Archive – Workforce

January 11, 2024September 13, 2024

Free Employee Change of Address Form [Template]

oil painting of someone carrying moving boxes

Summary:

Federal and state laws govern how employee records are kept and for how long. These rules can differ by location and industry.
Managing employee records is a tall order, but HR software keeps thing simple, allowing staff to update their own info digitally.
Download and modify this employee change of address form template for free.

With a small staff count, organizing, tracking, and updating employee records is relatively straightforward for any HR department. But if you have a rapidly scaling business, staying on top of personnel information might be a little more challenging.

To keep things organized in all of this chaos, you need to keep accurate records. When an employee’s mailing address needs to be updated, you’ll need to rely on more than just word of mouth to get this information processed.

Many HR departments use a change of address request form. Download ours here – feel free to copy, save, and modify it.

Using a simple form like this is only the first step in accurate record-keeping. It is 2024; let’s be honest, people don’t use printers anymore. Or at least they shouldn’t be.

Well, that might be a tad extreme. But you know where I am going with this.

All kinds of records, such as employee names and emergency contact details, will change over time. Add leave request forms, benefits enrollment, and other templates into the mix, and you’ll realize how quickly recordkeeping can become an administrative burden.

Paper forms < Going paperless; Here’s why.

Luckily, you can avoid repeatedly downloading 15+ paper forms to manage your workforce records by using HR software.

Here are three ways where HR software can help you get a better grip on employee record-keeping:

1. United employee records in one place.

You can collect all of your employee information in one system without storing random paper forms in dusty, beige filing cabinets scattered around your office. Typically, organizations keep some form of the following employee details:

Time and Attendance

This information is essential to staying on top of your day-to-day operations. This includes records on the clock ins and outs, time off, employee schedules, tardiness, absences, and hours worked.

Benefits

Insurance enrollments, health coverage, and other company benefits all fall under this category. It can also include records involving the Americans Disabilities Act (ADA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Staying on top of these records will help you comply with federal laws like the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Payroll

Details that have something to do with a person’s pay computation go under payroll information. Details like wages, hourly rates, withholdings, tax forms, timesheets, direct deposits, and W2 and W4 forms all fall under one umbrella.

Personnel information

These are basic details that typically go under an employee’s file. This includes name, home address, phone number, employment history, emergency contact information, and other new employee paperwork. Over time, this file will consist of documentation around performance reviews, awards, disciplinary records, training, termination, and further employment-related details.

Medical records

Medical records include doctor’s notes, drug tests, medical exams, and medical expense reimbursement requests.

Separation of employment records

These records are related to an employee’s departure from the organization, including resignation letters, unemployment documents, reasons for separation, whether voluntary or involuntary, and exit interviews.

2. Compliance with employee record-keeping rules

There are federal rules and state-based rules that govern the type of information you can retain and for how long. Here’s a brief overview of some of these regulations:

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Federal and state-based rules govern the type of information you can retain and for how long. Here’s a brief overview of some of these regulations:

- - - Employee’s full name and social security number
    - Address, including zip code
    - Birth date, if younger than 19
    - Sex and occupation
    - Time and day of week when employee’s workweek begins, hours worked each day, and total hours worked each workweek
    - Basis on which employee’s wages are paid
    - Regular hourly pay rate
    - Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings
    - Total overtime earnings for the workweek
    - All additions to or deductions from the employee’s wages
    - Total wages paid each pay period
    - Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment

Department of Labor (DOL) rules also state that payroll records and collective bargaining agreements must be kept for three years and timesheets for two years.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC)

This regulation states that employers retain employee records for a year. Should a staff member get terminated, their personnel records should be kept for one year after their departure from the company.

Internal Revenue System (IRS)

Under IRS rules, employment tax records should be kept four years after filing the 4th quarter of the year. Some of these records include employer identification numbers, fair market value of in-kind wages paid, and copies of employees’ and recipients’ income tax withholding certificates.

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and Americans with Disabilities (ACT)

Both acts mandate that medical information be kept separate from general personnel files. This includes doctor’s notes, disability benefits claim forms, drug or alcohol tests, FMLA requests, ADA requests and documentation, workers’ compensation records, medical exams, health insurance forms, employee assistance program information, and medical expense reimbursement requests.

3. Saving time with self-service

The most efficient way to update records is to have staff do it themselves. HR software typically offers employee self-service functionality that allows employees to handle their own recordkeeping, often through a mobile device. With this, they can take ownership of updating their details without having to submit support tickets to HR.

Workforce.com makes employee recordkeeping easy.

Workforce.com is a cloud-based HR system specialized for hourly workforces. It offers complete visibility over employee information, documents, contracts, forms, and other data vital to running your workforce. It’s also built with an employee self-service feature that allows staff to update their details without bothering HR. Likewise, HR managers can configure notifications so they never have to dig to find information on form acknowledgments, onboarding reminders, PTO requests, attendance issues, etc.

Book a call today to get started on ditching paper forms.

August 23, 2020November 7, 2022

Growing Workforce Success with Palumbo Foods

Workforce.com sat down to talk growth with local champignons, the owners and staff of Palumbo Foods in Avondale, Pennsylvania.

Founder Tony Palumbo, having grown up in the mushroom industry, invested in his own company in 2008. A decade later, Palumbo is joined by several members of his family in overseeing more than 40 staff members. They sell over 350,000 pounds of mushrooms each week. Together, they supply mushrooms and seasonal produce to customers not just in Pennsylvania, but also in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, and Texas.

Vice President Shawn Palumbo is Tony’s son and talks about running this successful food business and their partnership with workforce.com

Talented people behind a family business

“We have a lot of talented people on the staff who really go above and beyond,” Palumbo said. “And that goes from our office team to our dock employees who are building orders day and night to our over the road truck drivers. We have a lot of dedicated people and that’s really what makes it work.”

Besides providing fresh, locally grown produce, the Palumbo Foods team also emphasizes customer service. Indeed, the family business has thrived through the tight-knit relationship of the staff, not just with each other, but also with their customers. Shawn Palumbo said, “A bunch of loyal customers believed in what Tony was looking to do and stuck with us to help us get started. Years later, most of those customers still work with us.” Today, from locally grown mushrooms, they’ve branched out into seasonal produce like garlic, ginger, peppers, onions, cucumbers and microgreens.

Data-led improvements that matter

Time is of the essence, especially in the food business. That’s where Shawn Palumbo’s team encountered their biggest challenge. They thought they could make headway by keeping most of their staff in the first shift. “We always only operated with a first shift team, but we realized we were overloading them. There just was too much work for anyone to get done,” he said. Enter the Workforce.com platform, a workforce management software with tracking and reporting capabilities.

“The biggest key is visibility. Workforce.com gave us visibility to see where our hours were being spent and where we could place them,” he said.

From just having a first shift and seeing what needed to be done during the day, using the Workforce.com platform allowed Palumbo Foods to see that they actually needed a third shift. “Looking at the numbers and seeing the physical data on paper and on the computer allowed us to make a decision that we wouldn’t have been able to make without the platform so to speak,” he said. The team in charge of carrying out improvements relied on the Workforce.com platform to make the decision to add a third shift.

The results were astounding.

“They’re coming in at night getting a third of the work done, so the team during the morning shift does not have as much pressure to get everything completed,” Shawn Palumbo said. The simple change decreased production errors and increased employee morale. “They’re less stressed and they’re more efficient. The quality has gone up to our customers as well. We’ve seen our returns decreased,” he said. The addition of the third shift even allowed their trucks to leave earlier, which assists in completing their deliveries within service rule hours.

Also read: Labor analytics: A how-to guide for company leadership

Team visibility despite the miles

“When I was younger, I worked at places and you grabbed the card, you put it in the machine, you put it back. What visibility does that give anybody?” Shawn Palumbo said, recalling the punch clocks that most businesses used decades ago, and which some still use today. For him, Workforce.com’s Time Clock App increased visibility and engagement with their teams who are working 2,000 miles away. “As management is in Pennsylvania, we have cameras at our Texas facility, but no one is sitting here watching the cameras all day. With Workforce.com, we can see what time they’re punching in, and coming and going,” he said.

For Palumbo Foods, the increased visibility has allowed them to operate better. It linked them to a critical part of their operation without actually being there. “We could remotely monitor and verify the hours being worked and make the appropriate decisions based on that data,” he said,” It has also increased trust among team members. Before switching to Workforce.com, employee attendance caused some friction. “The staff is now operating 24/7 so staff can come and go, and sometimes it was not being noticed. It was causing issues between team members as some were showing up later and leaving earlier than others,” he said. Now, they can look at the timesheets and resolve these conflicts easily.

Growing with workforce technology

In 2017, Palumbo Foods opened a facility in San Antonio, Texas, with seven employees. They also service Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Florida. The business is still slated for more growth and success, and Workforce.com is with them as they continue to optimize and improve their operations. “Knowing that, at any time, we can look at these reports, from anywhere has been a big, big help for us,” Shawn Palumbo said.

Pennsylvania continues to lead the mushroom production industry in the United States. Contributing to this boom is Palumbo Foods, a company that continues to flourish through its talented staff and loyal customers. “It kind of really grew this into something that no one ever expected it could be,” he said.

And with their investment in workforce technology that lets them track employees and operations accurately, they’re all set to keep providing quality produce to more customers in the years to come.

November 13, 2019June 29, 2023

New Concerns Form Smokescreen Over Vaping at Work

The surging popularity of e-cigarettes and the recent spate of illnesses associated with them have caught public health officials and health care providers by surprise and left many employers wondering whether to allow their use in the workplace and what kind of policies are needed to manage the practice.

An e-cigarette is an electronic device that heats up small amounts of liquid nicotine and other substances into an aerosol that can be inhaled, also known as vaping. E-cigarette use among teenagers has skyrocketed in recent years, but others see vaping as a safe alternative to smoking and a tool to quit, an issue that is up for debate.

“Given the recent stories, employers are catching up with how to think about vaping,” said Dr. Mary Kay O’Neill, senior clinical adviser in Mercer’s Total Health Management practice. “E-cigarettes kind of exploded. An early sales pitch was that it’s a safer way to use tobacco than smoking but I think that was more marketing than science. We’re finding a lot problems with that theory.”

While the Food and Drug Administration has not found e-cigarettes to be a safe or effective smoking cessation method, a 2019 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that smokers who vaped were more likely to quit smoking than people who used nicotine patches, gum or similar products. On the downside, those who quit often became hooked on e-cigarettes.

The largest group of e-cigarette users, however, is teenagers — a trend that has alarmed school and public health officials. In 2018, 37 percent of high school seniors reported vaping, compared to 28 percent in 2017, according to a University of Michigan study.

In response to health concerns, a number of states have banned e-cigarettes and vaping in workplaces and public areas. So far, 17 states have passed general workplace bans — most recently Minnesota, South Dakota, Florida and New Mexico. In June, San Francisco officials voted to ban the sale of e-cigarettes in the city. San Francisco is the headquarters of Juul Labs, the nation’s largest producer of vaping devices.

While most employers ban smoking, few have policies around e-cigarettes, according to Amanda Graham, head of the Innovations Center at Truth Initiative, a national public health organization that also offers a smoking cessation program, called the EX Program, to employers.

“There’s a lot of interest and questions from employers around what to do with vaping,” Graham said. “Do we add it to our smoking policy? What if we have a senior leader who believes in vaping? How do we handle that? It’s important to have consistency in the handling of all tobacco products.”

Mark Johnson, an employment law attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Milwaukee, advises employers to review their current smoking policy and make sure that it complies with state and local laws and that it clearly addresses vaping. Some employers add the use of electronic smoking devices to the definition of “smoking” in an existing no-smoking policy, according to Johnson. A separate policy is not always necessary, he said.

“The number of states and municipalities that have banned vaping in the workplace continues to grow and even if applicable law does not expressly ban vaping in the workplace, laws prohibiting smoking in the workplace may be interpreted to include vaping, Johnson said in an email. “For other locations, it may not be clear whether vaping is regulated. There does not appear to be any location that requires employers to permit vaping at work.”

For employers weighing whether to allow vaping at work, the effects of second-hand exposure to e-cigarettes also need to be addressed, according to Graham.

Much about the health effects of vaping remains unknown and for that reason employers must educate themselves on the risks, O’Neill said.

“We’ve studied tobacco for a long time but not what’s in the liquids found in vaping,” she said. Employers should consider offering smoking-cessation programs to help employees quit through methods that are safer and more effective, according to O’Neill.

November 6, 2019February 18, 2022

Human Capital Disclosure May Soon Be Mandated By the SEC

Earlier this year I wrote about the first-ever ISO standards for human capital reporting, which were published in December.

These called for the voluntary public disclosure of measures for both large organizations and small/medium-sized organizations. While some European and Asian governments are likely to adopt the ISO recommendations as law, the United States Congress was never likely to follow suit, so it appeared that adoption in the U.S. would be voluntary and slow.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission just published proposed rulemaking, which, if implemented, will bring human capital disclosure to U.S publicly traded companies much sooner than anyone imagined. This is a game changer for our profession and a VERY BIG DEAL!

On August 8 the SEC proposed to fundamentally change the way publicly traded companies report. Under the current rules, the SEC specifies 12 items that must be included in the narrative description that accompanies financial statements. Companies have to address all that apply to them. For example, these items include a discussion of the principle products and services offered, new products and segments, sources and availability of raw materials, whether the business is seasonal, competitive conditions and the current backlog of firm orders. The last required item is the number of employees, which is the only human capital measure currently required for disclosure.

The SEC proposes to move away from an explicit list of required items and instead adopt a principles-based approach where each company must discuss whatever is material with the understanding that the list of topics will differ by industry and company. (In financial reporting, material means any information that would be important to an investor in deciding whether to buy or sell a security.) The SEC does, however, share a nonexclusive list of items that it believes will apply to most companies. This list includes five items from the current list of 12 and two new items: human capital and compliance with government regulations. (The other five items are revenue-generating activities, development efforts for new products, resources material to the business, any business subject to renegotiation or cancellation, and seasonality.)

Also read: Human Resources Gets Its ISO Approval

Furthermore, simply disclosing the number of employees will not satisfy the need for human capital disclosure.

In their own words, “Item 101(c) (1) (xii) [the current rules] dates back to a time when companies relied significantly on plant, property, and equipment to drive value. At that time, a prescriptive requirement to disclose the number of employees may have been an effective means to elicit information material to an investment decision. Today, intangible assets represent an essential resource for many companies. Because human capital may represent an important resource and driver of performance for certain companies, and as part of our efforts to modernize disclosure, we propose to amend Item 101 (c) to refocus registrant’s human capital resources disclosures. Specifically, we propose replacing the current requirement to disclose the number of employees with a requirement to disclose a description of the registrant’s human capital resources, including in such description any human capital measures or objectives that management focuses on in managing the business.” (Page 48 of the proposed rule Modernization of Regulation S-K Items 101, 103 and 105.)

Did you just feel the earth shifting below your feet? You should have. The importance of this proposed rule for our profession simply cannot be overstated. Many in the profession have worked years to increase the visibility and use of human capital measures. The time finally may have come for it in the U.S.

While it is true that the SEC will not prescribe specific human capital measures, it does provide some examples, including measures for attraction, development and retention of personnel. The test for disclosure, however, is clear: materiality. Can you imagine any CEO or CFO telling analysts, the public and their own employees that people are not a material contributor to the company’s success, especially after saying for years that people are the company’s greatest asset? I don’t think so. So, if this rulemaking is finalized, human capital disclosure is coming and coming soon.

Most companies will rely on their heads of HR as well as accounting for guidance on what to include in their narrative on human capital. If for no other reason than risk mitigation, these leaders in turn will look to the human capital profession for guidance. And they will find ISO 30414:2018, the human capital reporting standards published in December 2018. These standards recommend the external reporting of 23 measures for large companies and 10 for small/medium. These measures will be a natural starting point as companies decide what to discuss, so if you don’t yet have a copy, get one, and be prepared to proactively help your organization be a leader in human capital reporting.

The proposed SEC rule is available here. The rule is 116 pages, but the section on human capital is under section IIB7, pages 44-54.

This story originally appeared in Workforce‘s sister publication, Chief Learning Officer.

April 25, 2019July 24, 2024

2019 Workforce 100: Ranking the World’s Top Companies for HR

Change is a gradual process. As much as most organizations would like to see big results from a new program, initiative or benefit sooner rather than later, it could take some time to see the fruits of their labor. Long-term improvements in culture or employee morale may seem daunting, but the patient employer often is rewarded.

Now in its sixth year, the Workforce 100 recognizes companies that excelled in human resources over the course of the previous year. To determine which companies make the list, Workforce editors work with researchers from the Human Capital Media Research and Advisory Group, the publication’s research division.

The research team created a model to sift through publicly available data on HR performance to separate the best from the rest. To give employees more of a say in the rankings, we asked recruiting and job-review website Glassdoor to provide data on what workers are saying about the companies that made our list. From there, we combined that information with the public data available to create our 2019 Workforce 100 list.

This year we noticed that many highly ranked companies have gradually climbed the list since the Workforce 100 began. Southwest started out unranked in 2014, eventually moved to the middle of the list and made it to the No. 1 spot in 2019. Companies including T-Mobile, Microsoft and Hilton have seen similar trajectories. To explore how they made these gradual improvements, Editorial Associate Bethany Tomasian spoke to HR leaders at several of these organizations to get their story.

New to the Workforce 100 package this year, we collaborated with our research team to explore what best practices companies can rely on to be the best in human resources.

Congratulations to all the companies that made the 2019 Workforce 100 list!

#1. Southwest Airlines

Performance Index: 9.2
Industry: Airline
Number of Employees: 58,000
Headquarters: Dallas
Top Ranking HR Person: Julie Weber

#2. T-Mobile

Performance Index: 8.911
Industry: Telecommunications
Number of Employees: 52,218
Headquarters: Bellevue, Washington
Top Ranking HR Person: Liz McAuliffe

#3. Goldman Sachs

Performance Index: 8.756
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 36,000
Headquarters: New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Dane Holmes

#4. SAP SE

Performance Index: 8.736
Industry: Software
Number of Employees: 96,498
Headquarters: Walldorf, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
Top Ranking HR Person: Stefan Ries

SAP SE

#5. Deloitte

Performance Index: 8.728
Industry: Professional services
Number of Employees: 286,000
Headquarters: New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Michele Parmelee

#6. EY

Performance Index: 8.6
Industry: Professional services
Number of Employees: 270,000
Headquarters: London
Top Ranking HR Person: Tony Steadman

#7. Facebook Inc.

Performance Index: 8.591
Industry: Social media
Number of Employees: 33,606
Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Lori Goler

Facebook Inc.

#8. Delta Air Lines Inc.

Performance Index: 8.363
Industry: Airline
Number of Employees: 80,000
Headquarters: Atlanta
Top Ranking HR Person: Joanne Smith

Delta Air Lines Inc.

#9. Microsoft Corp.

Performance Index: 8.302
Industry: Computer software
Number of Employees: 130,000
Headquarters: Redmond, Washington
Top Ranking HR Person: Kathleen Hogan

#10. Cisco Systems Co.

Performance Index: 8.236
Industry: Technology
Number of Employees: 74,200
Headquarters: San Jose, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Francine Katsoudas

#11. Johnson & Johnson

Performance Index: 8.225
Industry: Pharma, consumer products
Number of Employees: 135,000
Headquarters: New Brunswick, New Jersey
Top Ranking HR Person: Peter Fasolo

#12. Hilton

Performance Index: 8.224
Industry: Lodging, hospitality
Number of Employees: 170,000
Headquarters: McLean, Virginia
Top Ranking HR Person: Matthew W. Schuyler

#13. HP Inc.

Performance Index: 8.219
Industry: Technology
Number of Employees: 53,000
Headquarters: Palo Alto, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Tracy Keogh

#14. Bain & Co.

Performance Index: 8.216
Industry: Management consulting
Number of Employees: 8,000
Headquarters: Boston
Top Ranking HR Person: Russ Hagey

#15. Ultimate Software

Performance Index: 8.121
Industry: Saas HCM software
Number of Employees: 5,100
Headquarters: Weston, Florida
Top Ranking HR Person: Vivian Maza

#16. Power Home Remodeling

Performance Index: 8.105
Industry: Exterior remodeling
Number of Employees: 2,461
Headquarters: Chester, Pennslyvania
Top Ranking HR Person: Jennifer Carreon-Montes

#17. Accenture

Performance Index: 8.025
Industry: Consulting services
Number of Employees: 477,000
Headquarters: Chicago
Top Ranking HR Person: Ellyn Shook

#18. Salesforce.com Inc.

Performance Index: 8.016
Industry: Software
Number of Employees: 35,000
Headquarters: San Francisco
Top Ranking HR Person: Cindy Robbins

#19. E. & J. Gallo Winery

Performance Index: 8.015
Industry: Winery and distributor
Number of Employees: 6,500
Headquarters: Modesto, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Michelle Lewis

#20. AbbVie Inc.

Performance Index: 8.008
Industry: Biopharmaceutical
Number of Employees: 30,000
Headquarters: North Chicago, Illinois
Top Ranking HR Person: Timothy J. Richmond

#21. Slalom

Performance Index: 7.955
Industry: Professional services
Number of Employees: 5,000
Headquarters: Seattle
Top Ranking HR Person: Sierra Snyder

Slalom

#22. Raytheon Co.

Performance Index: 7.858
Industry: Aerospace and defense
Number of Employees: 67,000
Headquarters: Waltham, Massachusetts
Top Ranking HR Person: Randa G. Newsome

#23. In-N-Out Burger

Performance Index: 7.849
Industry: Restaurants
Number of Employees: 28,000
Headquarters: Irvine, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Katherine Sauls

In-N-Out Burger

#24. Adobe

Performance Index: 7.838
Industry: Computer software
Number of Employees: 21,000
Headquarters: San Jose, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Donna Morris

Adobe

#25. Intuit Inc.

Performance Index: 7.799
Industry: Enterprise software
Number of Employees: 9,000
Headquarters: Mountain View, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Laura Fennell

#26. Edward Jones

Performance Index: 7.727
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 45,000
Headquarters: St. Louis
Top Ranking HR Person: Kevin Bastein

Edward Jones

#27. McKinsey & Co.

Performance Index: 7.726
Industry: Management consulting
Number of Employees: 30,000
Headquarters: New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Michael Barriere

McKinsey & Co.

#28. Navy Federal Credit Union

Performance Index: 7.638
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 17,000
Headquarters: Vienna, Virginia
Top Ranking HR Person: Angela Culbertson

Navy Federal Credit Union

#29. HubSpot Inc.

Performance Index: 7.529
Industry: Software development
Number of Employees: 1,239
Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Top Ranking HR Person: Katie Burke

HubSpot Inc.

#30. Procore Technologies

Performance Index: 7.507
Industry: Construction project management software
Number of Employees: 1300
Headquarters: Carpinteria, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Michelle Greer

Procore Technologies

#31. DaVita Inc.

Performance Index: 7.452
Industry: Health care
Number of Employees: 74,500
Headquarters: Denver
Top Ranking HR Person: Eric Severson

DaVita Inc.

#32. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Performance Index: 7.451
Industry: Hospital
Number of Employees: 4,483
Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee
Top Ranking HR Person: Dana Bottenfield

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

#33. Humana Inc.

Performance Index: 7.43
Industry: Health insurance
Number of Employees: 41,600
Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky
Top Ranking HR Person: Tim Huval,

Humana Inc.

#34. Fast Enterprises

Performance Index: 7.424
Industry: Software
Number of Employees: 1,413
Headquarters: Centennial, Colorado
Top Ranking HR Person: Lindsey Sittko

Fast Enterprises

#35. Enterprise Holdings Inc.

Performance Index: 7.416
Industry: Private holding
Number of Employees: 100,000
Headquarters: St. Louis
Top Ranking HR Person: Shelley Roither,

#36. Stryker

Performance Index: 7.41
Industry: Medical technologies
Number of Employees: 33,000
Headquarters: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Top Ranking HR Person: Katy Fink

#37. Kaiser Permanente

Performance Index: 7.409
Industry: Insurance/health care
Number of Employees: 213,000
Headquarters: Oakland, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Chuck Columbus

Kaiser Permanente

#38. Apple Inc.

Performance Index: 7.399
Industry: Technology
Number of Employees: 132,000
Headquarters: Cupertino, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Deirdre O’Brien

Apple Inc.

#39. Dell

Performance Index: 7.36
Industry: Technology
Number of Employees: 145,000
Headquarters: Round Rock, Texas
Top Ranking HR Person: Steve Price

#40. American Express

Performance Index: 7.338
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 59,000
Headquarters: New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Robert Childs

#41. Capital One

Performance Index: 7.337
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 47,600
Headquarters: McLean, Virginia
Top Ranking HR Person: Jory Berson

Capital One

#42. Paylocity Corp.

Performance Index: 7.329
Industry: Payroll software
Number of Employees: 2,808
Headquarters: Schaumburg, Illinois
Top Ranking HR Person: Cheryl Johnson

#43. Hyatt Hotels Corp.

Performance Index: 7.321
Industry: Lodging, hospitality
Number of Employees: 120,000
Headquarters: Chicago
Top Ranking HR Person: Malaika Myers

#44. JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Performance Index: 7.305
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 256,105
Headquarters: New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Robin Leopold

#45. AT&T Inc.

Performance Index: 7.297
Industry: Telecommunications
Number of Employees: 268,220
Headquarters: Dallas
Top Ranking HR Person: William A. Blase Jr.

#46. Morgan Stanley

Performance Index: 7.26
Industry: Investment bank
Number of Employees: 57,000
Headquarters: New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Susan Reid

Morgan Stanley

#47. Amazon.com Inc.

Performance Index: 7.255
Industry: E-commerce
Number of Employees: 647,000
Headquarters: Seattle
Top Ranking HR Person: Beth Galetti

#48. Northrop Grumman Corp.

Performance Index: 7.216
Industry: Security
Number of Employees: 85,000
Headquarters: Falls Church, Virginia
Top Ranking HR Person: Ann Addison

Northrop Grumman Corp.

#49. The Dow Chemical Co.

Performance Index: 7.21
Industry: Chemicals
Number of Employees: 37,000
Headquarters: Midland, MIchigan
Top Ranking HR Person: Karen S. Carter

The Dow Chemical Co.

#50. FedEx Corp.

Performance Index: 7.205
Industry: Courier
Number of Employees: 450,000
Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee
Top Ranking HR Person: Judy Edge

FedEx Corp.

#51. Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

Performance Index: 7.194
Industry: Consulting services
Number of Employees: 25,800
Headquarters: McLean, Virginia
Top Ranking HR Person: Betty Thompson

#52. Brown-Forman Corp.

Performance Index: 7.157
Industry: Distilled beverage/wines
Number of Employees: 4,700
Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky
Top Ranking HR Person: Kirsten Hawley

#53. USAA

Performance Index: 7.138
Industry: Insurance, banking, financial services
Number of Employees: 34,168
Headquarters: San Antonio
Top Ranking HR Person: Pat Teague

USAA

#54. General Motors Co.

Performance Index: 7.137
Industry: Automotive
Number of Employees: 180,000
Headquarters: Detroit
Top Ranking HR Person: Kim Brycz

#55. Google

Performance Index: 7.135
Industry: Technology
Number of Employees: 98,771
Headquarters: Mountain View, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Eileen Naughton

Google

#56. ADP

Performance Index: 7.11
Industry: HR management software
Number of Employees: 58,000
Headquarters: Roseland, New Jersey
Top Ranking HR Person: Sreeni Kutam

#57. Lockheed Martin Corp.

Performance Index: 7.105
Industry: Advanced technologies
Number of Employees: 105,000
Headquarters: Bethesda, Maryland
Top Ranking HR Person: Patricia L. Lewis

#58. Visa Inc.

Performance Index: 7.083
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 15,000 *
Headquarters: Foster City, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Jennifer Grant

#59. Abbott Laboratories

Performance Index: 7.016
Industry: Health care
Number of Employees: 103,000
Headquarters: Chicago
Top Ranking HR Person: Steve Fussell

Abbott Laboratories

#60. Boston Consulting Group

Performance Index: 6.996
Industry: Management consulting
Number of Employees: 16,000
Headquarters: Boston
Top Ranking HR Person: Matt Krentz

Boston Consulting Group

#61. Kronos Inc.

Performance Index: 6.995
Industry: Workforce management and HR software
Number of Employees: 5,780
Headquarters: Lowell, Massachusetts
Top Ranking HR Person: Dave Almeda

#62. World Wide Technology

Performance Index: 6.99
Industry: Technology service prodiver
Number of Employees: 5,000
Headquarters: Maryland Heights, Missouri
Top Ranking HR Person: Ann W. Marr

World Wide Technology

#63. SpaceX

Performance Index: 6.974
Industry: Aerospace
Number of Employees: 6,000
Headquarters: Hawthorne, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Brian Bjelde

SpaceX

#64. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Performance Index: 6.957
Industry: Cancer treatment and research hospital
Number of Employees: 20,871
Headquarters: Houston
Top Ranking HR Person: Shibu Varghese

#65. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.

Performance Index: 6.955
Industry: Insurance
Number of Employees: 34,000
Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio
Top Ranking HR Person: Gale King

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.

#66. VMware Inc.

Performance Index: 6.94
Industry: Computer software
Number of Employees: 24,137
Headquarters: Palo Alto, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Betsy Sutter

#67. Comcast Corp.

Performance Index: 6.927
Industry: Telecommunications
Number of Employees: 184,000
Headquarters: Philadelphia
Top Ranking HR Person: Bill Strahan, Vicki Williams,

#68. Wells Fargo & Co.

Performance Index: 6.91
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 271,453
Headquarters: San Francisco
Top Ranking HR Person: David Galloreese

#69. General Electric Co.

Performance Index: 6.888
Industry: Conglomerate
Number of Employees: 280,000
Headquarters: Boston
Top Ranking HR Person: Kevin Cox

#70. Boston Scientific Corp.

Performance Index: 6.868
Industry: Medical devices
Number of Employees: 32,000
Headquarters: Marlborough, Massachusetts
Top Ranking HR Person: Wendy Carruthers

Boston Scientific Corp.

#71. Kimberly-Clark Corp.

Performance Index: 6.866
Industry: Personal care
Number of Employees: 41,000
Headquarters: Irving, Texas
Top Ranking HR Person: Scott Boston

Kimberly-Clark Corp.

#72. IBM

Performance Index: 6.844
Industry: Information technology
Number of Employees: 366,000
Headquarters: Armonk, New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Diane Gherson

#73. Workday Inc.

Performance Index: 6.829
Industry: Financial and human capital management
Number of Employees: 10,500
Headquarters: Pleasanton, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Ashley Goldsmith

#74. Wegmans Food Markets Inc.

Performance Index: 6.807
Industry: Retail
Number of Employees: 49,000
Headquarters: Rochester, New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Kevin Stickles

#75. Keller Williams Realty Inc.

Performance Index: 6.782
Industry: Real estate
Number of Employees: 180,000
Headquarters: Austin, Texas
Top Ranking HR Person: Darrell King

Keller Williams Realty Inc.

#76. Texas Health Resources

Performance Index: 6.752
Industry: Health care
Number of Employees: 25,000
Headquarters: Arlington, Texas
Top Ranking HR Person: Michelle Kirby

#77. Aetna

Performance Index: 6.749
Industry: Insurance
Number of Employees: 47,950
Headquarters: Hartford, Connecticut
Top Ranking HR Person: Thomas W. Weidenkopf

#78. Costco Wholesale Corp.

Performance Index: 6.729
Industry: Retail
Number of Employees: 231,000
Headquarters: Issaquah, Washington
Top Ranking HR Person: Pat Callans

Costco Wholesale Corp.

#79. Mastercard Inc.

Performance Index: 6.728
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 13,400
Headquarters: Purchase, New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Michael Fraccaro

Mastercard Inc.

#80. Texas Instruments Inc.

Performance Index: 6.727
Industry: Technology
Number of Employees: 29,700
Headquarters: Dallas
Top Ranking HR Person: Darla Whitaker

#81. Travelers Cos.

Performance Index: 6.707
Industry: Insurance
Number of Employees: 30,000
Headquarters: New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Diane D. Bengston

Travelers Cos.

#82. Verizon Communications Inc.

Performance Index: 6.694
Industry: Telecommunications
Number of Employees: 144,953
Headquarters: Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Top Ranking HR Person: Marc Reed

#83. Cummins Inc.

Performance Index: 6.69
Industry: Diesel/alternative fuel technology
Number of Employees: 62,600
Headquarters: Columbus, Indiana
Top Ranking HR Person: Jill Cook

Cummins Inc.

#84. 3M

Performance Index: 6.679
Industry: Consumer products
Number of Employees: 91,536
Headquarters: St. Paul, Minnesota
Top Ranking HR Person: Kristen M. Ludgate

#85. Siemens USA

Performance Index: 6.668
Industry: Conglomerate
Number of Employees: 50000
Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
Top Ranking HR Person: Mike Bokina

#86. Mars

Performance Index: 6.618
Industry: Products and services
Number of Employees: 100,000
Headquarters: McLean, Virginia
Top Ranking HR Person: Eric Minvielle

Mars

#87. Fidelity Investments

Performance Index: 6.602
Industry: Financial services
Number of Employees: 40,000
Headquarters: Boston
Top Ranking HR Person: Bill Ackerman

#88. Nike Inc.

Performance Index: 6.557
Industry: Consumer products
Number of Employees: 73,100
Headquarters: Beaverton, Oregon
Top Ranking HR Person: Monique Matheson

#89. Chevron Corp.

Performance Index: 6.552
Industry: Energy products
Number of Employees: 51,900
Headquarters: San Ramon, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Rhonda J. Morris

#90. Procter & Gamble

Performance Index: 6.529
Industry: Consumer products
Number of Employees: 95,000
Headquarters: Cincinnati
Top Ranking HR Person: Tracey Grabowski

#91. Marriott International

Performance Index: 6.528
Industry: Lodging and hospitality
Number of Employees: 177,000
Headquarters: Bethesda, Maryland
Top Ranking HR Person: David Rodriguez

#92. Grant Thornton LLP

Performance Index: 6.518
Industry: Accounting company
Number of Employees: 8,556
Headquarters: Chicago
Top Ranking HR Person: Brenda Wagner

#93. Starbucks Corp.

Performance Index: 6.474
Industry: Consumer products/retail
Number of Employees: 238,000
Headquarters: Seattle
Top Ranking HR Person: Lucy Lee Helm

#94. Intel Corp.

Performance Index: 6.446
Industry: Technology
Number of Employees: 106,799
Headquarters: Santa Clara, California
Top Ranking HR Person: Matt Smith

#95. PwC

Performance Index: 6.435
Industry: Professional services
Number of Employees: 250,930
Headquarters: London
Top Ranking HR Person: Agnés Hussherr

#96. General Mills Inc.

Performance Index: 6.424
Industry: Food products
Number of Employees: 38,000
Headquarters: Minneapolis
Top Ranking HR Person: Jacqueline Williams-Roll

#97. KPMG

Performance Index: 6.413
Industry: Professional services
Number of Employees: 32,718
Headquarters: New York
Top Ranking HR Person: Darren H. Burton

KPMG

#98. Medtronic

Performance Index: 6.352
Industry: Health care
Number of Employees: 86,000
Headquarters: Dublin
Top Ranking HR Person: Carol A. Surface

Medtronic

#99. Merck & Co. Inc.

Performance Index: 6.351
Industry: Pharmaceutical
Number of Employees: 69,000
Headquarters: Kenilworth, New Jersey
Top Ranking HR Person: Stephen C. Mizell

#100. Eli Lilly & Co.

Performance Index: 6.318
Industry: Pharmaceutical
Number of Employees: 38,682
Headquarters: Indianapolis
Top Ranking HR Person: Stephen F. Fry

Eli Lilly & Co.

WORKFORCE 100 METHODOLOGY

The Workforce 100 is the rank order and scores of the 100 companies that performed best in seven core areas: workplace culture, employee benefits, diversity and inclusion, employee development and talent management, human resources innovation, leadership development, and talent acquisition. The working assumption behind the list is that high performance in these core categories provides a reasonable proxy for overall HR excellence.

This year’s change in methodology created a ranked list that made comprehensive HR participation and employee feedback on their respective employers the primary focus rather than excellence in one core area. Using this method, organizations that are recognized on multiple lists but do not perform perfectly will be ranked higher than organizations that are ranked in one area but perform better in a single discipline. In addition, organizations that are not as heavily represented in external recognition programs are still acknowledged for their HR efforts through the posted opinions of their employees.

To generate the score, researchers first looked at how many lists with HR relevance a particular company appeared on, which makes up half of the total score (maximum of 5 points). The other half of the score (also with a maximum of 5 points) was derived from an average of the company’s Glassdoor performance in areas pertaining to HR. These scores are then added together to create the final score.

Component Lists:

Top Companies Lists, Overall:

World’s Best Multinational Workplaces, 2018 (Great Place to Work)
50 Best Small Workplaces, 2018 (Fortune)
Best Places to Work, Large Companies, 2019 (Glassdoor)
Best Places to Work, Small and Medium Companies, 2019 (Glassdoor)
Top Companies, 2018 (LinkedIn)
Top Companies, 2017 (LinkedIn)

Top Companies Lists, Benefits

Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles, 2018 (National Business Group on Health)
Companies with Incredible 401(k) Options, 2018 (Glassdoor)
30 Best Workplaces to Retire From, 2016 (Fortune)
10 Companies With the Best 401(k) Plans, 2017 (Brightscope)
Top-rated Workplaces for Work/Life Balance, 2018 (Indeed)
20 Companies with the Best Benefits, 2017 (Glassdoor)
Best Companies for Benefits and Perks, 2017 (Glassdoor)

Top Companies Lists, Diversity

Top 50 Companies for Diversity, 2018 (DiversityInc)
Best Employers for Vets, 2018 (Military Times)
Disability Equality Index, 2018 (AAPD)
100 Best Workplaces for Diversity, 2018 (Fortune)
100 Best Companies, 2018 (Working Mother)
Best Large Workplaces for Women, 2018 (Fortune)

Top Companies Lists, Innovation

The Most Admired for HR, 2016 (HR Executive)
4 Innovative HR Departments, 2016 (Spark)
World’s Most Admired Companies, 2017 (Fortune)

Top Companies Lists, Leadership

Highest Rated CEOs, 2018 (Glassdoor)
Management Top 250 (Wall Street Journal)

Top Companies Lists, Recruiting

Candidate Experience Awards, 2018 (Talent Board)
20 Hottest Companies for Job Seekers, 2018 (Indeed)
Best Places to Interview, 2017 (Glassdoor)

Top Companies Lists, Talent Management

Learning Elite, 2018 (Chief Learning Officer)
Learning in Practice Awards, 2018 (Chief Learning Officer)
Training Top 125, 2018 (Training)
50 Most Engaged Workplaces (Achievers)
BEST Awards, 2018 (Association for Talent Development)
Excellence in Practice Awards, 2018 (Association for Talent Development)
9 Best Companies for Professional Development, 2017 (Glassdoor)

Glassdoor Data Used

Career Opportunities Rating
Compensation & Benefits Rating
Culture & Values Rating
Work/Life Balance Rating
Recommend to a Friend Rating

April 2, 2019June 29, 2023

Keep on Top of Your Employees’ Eye Health

The importance of good eye health is often underappreciated in the working environment. Many conditions or diseases of the eye — such as cataracts, disorders affecting the retina, dry eyes and uncorrected refractive conditions — can have a substantial impact on employee productivity and well-being. Fortunately, there is much that employers can do to maintain an eye-friendly working environment and promote eye health among their employees.

Most problems with the eyes occur gradually over time — so gradually, in fact, that people may not even attribute their problems to failing vision. Cataracts are a good example of this. The leading cause of vision loss for people over the age of 40, cataracts occur when the lens of the eye, normally clear, very gradually starts to become cloudy. Another condition associated with aging is presbyopia, which also develops slowly as the lens of the eye becomes thicker and less flexible, losing its ability to focus light onto the retina. The retina itself can break down over time, such as with a condition known as age-related macular degeneration, or AMD. AMD is another leading cause of blindness in older people.

Dry eye disease can also affect work performance. This occurs when there are not enough quality tears to properly lubricate the eye. As a result, eyes can become itchy, painful and irritated. Vision may become blurry or eyes may water excessively. Left untreated, dry eye disease can lead to damage of the cornea.

The effect of conditions such as these on work performance can be subtle at first. Employees may experience difficulty seeing and reading in reduced lighting. Driving in poorly lit areas can become increasingly challenging. They may find themselves unable to look at computer screens, read documents or do close work for as long as they used to without experiencing problems such as headaches or eyestrain. Glare from sunlight, overhead lighting or headlights may bother them more than before. The added effort and strain can make them feel sleepy or irritable.

Also read: Vision is the Must-Have Benefit for 2019

Certain work environments can contribute to the development of eye disease. For instance, exposure to blue light from the screens of electronic devices or from prolonged exposure to sunlight from working outdoors without proper eye protection can contribute to the development of cataracts or AMD. Environments with diminished ambient humidity or prolonged computer use can contribute to symptoms of dry eyes. Overhead lighting or indirect sunlight shining on the work surface can also cause symptoms of dry eyes or eyestrain.

When doing their jobs, or simply being on the job site, causes increasing discomfort, employees may avoid work, or take more and longer breaks. They may not even realize their discomfort is due to eye issues. Many may attribute these changes to other health problems, such as depression or poor sleep, or they may chalk it up to losing interest in their work or simply getting older. If these issues are left unchecked for long enough, failing vision can lead to serious workplace accidents and permanent damage to the eyes may occur.

Addressing environmental contributors to eye disease and discomfort can help minimize the eye problems that affect work performance. Ensure that indoor air is clean and properly humidified. Evaluate lighting and determine what changes can be made to minimize glare on surfaces. Computers and other light-emitting screens can be fitted with filters that block blue light. Employees who work outdoors should be provided with proper eye protection, such as sunglasses that effectively block UV radiation.

But the most effective way of maintaining good eye health is by encouraging employees to undergo a comprehensive annual eye exam. This will identify problems early so that employees maintain a high level of job performance, the risk of accidents due to vision impairment is reduced, and eye conditions are treated promptly, possibly staving off permanent vision loss. An annual comprehensive eye examination may also catch conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, hypertension and vascular problems that can impact both eye and overall health long before the condition causes a vision symptom. People are three times more likely to get an annual eye exam than an annual physical, making the eye exam an even more important touchpoint between employees and preventive health care.

To encourage employees to undergo an annual eye exam, make sure that vision care coverage is included in their health benefits package. It can also be helpful to hold eye health awareness seminars or other events to teach employees about the importance of taking care of their eyes.

January 14, 2019June 29, 2023

Public Sector Employers Facing People Problems

At a time when careers in government are increasingly underscored with public and political pressure, Kirsten Wyatt is sounding the alarm about the public sector workforce.

“The government needs to wake up and realize there’s a talent war,” said Wyatt, executive director of the Oregon-based Engaging Local Government Leaders, a nonprofit promoting diversity, education and networking among local government employees on a national level. “If you’re going to be competing for entry-level or jobs you want to fill with talent you can then nurture, you need to put in more effort.”

Public sector agencies from the massive federal government to tiny rural townships face unique challenges when competing with private businesses for talent. Recruiting and retention is a recurring concern for the skill set often associated with public service employees. And it’s no secret that private sector companies typically offer substantially higher wages and more flexible work schedules. And there are other factors coming into play.

Prime among them is the so-called silver tsunami, a wave of baby boomers exiting the workforce into retirement. Studies show some 10,000 boomers retire every day, leaving a huge gap for public sector employers to fill.

According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the average age of a full-time federal employee is 47.5 years, with 45 percent of the workforce over 50 years old.

The Congressional Research Service indicates 52 percent of public workers are age 45 to 64 compared to 42.4 percent in the private sector.

Federal workers are older than state and local government employees, too, studies show. Of those age 45 to 64, 56.7 percent are federal, 52.1 percent are local, and 49.7 percent are state employees.

In a 2018 survey by the Center for State & Local Government Excellence, public sector HR directors report higher numbers of retirements in 2018 over 2017.

Another challenge: Public agencies depend on tax base or bond-measure revenues to create new jobs and rehire for open positions. Hiring freezes are not uncommon even in flush economic times.

Nannina Angioni

“When taxpayer dollars are on the line, protections and processes come into play that an untrained, private sector employee would not even consider,” said Nannina Angioni, a labor and employment attorney and partner of the Los Angeles-based law firm Kaedian LLP.

Angioni said it can be costly and time consuming to find employees with public sector experience for entry-level positions given the increased ethical considerations, regulatory issues and legal obligations that typically don’t apply to private sector workers.

Still another challenge: enticing people to technology jobs. While millennials exhibit technological advantages being digital natives, it’s also one reason they are scarce in government workplaces with antiquated systems where they can’t sharpen their skills, said Kris Tremaine, a senior vice president focusing on the federal public sector at ICF, a global consulting and technology services company.

Although millennials will comprise 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, they currently make up only 10 percent of the federal sector technology workforce, said Tremaine.

Eighty-two percent of the Center for State & Local Government Excellence’s survey respondents indicated recruitment and retention as a workforce priority. They’re finding it difficult to fill positions in policing, engineering, network administration, emergency dispatch, accounting, skilled trades and information technology.

“When it comes to recruiting talent, you need to go where the talent is,” said ELGL’s Wyatt, adding that while many public sector HR departments continue to advertise jobs in newspapers, potential talent is hanging out on social media.

While Wyatt calls many job ads “boring,” she also notes successful efforts such as one produced by the city of Los Angeles for a graphic designer. The ad appeared as if a child drew it with a crayon. It went viral.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, human resources professional Jody Blake posts jobs on social media featuring eye-catching images of palm tree-lined beaches or building plans.

To fill vacancies in Fort Lauderdale’s 2,500-member workforce, Blake uses Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter and Indeed.

She’s had the most success with LinkedIn, especially for stormwater and wastewater engineers. She posts jobs on engineering group sites at no cost and uses LinkedIn’s Recruiter Lite program to maximize her efforts.

“I believe in getting the word out any way you can,” she said. “Even if people aren’t interested themselves, they may know someone who is.”

The public sector should take a page from the private sector in hiring practices, including internships, career fairs, meet-ups, events, social activities and using more technology, said Tremaine. Blake, meanwhile, also seeks people with a passion to make a difference. Jobs emphasizing social good attract millennials who want to be part of making a difference “such as in helping Americans stop taking opioids or climate change issues,” Tremaine added.

Wyatt said, “You can work in sustainability, be a librarian, police officer or an engineer and all work for a local government with that public service ethos at the core of your job every day.”

Millennials Embrace Collaboration

Human-centered open plan designs supporting teamwork where employees of different skill sets gather is important, said Tremaine.

While millennials skip from job to job often for higher pay, “some want clearer paths to growth and an understanding of where they fit in the organization,” Tremaine said, adding they prefer a coaching-mentor relationship to a boss.

Streamlining onerous paperwork and a protracted timeline involved in public sector employment may attract more employees, Tremaine said.

So too would the ability to leave a job and return “and not lose all of your benefits while drawing private sector best practices into the government,” she added.

Fort Lauderdale attracts many people looking for a switch after many years working in the private sector. While they made more money in private industry, they seek the security of the public sector, Blake said.

The city of Weston, Florida, took a different approach 21 years ago by outsourcing most positions per its charter.

“Probably 70 percent or more of a government budget is the cost is to pay employees,” said City Manager John Flint.

Only 10 positions for the city of Weston are in-house: six department directors, a city manager, two assistants and a clerk. An assistant city manager handles necessary HR functions such as insurance and payroll contributions.

Law enforcement is provided through the Broward County Sheriff’s Department. Other city jobs are filled by government outsourcing services such as C.A.P. Government, Calvin, Giordano & Associates, Municipal Technologies, and Weiss, Serota, Helfman, Cole & Bierman.

“All of the people here are by invitation and not by right. If the people assigned to us don’t meet our expectations, it is easier for us to replace them. I don’t have to spend my time managing people. I can manage the city and spend more time with our elected officials and residents,” said Flint, adding Weston’s approach offers greater flexibility and efficiency.

Some outsourced employees have been with the city before its incorporation in 1996 when it was a community development district, said Flint. When the city changes service providers (which hasn’t happened in a decade), Flint ensures the incoming provider retains the current employees and keeps their salaries and benefits at least equal to the previous provider.

Kaedian LLP’s Angioni said that once they are hired, many public sector employees stay in their job for decades for the perks of consistent work hours, minimal demands outside of their set schedules, union benefits, rights to reinstatement, pensions and appeal rights to disciplinary actions.

Career Moves

The public sector also offers the ability to try different careers while retaining benefits in one organization.

An agency might consider moving someone who’s been an analyst in community development for a few years into public utilities for another few years to increase their knowledge base and broaden their skills.

Such moves keep employees “engaged, excited and continually learning” while also giving departments “a fresh set of eyes,” Wyatt said. That’s important to retention, given the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on employee wages, benefits, training and development over a five-year span, she added.

To retain employees in one of the most difficult public sector jobs — solid waste collection — Greenville, South Carolina, Solid Waste and Recycling Manager Mildred Lee treats a crew to lunch monthly to show her appreciation and elicit their input.

She’s retained employees by leading an effort to convert solid waste collection from five to four days. A supervisory mentoring program for all frontline solid waste employees has transitioned two into management.

A 2018 survey by the Center for State & Local Government Excellence noted that more than 45 percent of the respondents offer flexible scheduling, 65 percent support employee development and training reimbursement, 37 percent host wellness programs or on-site fitness facilities, and 34 percent provide some form of paid family leave.

Wyatt said she receives increasing feedback about the value the midprofessional generation places on paid family leave.

Kansas City, Missouri, recently finished a one-year paid family leave pilot program. It was utilized primarily by male police officers. It’s the hardest job for which to recruit and is typically dominated by young men, said Wyatt.

“You look at the long-term impact that has on employee morale and loyalty and who you choose to work for with everything else being equal,” she added.

As the public sector starts to see the dismantling of retiree benefits, one useful tool may be adopting the Individual Medicare Marketplace for retiree health care programs, “a model generally far more affordable for retirees while offering cost savings for employers,” says Marianne Steger, director of public sector strategy at Willis Towers Watson and former health care director for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.

Retaining employees has meant offering low-priced health insurance, a generous retirement plan, educational incentives, annual reviews typically with pay increases and the ability to start off at a good rate of vacation time accrual, said Fort Lauderdale’s Blake.

Blake offers advice to new hires on how to improve their profile to increase their promotion chances. Employees are surveyed on the work culture. Employees are called community builders while residents are called neighbors.

Wyatt and her husband Kent — both former public sector employees — founded ELGL after noticing local government education, training and networking was siloed based on job title. Its 4,000 members nationwide represent a cross-section of entry-level employees to mayors and city managers.

“It helps when librarians can learn from planners and cops can learn from finance directors,” said Wyatt.

Their organization provides collaboration and cross-departmental training through a technology network connecting public sector employees in one part of the country to others elsewhere to help deal with problems for which others have found solutions.

It also provides online content, monthly webinars, regional pop-up conferences and a national conference. Informal meet-ups are held on college campuses to introduce local government careers to college students.

Further, it focuses on increasing the number of women and people of color into local government leadership to reflect U.S. community demographics.

While there is much focus on age demographics in public service, Wyatt said what most people in a public service career want is no different than anyone else: “feeling recognized for a job well done, independence and learning something that takes them to the next step in their career.”

Wyatt has seen some members go through a career crisis as they contemplate a move to the private sector for more pay and better fringe benefits.

“They choose to stick with government,” she said. “They built a network that supports them and reminds them it’s work worth doing and that’s powerful.”

November 14, 2018June 29, 2023

What You Can Learn From the Law Firm Partner Suspended for Watching Porn at Work

According to The American Lawyer (sub. req.), Hogan Lovells has suspended one of its partners in its London office for watching porn at work. How did it catch the offense?

An IT employee read his internet logs? No.

He forgot to close his browser when he went to the loo and his assistant walked into his office? No.

He visited an unsafe site that spammed his entire office with malware? No.

Would you believe that someone caught him through his office window? From RollonFriday:

On Monday morning a lawyer with Irwin Mitchell, whose London office is separated from Hogan Lovells by a narrow lane, looked out of their window and straight into the partner’s office. Sources told RollOnFriday that the Irwin Mitchell lawyer was shocked to see the Hogan Lovells partner watching porn at his desk, with his back to the window.

The IM lawyer filmed the absorbed partner on a mobile phone, sources told RollOnFriday, and sent the footage to Hogan Lovells lawyers. It then made its way to the firm’s HR. The partner has now been suspended.

Astoundingly, according to one survey, 3 percent of Americans admit to watching porn at work. And while 3 percent may not sound like a lot, I guarantee you are now doing the math and figuring out who the likely suspects are in your office.

What is an employer to do? After all, the mere presence of pornography in the workplace is enough to set off every sexual harassment alarm bell, and subject an employer to sexual harassment liability if it does nothing.

Hogan Lovells defends its own lack-of-a-policy:

We didn’t block access to websites unless they represented a cybersecurity risk (e.g. they have malware on them). The nature of our work for clients sometimes means we need to carry out investigations in areas which require us to have flexible access. We have reviewed and tightened this policy.

So, what should you look for in “reviewing and tightening” your workplace-porn policy?

1. What does your technology or internet-use policy say, does it include prohibitions against pornography, and does it sufficiently and clearly explain that violations will result in discipline, up to and including termination?
2. Do you block websites that might include adult material, or do you trust employees to their own devices. Keep in mind that if you opt for the latter, many adult websites are rife with malware, viruses, and other things that you likely don’t want on work equipment. Also keep in mind that if you opt for the former, you may need to provide for work-related exceptions (like an employment lawyer researching a case, and I speak from experience).
3. If you are overly concerns that your workplace is rife with porn, you could opt for a porn audit, examining all of your technology assets for inappropriate material.
4. Once you become aware of any pornography in the workplace, your obligation as an employer kicks in to promptly investigate and implement reasonable corrective action. Failure to act could subject you to a nasty and expensive sexual harassment lawsuit.
5. Finally, if your investigation leads you believe that the pornography involves illegal activity (e.g., children), immediately stop and call your lawyer, as this is a serious issue that needs serious treatment.

The internet might be for porn, just not watching porn at work, ever (unless you’re an employment lawyer investigating a case).

August 29, 2018June 29, 2023

IBM Taps Other Industries to Create Its New Collar Workforce

It’s no secret that scores of technology-related jobs remain unfilled — some 500,000 open tech positions in the U.S., according to recent Department of Labor statistics.

Job-search engine Indeed surveyed more than 1,000 tech-hiring managers and recruiters late last year, with almost 9 of 10 respondents saying they found it challenging to find and hire workers with tech skills. Some 83 percent said the tech-talent shortage had hurt their business through lost revenue, slower product development and increased employee burnout. Google, which puts the number of vacant IT support jobs at around 150,000, is working with a Dallas-area community college to create an IT certification program, according to published reports.

The search-engine giant isn’t alone in finding creative ways to stock its tech staff. Even deeply rooted old-guard tech firms like IBM are exploring ways to fill the vast tech employee void.

IBM says it is prioritizing “capabilities over credentials” by investing in training and development programs. To further drive home the point, CEO Ginni Rometty has coined her new, growing labor force as “new collar” jobs.

One tech industry analyst and two tech executives offered their thoughts on this workforce trend.

Brent Skinner, principal analyst at Nucleus Research Inc., who covers human capital management; Kristen Brown, Kronos Inc. vice president, global talent acquisition; and Jen Crozier, vice president of corporate citizenship and president of the IBM International Foundation, spoke to Workforce for this Q&A.

Additionally, one new collar employee, Sara Moellenhoff, weighed in from the front lines of this new worker category. In this first Q&A segment, Crozier and Brown talk about the challenges tech companies face with a shortage of employees.

Workforce: Can you define new collar jobs and the capabilities you look for when hiring potential employees?

Jen Crozier: We see over half a million jobs open in technology but universities in the U.S. are producing only maybe one-tenth of that number of computer science graduates. And so we, like many other tech companies, have a whole lot of openings. As we think about skills we need, one of the realizations we had is that they don’t necessarily require a four-year degree. There are many jobs at IBM that require a four-year degree or post-graduate work. But there are also many that require a certain set of skills; we call them new-collar skills that maybe require a two-year degree or just different skill sets. We think the capabilities and the skills are even more important than the degree because things change so quickly in a lot of hot new fields: cybersecurity, analytics, cognitive, even things we’re doing within marketing or design.

WF: Why do you think the HR technology industry is having trouble hiring workers?

Kristen Brown: We’re operating in a candidate’s market right now. Unemployment is very low and the demand for technical talent is significantly outpaced by the limited number of technical professionals that are available. While it’s always competitive to recruit, hire and retain top talent, these conditions are creating a perfect storm. It’s an exciting time to work in talent acquisition.

WF: What challenges do you face since there aren’t enough people applying for tech jobs? How are you addressing those challenges?

Crozier: The priority is having the right skills and those are hard tech skills. So that could mean somebody who studied cybersecurity or analytics, if that’s the thing we’re hiring for. And then I think also importantly are the soft skills that go along with that. One of the things that I think is terrific about the P-Tech model, it’s not just that students are getting an associate degree in cybersecurity or cognitive, or analytics and the like, different computer science categories. It’s also that they’re developing really important deep skills of critical thinking, writing, problem solving, client relations, public speaking; things that will serve them over the course of their career. And that’s the kind of systemic reform that is so important for business today.

Brown: Despite the challenges of sourcing top talent in a competitive environment, the needs of our business do not slow down. Our engineering and technical support teams are working hard to meet the needs of our customers, so we need to work even harder to make sure the right people are in place on those teams so that we can deliver on our customer-first promise. Any compromise to key metrics like time-to-hire or quality-of-candidate is not an option.

WF: How are you dealing with this new change and hiring people with unconventional backgrounds for tech positions?

Crozier: The real challenge is just the skills, and are they available. So, there are 6.1 million U.S. jobs that employers can’t fill because they can’t find enough skilled workers. And we know that the four-year degree may be one way to get there but there’s just so many other ways to get there. And so we and the other companies are getting inventive and partnering with education leaders and government leaders to think about these new models. But I think the fundamental challenge is finding the right skills for the right job. We know that it’s important not only for young people, but for people to be able to reskill midcareer. Veterans are great examples of that. We have done training and certification on our i2 Analyze software, which is our cybersecurity software to get veterans up to speed and trained for cybersecurity jobs. It could be our tech rehire program for women who are returning to the workforce but want some training and certification to bring their tech skills up to snuff on things that have changed since they’ve been out of the workforce.

Brown: Partnerships are critically important. It’s vital to Kronos that we partner with organizations that connect us with or help us train the right nontraditional candidates. We’re spending more time on returnship programs, helping women and veterans return to the workforce after they hit pause on their professional careers to raise young families or serve our country. For example, we work with the Microsoft Software & Systems Academy, which provides technical training to active-duty military transitioning to civilian life. This training prepares students for a variety of technical careers, which makes them appealing candidates to companies like Kronos. We’re also looking at candidates from community colleges and coding boot camps. With the right internal training and educational opportunities, we’re able to develop these candidates to fit the needs of our organization.

WF: Why do you consider new collar jobs a good solution?

Crozier: What we know is that there are hidden pockets of talent and skills all over the place. We want to be tapping all different sources so we get a really diverse set of perspectives and skills. How do we move opportunity to that talent who may have been historically overlooked? They didn’t have access to education and entry-level interviews and we want to give them that access.

Brown: Kronos is highly supportive of new-collar jobs and candidates with nontraditional backgrounds. Whether it is a candidate’s job market or not, it’s always beneficial from a talent acquisition perspective to broaden the candidate pool in innovative ways. This helps to ensure candidates like returning veterans have access to opportunities that otherwise may not have existed. It also helps Kronos build diverse teams.

Nucleus Research Inc.’s Brent Skinner offers his thoughts on the new-collar trend, why it offers a positive solution and how he thinks it will reshape the workforce.

WF: Is the introduction of new collar jobs a trend you are seeing across the technology industry?

Brent Skinner: I’m unsurprised by the trend. Computer coding is a very specific skill and one could argue — first of all, far be it from me to question the logic behind getting a computer engineering degree, or a certificate or degree in that, for instance. But it seems to me that is something that can be taught outside of a university and that somebody could get to be very good at it without actually requiring a college degree. I’m not surprised that vendors are looking outside of university graduates for these skills given the shortage in the skill set. If organizations are investing in apprenticeship programs to train people with the potential to learn it, then I see that as being a wise investment for these organizations, especially with the tight labor market.

WF: Do you consider new collar jobs a good solution? Why?

Skinner: It doesn’t strike me as concerning at all. In fact, if anything it’s a smart move. Why throw dollars at your recruiting organization to go out there and find people with the university pedigree or credentials to do these jobs, when perhaps it’s less expensive to find folks that are interested in doing it and have the potential to learn it and then train them yourself? So, it’s sort of a return on investment.

WF: How do you think this new trend will shift the workforce?

Skinner: I think we may see in the future an evolution of types of jobs that require a university degree in order to gain access to potentially getting those jobs. I think we’re going to see a proliferation of apprenticeship programs, these sorts of things as organizations train people. You might see, and again this is sort of speculative, a diminishing role for the conventional university as an instruction in terms of preparing students for various types of careers. You may even see folks who go straight from high school to an organization on the promise they will be trained for a certain type of work that they’re interested in. When organizations offer to train new-collar hires, they’re probably increasing the likelihood that these employees will stay with the organization. In other words, they increase retention. So, you might see a diversification of what it means to be educated or trained and an increase in job opportunities for folks who may not wish to go the university route.

From the ROI standpoint I think that business is always looking for the most cost-effective way to get whatever needs doing, done. If organizations are going to experience better ROI by training workers for particular roles instead of throwing the money at their talent acquisition organization to find those folks, then I think that’s going to happen. This is an interrelated issue where organizations are probably trying to get the best out of their return on investment and talent acquisition technology is probably broadening the target pool of folks that they’re looking for, and then investing the additional money internally to train those folks. Obviously, somebody’s done a cost-benefit analysis somewhere and has found that this is cost-effective for them.

Sara Moellenhoff is one of a number of employees who is working at a job that isn’t related to her college degree. Moellenhoff, 26, was a preschool teacher from 2012-17. While teaching, she also worked part-time with a program that helps at-risk youth with behavioral problems and mental illnesses. Feeling like she had a lot on her plate, she started scouting for another job and found a three-month internship at IBM. The program, which started in April 2017, consisted of working in a rotation between the analytical team, project management team and server-build team. Her manager extended her internship for two more months and asked her to move to Atlanta, then asked her to stay on as a full-time employee. Now, Moellenhoff is the project manager at IBM in Columbia, Missouri, and keeps company servers up to date and tracks a team of administrators. Moellenhoff spoke about the challenges of changing careers from education to technology.

WF: Why did you decide to switch careers and what led you to IBM?

Sara Moellenhoff: I did exploring on different job sites because I kind of wanted a better life for myself. I was tired of working 70 hours a week at two different jobs and I wanted to settle down and have a normal, Monday through Friday, nine-to-five [job] and I just couldn’t do it anymore. So, I got really lucky. I applied for a whole bunch of jobs that I was qualified for with my degree in early childhood development and education. And then I threw in a couple ones where I was like, “Well it’s a risk, I’ll take it.” And IBM was one of them. I had never done anything computer- or IT-related in my life other than writing with Word. I just took a leap of faith and applied in January. And I didn’t hear anything back; I didn’t expect to, honestly, for a while. The end of February I got a phone call and they’re like, “We want to interview you.” I said, “OK, when can I be there?” And they’re like, “No actually we’re doing this new thing, we want to do it over the phone.” And I set up a phone interview, had my phone interview, and then two weeks later they asked, “Can you start in two weeks?”

WF: What was appealing about this job that it made you consider switching careers?

Moellenhoff: It was more so the fact that I knew I would have benefits that would be good. I would have a normal schedule. I wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone to replace me if I took time off. Because as a teacher you can’t just say, “I’m not feeling well, I’m not coming into work today.” These little babies are depending on you and they need you. And so you have to go to work. So, it was kind of nice knowing that if I needed something I knew I could get it from a corporation as huge as IBM and the fact that I knew that I was probably good for a pay increase. I love teaching, I really do. And I miss it every single day — it’s hard.

WF: What has this experience been like for you and how difficult is it to adjust to a new career?

Moellenhoff: In the beginning it wasn’t so bad because it was a lot of learning. I was in a classroom but on the other side of things. The biggest adjustment was packing up my life and moving to Atlanta because two weeks turn into four months really quick and I was living at a hotel and couldn’t even make my own food. I was working 14 hours a day, seven days a week. Flying on planes every other weekend, just to come home for a day to go back the next day. That was by far the most stressful and exciting thing I’ve ever done. So when I came back it was like a culture shock. I almost didn’t remember [how] to do anything in the office. But after a couple of weeks I got used to it and it was fine.

WF: After you were trained and were asked to stay, did you feel ready?

Moellenhoff: Yeah, I did. I was able to listen in on calls, and I had about 120 hours of training before I even started working with the analytics team. And a lot of it is just kind of listening and taking notes as you go. And we have a lot of online training as well.

WF: What were your hopes going into this job versus your hopes now?

Moellenhoff: Honestly, my biggest hope was that I would just learn a new skill and be able to apply it to whatever I decided to do in the future. I didn’t expect to stay past three months because I did not think I was what IBM was looking for at all. I’m untechnical, I don’t have a degree in science technology, engineering, math, whatever they’re looking for. When I wasn’t sure what was going to happen I just accepted the fact that it was a three-month internship. I’d take it, put it on my résumé and go find something else. So, it was pretty exciting to get to stay. Now, my hope is to study and get the hours for more certifications, become a better project manager and continue working on the accounts I’m on and strive for continuous improvement. I work really hard to implement agile practices in everything that I’m doing. I don’t want to be stagnant for long, I just want to make everything better.

Aysha Ashley Househ is a Workforce editorial associate. Comment below or email editors@workforce.com.

August 27, 2018June 29, 2023

7 Tips on How to Handle Cyber Sabotage and Other Insider Tech Threats

Your employees are your company’s weakest link, and therefore, your greatest threat to suffering a cyber-attack and resulting data breach.

While employee negligence (that is, employees not knowing or understanding how their actions risk your company’s data security) remains the biggest cyber risk, another is growing and also demands your attention—the malicious insider.

According to one recent report, malicious insiders are responsible for 27 percent of all cybercrime. Over at her Employment & Labor Insider Blog, Robin Shea suggests that one recent workplace embarrassment for an employer was the result of internal cyber-vandalism, and not external hacking.

Dark Reading reports on a recent survey, entitled, “Monetizing the Insider: The Growing Symbiosis of Insiders and the Dark Web.”

“Recruitment of insiders is increasing, and the use of the dark web is the current methodology that malicious actors are using to find insiders,” explains researcher Tim Condello, technical account manager and security researcher at RedOwl.

Cybercriminals recruit with the goal of finding insiders to steal data, make illegal trades, or otherwise generate profit. Advanced threat actors look for insiders to place malware within a business’ perimeter security. …

There are three types of people who fall into the “insider” category, says Condello: negligent employees who don’t practice good cyber hygiene, disgruntled employees with ill will, and malicious employees who join organizations with the intent to defraud them.

What is a company to do? I’ve previously discussed how to protect against the negligent employees who don’t practice good cyber hygiene—training, training, and more cyber-training.

No amount of training, however, will stop a disgruntled employee with ill intent, or a malicious employee who joins to do harm.

These latter two categories need more specialized attention—an insider threat program. The Wall Street Journal explains:

Companies are increasingly building out cyber programs to protect themselves from their own employees.… Businesses … are taking advantage of systems … to find internal users who are accidentally exposing their company to hackers or malicious insiders attacking the company. These “systems,” however, can prove costly, especially for the small-business owner. While investment in a technological solution is one way to tackle this serious problem, it’s not the only way. Indeed, there is lots any company, of any size, with any amount of resources, can do to develop an insider threat program.

Aside from the expense of costly monitoring programs, what types of issues should employers include in an insider threat program? Here are seven suggestions:

1. Heightened monitoring of high-risk employees, such as those who previously violated IT policies, those who seek access to non-job-related business information, and those who are, or are likely to be, disgruntled (i.e., employees who express job dissatisfaction, who are on a performance improvement plan, or who are pending termination).
2. Deterrence controls, such as data loss prevention, data encryption, access management, endpoint security, mobile security, and cloud security.
3. Detection controls, such as intrusion detection and prevention, log management, security information and event management, and predictive analytics.
4. Inventories and audits for computers, mobile devices, and removable media (i.e., USB and external hard drives), both during employment and post-employment.
5. Policies and programs that promote the resolution of employee grievances and protect whistleblowers.
6. Pre-employment background checks to help screen out potential problem employees before they become problems.
7. Termination processes that removes access as early as possible for a terminated employee.

No company can make itself bulletproof from a cyber-attack. Indeed, for all businesses, data breaches are a when issue, not an if issue. However, ignoring the serious threat insiders pose to your company’s cyber security will only serve to accelerate the when.

Jon Hyman is a partner at Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis in Cleveland. Comment below or email editors@workforce.com. Follow Hyman’s blog at Workforce.com/PracticalEmployer.