management Consulting, Tucson, Arizona, Jan. 9, 2003.

LEARN MORE: ReadBasic Principles for Implementing Team Compensation.

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.

These surveys may be used by human resources and recruiting teams to assess candidate satisfaction and candidate experience going through the recruiting and interviewing process with an organization.

There are three separate surveys.

First, a survey to send to candidates who where interviewed, but not selected for jobs at your company.

Next, a survey to send to candidates who were interviewed, offered a position and are now employed at your company.

Third, a survey to send to candidates who were interviewed and offered a position, but declined the offer to work for your company.

These surveys can help you understand how you are being perceived, what the process felt like to candidates and how candidates were treated. You may want to send such surveys using e-mail and online survey technology as well as include an incentive to get a higher response rate from candidates.