When SI decided to implement SAP three and a half years ago, management wasso concerned about the cultural impact it would have onemployees that it created a new position for a “change management leader,”whose sole responsibility would be to manage the human element of the effort.“People needed to understand what we were doing and how it would impact them,”says Patrick Keebler, who landed the job. “When you focus on managing thechange and on building strong executive leadership, you can succeed atimplementing an ERP.”
He began by assessing users and the environment for risk factors that couldaffect system performance, such as lack of basic PC or Web skills, hiringfluctuations, or a history of resistance to change. Then he built achange-management strategy that included an extensive communication plan tosupport performance-based training.
“Communicating a project’s purpose and goals as well the impact that itwill have on the organization and its employees is the best way to minimizeresistance,” he says. “If you show up one day and announce you’ve launcheda new system, you’ll get a lot of push back, but if you share your strategyand why it’s important early on, people will embrace it.”
His communication techniques included a constant flow of written materialscombined with frequent face-to-face presentations with departments and shifts todiscuss the system and offer tool demos. He tailored his messages on the basisof feedback he gathered through focus-group studies and employee surveys. Forexample, an early survey regarding employees’ opinions about the impending ERProllout showed that users were afraid they wouldn’t understand the technologyand their new roles within the system. They were also confused about why thecompany invested so much money in an ERP when there were other importantprojects going unfunded.
In response to that information, he launched several communicationinitiatives, including a monthly ERP newsletter with stories about the project’sdevelopment, expectations, and training plans. To addressspecific concerns about role changes, he published a special double issuedescribing the alterations that were being made to various business processesand profiling role changes for specific job titles. For example, after the SAProllout, sales reps became responsible for managing customer credit debts, atask previously done by the accounting team. The salespeople were annoyed at theextra work and the accountants felt threatened, Keebler says. He managed theproblem by showing both groups the process stream map and pointing out that itmade more sense for reps, who are the single point of contact for clients, tohandle their debt information. This flow of communication reduced the amount ofstress associated with the change and prepared users for training, he says.
Keebler delivers all of his ERP training in the month leading up to thatphase of the rollout. For the most recent phase, which was completed in October2001, that meant he and his team of four trainers conducted 120 classes in 19days. “It’s important that training be close to the rollout date so peopledon’t forget what they’ve learned,” he says. “And you don’t want totrain before the system is completely configured; otherwise, you may be teachingpeople to do things incorrectly.”
To make training as relevant as possible, each course that Keebler offeredwas role-based so that the functional groups—accountspayable clerks, service reps, manufacturing, and supervisors—received specificguidance on their particular role changes. They got overviews of the workprocesses that affected their jobs and looked at the impact of their actions onpeople upstream and downstream from them. “If people make a mistake recordingdata, the results can be exponential,” he says. “We want people toappreciate how serious their responsibilities are to the business.” Forexample, if a service rep records incorrect contact information for a customer,product shipping will be wrong, billing will be wrong, and the customer’scredit rating will be damaged.
Once the system phase goes live, Keebler offers refresher courses and watchesfor system errors that might reflect a need for retraining. He also offersself-paced tutorials at the Web site and context-sensitive help options withinthe application that let users practice transactions in a simulated environmentso that they can make mistakes without affecting the whole system. “Peoplewill embrace a new system if you give them the skills and support to use it,”he says. “Otherwise, you are just leaving it to chance.”
When enterprise resource planning software fails, it’s usually because thecompany didn’t dedicate enough time or money to training and managingculture-change issues. “Faulty technology is often blamed, but eight out ofnine times, ERP problems are performance-related,” says Pat Begley, seniorvice president of educational services at SAP, an ERP software company inNewtown Square, Pennsylvania.
One of the biggest mistakes that companies make when they launch new ERPapplications is assuming that they are going to be like any other piece ofsoftware, says David Stanvick, vice president of marketing for Knowledge Impact,an enterprise-system consultancy in Wayland, Massachusetts. “Microsoft Word isa productivity tool–whether you use it doesn’t impact anyone else in thecompany–but an ERP is a totally new environment. Everything you do in an ERPaffects the success of the company.”
When used appropriately, ERP software integrates information used by theaccounting, manufacturing, distribution, and human resources departments into aseamless computing system. A successful ERP can be the backbone of businessintelligence for an organization, giving management a unified view of itsprocesses. Unfortunately, ERPs have a reputation for costing a lot of money andproviding meager results, because the people who are expected to use theapplication don’t know what it is or how it works.
Training is often last-minute and weak. It usually covers only how to dospecific job-related tasks, without exploring the role those actions have withinthe rest of the business cycle. “ERP is more than just a new software system;it’s a cultural change,” Stanvick says. “If training doesn’t cover whyeach task is important and how every transaction is part of a larger process,then end-users are less likely to use the application correctly or consistently.”That results in flawed data and a skewed view of the business. “You can’tjust teach end-users how to fill in fields and click buttons; you have to showthem how their actions impact their colleagues.”
New ERP systems usually require employees to do more or differentadministrative tasks that don’t add obvious value to their jobs. If they don’tunderstand why that information is important to other members of the company,they will find ways to work around it, Stanvick says. For example, a salespersonusing a new sales-force automation process might be expected to fill out a “leadsource field” validating where he finds each new client. It doesn’t help himwith his customer-tracking process and he’s never had to do it before, so heskips it without realizing that the marketing department bases its productivityrates on that information. As a result, the budget for marketing is cut becausetheir efforts appear to be ineffective, and suddenly the salespeople areoutraged because their leads have disappeared. “You have to connect the taskback to the ‘what’s in it for me’ factor or end-users won’t do it,”Stanvick says.
To ensure that users fully understand the necessity of using the toolcorrectly all of the time, you should begin with a needs analysis to evaluatetheir technical savvy, their existing job processes, and the impact the systemwill have on their roles, says Susan Charley, vice president of compensation andHR operations for Oracle, an enterprise-software company in Redwood Shores,California. “Look at where your people are now and what they will need tochange in order to assimilate the new tool.” Training should includeinformation about their new roles and responsibilities, the business objectivesof the initiative, and the projected benefit to the company and to users.
Early and constant communication is also critical to ease them through thetransformation, Begley says. Explain why you are implementing this tool and howit will make them more profitable or satisfied. “End-users will want to knowwhy they can’t do it the old way,” she says. “They need to know why thechange was necessary and why management thinks it’s important.”
Each member of a search committee at MassMutualfilled out this sheet after interviewing CEO candidates. The form gave the committee a way to make the process less subjective.
Candidate:
Evaluator:
Ratings:
5 – Clearly confident 4 – Confident 3 – Seems OK 2 – Some concern 1 – Serious concern 0 – no information
Criteria:
A track record of achievement, demonstrating success in leading a dynamic, volatile environment; experience should include successful acquisition and related integration or culture shifts; capable of leading a large, complex business on day one.
Comments:
Rating:
0 1 2 3 4 5
Criteria:
Will not gamble foolishly with the assets of the corporation. Knows how to protect and “anchor” a franchise, as well as project a leadership position in a highly competitive financial services environment.
Comments:
Rating:
0 1 2 3 4 5
Criteria:
Uses seasoned judgment to make sound strategic choices — knows when to emphasize and balance the organization’s long-term strategic objectives; applies broad knowledge and experience when addressing complex issues; makes timely, tough decisions.
Comments:
Rating:
0 1 2 3 4 5
Criteria:
Has demonstrated the ability to develop a vision for the business; maintains a long-term, big-picture view; anticipates obstacles and opportunities; generates break-through ideas; is willing to entertain alternative corporate structures and governance models to achieve strategic objectives.
Comments:
Rating:
0 1 2 3 4 5
Criteria:
A great leader who inspires others to perform at their best; creates a climate that fosters personal investment and excellence; sets and pursues aggressive goals; a high-energy type who can change a successful culture, keep the momentum going; drives for results; promotes collaboration and teamwork.
Comments:
Rating:
0 1 2 3 4 5
Criteria:
Strong integrity base; establishes open, candid, trusting relationships; treats all individuals fairly and with respect; makes decisions that are effective rather than politically expedient.
Comments:
Rating:
0 1 2 3 4 5
Criteria:
Experience in the financial services industry as a leader of a substantially distributed financial-services product.
Comments:
Rating:
Yes No
Criteria:
Clear understanding of the customer, competition, and legislative environments.
Comments:
Rating:
Yes No
Criteria:
Clear, date-certain successor to the chairman.
Comments:
Rating:
Yes No
Criteria:
Excellent presenter to board of directors, management team, employee population, and external communities.
Comments:
Rating:
Yes No
Reprinted with permission from The Right CEO by Frederick W. Wackerle, Copyright 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
By now, you’ve seen or read that helping your employees understand and manage their personal finances through employer-sponsored financial planning is one of the hottest perks around. The prevalence of this benefit is certainly growing, with both employees and employee benefit professionals.
In the annual Top Five Benefit Priorities survey conducted by the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS), for each of the last three years, “Providing Financial/Investment Planning Tools” and “Increased Investment Education” have been near or at the top of the list for both employers and employees. Why is this happening and why should employers be considering this benefit?
Sins of the past. With the stock market handing out 15-20% average returns year after year for much of the 90’s, who could blame people for gaining expectations that couldn’t be sustained? The result was that people who came to expect that money placed in certain “lottery stocks” (high-tech IPOs) would be the quick road to early retirement. Then came the cruel slap of the tech meltdown and there has never been a greater need for financial handholding.
The rise of the 401(k). With employer-sponsored retirement plans becoming a staple of a benefit program, it also has become a larger part of an employee’s overall financial picture. Managing this part is a much bigger job today.
In a recently released survey by ISCEBS entitled “New Kid on the Block: Financial Planning as an Employee Benefit“, 81% of the benefit professionals surveyed felt that employees lacked the most financial awareness in the area of how they allocate their 401(k) money to the correct investments. Over the past two years, this has led to situations such as a 55-year-old employee within three years of retirement who lost a large part of his retirement nest egg because it was invested totally in small company stocks.
Many more options. Many employers take the stance that financial planning is an issue that employees should handle and is of no business to the employer. Add to that the perception of many people that financial planning is a costly adventure and you have a lot of people who don’t have a clue about personal financial management. In reality, financial planning services can be offered through many vehicles, some at no cost to employer or employee.
People respond to it. In a 2000 study done by Virginia Tech, 75 percent of employees surveyed felt that they were making better financial decisions in the workplace due to the financial planning programs that were sponsored by their employer. This sense of control over financial decisions leads to increased morale, better productivity and bottom line results.
Financial planning in the workplace has grown substantially over the past 10 years. What started as retirement plan vendors sitting down with employees to help select investment options has grown into other areas such as estate planning, saving for college, and managing credit-card debt. How are employers providing these services?
Traditional financial planners Many financial planners are packaging their consulting services for employers to help provide “group” services for employers who need it. Depending on the consultant, the cost can be as little as zero, with the consultant counting on fees and commissions from products sold. Other consultants will charge the employer a flat fee per month or per employee for a menu of services in exchange for not presenting products to employees.
Some of the planning services would include estate planning, investment selection education for the company retirement plan and advice on making smart decisions in employee benefit utilization (e.g., what health plan makes the best economic sense?).
Financial planning software Much of the planning software for employers is focused on tools for retirement plans only, although they are slowly integrating other areas of personal finance into their programs. Pricing varies widely amongst these products, however some deals can be found since, according to the ISCEBS survey, 69% of benefits professionals don’t use these services yet and only 25% of those not using the services are considering it. Employers who wish to provide modeling software for employees to calculate everything from the impact of a 401(k) contribution on their paycheck to how much that nest egg will be at retirement need only look to their retirement plan vendor to find it.
For corporations that are looking for Web-based solutions, several companies have formed alliances to develop both standalone and Web-based software programs to help employees figure out their financial futures. Some of the names of these products are mPower, Morningstar ClearFuture, and Financial Engine’s Investment Advisor. Pricing varies widely amongst these products.
There are also many personal financial software products, such as Quicken and Microsoft Money that provide personal financial planning modules within their programs. Employers can provide this software to employees to use at home.
Voucher Programs If you are not interested in aligning yourself with a specific financial planner, another idea is to provide a certain level of reimbursement for employees who choose to use their own financial advisor. This option is probably better suited to a smaller company due to the paperwork involved with verifying eligible expenses for reimbursement. But it gives the employee more discretion in choosing someone with whom they are comfortable sharing their personal data.
Benefit Planning Tip: For companies that provide flex credit benefit programs (i.e. they give employees benefit dollars to spend as they wish on their benefits), this voucher type of program would fit well into a “work/life benefit” part of the flex program. For example, you could provide $500 benefit dollars to each employee to be used once during their work career with you, and these dollars could be used for work/life benefits, such as the purchase of a computer, financial planning services, or membership dues for a health club.
Selecting the right method for you Here are a few tips for determining how to go about providing financial planning services for your employees:
Ask your employees. One of the great injustices that HR folks tend to commit is the “I know what my employees want” line. That’s true if you ask them, but many times employers make assumptions about what employees know based on the kind of work they do. Conduct surveys or focus groups with your employees to determine whether financial planning is something they need. You most likely will be surprised at where your needs are coming from.
How do you communicate? Much of how your corporate culture communicates to employees will determine the type of approach you’ll use. If you have a rather technologically savvy or geographically diverse population, then Web-based software may work well. If you have a lot of employees who typically need their hand held through their benefits enrollment process, then a sit-down consultant may be the way to go. According to the ISCEBS survey, most benefit professionals feel that their employees either lack the fundamental knowledge of finances or don’t feel they need to develop a financial plan. Getting a pulse of your employees in this regard will go a long way towards your decisions.
Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. With each method, there are areas to look at to determine that you are getting your money’s worth. With personal consultants, look for individuals that are held to an ethical and professional standard, such as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
You can go to the CFP Web site for leads on professionals in your area with this designation. For software, look for packages that are flexible enough to handle as many different situations as possible — if you have 100 employees, you have 100 different scenarios. And with any program, try it out on a few employees to start and collect feedback before turning the program loose on your whole workplace.
Determine liability upfront. Often, the fact that an employer pays for a certain service may lead many employees to feel that it is responsible for bad or misleading advice. Take some time to determine the scope of the financial planning services and where liability lies for the advice and the subsequent decisions that are made. Reputable financial advisors will be all over this when making their presentation to you, so be wary if it isn’t included.
If you are in a tough recruiting environment or are just trying to differentiate yourself and your benefit program from your competitors, ancillary services such as financial planning can make a huge difference for only a little expense. It can also boost morale, develop more productive employees and help set your company as an employer of choice.
Superstars — the most highly sought-after job candidates — can afford to bepicky. Even in today’s economy, the competition for the most talented contributorsis brisk. For that reason, superstars can get away with asking prospective employerssome very tough questions. If recruiters want these superstars, they had betterbe prepared.
“Candidates need an accurate job preview and itsometimes takes hard questions to get it,” says Dr. John Sullivan, professorand head of human resources management at San Francisco State University. “Thehiring manager’s ability and willingness to answer these tough questions shouldbe a major factor in any candidate’s decision to accept an offer.”
The following are 15 of the toughest interview questionsthat recruiters must be prepared for:
What’s the gross profit margin ofthe division I will be working in? What percentage of the total profit fromthe company does it generate? Is it increasing or decreasing?
What’s your company’s “killerapplication”? What percentage of the market share does it have? WillI be working on it?
Can you give me some examples ofthe best and worst aspects of the company’s culture?
What makes this company a great placeto work? What outside evidence (rankings or awards) do you have to provethis is a great place to work? What is the company going to do in the nextyear to make it better?
What would I see if I stood outsidethe front door at 5 o’clock? Would everyone be smiling? Staying late orleaving early? Would they be taking work home?
Lots of your competitors have greatproducts and people programs. What is the deciding factor that makes thisopportunity superior? Are you willing to make me some specific “promises”on what you will do to make this a great experience for me, if I accepta position?
Can you show me that the companyhas a diverse workforce and that it is tolerant of individual differences?Does it have affinity groups or similar programs that I might find beneficial?Is there a dress code? Can you give me an example of any “outrageousconduct” this firm tolerates that the competitors would not?
Does your company offer any “wow!”benefits? Pay for advanced degrees? Paid sabbaticals? On-site childcare?Relocation packages? Mentor program? How are these superior to your competitors?Job sharing? Flex-time arrangements? Telecommuting? Workout facilities?
When top performers leave the company,why do they leave and where do they usually go?
When was the last significant layoff?What criteria were used to select those to stay? What packages were offeredto those that were let go?
Does the company have a program tosignificantly reward individuals that develop patents/ great products? Isthere a program to help individuals “start” their own firms orsubsidiary? Will I be required to fill out non-compete agreements?
How many approvals would it take(and how long) to get a new $110,000 project idea of mine approved? Whatpercentage of employee-initiated projects in this job were approved lastyear?
How many days will it take for you(and the company) to make a hiring decision for this position?
Who are the “coolest” peopleon my team? What makes him or her “cool? Can I meet them? Who is thebest and worst performer on the team and what was the difference in theirtotal compensation last year? Sell me on this team and who I get to workwith. What makes my closest co-workers fun/great people to work with?
What is your “learning plan”for me for my first six months? What competencies do you propose I willdevelop that I don’t currently have? Which individual in the departmentcan I learn the most from? What can he or she teach me? Can I meet them?Does the company have a specific program to advance my career?
Use the below evaluation to determine the effectiveness of your team. Scorefrom 1 (hardly at all) to 5 (greatly).
1.Teams need to be organized around horizontal processes thatinclude different disciplines, functions, or skills.
Towhat extent is there one key process that provides the focus for our team?
Towhat extend does our team represent all of the functions or disciplinesthat contribute to this process?
Towhat extent is our team composed of the skills needed to maintain andimprove this process?
Towhat extent does our team have the ability to add or delete competencies?
2.Teamsneed to have a shared view of what is to be accomplished, a goal towardwhich all team members contribute.
Towhat extent is there a specific goal (or goals) that our team needs toaccomplish?
Towhat extent do our goals align with and contribute to the overall businessgoals and objectives?
Towhat extent are our team goals clear and defined in simple terms, so thatall team members understand what the team is trying to do?
Towhat extent are our team goals shared among all users of the team’soutput?
3.Teams need to have agreed-upon ways of working that cut across boundaries.
Towhat extent has our team defined how it will solve problems, makedecisions, and handle conflict in the team?
Towhat extent does our team have a process for dealing with poor performanceor discipline issues within the team?
Towhat extent does our team dedicate time to assessing team members’abilities to work as a team?
Towhat extent is our team clear about roles, about who does what toaccomplish team goals?
Towhat extent do all members of our team feel empowered to voice theiropinions so that the team makes better and more informed decisions thanindividuals acting alone?
4.Teams need shared measures of success and ways of rewarding achievement.
Towhat extent are our team’s goals measurable and operational?
Towhat extent do all members of our team feel personal responsibility forteam results?
Towhat extent do team members share in the rewards earned by our team?
Scoring:
> 65
Your team is most likely a true teamand is functioning reasonably well. You might want to focus on the few keyscores that were lowest or the category that received the lowest scores, anddo some fine tuning.
45-65
There are probably some significantweaknesses in the way your team is functioning. Look to see if theweaknesses are across the board or if there are targeted categories thatneed immediate attention.
< 45
Your score was fairly low; youshould examine whether your team is really a team and whether team membersunderstand what it means to be a team.
Reprinted with permission from TheBoundaryless Organization by Ron Ashkenas, Copyright 2002 by John Wiley &Sons, Inc.
Increasingly, employers are recognizing the benefits of incorporating a pre-placement examination into their employment process. A pre-placement examination provides employers with information that helps them to place employees in appropriate jobs.
How this came to be In the past, prospective employees underwent a pre-employment exam, which was done before the person was hired. If the exam was not passed, then the applicant wasn’t hired.
With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, pre-employment examinations became illegal. Hiring decisions couldn’t be made on the basis of physical limitations or disabilities.
The pre-employment exam was replaced by the pre-placement examination, also called the post-job-offer medical evaluation. This exam is performed after the offer of employment has been made. It’s designed to determine if the person can safely perform the job without putting himself or others at undue risk of injury. In addition, it’s designed to determine if the person will need accommodations to perform the job.
Why should I do pre-placement exams? Most employers consider pre-placement exams a type of insurance. The vast majority of people sent for pre-placement exams are physically healthy and pass without problems.
However, a small number of people have medical problems that would interfere with their ability to safely perform their job. The exam should find them.
Establishing an examination program Setting up an efficient and cost-effective program requires planning and thought. The examination should give you the information you need to make proper placement decisions, while still maintaining the examinee’s privacy and medical confidentiality. The exam must also be cost-efficient.
Finding the right doctor to perform your examinations is critical to the success of your program. You need a physician who fully understands the examiner’s role in the process. The doctor must realize that she is working primarily for you — the employer — and not for the person being examined.
The doctor’s job is to find any physical and medical problems that would interfere with the person’s ability to safely perform the job or significantly increase the risk of injury. Sometimes the problems are obvious; other times they’re very subtle.
The employer must provide the physician with information about the jobs and their physical demands. It’s imperative for the doctor you select to come to your workplace and see the physical demands of your positions. If the physician won’t do this, then it’s best to look for another doctor.
What information do you want? What you’re really concerned about is whether the person can perform the tasks of the position. You have no need for, and really don’t want, all the details of the person’s medical history, a list of medications being taken, or the nitty-gritty details of the examination.
Actually, receiving detailed medical information might cause you problems. There are all sorts of rules and regulations concerning confidential medical information that you will have to follow. The information must be separated from other personnel information, and must be kept in a locked file with limited access. You can be liable if unauthorized people see the data.
All you really want is the doctor’s opinion on two questions. First, can this person safely perform the essential tasks of the job without putting himself or others at an increased risk of injury? Second, does this person need any special accommodations?
What should be checked? It’s important that your examinations are comprehensive enough to find out what you need to know without going beyond that. Many employers include blood work, a urine analysis, an EKG, and other tests in their examinations.
But is there really a need for all this? In almost all cases, these tests aren’t necessary and won’t provide you with any useful information. For example, a person’s cholesterol level has no impact on his ability to perform a specific job safely. Even if elevated, it won’t affect the decision-making process. The same goes for other blood tests, urine tests, EKGs, X-rays, etc.
What should be in the physical examination process? There are really six different components to the pre-placement examination process: the history, the examination, laboratory and imaging studies, special tests, the physical-capacity evaluation, and the summary letter from the physician. To have an effective and cost-efficient program, you must carefully consider each.
History
A well-written history form is critical to the success of your pre-placement examination program. Many physicians consider the history — medical and occupational — to be the most important part of the entire process. Things that have happened before tend to happen again. For example, someone who has had back problems in the past is at an increased risk to have them again. A person with a history of respiratory problems is likely to have them again, particularly if exposed to respiratory irritants.
In addition to the general questions, the history should be customized to address the special circumstances of your company. Respiratory exposures, hazardous materials, or carcinogens, for example, and their consequences must be included in the history.
Having a comprehensive history form is useless if it’s not completed accurately by the examinee and carefully reviewed by the examiner. One way to know if the doctor looked at the form is to see if she commented on any of the positive answers.
The examination
The goal of the physical examination portion of the process is to detect problems that might interfere with the examinee’s ability to safely perform the essential tasks of his job without putting himself or others at undue risk of injury and without significant accommodations.
Most examiners follow the same steps for all pre-placement examinations. Special attention should be paid to the examinee’s movements, muscular strength, coordination, and overall physical condition. While listening to the heart and lungs is important, it rarely adds much to the final determination of fitness for duty.
It’s important for the examiner to know the requirements of the job, particularly if there are any special physical demands. In many ways, the examination itself is the least significant part of the process.
Laboratory and imaging studies
In most cases, you won’t need any blood or urine tests. The exception is if the position requires biological monitoring. If the position poses a risk of lead exposure, then you’ll need baseline studies: a lead level, a zinc protophorphyrin, and a complete blood count looking for anemia. Other exposures require different base studies. Other than baseline studies, there’s really little reason to order any blood work.
In the past, many companies ordered back X-rays, hoping to find potential back problems before they occurred. This has been proven to be a total waste of money. There’s absolutely no correlation between what’s seen on back X-rays and the likelihood of sustaining a back injury. As with lab tests, the only reason to order any X-rays is to obtain a baseline for screening programs.
Special tests
In this category, I put audiograms, pulmonary function tests, specialized vision testing, etc. In most cases, these studies are required as part of a company’s monitoring and surveillance programs. If your workplace noise levels exceed the safe levels, then you’ll need a hearing-conservation program. A baseline audiogram is then essential.
The physical-capacity evaluation
A physical-capacity evaluation is designed to determine whether the examinee is physically able to perform all the tasks of the job. For example, if the job requires lifting 25 pounds and carrying it for 20 feet, the evaluation would include lifting 25 pounds and carrying it 20 feet. Not all tasks are as easy to simulate.
Frequently, these evaluations are performed by a physical therapist or a PT aide. Many believe that this is a more valuable form of screening than a physical examination.
The summary letter
Once the history is reviewed, the examination is completed, the results of all studies — if any — are back, and the physical-capacity evaluation is completed, then the physician must pull all this data together and give an opinion on the examinee’s physical fitness. The doctor can tell you if the examinee has any physical limitations or requires any special accommodations. It is not the physician’s role to tell you whether to put this person to work or not. That’s totally up to you.
Most employers want only the summary letter and not copies of the history, examination report, and most of the lab and imaging studies. You don’t need that data and, as explained above, it can increase your liability risks.
Summary A well-designed pre-placement physical examination program will result in fewer injuries and accidents and, in the long run, save your company money.
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 federal law.
Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PRECO) – a not-for-profit distribution cooperative providing electric service to 24,000+ families and businesses – has a common business problem: Geographic dispersion. But PRECO takes this problem to the Nth degree with 100 employees – the bulk of which in the field – reporting back to 10 remote locations across 10 Florida counties!
So how did they integrate the widespread HR, payroll and training data that’s so critical to their business? By choosing Best Software’s Abra® Suite solutions to:
Centralize key HR and payroll data in a single database
Empower employees and managers with online self-service access
Streamline reporting and analysis, strategic planning and workflow
PRECO specifically chose Abra HR® and Abra Payroll® – core components of the industry-leading Abra Suite HRMS – to save time and money for their troubled HR department and to easily track their complex training requirements.
The bulk of PRECO’s employees are “line technicians” in charge of maintaining the consistent flow of energy to its rural customer base. To accommodate such a wide area with limited staff, PRECO technicians use an increasingly complex array of tools and technologies – becoming more mobile with the use of two-way pagers and laptops.
Today, more than ever, HR Director Roberta Harrison and her staff emphasize the importance of continuous technology training.
ABRA Lights The Way In response, PRECO partnered with a local community college to train its line technicians in electrical distribution technology. Paying employees to obtain a degree, the Cooperative challenges employees to display a working knowledge of more than 270 skill sets specific to the line technician job function to graduate.
And they count on Abra to track and audit skill sets performed successfully by individual employees based on testing by PRECO and the college.
“We believe employees should not be regarded as overhead, but as capital assets worth an investment in time and technology,” said Harrison. “We use Abra to help realize a return on that investment.”
The program has already seen success. All 16 students in the Algebra class passed the final exam, marking the college’s first 100-percent pass ratio! Plus, PRECO notices:
Employees are more productive! They’re manage their time better to juggle field work and time to attend classes.
Employees are more motivated and professional! We’re helping them earn a sense of accomplishment by helping them obtain a degree.
It’s a real win-win situation for both parties involved.
Make the most of your investment in your workforce. Use Abra HR to easily manage employee information, administer benefits, maintain government compliance and more. Visit bestsoftware.com/StayCompliant with priority code AAAFI for a FREE Compliance Guide and more pertinent information about our industry-leading Abra HR solution.
Taking The Shock Out of Succession Planning Offering such innovative benefits, the HR department has already received requests from other employees wishing to move into utility management. By tracking every employee’s unique skill set, Abra is helping with the organization’s succession planning requirements.
PRECO is able to monitor employee progress and match appropriate skills and capabilities with job descriptions for optimum workforce efficiency. This is increasingly important as Harrison estimates nearly 25 percent of PRECO’s workforce will retire in the next five to seven years.
However, Harrison’s fear of insufficient knowledge transfer is quickly put to rest with Abra’s help. PRECO is actively building a new group of experienced line technicians and management.
Abra is even helping enroll students in the program! Not only must technicians demonstrate their knowledge of 270 skill sets, they must also be taught in a certain progression. Using Abra’s online enrollment functionality, PRECO can ensure each individual is working along the correct track and efficiently building upon their daily training.
Powering Up For Growing Needs Outside of training, PRECO is using Abra to recruit technicians to compensate for growth in both the industry and region. The organization culls hiring and applicant pools using Abra’s sophisticated database, and then matches resumes with open job requisitions.
All of these capabilities are in addition to Abra’s use as a back-office system for compensation, benefits, and payroll administration. Harrison hopes to have PRECO operating in a completely paperless HR environment within the next three to five years.
Today, PRECO is implementing Abra Employee Self-Service™ to provide employees with online access to their training and educational progress. Thanks to Abra, Harrison and her staff are maintaining consistent, real-time dialogue with each of the organization’s 100 employees.
“With Abra, we’re better able to connect with all employees and provide even more strategic counsel and training recommendations,” she added.
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Jeannine Pecora, human resources and training manager for Delta Corporate Services, doesn’t mince words. “Our HR system is failing us,” she declares. Until now, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based management consulting firm has made do with a homegrown system and an amalgamation of applications such as MS Office, Access, and Excel. But reporting is limited, tedious, and spreadsheet-intensive; the various software programs are not integrated; data must be entered multiple times; and retrieving information is often hit or miss.
“But our business has grown tremendously, and we realize we have outgrown our technology,” she says. “Our systems desperately need to be updated or replaced.”
Her wish list: a system that will smoothly manage and track records, automate routine HR tasks, and eliminate the ubiquitous spreadsheets. “With today’s technology, we should be able to generate, proof, authorize, and record information without having to print or pass a sheet of paper,” she says.
Does Delta’s situation sound all too familiar? Is your HR system ahelp–or a hindrance? Does it streamline operations and boost efficiency and productivity? Does it cut down on paperwork, generate sophisticated reports, and let employees and managers handle routine functions? Or does it bog down, crash, lose data, and cause maddening bottlenecks and frustratingdelays–creating even more work for you and your staff?
The solution to your software snags may lie not in upgrading the technology, but in making better use of what you now have
If your HR system seems to be more trouble than it’s worth, you may not have to give up on it just yet. A few relatively inexpensive add-ons could make the difference between phlegmatic and powerful. Or the solution to your software snags may lie not in upgrading the technology, but in making better use of what you now have.
Here are some cost-effective tips for supercharging your HRMS.
1. Consider Add-Ons Complementary third-party tools that handle functions such as recruiting, training, hiring, or reporting can enhance an antiquated HR system. For example, one such tool, Eventrix by PerfectSoftware, which works with any HRMS product, automates new-hire and termination processes by tracking employee data and distributing the information to every department that is affected, from the mailroom to security and payroll. But there’s danger in going overboard with add-on features. “Don’t spend good money after bad,” warns Scott Busby, chief information officer for AdvanTech Solutions, a Tampa, Florida-based HR outsourcing firm. “If your legacy system doesn’t have much of a future, temper your spending. There’s no point in putting a great front- or back-end product on a system that’s going to last only another one or two years.”
2. Get Portal Power Even companies that are clamping down on software spending are opening their wallets to portal applications. That’s because such front-end software, which runs about $10,000, can Web-enable your system, integrate applications, exchange data throughout the enterprise, allow employee or manager self-servicecapabilities–and ultimately boost productivity and cut costs. According to a study by Best Practices, LLC, on how companies can optimize limited HR resources, such software results in a 60 percent reduction in cost per transaction.
“You’ll get the power of the Web at a very inexpensive cost compared to a new HRMS,” says Steve Larson, head of strategic systems consulting and integration for the HR consulting firm Watson Wyatt.
According to a recent survey by CIGNA, an employee-benefits organization, 80 percent of workers say that they currently cannot manage their benefits online, and more than 40 percent say they would like to do so. “Benefits managers really should consider accelerating their time lines for rolling out additional online services that better meet workers’ needs,” says Eric Consolazio, senior vice president and head of CIGNA E-Commerce.
What’s even cheaper than buying portal software is enlisting the help of someone in your tech or creative department to build a Web page on top of your existing HR applications. It’s a fairly simple process, but can reap great time-saving benefits, says Brian McIntyre, president and CEO of Columbia, Maryland-based Working Concepts, a division of Towers Perrin that implements HR technology for large and medium-sized companies.
“You can post policies and procedures and benefits information,” McIntyre says. “You can let employees make basic changes or transactions, such as address or W-4 changes. They can check their 401(k). And they’ll no longer have to phone HR to ask questions like, ‘When is benefits enrollment?’ ”
3. Integrate Your Systems Are your HR applications on speaking terms?
“Many companies have purchased individual third-party applications that don’t talk to each other and aren’t integrated with the HRMS,” Larson says. If that’s the case, you may have to enter the same information multiple times. Or worse, you may end up with discrepancies and inconsistencies betweensystems.
It’s important that applications are integrated not only throughout HR but also throughout the entire company–especially with departments like finance and payroll
Ask your IT department for help. A common computer language, such as XML (Extensible Markup Language), may be able to integrate your benefits, compensation, performance, and other systems with your HRMS, thus allowing you to exchange data between systems.
It’s important that applications are integrated not only throughout HR but also throughout the entirecompany–especially with departments like finance and payroll, says Russ Campanello, senior vice president and chief people officer for NerveWire, a management consulting firm in Boston. That’s why he made sure that NerveWire’s HRMS was compatible with the rest of the enterprise. “Then there’s no argument about who has the right data, and we don’t spend any time closing the gap between the information payroll has and the information we have,” Campanello says. “We are not going to have an application island in HR.”
4. Hire a Host Jennifer Cress, chief people officer for STI Knowledge, an Atlanta-based company that handles support calls for businesses, says outsourcing solved her company’s technology woes. As STI Knowledge doubled in size to about 250 employees and began offering more benefits, such as a 401(k) and flex plans, its seven-year-old homegrown HR system couldn’t keep up.
“My biggest headache was the old system’s reporting functionality,” Cress says. “I had tons of spreadsheets. Whenever I needed something, I would have to go to the IT person to write an SQL query and get the data.”
But the notion of implementing an entirely new system was overwhelming, Cress says. “I didn’t want to hire more IT people. I didn’t want more servers. I didn’t want to worry about systems going down.”
She turned to Employease, a Web-based, hosted HR management program, which charges her about $36,000 a year. “I’ve gotten rid of a lot of spreadsheets and paperwork,” Cress says. “Employease provides all the analytic reports that I want, so the HR team can spend time on improving employee relations, orientations, and training. Now employees even enroll in their health plans online, and the data is sent directly to the medical-benefits carrier.”
But while turning to a Web-based outsourcing firm to host your HRMS can be cheaper and simpler than buying, installing, and maintaining a system in-house, there’s a frustrating downside: you give up control. “The outsourcing company may not be able to react to your requests for information or make changes as quickly as you need them to,” McIntyre says.
A possible solution: considering outsourcing as a single HR function, rather than the entire HRMS. “Then you can retain control over the HR technology,” he notes.
5. Use What You Have The problem may not be the technology. It might be the users, employees who aren’t making the most of the software’s functions.
For example, many HRMS packages include self-service features that enable managers and employees to resolve inquiries and conduct transactions from their PC desktops. “But those tools are of no use if people are still filling out forms and bringing them to HR,” Larson says. “Self-service will do all sorts of fantastic things, but if you can’t get people to use the process, where’s the savings?”
The CIGNA survey shows that while 57 percent of employers say they offer online access to health-care or retirement benefits, most employees say they still conduct transactions by mailing paper forms, making a phone call, or working with benefits managers.
Many companies “barely scratch the surface of what their technology is capable of doing,” Larson says. “They use the most common 5 or 10 percent of the features, but rarely realize its full power. They never get the complete return on investment that the software can deliver.”
That’s especially true, he says, of companies that rely on “vanilla implementation” (software installed straight out of the box, as opposed to customized installation based on your specific business needs) of big enterprise packages. If you spend all your tech time and budget blindly upgrading to the latest version, the result may be that no one has a chance to master the features that are already there.
The solution is to analyze your enterprise before upgrading. Determine which processes would give you the biggest bang for the buck, how to tailor your existing technology to fit your needs, and how well you are deploying the software features that can best serve your company.
6. Restructure Your Team Consider having one person–perhaps someone culled from your organization’s IS or ITdepartmen– devoted to HR technology or reporting. “Have that person focus on how HR technology is being used,” McIntyre suggests. “For example, he or she could set up reporting templates, rather than having several individuals in HR each doing their ownthing–perhaps creating redundancies or working at cross-purposes.”
7. Don’t Go It Alone There’s a lot of tech help out there–some of it free or ridiculously cheap–if you just look for it. For example, you can seek out users’ groups. Or network with similar-sized companies in the same industry or at the same stage of growth as yours, and ask what works for them. Ask your HRMS vendor to send someone over to spend a day teaching tech tricks to your staff. Campanello says he simply spent a lot of time “sitting with the folks in IT and development.”
Some HR employees may not have been formally trained in using your system. That’s especially likely if your department has experienced staff turnover. A day or two of training can teach them how to take full advantage of what the technology offers.
It may also be well worthwhile to bring a consultant on board. “If you have spent $50,000 on technology, consider spending an additional $10,000 to get someone to manage it for you,” McIntyre says. “You may realize real hard-dollar benefits in the way you conduct your business. Use your technology as a catalyst to improve your business processes.”
The following is a list of various merger and acquisition terms:
Acquisition–When a firm buys another firm.
Acquisition of Assets–A merger or consolidation in which an acquirerpurchases the selling firm’s assets.
Acquisition of Stock–A merger or consolidation in which an acquirerpurchases the acquiree’s stock.
Accounts Receivable Aging–A periodic report showing all outstandingreceivable balances, by customer, spread as to month due.
Agreement in Principle–An outline of the understanding between the parties,including the price and the major terms. Often referred to as a letter ofintent.
Announcement Date–Date on which particular news concerning a given companyis announced to the public.
Annuity–A regular periodic payment made by an insurance company to apolicyholder for a specified period of time.
Any–or–all Bid–Often used in risk arbitrage. Takeover bid where theacquirer offers to pay a set price for all outstanding shares of the TargetCompany, or any part thereof; contrasts with two-tier bid.
Assets Retained–Assets that an owner would keep after a merger oracquisition.
Asset Utilization Ratios–A group of ratios that measures the speed at whichthe firm is turning over or utilizing its assets.
Basket–Applies to derivative products. Group of stocks that is formed withthe intention of either being bought or sold all at once, usually to performindex arbitrage or hedging.
Bid Price–This is the quoted bid, or the highest price an investor iswilling to buy a security. Available price at which an investor can sell sharesof stock.
Book Cash–A firm’s cash balance as reported in its financial statements.
Brands–A symbol or name identifying suppliers of goods or services. The costassociated with establishing a brand are included in goodwill, and areamortizable for reporting but not for tax purposes.
Break-even Analysis–An analysis of the level of sales at which a projectwould make zero profit.
Business Broker or Intermediary–Professionals who arrange mergers,acquisitions, and various funding of companies with most of their transactionsin the under $1 million market. Business brokers or intermediaries do not havetheir own fund to invest.
Buyout–Purchase of a controlling interest or percent of shares of a company’sstock. A leveraged buyout is done with borrowed money.
Capital Gain–When a stock is sold for a profit, it’s the differencebetween the net sales price of securities and their net cost, or original basis.If the stock is sold below cost, the difference is a capital loss.
Capital Gains Distribution–Payments to mutual fund shareholders of profitsfrom the sale of securities in a fund’s portfolio.
Capitalization–The debt and/or equity mix that funds a firm’s assets.
Comebacks-Adjustments–Post-closing adjustments of any future stream ofpayments as a result of due diligence or post-closing negative discoveries, i.e.additional costs or payables, uncollectible notes, erroneous accruals.
Corporate Acquirer–A company seeking acquisitions that provide more than theprofits and cash flow of the acquisition target and may include the desire toacquire operational economies, additional market share, technology, or someother synergy.
Deal Structure–The nature of the fee paid by the acquiring entity in amerger transaction. Typical deal structure may include stock or other valuablesbesides cash. The complex nature of deal structure is an important reason whymiddle market intermediaries are often hired.
Due Diligence–In the process of an acquisition, the acquiring firm is oftenallowed to see the target firm’s internal books. The acquiring firm does aninternal audit. Offers are made contingent upon the resolution of the duediligence process.
EBITDA–Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
Enterprise-Wide Integration–A disciplined project management approach whereone infrastructure coordinates integration efforts and communications to allfunctional departments and business units simultaneously.
Flipping–The sale of a company within a year or two of its being bought.
HR Financial Due Diligence–Investigative stage of an M&A assessing HRfinancial risks, liabilities, and plan structures of compensation, benefits, andpension plans.
Human Capital Due Diligence–Investigative stage of an M&A assessingHuman Capital aspects including culture, organizational structure, performancemanagement, and workforce-development approaches.
Human Capital Integration–M&A stage that integrates HR processes andpolicies and enables HR to support human-capital aspects (i.e. communication,training, retention, etc.) of integration across the enterprise.
In Play–Company that has become the target of a takeover, and whose stockhas become a speculative issue.
Integration–The combination of two or more firms to form a new entity.
Joint Venture–A venture by partnership or conglomerate designed to sharerisk or expertise.
Merger–Acquisition in which all assets and liabilities are absorbed by thebuyer. More generally, any combination of two companies.
Merger Premium–The part of a buyout or exchange offer which represents avalue over and above the market value of the acquired firm.
Non-Binding–Directs that the parties to that particular agreement are notbound or exclusively committed by its provisions.
Non-Compete–Directs that the signing party will not engage in anyactivities that compete with the organization being departed from.
Ongoing M&A Capabilities–An established set of an organization’sM&A competencies set in a replicable process to increase success in allfuture M&As.
Optimal Portfolio–An efficient portfolio most preferred by an investorbecause its risk/reward characteristics approximate the investor’s utilityfunction. A portfolio that maximizes an investor’s preferences with respect toreturns and risk.
PLC–Designation of British public limited company equivalent to U.S. publiccompany.
Pooling of Interests–An accounting method for reporting acquisitionsaccomplished through the use of equity. The combined assets of the merged entityare consolidated using book value, as opposed to the purchase method, which usesmarket value. The merging entities’ financial results are combined as thoughthe two entities have always been a single entity.
Post-Closing–Conditions or events that are activated after a transaction isfinalized.
Purchase Method–Accounting for an acquisition using market value for theconsolidation of the two entities’ net assets on the balance sheet.
Pure Play–An acquired company that is in only one business.
Required Rate of Return–That rate of return that investors demand from aninvestment (securities) to compensate them for the amount of risk involved.
Restructuring–Redeploying the asset and liability structure of the firm.This can be accomplished through repurchasing shares with cash or borrowedfunds, acquiring other firms, or selling off unprofitable or unwanted divisions.
Seamless Transition–Describes the most advantageous method of completing allthe necessary tasks to absorb and manage all the operational, financial, andorganizational aspects of an acquisition.
Selling Memorandum–A description of the business including its history,products, markets, management, facilities, competition, financial statements,product literature, and a review of its prospects.
Strategic Acquisition–The purchase of an operating business that supplementsthe buyer’s strengths or complements the buyer’s weakness matrix.
Synergy–The feature of a system whereby, when the parts are properlyinterrelated and functioning, an output is achieved that is greater than orsuperior to the effects obtained when the parts function independently.
SOURCE: Reprinted with permission from “Best Practices in Mergers andAcquisitions,” Watson Wyatt Data Services. For more information, visit www.wwdssurveys.com or call 201/843–1177
